There's something about a log fire, don't you think? Ok, it may be down to hormones, I'm not one to arguing that, especially with my current lack of energy (which incidentally has a diagnosis, yes, it's pregnancy, would you believe it, or rather anaemia which is apparently quite common in pregnant vegetarians, now roll over black pudding).
But truly, don't you think there's nothing cosier than a log fire in your house on a cold and dreich Scottish winter night, especially when you'll be cuddling a newborn? Can you tell that summer hasn't quite arrived yet and I'm thinking of winter? Anyway, to elaborate on my top item of the nesting to do list, I want a log fire. Ideally a wood burning stove. In which I can burn the neighbour's massive tree which is keeping the sun out of our south facing bit of garden half of the 3 days that we have sun (of course I would never do such a thing or harm a tree, but jee, that tree is massive and would keep a log fire going for a winter or two).
My problem is that Glasgow is a Smoke Control Area. Apparently that means that you can't burn wood in the boundaries of Glasgow City Council. I've tried to follow this up but nobody in Glasgow City Council seems to be aware of this legislation or what it means in practice. Which in a way I'm sure means that if I were to burn wood, this would go relatively unnoticed. That's not the point though. What is then, I hear you ask. Well, the point is that wood is a sustainable source of energy - you can grow trees again and again. You can't grow coal (which is the fuel of choice that is smoke free and recommended for open fires in Smoke Control Areas).
It's not all that straight forward, thankfully. What with my fling with the Transition movement coming above me as it does every so often, I was rather agitated by the fact that a sustainable energy source was bad mouthed over a non-sustainable, carbon based resource. Yes, I know that in times gone by smoke from wood and other smoky fuels polluted the Glasgow air, destroyed buildings and killed people. But we're not talking unsafe and extensive burning of wood. I'm thinking along the line of wood stoves in the few houses that do still have an open, rather than a gas, fire. Such as ours. I feel the regulation is outdated and could be changed and I'm almost ready to challenge it. Just that, as I said, it's not that straight forward. Because, on closer inspection, it turns out that there are some wood burning stoves that are exempt (read approved) in relation to Smoke Control Areas. This means you can use them in Glasgow to burn wood. Hurray!
There's not many, so the choice isn't great, and I don't know if the approved stoves come with a hefty price tag. So there's a few points of attack for the Smoke Control Area regulations: get more wood stoves approved (apparently the standards for all are high enough to be exempt, but getting the stamp seems to be laborious or maybe expensive), change the Smoke Control Area regulation to generally allow wood burning stoves and other safe ways of burning wood, or redraw Glasgow City boundaries (we're awfully close to East Renfrewshire where you can burn wood...). Whoppie, I have 3 campaigns in one!
Mummy do that!
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Sunday, 13 June 2010
The Gallery: Motherhood
It is high time that I join The Gallery - how can you love photography and not take part? So here's my first timely contribution, hope you like the pictures as much as I do. They are very different, almost a ying and yang of motherhood:
There is the intensity of this little person, the intensity with which I discover a new world through her, and she through me, the intensity of this look may stand for it. As it does for the sheer joy we take in each other's company, the amazing discovery that this new relationship means to me. The intensity of emotion, of joy and worry, of love and fear.
Then there's the end of being in control of your actions, the sudden necessity of multitasking (especially if your daughter rather eloquently insists on being held AT ALL TIMES), and the resourcefulness of a mother to fit a bit of non-motherhood stuff around the new full time, nay 24/7, occupation. I like this photo for its sense of flotsam and jetsam, and the simultaneity of feeding, sleeping, holding and reading. An unkempt house, an unkempt mummy. Unkempt yet running with the flow of a new life. The normal chaos of motherhood. I spent many hours like this, feeding until Cubling drifted off to sleep, with my attitude changing from feeling tied to her all the time to seeing those feeding/sleeping hours as an opportunity for some me time (in the form of reading and blogging):
There is the intensity of this little person, the intensity with which I discover a new world through her, and she through me, the intensity of this look may stand for it. As it does for the sheer joy we take in each other's company, the amazing discovery that this new relationship means to me. The intensity of emotion, of joy and worry, of love and fear.
Then there's the end of being in control of your actions, the sudden necessity of multitasking (especially if your daughter rather eloquently insists on being held AT ALL TIMES), and the resourcefulness of a mother to fit a bit of non-motherhood stuff around the new full time, nay 24/7, occupation. I like this photo for its sense of flotsam and jetsam, and the simultaneity of feeding, sleeping, holding and reading. An unkempt house, an unkempt mummy. Unkempt yet running with the flow of a new life. The normal chaos of motherhood. I spent many hours like this, feeding until Cubling drifted off to sleep, with my attitude changing from feeling tied to her all the time to seeing those feeding/sleeping hours as an opportunity for some me time (in the form of reading and blogging):
expectant knits
Slowly but surely I'm getting into the knitting groove again. I'm starting to find it increasingly difficult to pick patterns which are gender neutral because this time we are set not to find out if we're having a boy or a girl.
One promise I'd made was to do a second instalment of f.pea's mossy jacket. It's a great knit to get back into things, what with chunky yarn and such a quick process, knit all in one piece that keeps finishing to a minimum. I still messed it up and had to improvise (I messed up at the start - the jacket is knit top down and I didn't increase correctly for the off centre design so I added a bit at the very end as I couldn't be bothered starting from scratch again). It's not perfect because my patching was far from perfect, but I still like it.
I was more successful with my holiday knit. When stranded by the volcanic ash, I managed to almost complete a simple but lovely Baby Baseball T. I love the simple details of a front pocket and the button ridge at the top side.
Finally I knit another version of Woolly Wormhead's Baby I-cord hat, which you can find in A Hat in Time. I don't tire of the pattern because I can do it without thinking and it's great for using up scraps of your favourite yarn which isn't enough for any other project. However, I must try out another hat pattern soon, just for the sake of a change.
There are another two projects on my needles so I'm sure the baby will be kept nice and warm this coming winter. And with a few kitschycoo patterns and fabrics from her fabulous sale coming, there's nothing between me and some sewing. At least that's the plan. It's good to be making things again, even though the process is painstakingly slow. It reminds me how important it is to make things, to keep in balance.
One promise I'd made was to do a second instalment of f.pea's mossy jacket. It's a great knit to get back into things, what with chunky yarn and such a quick process, knit all in one piece that keeps finishing to a minimum. I still messed it up and had to improvise (I messed up at the start - the jacket is knit top down and I didn't increase correctly for the off centre design so I added a bit at the very end as I couldn't be bothered starting from scratch again). It's not perfect because my patching was far from perfect, but I still like it.
I was more successful with my holiday knit. When stranded by the volcanic ash, I managed to almost complete a simple but lovely Baby Baseball T. I love the simple details of a front pocket and the button ridge at the top side.
Finally I knit another version of Woolly Wormhead's Baby I-cord hat, which you can find in A Hat in Time. I don't tire of the pattern because I can do it without thinking and it's great for using up scraps of your favourite yarn which isn't enough for any other project. However, I must try out another hat pattern soon, just for the sake of a change.
There are another two projects on my needles so I'm sure the baby will be kept nice and warm this coming winter. And with a few kitschycoo patterns and fabrics from her fabulous sale coming, there's nothing between me and some sewing. At least that's the plan. It's good to be making things again, even though the process is painstakingly slow. It reminds me how important it is to make things, to keep in balance.
Friday, 11 June 2010
It's a Give Away!
Well, if you don't know already, A Hat in Time brings together 37 hats to knit and crochet and all profits from the sale of the (e-)book go to the vital work of Save the Children. If you've been following the blog, you may remember this project or this one that I've personally been working on, and there's more inspiring stuff going on across the UK and of course globally (the latter is what Save the Children is best known for). The more funds we raise the more we can do, it's as simple as that.
Today I'm giving one print copy of the book away to one lucky winner!!!
So to be entered for this give away, simply do one, some or all of the following:
1. Tweet about A Hat in Time, or retweet this post (make sure you include @cartside in your tweet). Each tweet = 1 entry (maximum of 3 points)
2. Like the A Hat in Time Facebook page = 2 entries
3. Tell your facebook friends about A Hat in Time or this post = 2 entries
4. email your friends/colleagues about A Hat in Time = 2 entries
5. Follow this blog (please leave a comment telling me you've done this - I'm not obsessed with followers and can't tell who is new and who isn't) = 3 entries.
6. Blog about A Hat in Time (feel free to use any info about it that you can find here or here) or this give away = 3 entries (please leave a comment to let me know you've done this.
Clear as mud? The winner will be drawn on 25th June 2010.
And of course you can do all of the above if you just want to support the project and promote the book :) Thank you!
Thursday, 10 June 2010
On gigging: No matter where you go, there you are
Quite possibly this is the last gig I'll go to in a rather long time. It's only right it should be Luka Bloom, whose music I've enjoyed for over 2 decades, and it's been the soundtrack of a good few years of my life. So tonight, I really enjoyed a fabulous gig at Glasgow's Oran Mor, and so did the baby who was jumping about rather a lot...
And while I'm still partial to those earlier songs, this more recent one has a special meaning to me. It's the story of a refugee, but more than that it's about carrying your home in your heart, your centre of balance within you, where ever you are. It's the story of everyone who's left their home, for whatever reason. And it's a story of new connections, unlikely as they might be, and the humanity that underlies everything.
Or, more simply put, this is a nice wee song. Enjoy.
And while I'm still partial to those earlier songs, this more recent one has a special meaning to me. It's the story of a refugee, but more than that it's about carrying your home in your heart, your centre of balance within you, where ever you are. It's the story of everyone who's left their home, for whatever reason. And it's a story of new connections, unlikely as they might be, and the humanity that underlies everything.
Or, more simply put, this is a nice wee song. Enjoy.
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
On nesting
When I was pregnant with Cubling, the much quoted nesting never happened. Or I didn't notice. I was so focused on the birth part of it all, I don't think I even thought much beyond it. Well, I did think beyond it but it was abstract, and the reality had to hit home good and proper before I realised that giving birth was truly, as one midwife said to me, just a day, but being a mother was a life sentence blessing.
In that pregnancy, I did hypnobirthing, pregnancy yoga, relaxation, baths. Basic equipment got bought, we didn't think much of a nursery because we knew we'd move at some stage and if at all, Cubling wouldn't spend much time in a bedroom of her own anyway, so the cot was set up in our bedroom and not really used much (it was moses basket and then co-sleeping for us and we moved when she was 7 months old). We got a travel system, but Cubling was partial to the babycarrier and never liked the pram, so there were many days where I cursed myself for having spent any money on a pram/buggy at all.
This time however, all my focus on birth has gone and it's been replaced by focusing on the time after. Gone are my religious hypnobirthing practice, my plan to involve a doula or maybe even go for a home birth. I'm resigned to whatever will be, will be and don't even worry much about the possibility of placenta previa and a c-section. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have an easier birth this time, I would love to actually push my baby out this time, I would love not to have my belly cut open. But what I'm really thinking of is getting things ready for being a mum of 2. I'm in inner turmoil. I get upset about things that I want to see done not getting done now/instantly/yesterday. I'm angry at myself for being tired in the evening and not moving anything on. I'm disgusted that I sign up to the fabulous Creative Writing Workshop and am so behind with everything that I feel I can never catch up. I despair at the sight of a particular corner in our house, where I've accumulated stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else. I get upset if plans I've made, mental or verbally, are changed. I deplore the current stress level at work - because it makes me so tired in the evening that I'm deflated and good for nothing else. I've become a grump, and I definitely don't like that either.
So I've put together a to do list and keep adding to it. I try to focus on the fact that if Tiddler is as late as Cubling was, I'll have a full 6 weeks of maternity leave before birth to get it all done. Anything I do before that is extra (but how do I long to get it done before my mat leave starts!!!). I do try to enjoy the good weather, and all the nice things that are happening to me (there are lots) and try to switch my ever buzzing gremlin off who keeps telling me what I still need to do and how dare you enjoy yourself when you've got a to do list the length of a dead sea scroll.
Hormones are funny creatures. The are definitely messing me up differently to last time, yet to be truthful, I can't tell for certain which instalment I prefer. And as to hypnobirthing and pregnancy yoga - haven't done either at all so far, and now the classes for latter are fully booked across Glasgow until after my due date (a definite market gap around, but particularly south of the Clyde). Ah well, I've strained my back anyway so it's probably just as well. I'll be the unfittest birthing mama ever. And maybe it's ok not to put myself under the pressure of my own abilities to achieve a natural and drug free birth, learning that reality can be different is a hard lesson, as I've experienced myself and Muddling Along Mummy has blogged about. As long as I'll get the fire place fixed and can enjoy my babymoon in front of a log fire knitting away I shall be content.
In that pregnancy, I did hypnobirthing, pregnancy yoga, relaxation, baths. Basic equipment got bought, we didn't think much of a nursery because we knew we'd move at some stage and if at all, Cubling wouldn't spend much time in a bedroom of her own anyway, so the cot was set up in our bedroom and not really used much (it was moses basket and then co-sleeping for us and we moved when she was 7 months old). We got a travel system, but Cubling was partial to the babycarrier and never liked the pram, so there were many days where I cursed myself for having spent any money on a pram/buggy at all.
This time however, all my focus on birth has gone and it's been replaced by focusing on the time after. Gone are my religious hypnobirthing practice, my plan to involve a doula or maybe even go for a home birth. I'm resigned to whatever will be, will be and don't even worry much about the possibility of placenta previa and a c-section. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have an easier birth this time, I would love to actually push my baby out this time, I would love not to have my belly cut open. But what I'm really thinking of is getting things ready for being a mum of 2. I'm in inner turmoil. I get upset about things that I want to see done not getting done now/instantly/yesterday. I'm angry at myself for being tired in the evening and not moving anything on. I'm disgusted that I sign up to the fabulous Creative Writing Workshop and am so behind with everything that I feel I can never catch up. I despair at the sight of a particular corner in our house, where I've accumulated stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else. I get upset if plans I've made, mental or verbally, are changed. I deplore the current stress level at work - because it makes me so tired in the evening that I'm deflated and good for nothing else. I've become a grump, and I definitely don't like that either.
So I've put together a to do list and keep adding to it. I try to focus on the fact that if Tiddler is as late as Cubling was, I'll have a full 6 weeks of maternity leave before birth to get it all done. Anything I do before that is extra (but how do I long to get it done before my mat leave starts!!!). I do try to enjoy the good weather, and all the nice things that are happening to me (there are lots) and try to switch my ever buzzing gremlin off who keeps telling me what I still need to do and how dare you enjoy yourself when you've got a to do list the length of a dead sea scroll.
Hormones are funny creatures. The are definitely messing me up differently to last time, yet to be truthful, I can't tell for certain which instalment I prefer. And as to hypnobirthing and pregnancy yoga - haven't done either at all so far, and now the classes for latter are fully booked across Glasgow until after my due date (a definite market gap around, but particularly south of the Clyde). Ah well, I've strained my back anyway so it's probably just as well. I'll be the unfittest birthing mama ever. And maybe it's ok not to put myself under the pressure of my own abilities to achieve a natural and drug free birth, learning that reality can be different is a hard lesson, as I've experienced myself and Muddling Along Mummy has blogged about. As long as I'll get the fire place fixed and can enjoy my babymoon in front of a log fire knitting away I shall be content.
Still life
I have a new photographic toy: a telefocus lens for my DSLR, as well as a couple of filters. So I've been playing around with it a bit, capturing our bit of still life in May - the growing of our mini garden with strawberries and chives in bloom, and Cubling's favourite "little eggs", quail eggs, with their amazing pattern that makes every egg rather unique. They hail from my colleague's Ayrshire farm, where I now also get our family's freedom eggs from (eggs from freed battery hens, now free to roam in the Ayrshire rain).
And finally, after owning my DSLR for I don't know how many months (maybe even a year) I've explored all the settings. There'll be no more Auto - setting photos from now on. About time I say.
Monday, 7 June 2010
On change
What is change? Well, you wouldn't believe it how many hours of discussion can go into this question. Just come to my office to get a slice of it. It's all very important stuff, because we're trying to deliver a programme that is changing something for the better, and by doing so, inspires change beyond the project that changes something. Is your head buzzing yet?
Over the past two months I've been working with a new group, in an area that according to government statistics ticks the multiple deprivation box. This time it's a group of primary school children who have thought hard about what their change project could be. They had lots of fab ideas. However, the question arose again if their idea actually delivered any real change. So, the kids don't like litter, broken glass and needles on play parks, gang fighting, flooding of play areas, poor housing, noisy neighbours, the setting on fire of bins, and other acts of vandalism.
So what do you do about it?
I give you a pause of thought.
Maybe you have an idea?
What would it be?
Ah go on, play the game!
What would you do about it?
....
A leaflet. A youtube video. A DVD telling people not to litter, vandalise, set bins on fire xyz.
Now, think again - would that change a thing? Would people magically stop littering and vandalising? No?
So we started again and the children came up with a mission statement:
Eventually they came up with the idea to plant flowers and other things.
Last week we went to the local garden centre to decide what we want to see planted and how much it would cost. I don't think I've ever seen a bunch of 10 year olds quite so giddy about touching and smelling herbs, identifying plants, getting excited about colours and then absolutely taken in by the existence of ... fruit trees. How brilliant would it be to have fruit trees grow at your school and during break time you could just pick an apple?
After all the struggle and strive to find a project that we can realistically achieve in just 4 sessions, suddenly it all fell into place. We will be planting 3 raised beds (vegetables and flowers), one half barrel plant pot for a herb garden, and an orchard of 10 fruit trees - most of it on school grounds (it's easier to maintain/sustain, the school is supportive, plus the green areas in the school are a bit bare). The group will involve one other class, the eco group at the school and hopefully the nursery staff and children in their project, maybe even some parent volunteers. We'll get some horticultural help from a local organisation, and the planting pots and other supplies will come from Glasgow Wood Recycling, an amazing organisation that combines recycling with skilling up people and making a business out of it. And there'll be some support from Community & Safety Services to make the children more confident in what to do if they witness vandalism, littering or noise pollution.
Of course it's not all easy, there are challenges and barriers as with every project. For example, the soil on the grounds of the school is of very poor quality - it may be a newly built school and look rather lovely, but savings were made on the way that the green areas were constructed, with little soil that becomes muddy in rain and bone dry in sunshine. And because we've got a very tight timescale, what with the schools finishing in June, some much needed support is a bit slow forthcoming. People are a bit reluctant to make too quick a change, so it's about convincing people that it can be done. We've got enthusiasm and creative ideas on our side. Can we do it Bob? Yes we can!
We've taken lots of before images, and clearly want some after ones too. And the youtube video idea? Well, we'll still document what we're up to with our Flip and Wiki, and maybe this too will help to inspire others to make a positive change. If we can do it in 4 weeks, why can't you?
Over the past two months I've been working with a new group, in an area that according to government statistics ticks the multiple deprivation box. This time it's a group of primary school children who have thought hard about what their change project could be. They had lots of fab ideas. However, the question arose again if their idea actually delivered any real change. So, the kids don't like litter, broken glass and needles on play parks, gang fighting, flooding of play areas, poor housing, noisy neighbours, the setting on fire of bins, and other acts of vandalism.
So what do you do about it?
I give you a pause of thought.
Maybe you have an idea?
What would it be?
Ah go on, play the game!
What would you do about it?
....
A leaflet. A youtube video. A DVD telling people not to litter, vandalise, set bins on fire xyz.
Now, think again - would that change a thing? Would people magically stop littering and vandalising? No?
So we started again and the children came up with a mission statement:
"We want to replace litter and graffiti with flowers to make our community beautiful and tidy"And what they can do to achieve this?
Eventually they came up with the idea to plant flowers and other things.
Last week we went to the local garden centre to decide what we want to see planted and how much it would cost. I don't think I've ever seen a bunch of 10 year olds quite so giddy about touching and smelling herbs, identifying plants, getting excited about colours and then absolutely taken in by the existence of ... fruit trees. How brilliant would it be to have fruit trees grow at your school and during break time you could just pick an apple?
After all the struggle and strive to find a project that we can realistically achieve in just 4 sessions, suddenly it all fell into place. We will be planting 3 raised beds (vegetables and flowers), one half barrel plant pot for a herb garden, and an orchard of 10 fruit trees - most of it on school grounds (it's easier to maintain/sustain, the school is supportive, plus the green areas in the school are a bit bare). The group will involve one other class, the eco group at the school and hopefully the nursery staff and children in their project, maybe even some parent volunteers. We'll get some horticultural help from a local organisation, and the planting pots and other supplies will come from Glasgow Wood Recycling, an amazing organisation that combines recycling with skilling up people and making a business out of it. And there'll be some support from Community & Safety Services to make the children more confident in what to do if they witness vandalism, littering or noise pollution.
Of course it's not all easy, there are challenges and barriers as with every project. For example, the soil on the grounds of the school is of very poor quality - it may be a newly built school and look rather lovely, but savings were made on the way that the green areas were constructed, with little soil that becomes muddy in rain and bone dry in sunshine. And because we've got a very tight timescale, what with the schools finishing in June, some much needed support is a bit slow forthcoming. People are a bit reluctant to make too quick a change, so it's about convincing people that it can be done. We've got enthusiasm and creative ideas on our side. Can we do it Bob? Yes we can!
We've taken lots of before images, and clearly want some after ones too. And the youtube video idea? Well, we'll still document what we're up to with our Flip and Wiki, and maybe this too will help to inspire others to make a positive change. If we can do it in 4 weeks, why can't you?
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Let's hear it for the multilingual kids!
Hello my lovely readers, it's my favourite time of the month, and that can only mean one thing, it's bilingual carnival time! This time we have a few newcomers joining the usual suspects, and as ever a great selection of posts all about raising children bilingually. So I hope that whether or not you raise your children with more than one language, you will enjoy this selection of posts. Hopefully it'll encourage some to start or continue the bilingual journey with their children, or you may get some new ideas how to make the trip that little bit more exciting for yourself and your children.
So sit back, grab a cuppa o una jarra and enjoy the read.
If you're looking for great resources to boost the target (read: minority) language, drop over at Hobo Mama who has the cheater's guide to making up bilingual children's songs. Not cheating at all in my humble opinion, but easy peasy and very effective! It also goes to show that you don't need to be a native speaker to raise your children with two languages.
More resources can be found at Blogging on Bilingualism. Second in the serious of resources is a collection of DVDs in French, and previously I was particularly interested in the first instalment which was all about German resources. If you have any resources for other languages, make sure to head over and you may even be able to do a guest post on the blog!
Intrepidly Bilingual is looking back on her journey so far in Hanging On. Raising children bilingually is unfortunately not necessarily the easy option and sometimes it can be fraught with doubts. In the end though, it can only be worth the effort.
Very Bored in Catalunya also struggles with the raising her boy bilingually. With a slight language delay in his home language, he is now struggling to understand the teachers in his school, but help is at hand to boost his Catalan.
Where Going Havo? is taking a closer look at the relationship between grandparents who are largely monolingual, and bilingualism in Grandparents and the Cost of Bilingualism. It is a post many of us will be able to nod their heads to, when bilingualism is both a link and a place that grandparents can't follow.
Over at Verbosity, Solnushka is all philosophical about the attempt to impose meaning on the protolanguage(s) emerging from Baby's mouth. But don't worry, it's not all that serious stuff, but rather amusing when the parents are trying to get better at deciphering their offspring's utterances.
Fast forward a year or two, and you'll be where my own self is at presently, when our now preschooler is getting a kick out of inventing her own language and finding the power of it all simply hilarious, while mummy and daddy stand by and shake heads.
Mary Yucel Ankara shares her journey of raising two children bilingually in English and Turkish, how she came to the OPOL (one parent one language) approach after much consideration and that language delay is not something to be worried about.
But you don't have to follow the popular OPOL method to give your child a multilingual start, as Elisa's daughter Beli proves in Which language do I speak: Spanglish, Spantian or Crolish? I just love the trilingual mix that comes out of the 22 month old's mouth!
Little M. blogs at Mummy's Busy World and is very proud to be speaking two languages already. It seems Little M. has done his research and can tell you all about why it's so great to be a bilingual tot! And you can now even find a multilingual family corner on the blog, now, how good is that???
Finally, you may encounter unusual things when on a Day at the German Embassy, as BabelKid can tell you. Would you raise your child bilingually if neither of the parent was a native speaker of the "other" language? And would you make sure your child spoke the community language better than you by withholding the parent language? And yet, haven't many of us been there just there (personally I received informal speech training when at primary school to fully eliminate any trace of parental non high German accent and my dad never taught me a word of the rich dialect he grew up with)?
Stop Press: It appears that a submission has escaped my eyes, so here's a late edit to include Losing Language by Mamapoekie, who much like me has to focus in order not to let the community/majority language creep into her life. And how raising children bilingually may help not just to pass on a language, but to also keep it alive for the parent.
If you want to subscribe to all the instalments of the bilingual carnival, look at previous carnivals, contribute to the next one or even offer to host it on your blog, don't forget to stop over at the Bilingual Carnival page over at Bilingual For Fun where you can subscribe to the newsletter and never miss a bilingual carnival again!
So sit back, grab a cuppa o una jarra and enjoy the read.
If you're looking for great resources to boost the target (read: minority) language, drop over at Hobo Mama who has the cheater's guide to making up bilingual children's songs. Not cheating at all in my humble opinion, but easy peasy and very effective! It also goes to show that you don't need to be a native speaker to raise your children with two languages.
More resources can be found at Blogging on Bilingualism. Second in the serious of resources is a collection of DVDs in French, and previously I was particularly interested in the first instalment which was all about German resources. If you have any resources for other languages, make sure to head over and you may even be able to do a guest post on the blog!
Intrepidly Bilingual is looking back on her journey so far in Hanging On. Raising children bilingually is unfortunately not necessarily the easy option and sometimes it can be fraught with doubts. In the end though, it can only be worth the effort.
Very Bored in Catalunya also struggles with the raising her boy bilingually. With a slight language delay in his home language, he is now struggling to understand the teachers in his school, but help is at hand to boost his Catalan.
Where Going Havo? is taking a closer look at the relationship between grandparents who are largely monolingual, and bilingualism in Grandparents and the Cost of Bilingualism. It is a post many of us will be able to nod their heads to, when bilingualism is both a link and a place that grandparents can't follow.
Over at Verbosity, Solnushka is all philosophical about the attempt to impose meaning on the protolanguage(s) emerging from Baby's mouth. But don't worry, it's not all that serious stuff, but rather amusing when the parents are trying to get better at deciphering their offspring's utterances.
Fast forward a year or two, and you'll be where my own self is at presently, when our now preschooler is getting a kick out of inventing her own language and finding the power of it all simply hilarious, while mummy and daddy stand by and shake heads.
Mary Yucel Ankara shares her journey of raising two children bilingually in English and Turkish, how she came to the OPOL (one parent one language) approach after much consideration and that language delay is not something to be worried about.
But you don't have to follow the popular OPOL method to give your child a multilingual start, as Elisa's daughter Beli proves in Which language do I speak: Spanglish, Spantian or Crolish? I just love the trilingual mix that comes out of the 22 month old's mouth!
Little M. blogs at Mummy's Busy World and is very proud to be speaking two languages already. It seems Little M. has done his research and can tell you all about why it's so great to be a bilingual tot! And you can now even find a multilingual family corner on the blog, now, how good is that???
Finally, you may encounter unusual things when on a Day at the German Embassy, as BabelKid can tell you. Would you raise your child bilingually if neither of the parent was a native speaker of the "other" language? And would you make sure your child spoke the community language better than you by withholding the parent language? And yet, haven't many of us been there just there (personally I received informal speech training when at primary school to fully eliminate any trace of parental non high German accent and my dad never taught me a word of the rich dialect he grew up with)?
Stop Press: It appears that a submission has escaped my eyes, so here's a late edit to include Losing Language by Mamapoekie, who much like me has to focus in order not to let the community/majority language creep into her life. And how raising children bilingually may help not just to pass on a language, but to also keep it alive for the parent.
If you want to subscribe to all the instalments of the bilingual carnival, look at previous carnivals, contribute to the next one or even offer to host it on your blog, don't forget to stop over at the Bilingual Carnival page over at Bilingual For Fun where you can subscribe to the newsletter and never miss a bilingual carnival again!
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Munich for kids
One thing we didn't compromise on our short holiday to Munich was that we wanted to make it a child friendly visit to a big city. Basically, I've had enough of dragging an uncooperative toddler through cities and places within cities that she really didn't want to be. It's stressful for everyone involved. We were keen not to let this happen and to make it a holiday that worked for us all, that was relaxing as well as varied.
And luckily, Munich was game for it. I guess it does help that Munich is a well to do city, a green city and has rather helpful and friendly people in it. Coupled with lots of green spaces and a fabulous public transport system that surprised even someone used to good integrated public transport (in Cologne, not Glasgow, just to be clear), we were winning.
So if you ever fancy a city break with toddlers, Munich is a good choice. Here's what we enjoyed:
1. Olympiapark
A massive park built for the 1972 Olympic Games. Great for walking, picnics, with swing parks and a small beer garden, a little train with a guided tour, ponds, ducks, and good views of the city. You can also go up the Olympia Tower (which is a no no for me as me and heights don't talk) and visit a Sea Life Centre
2. Taxisstrasse Beer Garten
It's a big beer garden with traditional food - but you can also bring your own food. It comes with a play park and is popular with families. Cubling instantly made new friends.
3. Botanical Gardens
We visited them in the pouring rain and were rather thankful for the huge glass house and cafe. The glass house has different rooms for the flora of different countries, even a prehistoric dinosaur room (which was a bit problematic because Cubling thought there were dinosaurs behind the ferns and was rather reluctant to go in). I'm sure the actual gardens are great too, lots of space to walk and beautifully landscaped. The Botanical Gardens are connected to the Nymphenburg Palace and its gardens; where you can find:
4. Museum fuer Mensch und Natur (natural history museum)
A delightful museum about the world, nature and mankind. Cubling particularly enjoyed the quizzes upstairs where you can categorise animals etc (which really is aimed at children who can read and know a lot more, I struggled with some of the quizzes) - as long as there's buttons to press, she's happy. There's something for everyone in this museum, from geological information to dinosaur sceletons, it's all there. And once you're done, you can explore the palace or its gardens (we let Cubling nap after all the museum excitement and enjoyed reading a book in the gardens).
5. A stroll through the shopping precinct and Virtualienmarkt
The great thing about Munich is that its main streets are rather boulevards. They are wide, lined with trees, and in the shopping precinct, they are pedestrianised. So even the city centre doesn't become claustrophobic. There are endless fountains, so our progress was slow as every fountain had to be explored. We visited the Frauenkirche and a fabulous old fashioned toy shop just next to it (note: don't take toddlers in there, it's hard work to keep their quick hands off the toys), before we explored the Virtualienmarkt - a market mainly for food.
6. Englischer Garten and Chinese Tower Beer Garden
The Englischer Garten is apparently the biggest city park in the world. It's definitely big and we only explored part of it. It's beautifully landscaped along a little river, with play parks, lots of fowl, and - can you guess - a beer garden at the Chinese Tower, where you can refresh your batteries after your stroll through the park.
7. Fountains and more fountains, particularly the one at Hohenzollernplatz
There are countless fountains in Munich, but the one Cubling enjoyed best must be the one at Hohenzollernplatz. It's not a location you necessarily have to see, it's just that the fountain is perfect for little people. They can walk on/in it, and have hours of fun.
8. Best Western Apart Hotel
I don't want to advertise a specific hotel, but I have to say we were very pleased with our choice. The hotel is just a tram journey from the centre, next to the Olympiapark and with easy access to the Nymphenburg Palace. The service and breakfast are faultless. Above all, because it's an Apart Hotel, the rooms have a kitchenette/hall area which is separate from the bedroom. This meant that once Cubling was sound asleep, we had a space where we could sit without disturbing her. Also the room was spacious and simply comfortable, just perfect for what we were looking for.
We travelled with Ryanair to Memmingen airport which worked really well. There is a shuttle bus connecting to Munich and the trip was really easy, considering the distance. Direct flight from Scotland to Memmingen, bus trip and - well, nothing. There. Arrived. A rather stress free trip.
Of course there's probably lots of other stuff that can be done in Munich, but I think we made pretty good choices (with little information, we didn't even bring a guide book) which kept us busy for 6 days and made it possible to combine a bit of sightseeing with meeting up with friends. We took it easy, so you could probably fit in more.
One thing I would warn about though is that restaurants are not necessarily as child friendly/acceptant of toddler behaviour as you might be used to from the UK. We had one rather unpleasant experience where we got the stare and some comments on our parenting style, but in the beer gardens all was very easy going and in general people were very helpful towards us as a family.
And luckily, Munich was game for it. I guess it does help that Munich is a well to do city, a green city and has rather helpful and friendly people in it. Coupled with lots of green spaces and a fabulous public transport system that surprised even someone used to good integrated public transport (in Cologne, not Glasgow, just to be clear), we were winning.
So if you ever fancy a city break with toddlers, Munich is a good choice. Here's what we enjoyed:
1. Olympiapark
A massive park built for the 1972 Olympic Games. Great for walking, picnics, with swing parks and a small beer garden, a little train with a guided tour, ponds, ducks, and good views of the city. You can also go up the Olympia Tower (which is a no no for me as me and heights don't talk) and visit a Sea Life Centre
2. Taxisstrasse Beer Garten
It's a big beer garden with traditional food - but you can also bring your own food. It comes with a play park and is popular with families. Cubling instantly made new friends.
3. Botanical Gardens
We visited them in the pouring rain and were rather thankful for the huge glass house and cafe. The glass house has different rooms for the flora of different countries, even a prehistoric dinosaur room (which was a bit problematic because Cubling thought there were dinosaurs behind the ferns and was rather reluctant to go in). I'm sure the actual gardens are great too, lots of space to walk and beautifully landscaped. The Botanical Gardens are connected to the Nymphenburg Palace and its gardens; where you can find:
4. Museum fuer Mensch und Natur (natural history museum)
A delightful museum about the world, nature and mankind. Cubling particularly enjoyed the quizzes upstairs where you can categorise animals etc (which really is aimed at children who can read and know a lot more, I struggled with some of the quizzes) - as long as there's buttons to press, she's happy. There's something for everyone in this museum, from geological information to dinosaur sceletons, it's all there. And once you're done, you can explore the palace or its gardens (we let Cubling nap after all the museum excitement and enjoyed reading a book in the gardens).
5. A stroll through the shopping precinct and Virtualienmarkt
The great thing about Munich is that its main streets are rather boulevards. They are wide, lined with trees, and in the shopping precinct, they are pedestrianised. So even the city centre doesn't become claustrophobic. There are endless fountains, so our progress was slow as every fountain had to be explored. We visited the Frauenkirche and a fabulous old fashioned toy shop just next to it (note: don't take toddlers in there, it's hard work to keep their quick hands off the toys), before we explored the Virtualienmarkt - a market mainly for food.
6. Englischer Garten and Chinese Tower Beer Garden
The Englischer Garten is apparently the biggest city park in the world. It's definitely big and we only explored part of it. It's beautifully landscaped along a little river, with play parks, lots of fowl, and - can you guess - a beer garden at the Chinese Tower, where you can refresh your batteries after your stroll through the park.
7. Fountains and more fountains, particularly the one at Hohenzollernplatz
There are countless fountains in Munich, but the one Cubling enjoyed best must be the one at Hohenzollernplatz. It's not a location you necessarily have to see, it's just that the fountain is perfect for little people. They can walk on/in it, and have hours of fun.
8. Best Western Apart Hotel
I don't want to advertise a specific hotel, but I have to say we were very pleased with our choice. The hotel is just a tram journey from the centre, next to the Olympiapark and with easy access to the Nymphenburg Palace. The service and breakfast are faultless. Above all, because it's an Apart Hotel, the rooms have a kitchenette/hall area which is separate from the bedroom. This meant that once Cubling was sound asleep, we had a space where we could sit without disturbing her. Also the room was spacious and simply comfortable, just perfect for what we were looking for.
We travelled with Ryanair to Memmingen airport which worked really well. There is a shuttle bus connecting to Munich and the trip was really easy, considering the distance. Direct flight from Scotland to Memmingen, bus trip and - well, nothing. There. Arrived. A rather stress free trip.
Of course there's probably lots of other stuff that can be done in Munich, but I think we made pretty good choices (with little information, we didn't even bring a guide book) which kept us busy for 6 days and made it possible to combine a bit of sightseeing with meeting up with friends. We took it easy, so you could probably fit in more.
One thing I would warn about though is that restaurants are not necessarily as child friendly/acceptant of toddler behaviour as you might be used to from the UK. We had one rather unpleasant experience where we got the stare and some comments on our parenting style, but in the beer gardens all was very easy going and in general people were very helpful towards us as a family.
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