Another installment from the totally fictional, but still real diary of a bilingual mother.

Monday

Only less than a month to Christmas! When did that happen? Last year I promised myself to be organised and arrange all presents well in time … and here we go again. I want to find some new toys for the D and S (I know, as if they don’t have enough already!) – something to help us with the language learning. Books of course, but I am always buying books for them … still, they are going to get some more books. What else? I have to make my mind up quickly, if I want to order anything on-line – it can take weeks for parcels to arrive from overseas.

Wednesday

Managed to record D saying ‘duck’ today! As soon as I can figure out how to transfer the file from my phone to the laptop, I will add it to the other recordings I have of her babbling, squealing and laughing. I should have done this from the start with S as well, you forget so quickly! Luckily his words and phrases are at least stored in my little blue book I have kept for him. He is not a least bit interested in it as of yet, and I better hide it from him for a couple of years, so he doesn’t get embarrassed by it. He is still a bit shy to speak our language in public, especially around his school friends. Oh well, I will wait and be patient.

Thursday

I found the perfect toy for D – a hand puppet! Perhaps it is actually more a toy for us … or myself, to be honest. I know this sounds a bit desperate, but as D does not speak that much yet, this is a big thing for me. (There are only so many topics where ‘duck’ is the right response). I will be able to have “proper” discussion with a “living” thing. I think I need to get out more…

Friday

S was really excited when I picked him up from school today – he had been able to help the teacher with something nobody else could! She is making a board with the word ‘Welcome!’ in all the languages her pupils speak and S knew how to say it – bless him, the spelling wasn’t quite right (that reminds me, I must get on with the writing with him), but they found the correct form on-line.

Saturday

Sometimes I wonder how much of my time is taken up by finding ways of making sure our kids learn my language. How much easier would it not have been if we had lived next to my parents? But then again, the shoe would have been on the other foot and the pressure would have been on H to make sure the kids learn their “father language”. Thinking about it, that would have been an even bigger challenge … and I love where we live now, it’s all good.

New to the diary? Also read the first three entries: part 1, part 2 and part 3 .