My children are in a French Immersion school, which means eighty-some-percent of the day they are taught in French. My own French is not exactly stellar. I mean I have the basic "I learned this in grade school because I am Canadian" level of French, which my kids, who are in 1st and 4th grade, are already surpassing. Yesterday I was doing the dishes with my seven year old, … [Read more...]
No Wifi? Netflix to the Rescue!
A bit over a year ago now, Netflix unleashed this new download feature where instead of streaming as you watch you can preload shows into your device. Last summer, they pointed out how handy it would be for road trips or for stays in cottage country. You can download a show before you hit the road and you’ve got a handy distraction for the kids. At one point they even had these … [Read more...]
A Netflix Holiday Episode Guide, 39 Christmas or Holiday Season Themed Episodes from My Kids Fav TV Shows
My girls and I have been in a holly jolly mood, streaming Christmas shows on Netflix pretty much non-stop over the past few weeks. We are already nearing the end of the list which I'd created of holiday shows with French audio as an option. I was momentarily stumped as to what to watch next. But then it occurred to me that many of their favourite cartoons and kids shows … [Read more...]
20 Holiday Season Family Movies & Kid Shows to Watch in French on Netflix
Tis the season (to be streaming!). As I've mentioned before, my girls are attending a French immersion grade school and I've been trying to encourage them to watch French language cartoons and kids' shows at home. Sometimes they are excited to watch cartoons in French and sometimes they get frustrated with their inability to understand every word. The 5th grader, in … [Read more...]
Shhhh… A Little Sneaking is Good For Your (Mental) Health….
The kids are home for the summer. My mother-in-law just moved in with us last month. Time to myself? Ha. The very idea is ludicrous. It's non-stop go-go-GO over here. Like every mom (or at least every mom that is still holding on to that last shred of sanity), I get creative with finding ways to fit in slivers of me-time. My current trick is to wake up late. Yeah, you … [Read more...]
Adjusting and Growing Our Family (with Netflix)
Everything is change and adjustment over here right now. A few weeks back we welcomed a fifth family member to our household, and not in any of the ways that may immediately spring to mind. We didn't get a pet, have a new baby, or adopt a child. Rather my husband's mom moved in with us. Having my mother-in-law move in with us has been an amazingly positive experience. Having … [Read more...]
Five Family Friendly Fantasy & Sci-Fi Shows to Binge Watch on Netflix + Free Spinner
As far as TV entertainment goes, do you still feel old school? Are Saturday morning cartoons still a thing? Are Sunday nights reserved for Disney movies that the whole family would sit down and watch? Do you remember what shows you'd watch right after school? Television can have a big impact on your life, and it's fascinating on how that has evolved with the on-demand binge … [Read more...]
Three Tactics For Building Connections with Your Tween
Connecting with my tween-aged daughter is a top priority for me. I tell myself, almost daily, that if I can build strong connections with her now then maybe those teenage years won't be so bad. (Conversely, I also constantly tell myself, if I can't make it through a few eye rolls, the occasional "I hate you!" and the sporadic "you don't know anything" temper tantrums now, then … [Read more...]
Can I cheat and not raise a cheater?
I tell my children they are not allowed to cheat. I tell them that it's not good to lie. That it's not good to try and hide things from mom. And then I turn around and I do all the things I tell them not to do. I cheat, I lie, and I hide things from them. I'm trying to decide if I should feel guilty over this or not. It started with snacks. When they were younger I … [Read more...]
How Do you Choose the Right Shows and Movies for Your Kids?
The Jungle Book is on Netflix right now. You know, the newer, live action, version? It's a big deal because I don't know if I should let my six year old see it or not. The nine year old's already seen it (and she can't decide if she ever wants to see it again or not). In her words it is "bloody and scary and would be far too scary for Gigi". Do any of you have kids in … [Read more...]
Five Calm Down Activities For When the Kids Are Getting A Little Too Crazy
At the end of our long Christmas Day, as we drove away from his parents place, my husband declared, "Well, that's it. Christmas is officially now over, girls." The kids, however, were quick to point out that this wasn't the end of their Christmas, not even close. For them Christmas Day simply marked beginning of a two week long holiday from school. The nine year old squealed … [Read more...]
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Giveaway
GIlmore Girls: A Year in the Life premiered on Netflix last Friday. It's a four part mini-series that picks up the storyline ten years after the original series ended. And I know bunches of people who have feverently been waiting for the Nov.25th release date. Okay guys... please don't throw things at me... but I've got a confession to make. I've never watched Gilmore Girls. … [Read more...]
Three Awesome & Oddball Things You Probably Missed on Netflix
I often feel like the big movies and TV shows get all the love, and these interesting non-fiction bits that are off on the fringe are ignored. So with that in mind, here are three awesome, and slightly offbeat, shows that you may have missed watching on Netflix: Category: Fascinating and Mind Bending Title: Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets … [Read more...]
Giant Robots, Princesses and Aliens: Voltron Is For Girls
Spoiler Warning: I am going to talk about major plot points in the first season of Voltron: Legendary Defender. If you haven't seen it yet and you don't want to have the storyline spoiled for you don't read this. (Actually, if you haven't see it yet, you should just stop what you're doing and go watch it. Seriously. Right now. Go on. And then come back here and we can discuss … [Read more...]
Make Your Own Book of Dragons, Like a Dragon Rider of Berk
My nine year old daughter, Grace, is a big fan of the Dreamworks film How to Train Your Dragon, as well as the Netflix exclusive series Dragons: Race to the Edge. So much so that she decided she wanted to create her own "Book of Dragons". Mostly this consists of her drawing various dragons, some based on beasts that appear in the show, and others being creatures that she makes … [Read more...]