1. Reading. I love to read and always have. I also love children's books. Long before Alex was born, I started collecting them, thrilled I would be able to share them with my little ones one day. And that's the way it's always been. I love the stillness and the vivid imaginations that come alive as I read books to my children. Nowadays, they read to each other! They go to bed with piles of books that we hear fall with a clunk one by one off of their bunk beds after they've drifted off to sleep. Sometimes it makes us a little bit crazy, but hey, they're reading, we can't complain!
Books are language made alive with images and stories. My children love books. My children love language. Alex (10 1/2) has now started reading for pleasure in English and Elena (8) won't be slow to follow. Gabriela (5) is discovering the world of letters and words, no matter the language. They have an avid thirst for reading books and they are thus filled with language.
Our Wednesday afternoon tradition, since there is no school on Wednesdays in France, is to visit our local library. The second we're back in the car, they are already reading their books. I have to peel them out of the car and then they go straight to the sofa. To keep reading their books. I love it. Aren't they beautiful? And, by the way, looking at this picture of them reading reminds he of just how much I love being a mom. A multilingual mom!
2. Food. Did I mention I also love food? I mean I love eating. And I love sitting down at the table for a family dinner. And I love eating foods that are representative of our culture and heritage. One of our all-time family favorites are Mexican tacos. Corn or flour tortillas, grilled steak, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, salsa, cream, grated cheese... Is your mouth watering yet? We love it. Our children love it. And they thereby feel all the more concerned with the Mexican part of their heritage when we eat tacos. "I eat spicy foods because I'm part Mexican!" "I love tacos, Mom!"
But we also eat French food: quiche, soufflé, raclette, tartiflette. And when Papa travels to the United States for work he brings us back little treats like Jelly Belly's and Nerds and Goldfish crackers or Pepperjack cheese. Somedays we eat hamburgers. Other days we enjoy something more exotic like Chinese or Indian food. The world opens to us during our family meals. And this is normal because we're an international family.
And just a little tidbit about these family meals. They are lively. Never a dull moment. Elena is the family clown. She keeps us laughing, Alex keeps us informed and educated and talks our ears off! Gabriela endears us even when she plays the picky eater. We crack jokes and laugh. It's noisy. Sometimes it's more than Papa and Mama can handle, but mostly it's a joy to be at the dinner table and talk together. Practice language. Tell each other about our days. Practice multiple languages. Because we maintain our language rules even at the dinner table! English between Papa and Mama. French between Papa and children. English or Spanish (depending on the time of the month) between Mama and the children. Like I said, never a dull moment!
And I've said this once before, but I'll say it again. Raising a multilingual family is a lifestyle choice and I love it! Yep! I love being a multilingual mom!
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Hi Maria.
ReplyDeleteI feel so much identified with your family, we also go to our local library once a week on a wednesday afternoon or saturday morning. This lovely lady is going to bring more English and Spanish books from the Angers library, so good of her! We read pretty everything and they love it.
Meals are also something here, it starts at breakfast when their daddy can prepare porridge, they love it and they are so proud to eat a scottish brekfast. We cook a lot of Spanish food as J is going to Barcelona once a month and brings back all the special ingredients (rice and olive oil!!!). They love their paella, fideua and tortillas (which is the spanish omelette). All the best y hasta pronto! Sandrine
Sandrine,
DeleteI love it! Love hearing about how you keep the culture alive and the special things you eat from each culture. Language and culture go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other!
Un abrazo!
Maria
Maria, you are one of the loveliest people I know! I would REALLY love to be your neighbor and just copy-cat everything you do! Though...I only know a very little French (ie the poems I learned in high school!) so the mulit-lingual thing could be a problem, but there is so much more to you than just the language...you are a loving and beautiful wife and mother.
ReplyDeleteNicole, thank you, what a sweet and kind message. Who knows? Maybe someday we will be neighbors! Sam says there is a slight possibility we could end up on the East coast in a few years. I told him, sure why not, I've got friends in Virginia! Here's to maybe being neighbors one day! Hugs! Maria
DeleteKatie as started taking books to bed to read...which we're pretty happy about...but I'm thinking we'll have to limit it a little since I think it's making her overtired the next day. (A couple nights ago she was up 2 hours past her bedtime reading and she hasn't quite caught up on sleep. ;) I think what you guys are doing is awesome!
ReplyDeleteDear Maria, this is the first time I'm writing in your fantastic website; I like it very much because it’s so free and beaming! I'm Italian, I live near Rome and I have a child 2 years old (her second birthday will be in three weeks). My daughter is bilingual Italian-English because I speak only English to her instead her father speaks Italian: it was a my choice!
ReplyDeleteIt’s incredible, I think the same things you say: the multilingualism is a lifestyle choice and this choice influences every thing of the life. Also for me it’s often a daily effort, I can assure you, but I always consider the trade off! In Italy it’s not so common finding bilingual or multilingual families and I cannot deny I’m often criticized for my choice. Anyway I’m sure I will give my baby an advantage and moreover she loves English tongue. She also loves books, every kind of book and she knows a lot of them by heart. When we go out for a walk I say: “My flea, do you want to go in a bookshop?” and she replies overjoyed: “Oh yes !” because it’s her favourite shop. I buy all her English books on Amazon reading the reviews and using my insight. I will write you again, if you want!
I think you are a very uncommonly mum!
so exciting to hear about other "unique" families like ours. vive multilingualism! thanks for sharing your story fiorelena!
DeleteIt's a wonderful way to teach your family. They will have so much to share with others today and in the future.It's so amazing the love that you put into every detail. You are a good example to many of us, keep up your entusiasm and God will bless you even more.
ReplyDeleteBooks and food- those are the best things in life, not just multilingualism!!!
ReplyDeleteBooks are my obsession and I am so happy to share that with my kids. Nothing better than a Sunday morning cuddled up in bed with a stack of books.
I cook more and more Japanese and local as the years go by, but I do love pulling out a traditional Canadian or British recipe occasionally. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to prop my grandmother's recipe book up and make the same tourtière that has been in my family for over a century and serve it to my kids.
Couldn't agree more. Food and books: heaven.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully put! I, too, love books and eating around the family table. Our 2-year-old can occupy himself for quite a spell just sitting in front of his bookcase looking through his books! I love that :)
ReplyDeleteAnd our family meal time is one of the best parts of our day. It's wonderful that my husband can be home in time to enjoy this ritual with us. We speak English together then. But when Aleksander and I have lunch together, we speak German.