As Aventuras de Sofia na Selva (Portuguese book review)

As Aventuras de Sofia na Selva (Portuguese book review)

23 Nov 2021

When I was little, I loved yoga. I practised yoga for many years as a child and teenager. As an adult, this has helped me tremendously with relaxation techniques, in particular. So when I heard about the books written by Giselle Shardlow, from Kids Yoga Stories, to introduce yoga to children through reading while moving, I wanted in.

Gift ideas for multilingual children

Gift ideas for multilingual children

20 Nov 2020

Anyone in your family being raised learning more than one language? Maybe you would like to send something to someone abroad who speaks a different language?

Our favourite Portuguese resources for little learners

Our favourite Portuguese resources for little learners

3 Apr 2017

Finding resources for our little (or not so little) multilinguals can be quite a challenge. It is also something a lot of parents are always on the lookout for. I have put together a little list for Portuguese hoping to make your life a little easier.

Freda and Fernando on the River Tagus (Read around the world series)

Freda and Fernando on the River Tagus (Read around the world series)

15 Aug 2016

It has been pretty tough finding great books in Portuguese for my little learners. Books, and even more so bilingual books, that are culturally relevant, are just the best. And this is certainly one of them. 

Portugal in the Olympics (free printable)

Portugal in the Olympics (free printable)

20 Jul 2016

Despite the recent political turmoil and health issues Brazil has had to deal with, the Olympics are going ahead and about to start in Rio. Worldwide sporting events are always a great opportunity for children to learn about the world from the comfort of their home.

Our favourite Portuguese books for under 6s

Our favourite Portuguese books for under 6s

7 Jan 2016

As I have mentioned many times before, we struggle with Portuguese books for several reasons. Authentic (non-translated) materials in European Portuguese are very hard to find.
Portuguese is the weakest language in our household and the one that needs the most support. So I am on a serious hunt for quality resources.

Our story so far...

Our story so far...

21 Sept 2015

A few weeks back, I shared my story over on My Expat family's Instagram account (#thepiripirionmyexpatfamily). If you have just recently started reading my blog or if you are just curious, here is a quick picture-based recap of our family story so far.

Their first 10 words: how our life affects our children's languages right from the start

Their first 10 words: how our life affects our children's languages right from the start

1 Sept 2015

Have you ever thought how your life affects your multilingual children's language right from the very beginning? We know, as parents of bilingual children, that it is vital to speak our chosen language(s) from the start. We read everywhere about consistency and need. But it is quite amazing to realise how a few changes to our children's life affect their first words, for example. 

Learning to write: a multilingual alphabet

Learning to write: a multilingual alphabet

23 Aug 2015

Is your child multilingual learning to write? Is s/he interested in letters? Does s/he ask you what a Y is when you tell him Yoda starts with a Y? Mine does all the time and we have found the perfect solution.

Learning to write when your multilingual can be confusing. Letters have different labels and sounds depending on what language your are learning.

What to do when your child refuses to speak your language? (MKB vlogging telephone)

What to do when your child refuses to speak your language? (MKB vlogging telephone)

19 Aug 2015

Today I am sharing with you a few ideas about what to do if your child refuses to speak your language. It happens to us. It happens to a lot of families. LJ, 5,  now claims she cannot understand whenever her father speaks to her in Portuguese and so avoids replying Portuguese that way. What can you do? What can we do?

3 beautiful Portuguese music albums for kids

3 beautiful Portuguese music albums for kids

5 Jun 2015

As a multilingual family, boosting our minority language is a must. I am always on the look-out for quality Portuguese resources. As a non-Portuguese speaker, music is a fantastic way to introduce a language and a culture to your little ones.

5 Portuguese printables

5 Portuguese printables

8 May 2015

We struggle with resources in Portuguese in our house. We manage to get a few books a year through family or trips and ordering over the internet from abroad but it is all a rather costly affair. 

Portuguese chorizo bread

Portuguese chorizo bread

16 Jun 2014

It is an odd day today. We will be watching a game where we will be rooting for a team while most of the other people around us will be rooting for the opposite team (literally).  As we live in Germany, I guess our cheers will be quiet against the huge backdrop of German cheers in the city. 

As Portugal plays its first match against Germany today, we celebrate by munching on these little breads while watching the game. These are family favourites and great comfort food.

1 family - 4 languages : my interview podcast

1 family - 4 languages : my interview podcast

6 Mar 2014

A couple of weeks, the very lovely Olena from Bilingual Kids Rock was online at 6am while her family still slept to interview me.

You can hear the podcast of that interview where we discuss:

Thanks giving

Thanks giving

19 Nov 2013

Card by PaperPapelPapier

This week P happened to mention to people he met through work that his daughter was learning 4 languages. Some were amazed, some were weary, some thought he was just trying to impress them, others couldn't have cared less. But, as usual, he had a comment about being careful, about her being confused and about a (not so) similar case where the child had a silent period and refused to speak a language.

Talk, talk, talk: finding other native speakers

Talk, talk, talk: finding other native speakers

18 Oct 2013

Like all of us raising multilingual children, nurturing our little ones' languages is one of the (main) focus of their childhood. We all have our little techniques using music, apps, books, activities that will catch our children's interests and thus enhance their learning. We, as a family, do rely on these quite a lot as we deal with four languages. Music, for example, tends to be mostly in Portuguese in our house. Yet, nothing beats real interactions with real people our children love.

5 things that make a multilingual expat mum happy

5 things that make a multilingual expat mum happy

2 Aug 2013

What makes me and my family happy? This is the theme of this month's multicultural kids blog carnival. I am not going to write a long and winded text about what makes us happy. I will  just give you five examples from the past week.

my guilty pleasure: the travel section of a book store

A day in the life of LJ, 3, aspiring quadrilingual

A day in the life of LJ, 3, aspiring quadrilingual

25 Jun 2013

Today, I am giving you a snapshot of our daughter's life with soundbites, photos and quotes to track her language development.

How travelling gave me a new name

How travelling gave me a new name

21 Jun 2013

When Leanna proposed travel and multilingualism as a theme for our blogging carnival this month, I thought it sounded great. But then as time went on, like a few others in the group, I realised my little one is only 3 and so far, even though we have travelled a lot with her, the travelling in itself has had little impact on her language skills.

On second thought, though, I realised that the greatest experience she has had was our trip to Brazil last summer. She suddenly got exposed to a lot more Portuguese, albeit Brazilian Portuguese, than she is used to.

the Portuguese language: some facts

the Portuguese language: some facts

7 Jun 2013

I thought I'd share some facts about the Portuguese language today, our family minority language but a very important one.