By Kendall King and Lyn Fogle, Georgetown University

Summary of study:

In responding to parents’ questions or concerns about raising bilingual children, professionals should warmly encourage the use of two languages in the home. We know that parents’ use of their first language is important in providing children a rich linguistic environment (Snow, 1990) as well as in promoting bilingualism, which can become an important resource for the child, family, and wider community. Parents should be directed to practical resources such as The Bilingual Family Newsletter (www.bilingualfamilynewsletter.com) and the Why, How, and When Should My Child Learn a Second Language? brochure (www.cal.org/resources/brochures/whyhowwhen_brochure.pdf). Perhaps most importantly, parents should be encouraged to be aware of the quantity and quality of their children’s exposure to both languages and to think about creating a “safe space” for the minority language to flourish at home.

To read the entire article, click here.

 By Corey Heller, Multilingual Living, May 2010

What child, bilingual, multilingual or monolingual, can resist responding to a parent who is clearly wrong!?

Want to find out if your bilingual child understands what you are saying?  Want to get your bilingual child to respond to you?

Then play the No Game!

It will be hard for your child to not answer you when you go out of your way to be totally and completely wrong!

During the day make statements to your child that are clearly wrong.  For example, when pointing to a cat say, “Oh, look, there is a dog!”  Or in the morning, say to your child, “Good night.”

You can encourage even longer sentences and discussion based on your statements and questions.  For example, you might say, “Your math teacher, Mr. Smith, sure did give you a lot of reading homework!” when you know that your child’s math teacher is named Mrs. Kennedy and the reading teacher is named Mr. Hill and neither gave any homework on that day.

What multilingual fun can be had by just being very, very wrong as much as possible!

Source:  multiLingualLiving.com

Excerpt from Persians Find their Place: How Iranians in the East Bay hold their heritage.

By Maggie Fazeli Fard

Nowhere in the East Bay is the Iranian-American “melt” more apparent than at 1808 5th St. in Berkeley, the home of Golestan Kids.

Golestan, named after the Farsi word for “garden,” is a full-immersion Iranian language and culture program, offering full-day pre-school and after-school classes based on Waldorf and Montessori teaching methods. While Farsi language classes have been offered in the East Bay at locations like Nima Farsi School in Albany and the Andeesheh School at Oakland’s Islamic Cultural Center, Golestan is the first school to offer a daily program of not just language instruction but also science, math, nature, art, music, dance, cooking, gardening, and even yoga—all in Farsi.

Launched in 2005 as a playgroup for Iranian-American children and their parents, Golestan is the brainchild of those parents, including founder and executive director Yalda Modabber, whose sons Manu and Kian currently attend the school.

“Manu and Kian only speak Farsi to each other; they even fight in Farsi,” she says. This is a challenge for her husband, an American who doesn’t know Farsi, and Modabber often finds herself playing the part of translator. But it’s a small price to pay, she says. “If it weren’t for Golestan, my boys wouldn’t know Farsi. I’m sure of it.”

Like her own children, most of the students at Golestan are of mixed heritage, says Modabber. “Except for one, who has no Iranian in him at all. Both his parents are American, but they really just loved the program.”

“Being Iranian means something different to everyone,” says Modabber, who left Iran with her family in 1979, when she was 9 years old. “There is the poetry, the music, the language. But there is also a warmth and generosity of our culture. There is a fear that when our kids enter American schools, they will lose that. We want to teach them to love their Iranian heritage.”

For full story, please click here.

By our chef, Natalia.

Making vegetable stock is truly one of the simplest ways to get the most out of your produce. Scraps that are normally fed to the compost can be used to create a rich and nutritious stock that you’ll find useful in practically any dish you prepare!

 *What I’ve found to be the most efficient way of keeping stock on hand is to keep a bag in the freezer of all the skins, peels, stalks you’ve accumulated throughout the week.  Once the bag us bursting, or when you’re in need of stock, simply drop all the contents of the bag in a pot of simmering water and wait for the aroma to fill your house! Try substituting stock in place of water when cooking grains, soaking beans or making soups & salad dressings.

INGREDIENTS:

Everything but the kitchen sink! Well, almost.  Here are just a few examples of ingredients for a tasty stock:  onion and garlic skins, leek tops, fennel fronds, broccoli stalks, the seeds and rinds from winter squash, stems from fresh herbs such as parsley, cilantro, dill, thyme, rosemary and mint. There are chef’s who even put olive pits in their stock!

DIRECTIONS:

1.     Fill a large soup pot with cold, pure water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add 4-6 cups of vegetables, along with a spoonful of whole peppercorns, two whole Bay leaves and a few crushed garlic cloves. Let simmer on very low heat for a half hour to an hour. You will see small bubbles on the surface and very little movement of the vegetables. Be careful not to boil the stock or else it will become bitter.

2.     Taste the stock for flavor- it will be subtle. If you prefer a rich stock, allow to simmer on very low heat for an additional 15 minutes before straining.

3.     When you’re ready to strain the stock, place a colander over a large glass jar. Strain the stock and allow to cool to room temperature before placing in the refrigerator. Stock will last for up to three weeks.

I am passionate-borderline obsessed- with food. My philosophy: if you can make it, why buy it? I jump fences to pick lemons, I make my own apple cider vinegar, I own nine aprons, and I’ve been known to swoon over the vibrant leaves of my garden’s purple potatoes. I’m stubborn in my ways of healthy eating and I (used to) think white rice is akin to a bowl of sugar. However, in the past several months, I’ve learned not only how to tame my convictions, but that above all else, food is celebratory.

To read full article on Iranian.com, please click here.

Below is a link to a blog posting on how to “discipline” a three year old.  It’s not rocket science, but a good reminder to all of us to remember to be patient with our kids lest we want to teach them to be impatient and disrespectful.

One of the most important rules at Golestan is that all staff always be loving and respectful to children. 

Another is to control the level of stimulation the children receive at all times.  No visual noise (multi-colored posters or art work posted all over the walls) or auditory noise (high pitched, electronic, or frenetic music etc).

When things get chaotic (i.e. during transitions), redirect the children by (for example) singing a song.  In fact, every transition at our school is marked by a specific song that the kids and teachers sing together - for example, cleanup, washing hands, gathering at the lunch table, lining up for the bathroom, going outside… even naptime.

My interpretation of the take home message of this posting is this: 

1. always try to view your child’s behavior from his/her perspective;

2. be patient and loving, lending a helping hand as a means to an end;

3. reduce chaos and overstimulation for your child;

4. offer clear boundaries and be consistent in supporting these boundaries, but with love and patience; and

5. teach by example: never lie, hit, disrespect, manipulate, control, demean… unless you want your child to follow suit. Instead, be gentle, patient, kind, loving, empathetic, generous, confident, giving, strong, altruistic, and any other trait you personally feel defines a good person.

I believe that remembering these few basic principles will help us raise children with the qualities we (at Golestan) strive to teach our children:

Curiosity :: Altruism :: Generosity :: Compassion :: Confidence :: Kindness :: Community

http://commonsenseparenting.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-do-i-discipline-my-three-year-old.html

Rice, vegetable & Egg Fritters with cheddar polenta and Kale/Chard Chips.

 Natalia checks on the polenta as the fritters cook on the stovetop (above).

Meanwhile, she’s turning left over scraps into vegetable stock…. (below)