Almost two years ago now, my family and I were embarking on a big transition. We were leaving Germany and moving to Portugal. Although our move was entirely desired, it was a little precipitated and happened under difficult personal circumstances on top of the dreaded pandemic restrictions. While planning for this move, my priority was, as for many other parents, my children. At 7 and 11, they were not babies anymore who could be moved without a care in the world. I researched the best tools and ideas to make this transition as smooth as possible. I wrote a an article about some of the littl ..read more

You are moving? How exciting! Now what?  Moving abroad (or not), can be a very daunting process for kids. Like any other transition in their life, it can feel overwhelming and they may struggle to process all of the emotions associated with the move. Any parent will try and smooth the process for them, of course. I attempted to make it easier for my kids also. Here is my take on it from a mama who made her own international move with two kids DIY-style. As we moved abroad last summer from Germany to Portugal, I wanted to make sure my children understood the process and would have a ..read more

In this article, you will find our full itinerary with places to see, where to eat, where to stay, fun things to do with children and more tips to plan your family holiday in the Azores. The whole family agrees that these 3 weeks in the Azores were our favourite family holiday to date. From whale watching to pineapple tasting, from snorkelling to 4x4 on a dirt road, we all loved it. It was relaxing, simple, fun, delicious, not crowded and unforgettable. What more would you want? Not wanting to contribute to over-tourism and, frankly, not really interested in laying on a beach with a millio ..read more

When I think of Epiphany, I think of galette des rois. But did you know there are different types of galettes? Yes, the flaky pastry filled with almonds is not the most common galette in all the regions of France. Here are some of the others eaten in France. La galette des rois I have tried to link to posts that contained recipes. Though I have not tried them all, please feel free to suggest your own. Traditional galette If you are interested in the history and significance of Epiphany in France, take a look at this article where I explained this in more details. I also included my own ..read more

Like many, looking for anti-racism resources for my kids, I started by looking for books with non-white characters. The thing is while my kids read in English, as a bilingual family, I also wanted books in French. I can find French translations of American books. But my kids know little about American history and being Mexican American or Asian American means little to them. I wanted books that they could more easily relate to or understand. I wanted books about being French from the Antilles or Algerian in France, etc. I wanted the books to relate to a more familiar diaspora of the population ..read more

When I was little, I loved yoga. I practised yoga for many years as a child and teenager. As an adult, this has helped me tremendously with relaxation techniques, in particular. So when I heard about the books written by Giselle Shardlow, from Kids Yoga Stories, to introduce yoga to children through reading while moving, I wanted in. WARNING: this post contains affiliate links. In layman's terms: that means that if you click on it, I may possibly earn a 4% commission on this $12.99 item - if you're in the right country, purchase it quickly, and haven't already clicked someone else's link ..read more

If you have been living under a rock for the past few months or if you don't follow me on social media, you may not know about this yet. I am now a published author for something beyond academic writing! And I couldn't be more excited about it (as you can tell from the number of !! I am going to be using in this little text)! How this opportunity came about The winter of 2020/2021 was rather dark. COVID was raging in Europe. We homeschooled for almost 3 months in a row. Our family was going through a very tough transition work-wise and life-wise. On one of those dark days, I received an emai ..read more

I think reading is one of the most important thing you can do with your child, whatever age they are. We started reading bedtime stories to our daughter when she was 6-months old. She started 'reading' stories to her baby brother when he was a couple of weeks old. And we still read to them, they read to each other and we read together.  Our favourite children's books publisher I am always on the lookout for good books. Speaking a minority language (or three) at home often means having to purchase books from abroad or relying on family gifts. Not always easy. So I thought I'd share o ..read more

Si vous habitez dans le Grand Est de la France ou un pays germanophone, vous connaissez surement la Saint Martin. La Saint-Martin est célébrée le 11 novembre en souvenir de saint Martin. La date correspond à la mise au tombeau de saint Martin le 11 novembre 397. En Europe centrale, la Saint-Martin s’accompagne de nombreuses traditions parmi lesquelles on trouve la dégustation de l’oie. Apres 10 ans en Allemagne, nos enfants ont célébré la St Martin presque tous les ans. A chaque fois, il s'agissait d'un petit défilé avec des lanternes décorées et de chants autour d'un feu. (Plus d'informatio ..read more

Cork: a buoyant light brown substance obtained from the outer layer of the bark of the cork oak.  What is cork? Did you know cork originated from the bark of a tree? Before I learnt all about cork while visiting Portugal, I had no idea where it came from. My children learnt all about cork as part of their little presentation about Portugal to their classmates (before leaving Germany). Since arriving in Portugal, we have been learning some more. We recently visited Planet Cork in World of Wine, Porto and learnt even more about it in this great interactive exhibit. Here are 10 fun facts ..read more