Czech/Slovak MOMS ABROAD

OPOL can kiss my shorts! / OPOL is muzete strcit za klobouk!

As many of you know my daughter is bilingual, she now speaks fluently English and Czech. One of her favorite things to do is to sing and dance (surprise!) and her all-time favorite Czech folk song is ‘Utikej Kaco, utikej!‘, meaning ‘Run, Kaca, run!’. The song is about this girl named Kaca, who was chased by a wild black cat.

This video is a living test case where the OPOL method (One-parent-onec-language) is not necessary. I speak Czech AND English with her (when there are friends/family members who do not speak Czech) and she is still quite the bilingual star.

Enjoy!

CZ: Ma 3-leta bilingvni dcera Hanicka je dukazem toho, ze tzv. OPOL metoda (One parent one language)neni ta JEDINA metoda, kterou muzete ucit sve deti dva jazyky. I kdyz se spolu bavime cesky i anglicky (pred znamymi/rodinou, kteri cesky neumi), ovlada oba jazyky vyborne.

HAHNA SINGS ‘UTIKEJ KACO, UTIKEJ!’ (click her to view the video)

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The good times are over: maternity grant and childrens allowance are being cut back/ Prispevky na deti a porodne se od ledna (bohuzel!) snizuji

WARNING: this post is going to be VERY boring for someone who is NOT a Czech mother living abroad. For that reason I am not even going to attempt to translate it into English. If you are a Czech mother living abroad pull out your handkerchief and weep because the good times are over…..

CZ: Kamaradka mi poslala novinky ohledne prispevku na deti a porodneho. Jeden poplatek se snizuje a druhy (porodne) plati jen pro prvorodicky. Ano, je na case vytahnout si vsechny ubrousky a kapesniky co mate po kapsach a horce si zaplakat.

Příspěvek:

Dosud pobírají rodiče u čtyřleté varianty rodičovský příspěvek v základní výměře, tedy ve výši 7600 korun měsíčně, do 21 měsíců věku dítěte. Od ledna bude příspěvek v základní výměře poskytován pouze do dovršení desátého měsíce věku dítěte.

Sníženou výměru, tedy 3800 korun měsíčně, tak rodiče na čtyřleté rodičovské dovolené budou pobírat již od desátého měsíce věku dítěte na rozdíl od současného 22. měsíce. [click to continue…]

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Tagged as: children, money, practical

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Mommy diary 5: Red, white and bilingual /Denik maminky v zahranici 5: cerveno bily bilingvist

My daughter Hahna is 3 years now and she is brilliantly bilingual! What is more, she likes to have an active listener next to her at all times, meaning that she kind of requires of you to echo whatever she says. If I don’t respond within 10 seconds then I am in trouble: “Mommy, are you not talking?” (Mami, ty nemluvis?). I just have to say that my throat hurts – the final excuse.
I am not sure if she is doing so well with both languages because she IS such a talker or if she just has the ear for languages but she is doing great! She is starting to get the past and future tenses, pronouns…
She now feels confident enough to teach dad (and grandma!) some Czech and it is truly a bonding experience for them. Hahna feels smart and dad learns more Czech. Sometimes when she is on the phone with me and we speak Czech she starts laughing, thinking that it’s really funny that she speaks this ‘secret’ tongue in front of her American company. She keeps saying to me on the phone: “Mommy is speaking Czech!” (Maminka mluvi cesky!). She loves to interact with her Czech grandma and granpa over Skype but it does get hard at times. First off, there is quite the delay in hearing what the other one says and second, her pronunciation is not yet perfectly clear so most of the time I am the middle man and have to translate things.
When Hahna talks to herself she is using English, which – as expected – is going to be the language she feels most comfortable with. I am totally fine with that, although it is interesting that she does that since most of the time she ends up speaking Czech with me.
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Tagged as: bilingual children, Czech Americans, Czech language

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Another Czech fairytale: Tom Thumb / Pohadka O Paleckovi

Written by Bozena Nemcova (Brothers Grimm have a similar fairytale by the way. Since Bozena Nemcova was born 35 years later than the Grimm brothers, she may have been ‘influenced’ by their original story a bit ;0)

Tom Thumb /O Paleckovi google image

Once there lived a peasant with his wife in a little cottage. One day his wife said to him, “Life is so empty without children; I wish we had a little boy.” Soon her wish came true and she gave birth to a son. He was healthy and strong, but no bigger than the size of a thumb. Therefore they named him Tom Thumb (Paleček).

One day around lunchtime, said Tom, “Mother, pack some lunch for my father and I will take it to him.” Mother laughed at his idea since he was so little but did as he asked. He set off on a journey to his father’s field, taking a lunch basket with him. Since he was so small, it looked as if the basket was walking on its own. After a while of walking, he reached a stream. But Paleček was smart and knew what to do. He pulled out a wooden spoon out of the basket, put it in the water and sat in it like it was a boat. He pulled the big basket behind him and that is how he got across the stream.

When Tom reached the field he started to shout, “Father, Father, I have lunch for you!” The peasant did not hear him but he saw the moving basket. He lifted it up and to his surprise, he saw his little son. While his father was eating lunch, Tom Thumb climbed into a bull’s ear, yelling commands at the bull and that is how he was plowing his father’s  field. He plowed so fast that he did more work than his father. [click to continue…]

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Tagged as: children, literature, tradition

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Another Czech Fairytale:The wolf and the kids / Vlk a kůzlátka

The wolf and the kids google image /Vlk a kuzlatka google imageOnce there lived a mother goat with her seven kids. Before she left to find food, she told them, “Don’t open the door until you hear my song: “Children, children, open up the door.” One day the wolf heard the song. He ran to the door and sang it. The kids knew it wasn’t their mother and did not open the door. ” Our mother has a very soft, gentle voice,” they said to the wolf. The angry wolf ran to the smith and told him. “File my tongue down so that I have a softer voice!” The smith  did as the wolf wished.

The next day the wolf sang the song to the kids again, but now with a softer voice. “Our mother has a softer, more gentle voice,” said the goatlings and once again didn’t open the door. The wolf was very angry this time. When he came to the smith again, he said: “Make my voice even softer or I will eat you up!”

On the third day the wolf came to the door and sang in a beautiful soft voice. THe kids thought it was their mother and opened the door. But instead of their mommy, they saw the hungry wolf. He jumped in and ate six kids. the smallest of them hid in the clock and the wolf did not find him. When the mother goat came home and her hidden kid told her everything, she ran after the wolf. [click to continue…]

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Mommy diary 4: O.P.O.L. can kiss my shorts! / Denik maminky v zahranici 4: O.P.O.L. mi muze polibit frak!

img_2822 Every 6 months or so I write a small report on how is my daughter doing with her bilingual skills. She is two and half now which means it is time for me to tell you about her progress:

PS: For part 1 click here, part 2 click here and part 3 click here

I don’t know how else to start than by saying that it’s been going really great. Although I do not use the strange O.P.O.L. (One Parent One Language) method with her, my daughter has no problem understanding and also speaking Czech. She actually says whole sentences like a real human now! I will give you an example: we are in the grocery store and Hanicka points at some lady and says: “Pani ma velke brisko” (Lady has a big belly) or she points at some poor lady with graying hair and exclaims “To je babika!” (That’s grandma!). From practical reasons you can see that it is VERY advantageous she speaks Czech with me in public otherwise we would be in a big trouble. Instead, the big bellied lady and the other woman with graying hair are just pleasantly smiling at me, probably admiring how culturally diverse my family is.

When we are at a playground with other American kids she has no problem switching to English once she realizes that we are socializing with the English-speaking fellows. If I switch into English, she gets the hint really quickly and goes on speaking English as well. My husband marvels on how well she switches to English when he is around. Once in a while she starts talking to him in Czech but in a couple of seconds she switches back. Now, get this: when I tell Hahna in Czech “Jdi rict tatovi, ze je hotova vecere” (Go tell daddy that dinner is ready), she walks up to her dad and says “Daddy, dinner is ready”. She instantly translates it in her head without me telling her anything! I was pretty excited about that one. [click to continue…]

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Tagged as: bilingual children, Czech language

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New Czech and Slovak school in Portland /Nova cesko-slovenska skolicka v Portlandu

school google imageThis is my favorite part – announcing a new Czech and Slovak school abroad! This time we are heading over to Portland, Oregon. And I got to tell you, this school looks delicious. The starting age is 6 weeks up until 6 years of age. There are also afternoon classes for the older kids such as drama, flute playing or cooking…and that is all in  Czech/Slovak language!

For further info please contact Eva Riskin at evariskin@comcast.net

CZ: Toto je moje nejoblibenejsi aktivita – ohlasovani nove Cesko-slovenske skoly v zahranici! Tentokrate se jedna o Portland, Oregon a musim vam rict, ze tato skolicka vypada opravdu vyborne. Posudte sami (zbytek je prevzaty z www.ahojpdx.ning.com):

‘Oteviraji se prvni cesko-slovenske jesle a skolka v Portlandu
Pro deti od 6 tydnu- 6 let

Adresa: 10305 NE Halsey Street, Portland OR 97220

Doba provozu: 8-18 Po-Pa
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Tagged as: children, CS Oregon, Czech language, school

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Show me the money!! / Naval penize!!

money google imageDid you know that if you are a Czech living abroad you are eligible for the children’s allowance (11,400 – 3,000 Crowns per month)? And did you know that the Czech government will give you a birth  grant (porodne; 13, 000 Crowns per child) as well?  I know, it is hard to believe, isn’t it?

Here are the conditions:

  • At least one parent has to have a Czech citizenship
  • the child has to have a Czech citizenship

Conditions seem simple but the paperwork is ridiculous. But hey, it’s worth it! This is what you do:

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Tagged as: children, money, practical

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Czech fairy tales on YouTube (part III)/ Ceske pohadky na YouTube (cast 3.)

This is a perfect Saturday leisurely post for kids as well as for adults. I also included a silent cartoon called Pat a Mat (A je to!) which should be a requirement at schools – in other words, it is SOOO good that everyone should see it!!!
CZ: Tady mame perfektni pohodovy post pro Sobotni (destove?) odpoledne – pohadky! Tak nohy na stul, otevrete si balicek bramburek a jede se na to…

1/ Ferda Mravenec
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Tagged as: children, fairytale, traditions, YouTube

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Download great Czech children songs for free!/ Stahnete si moderni ceske pisnicky zdarma!

3014007491_520369bf9aI know I have already wrote about this awesome website ( called Cesta Slunce) but that was a long time ago. Since then my daughter and I have been listening to their GREAT (contemporary and traditional) Czech songs almost every day. I urge you to download these hits – for free - and sing your heart out! Click here and start downloading…

PS: You can also donate a financial gift to promote their great cause.

CZ: Uz jsem sice o webovkach zvanych Cesta Slunce jednou psala, ale od te doby jsme si s Hanickou tak oblibily jejich pisnicky, ze to nadsene musim vsem maminkam doporucit znovu. Stahnete si desitek modernich i tradicnich detskych pisnicek  a to zdarma! Pokud mate zajem tak udelat, kliknete zde.

PS: Muzete  na jejich stankach take pomoci  jejich slechetne kauze a to jakoukoliv financni castkou.

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Tagged as: children, music, practical, traditions

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