Parenting
Parenting fails... and some wins and what we learnt along the way.
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Holiday at Balconia: 9 proven tips from a WAHM (for surviving Coronavirus isolation)
With Coronavirus leading to the shutdown of schools and kindergartens all over the world, many parents are faced with working from home with kids for the first time. Here are 9 tips from a WAHM to help you get through your holiday at Balconia.
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Karneval im Rheinland: What is the Rhineland Carnival, how is it celebrated and what costumes will we be wearing?
This week is the Rhineland Carnival or Rheinischer Karneval. the final days and biggest parties and parades of the season start this Thursday. Where we live is right in the middle in between two ‘Hochburgen’ or ‘strongholds’ and Carnival is a serious topic, even for kindergarten kids. Miss M is very excited, especially about her costumes. What is the Rhineland Carnival? In the Rhineland, the Fifth Season starts on the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, which happens to be St Martin’s Day. It lasts until Lent with various parties, and culminates in six days of huge public parades, street parties and…
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7 confirmed reasons why it’s good for kids to travel
Whether local travel, road trips, family visits or overseas holidays, travel is extremely beneficial for kids. Here are just 7 (of many) benefits that travel gives kids.
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What do you leave out for Santa?
Today we took Miss M to see Father Christmas. We had been building up to it this season. We made the Christmas biscuits and a gingerbread house; drank Glühwein and Kinderpunsch; visited 5 Christmas markets, one of which was even in Australia; crafted and hung wreaths and tailored some IKEA Christmas ornaments for the family; carefully opened one of the gifts on our Advent calendar each day; posted to our Facebook Advent calendar each day; bought, made and arranged and wrapped Christmas presents for family members on both sides of the globe; and spent nearly 24 hours in the air to reach Australia and our family. Today was the first…
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Combining Christmas cultures and traditions
If you and your partner come from different countries or different cultural backgrounds, combining Christmas cultures might be a challenge. Here are some tips and real life examples to help you find the right Christmas culture mix for your family.
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RAWR! I’m turning four! A dinosaur-themed birthday party for a girl
Are you looking for ideas for a dinosaur-themed birthday party for a girl? These easy ideas and FREEBIES will help you give your little dinosaur aficionado a birthday party they will love.
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Why foreign language exposure is important, even if your child is not a language sponge
“Children are sponges. She’ll have no problem learning German.” I can’t count how often we have heard this phrase in relation to Miss M. However, the common view that young children are language sponges is not true for all children. Some would argue that it is not true at all when it comes to languages. Despite this fact, foreign language exposure is still important at a young age. We are raising Miss M to be bilingual To recap, I am a native English speaker (Australian) and my husband is German. We live with our nearly 4-year-old daughter in Solingen, Germany. Before she was born, Peter and I decided to raise…
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A room full of love: Miss M’s room tour
We’ve talked it up enough, so without further ado, here is the inaugural video post on our blog: a tour of Miss M’s room full of love. I hope you all realise how nervous I was about making this video. My camera and editing skills obviously still need some work. I have also poured so much love into so many – perhaps too many – little things that make the room unique. Until now, the room hasn’t been seen by more than a couple of handfuls of people, and I was nervous about what you might say. Source list for Miss M’s room full of love We’ve already toured the…
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Venice with a small child
While some would advise against going to Venice with a small child it can be a lot of fun. Here are our tips of what to see when you get there.
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Free Fathers’ Day Cards
Its that time of year again when busy Mums are looking for a Fathers' Day card from their kids who are too small or too lazy to make their own, and perhaps from themselves. Here are 11 free Fathers' Day cards for your use.
