A phenology wheel is a lovely way to record your nature observations each month. It is a perfect, visual memoir to look back on the seasonal changes that occured in your local area over the last year and a wonderful activity to add to your nature study.
At the start of the year I like to do what most people do and set myself some goals for the year. These are things that I would like to work on and improve over the coming year or something new that I would like to do. Sometimes I stick to the goals and my life feels better for it. Other times I fail miserably and that's ok. The point is to try your best and see how it goes, remembering not to be too hard on yourself if what you planned to do doesn't materialise.
At the end of each year I like to do a round up of my most popular blog posts of the year. In the last year I did not blog nearly as much as I did in the previous year and this was mainly due to the amount of time I spent creating and running my brand new parenting courses. However, I did write some very popular blog posts and here they are; the best of Multicultural Motherhood 2019!
Around two thirds of the world's population are bilingual or multilingual and many of these individuals speak more than one language from birth. For parents of a bilingual or multilingual child, one of their biggest concerns is how to encourage their child to speak the minority language. It can be relatively easy to prioritise the minority language, with methods such as minority language at home or one parent one language, before your child starts school. However, once they reach school age, the majority language can easily take over and become the dominant language very quickly.
When most people think about getting outdoors and exploring nature, it will be in forests or fields during the day but did you know there are lots of exciting things to explore in the dark too? Just getting out in the dark to stand in the garden or walk down the street can lead to some excellent wild experiences. At night, the world is still alive with things to see and hear, from nocturnal creatures to the awesome night sky. There is always something to explore!
Often, when people start to think about homeschooling their children, they worry that they won't be able to afford it. They are concerned about the potential cost of resources, homeschool groups or coops, and the loss of income if one parent has to give up work to stay home with the children.
I am often surprised at this time of year at the amount of rotting fruit on trees and bushes. I don't just see it in wild places but in gardens too. Apple trees laden with fruit leaning over garden walls or pears scattered across the grass at the park that are mostly left untouched by humans. Why is this? Hundreds of us go strawberry picking at local farms during the summer but come autumn we have abandoned our hunter gatherer instincts in favour of the safety of the supermarkets.
