Hiya all,

Hope your Easter was wonderful! We started a tradition of celebrating Easter as a family holiday this year. As it was our first time, we didn’t do too many things, but it was surely fun for my 4.5y daughter to decorate the eggs and for both kids to egg hunt.

I apologize for not doing the “This & That” post for a while. I’ve been having too much on my plate, and to be honest, I felt a bit unmotivated these days. I think I need a real vacation, but with single salary and 2 kids, looks like we won’t be able to afford it anytime soon So we’re doing staycation again this Easter holiday. How about you? I sure hope you are enjoying the Easter school holiday with the kids, where ever you are.

I have quite a list this time:

• Circus Nock in Lausanne starts this Friday, until 17 April 2013
• IKEA currently offers 20% off all toys for IKEA Family members, until 6 April
• Early Parenthood Support group. The first group will be held on Monday, April 8 at 15.00.
• Baby Sensory Classes in the Suisse Romande (the page on facebook)
• The next scheduled coffee mornings in Starbucks, St. Laurent are on Tuesdays the 16th and 30th April 2013 from 10.30am to 1pm. No RSVP required. Find the group at the end of the café.
• New Tai chi courses starts this April. Open house Monday 15 April – 9:00-11:00 and 19:00-20:30.
• A blog for those of you living in or near, or interested with Nyon: Living in Nyon
• Have kids who are ready to taste some jobs? Apprenticeship at the Swiss Post
• Want to speed up on a motorbike in a real circuit? Here’s your chance

And finally, I also would like to warmly welcome Lausanne Mom’s newest supporter: Hayley Hay Photography. Don’t forget to “like” their page on facebook!

Happy Spring!

xx

Our house had another flu round last week. But this time it was hubby, not the kids, who brought the virus home. Fortunately, to my surprise honestly, I didn’t get it, although hubby and both kiddos had their share of fever, runny nose and cough. I heard this bug has been going around, I hope you were spared!

• Michelle of Moms-in-Vaud wrote this informative blog for those whose children will start school this year. My daughter is one of them! Yay! She’s “suddenly” a big girl!
• For the bookworms: “Le Samedi de Bibliothèques Vaudoises 2013″. This Saturday, 2 February 2013, 40 libraries in Vaud will do special programs for all ages. More info here.
• News from L’écoline: They are accepting registration for their Holiday Club for this Feb school holiday (More info here). And last time I heard, they still have spaces in their Sweet Baking class (More info here).
• The schedule for Starbucks Coffee Meeting for Mums and Mums-to-be in Feb: in Starbucks, St. Laurent Tuesdays the 5th & 19th February 2013 from 10.30am to 1pm. Just show up, no registration required. Dads are also welcome. FYI: they’re usually sat round at the back to the left.
• Go explore the metro m2! (“Le m2 des p’tits curieux“) Free family walk (in French) on Saturday, 9 February 2013. Click here for more info.
• There will be two Disney shows — “La bande à Mickey et son Magic Show” — in Malley (Prilly) on Saturday, 27 April 2013. Tickets (CHF35-65) are still available through Ticket Corner and Fnac, as well as all Ticket Corner affiliates (CFF, La Post, etc. — I bought ours from my local post office).
• Another interesting blog from Michelle of Moms-in-Vaud: Her effort to reduce plastic waste at home (here).

And don’t forget that the Hot-Air Ballon Festival and the Prix de Lausanne have started and will last until this weekend!

Have a great week!

xx

I was contacted recently by Marion Julia, the managing director of the new bilingual school L’écoline in St. Sulpice. She kindly offered me four free classes (1 class for each course they have at the moment) to giveaway to Lausanne Mom readers. Of course I took the offer as I have heard great feedback about this new school.

There are currently four classes going (the baking and decorating will start in January) and they are all open-ended classes.

• Theater (Commedia del’Arte), 4-8Y. On Mondays, 4:30-5:30PM
• Sweet Baking and decorating (by Nikki of Toute Sweet), 3-12Y. On Tuesdays, 4:30-5:30PM
• Baby’Arts (introduction to theater, dance and music). On Wednesday from 9-10AM (for 3 to 4 years old) and from 10-11AM (for 4 to 5 years old)
• English through music, 3-6Y. On Thursdays, from 4:30-5:30PM

To enter the giveaway please leave a comment letting us know which class you would like to win (you may list more than one class, but you can only win one). Comments are accepted until Monday, 10 Dec 2012 at 11:59PM. As usual, the 4 winners will be picked by random.org. Note that there is no obligation to enroll for full program when you win the class. You may claim your free class anytime between January and June 2013.

For more information, please visit L’écoline website and get updated to news through their facebook page.

*Photographs copyright: Marion Julia/L’écoline/Toute Sweet

Winner announcement on 13 Dec 2012

The lucky mamas who were picked by random.org to get free classes from L’écoline are:

• Adriana – English through music
• Eri – Baby’Arts
• Vidhya – Theater
• Valeria – Sweet Baking and Decorating

I will email the 4 winners personally regarding their prizes. I thank all of you for participating, and Marion for the generous prizes and the possibility to host this giveaway.

Happy Holidays!

I received this information below from Lisa (Know-It-All). I REALLY enjoyed Tracey’s workshop held in Lausanne almost 4 years ago. Tracey surely knew what she was talking about, and her approach makes a lot of sense to me. I’m telling you, as a scientist, I don’t easily get impressed. Walking out from the workshop I felt loaded with new and useful information on how to raise my children multi-lingual-ly. I finally knew how to! I have been practicing her approach ever since, and my 4-y.o. seems to be on the right track to becoming multilingual.

So, don’t wait. If you have never been to Tracey’s workshop and would like to have multilingual children, hurry register! See the information below:

Know-it-all passport presents the popular and dynamic workshop for

Raising Multilingual Children: Foreign Language Acquisition and Children

by world-renowned specialist in education and neuroscience, Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D. www.traceytokuhama.com

Tracey is half Japanese-American, half Irish-Native American and is married to an Ecuadorian.
Her 3 children aged 19, 17 and 15 speak fluent English, Spanish and German and some French.
Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, author of “Raising Multilingual Children” and 5 other books on the brain and learning, is visiting Vaud and Geneva to present her dynamic workshops.

There are Ten Key Factors which influence every student’s success with new languages:

1. Timing
2. Aptitude
3. Motivation
4. Strategy
5. Consistency
6. Opportunity
7. Language Typology
8. Siblings
9. Gender
10. Hand-use

Each person will combine these “ingredients” together in their own unique “recipe” for learning. This workshop will familiarize teachers and parents with the factors and suggest tools for enhancing those which are shaped in the school context.

Tracey will explain how children learn languages and answer your questions. For example:
* Is it ok to have 2, 3, 4 languages at the same time or is it better for children to learn languages consecutively?
* When should your children learn multiliteracy skills?
* Who should speak what in order to maximize the best language skills?
* Should you learn a foreign language alongside your children? * Raising your child multilingually has worked so far, but now your child is growing up and you have different questions about identity, literacy, strategy, etc.
* Come with your own questions and be prepared to share your own concerns about the best way to raise multilingual children.

18h : Registration and welcome drink
18h30-20h : Ten key factors which influence every student’s success with new languages
20h-20h30 : Break with drinks and food
20h30-21h45 : How children learn languages and Q&A
22h end

Choose the location that works best for you:

Sponsored post

How are you?

After 3 weeks of adaptation, my 16-m.o. finally started to like his new creche. He now goes for 2 full days per week. Although I still have my 4-y.o. at home (she only goes to the Jardin d’enfants in the mornings), I could so enjoy the extra time I now have. My plan now is to catch up on many things that I failed to do the last 2 years, and hopefully will soon go back to partial employment (as unfortunately this blog hadn’t paid me enough to make it a job – perhaps one day!).

My list for this week:

• La Désalpe is coming this weekend, 29 Sept 2012. These are the links to the ones in Saint-Cergue and in Etivaz. Don’t know what Désalpe is? Check Moms-in-Vaud blog, which includes tips for the St. Cergue one
• Le voyage de Reinette la petite pomme – A fun family event about apples! In French. Children from 3 years, accompanied by a parent (adult). Fee: CHF10/adult, Flat-rate family CHF30 (from 4 persons)
• Two First Aid Courses coming soon in Lausanne: First Aid for Child Injuries and CPR for Babies and Children

And I would like to warmly welcome Lausanne Mom’s newest supporters: SL&C and Expat Counseling Switzerland:

• SL&C offers courses and certification of English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA). Please contact Lara (celta{AT}supercomm{DOT}ch) for more information.
• Helen Rudinsky from Expat Counseling Switzerland, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, who works with couples, individual and children. She is an expat herself, was a Third Culture Kid, and has a child with special needs, so that she understands and can help with many problems that arise in the expatriate life. She can also send you a free Couples Relationship Assessment that helps to determine the health of a relationship. Please contact Helen (Helen{AT}ExpatCounselingSwitzerland{DOT}com) for more information

Did you enjoy the return of the summer for the last few days? I hope that gave you a wonderful weekend and start of the new week today!

• International Career Fair in EPFL, 11 Sept 2012 10AM-3PM. Free entry but must register online.
• Story telling festival – “Les 7 Langues du Dragon”, 13-15 September 2012. In French, audience from 12 years. Free entry.
• Comic festival (BD-FIL) – 14-17 Sept 2012, around Riponne.
• The Meal 2012 (Meal for our future) – 15 Sept 2012, Esplanade de Montbenon. Contribution: CHF25/18/10.
• Dr Michelle Wright of Health First will be holding a First Aid for Child Injuries course in Lausanne on Tuesday 2 October 2012 from 6:30-10PM. More info and registration here.
• AIWC’s Annual Living in Lausanne Seminar, 24-26 September 2012.  More info and registration here.
• The “abo” for Lausanne Chamber Orchestra Season 2012-2013 is now on sale.
• Do you know what a “Troc” is? Oh yes, you want to know, as it’s now the season! -via Moms-in-Vaud
• Have you seen the site of Lausanne Mom’s new sponsor Lulaloo? Very lovely cards and stationery!

I wish you a great week ahead. I will be a bit busy preparing my daughter’s 4th birthday party this weekend. And yes, as for my son’s birthday, the party will be sponsored by lovely vendors. I think you will want to see the post I will do after! Hopefully coming up next week!

Sponsored Post

The school has just started but if you have kids who love soccer, you don’t want to miss these new courses from Intersoccer. They have courses during the school terms and camps during the October school holidays. Book now!

Fun children’s soccer courses in Autumn for BOYS & GIRLS of ALL abilities 2-13 yr olds. FREE trials possible first 2 weeks. If you miss the start of course still possible to join later. Courses are offered in Founex, Nyon, Gland, Morges, and Lausanne.

AUTUMN TERM SOCCER

• Tot Soccer (2-3yrs)
• Mini Soccer (3-6yrs)
• After School (4-13yrs)
• Academy Courses (9-13yrs)
• Girls (5-13yrs)
• Goalkeepers (7-13yrs)
• Weekend Soccer (5-13yrs)
• Saturday & Sunday
• Soccer (5-13yrs)
• Soccer Birthday
• Parties (3yrs+)

AUTUMN HOLIDAYS SOCCER DAY CAMPS

• Book 1 day or more
• Mini Camps (3-5yrs, mornings only)
• Full Day Camps (5-13yrs)

For more information and reservation, go to www.intersoccer.ch

I think I have finally waved goodbye to summer last week by doing my fall/autumn cleaning. And I was quite successful as most my maternity clothes and baby gears are now gone! Sold or handed down. Now I have fewer clutters that hopefully lead to neater house

So here are the things that made into my list this week:

• Monika of My Way Tennis will have tennis lessons again this autumn, on Saturday afternoons from the 8th of September until the 6th of October. The cost for the mini tennis (45 min) is CHF150 and for the junior tennis (60 min) is CHF 175. Contact: mywaytennis (AT) hotmail (DOT) com or call 079 224 5041
• Clare will have have Kindermusik classes starting this week at KidSpace for children up to three years old. And if she get enough interest, at least one class for families with children up to seven. Classes are Wednesday or Friday mornings (possibly Thursday too). The first class is always a free trial class. Contact: mark-clare (AT) bluewin (DOT) ch
• La Caravane des Quartiers 2012 Sous-Gare, 4-9 September 2012
• Lausanne Walking, 9 September 2012
• “End of Summer Sale” at Hopscotch.ch (a LausanneMom current sponsor). Up to 30% on gorgeous Frugi and Toby Tiger clothes, both from the UK.

Hiya, how was the start of the week for you? I had a very stressful first half of last week, and then busy with redecorating our guest room until the weekend. This week I hope to be more relaxed, and I think my plan goes well, especially after a massage I had earlier this evening

So now, just a quick post to announce the  ladies who won the “Mommy and Me” art classes by Naomi Middelmann, as I am getting very sleepy already — obviously the effect of the relaxing massage

The lucky comments were picked by random.org and the numbers are…

Comments #5 (Susanne), #2 (Kate), #4 (Megan)!

Congratulations, ladies! You will hear from me personally by email soon.

I thank everyone who had participated on this giveaway. For those of you who did not win this time, don’t forget that you can also have a free trial class. And then you can continue if your little ones and you like it. Please contact Naomi directly for more information.