Spotlight on Irish

When we lose a language, we lose a part of our culture and history. A Day with Grandpa by Fiona Scott is a gentle way of talking about dementia with your children, especially if they have an affected grandparent. But the theme of forgetting, and losing who you are with that loss, runs through into the Irish that we have among our dual language versions of this book.
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In the Land of the Northern Lights

How do you explore languages and cultural differences in your classroom? It's often through looking at cultures we perceive as "different" that we discover things we all have in common. This week we look at the northern lights in mythology, but you can also take the time to talk about what causes the northern lights with your class from a scientific perspective. 

In the very north of Sweden and the Scandinavian countries there is a territory called Sápmi. This is home to the Sámi people, and many still live here today: some families carrying on traditions like reindeer herding and reindeer rajds, where long caravans of reindeer with small sleds run across the frozen ground from one place to the next.
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Become a 'perfect' parent by stopping trying to be one

Are you a parent feeling under pressure to do everything ‘right’? Do you feel your children ‘should’ be more developed in certain areas? Do you think they are behind compared to other children?
You are not alone. These thoughts and feelings are more common than you may think.
 
While I totally understand where they come from, have you ever paused and asked yourself: ‘What really is the right thing to do?’ ‘Who determines what is right and what is wrong?’
We parents are so busy and most of the time we operate on autopilot, so we don’t question or challenge the decisions we make on a daily basis.
We do things somewhat automatically.
 
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Simple Ways to Boost Your Bilingual Child’s Language Skills

Raising bilingual children can be challenging, especially if you want them to speak fluently in two (or more) languages.

If you live in an English-speaking country, the English language will always be dominant for your children, regardless of what language you speak to them at home.
 
It is easier when they are small, but once they start to go to school and be exposed to the English language for 6 hours a day, that is when things usually change. Even if they haven’t before, your children suddenly start to speak to you in English.
 
You want them to speak your home language but at the same time, you want them to progress in developing their English language skills. 
 
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