LivinginBrno

During the last weeks and months we work a lot on the homework with our 1st grader. In case there is interest, I will be posting a short overview of how we deal with the tasks and why in my case is a struggle. As we progress, these might become monthly or weekly posts. I also hope to keep the memory of our homework activities for us but for the other two kids who will need it when the time comes. Traveling with your kid through primary schools seems to be fun, when you cannot fluently speak the local language. I never imagined the hard part, only the bright and funny moments were flying through my imagination. Of course, when we hear him read to us and do the math, we are happy and overwhelmed with pride like any other parent is. But, there are also hard moments especially at the beginning. The first day of school here in Czech Republic seems to me a little different than in our home country. In our country people tend to put too much emotion, or show too much sentiment and crying even...

 I recently discovered a set of colouring books and we decide to try them. Each page has a different colour, you can choose the model suitable for you and they also come with a set of 12 markers in vivid colours and with very good durability and practicability. These books really can make a nice Christmass, birthday or another occasion gift. The nice thing is we managed to get the books in very quick delivery time from amazon DE, at no extra costs, no shipping charges. Both boys loved them and they are using them every other day. The third will for sure use one of them or even both if he likes, but for now he has other interest, not so much colouring.  The books are in nice shape, good material, nice colour and reusable. Meaning, you can delete, wipe clean each page after finishing and use it again. All kind of erasable markers can be used on the pages as they are a kind of plastic, easy to wipe material. The cover is textile like but still in cool, vibrant colours and I thi...

The happiest time of the year is here and while we enjoy the snow outside we are also celebrating and counting each day until Christmass with a small nice thought or gift inside each day. This year we decide to try and make the calendar at almost zero costs as we used just ingredients and materials at hand: - paper wrap was used from rohlik, as we use the online shop for deliveries and they have wonderful paper bags. We like the idea of reusing it a lot. Thank you dear rohlik shop ! - inside each day we wrapped a small lyric or thought, but also small sweets from around the house, what we had already available - I used a few small threads saved from another present wrap from past - few elf, sleigh and Christmas stickers received from grandparents It was almost cost free, pleasant to prepare but it did take a while as I must do 3 times each day (we have 3 boys) so each must have his own little day, his countdown till Christmass! Kids are thrilled about this Advent and each day is specia...

 One the most often questions we get in our inbox (coming especially from this blog, or the fb groups) is how to find a dentist for children. For years I answered the best possible way I could and while it seemed easy to find this information online - what people actually asked was 'how we find a good, kind dentist for children?' It took me a while to realise, that is why so many requests, people need really pediatric dental specialist. This is the main issue, always repeating, during summer and spring season especially, like a clock work. I tried to make a list of English Speaking doctors in general, but as the dentists are really most wanted here I am at wintertime, trying to write about our experience with dentists, dental work and taking our boys to dentist in general.  Let me start by saying I have deep respect for the medical profession in general, but my favourite doctors are dentists. I have a profound admiration for these humans. How can they find the hurting tooth wh...

 Comfort is good. Being able to enjoy, relax and thrive in your living space is desirable. However, when I am too comfortable, I tend to also become lazy. I think not much value comes out of too much coziness. No one actually made great achievements by being all the time in their comfort zone. Being too comfortable, at times has its price.  In time we learnt to live in a small place. A big family in small house. A house full of children. A small garden filled with joy and all the noises that childhood bears. A tree where kids can climb and imagine they are what their hearts desire. Maybe they feel like Mowgli, I want to think. Seeing them grow in this small but lovely place is all I ever wanted and what makes us parents fulfilled and happy. Who doesn't want to fully sip from the cup of happiness, joy and wholeheartedly live these precious moments that might be the best years, after all.  The reality is not everyone affords a house nowadays, or maybe I have the wrong view ...

 All days are not the same with three young boys at home. But, some days are too much the same and routines are sometimes overwhelming me. I need to have a break from time to time, I take long walks, try to sleep as much as possible, eat well and plan a lot to exercise. I find that small things done every day are magical, like 5 minutes of stretching or 30 minutes reading time. Done constantly, these activities do help on the long run. No matter how hard I try, there are days when I loose my balance. I am human, not a robot. I found in recent years that caring fro plants works wonders for me. Is like the forest therapy, just I don't have to go outside to do it. My small, no very fancy but full of love magical corner is what saves the day, almost every day. When I am lost, depressed and feel like everything is out of control I just take a look at this small magical corner filled with plants. Is my point of return every day. Is the only place from the house that is not destroyed or u...

 The emotion and happiness we felt at the beginning of this school year was overwhelming and although we did not write it here on the blog, it really happened. The big day came and it brought us lots of joy. Our son joined 1st class and he was thrilled about school. In our area, we could enrol him very close to the kindergarten, so for me is a plus that they are in proximity. The joy was expressed from day one, he was very happy and still is. He is coping well with all the school tasks and is making progress every day. About the madness of doing homework with a 1st grader when I have no idea of the Czech language, I will probably write a different post. Although, maybe I am the only non-czech speaking expat mom who knows to whom it may benefit such post. I will think about it. After almost two months of school here are some of our views and opinions about school here: - state school system is quite decent and offers a lot, actually all necessary learning materials; - the canteen ha...