The One and Only TEA Room: Everyone Welcome (bring champagne and muffins please!)

[Jacksmama]

Wow, we're on our third thread!!!
Previous (second) incarnation of the tea room.

A warm welcome to everyone, whether you have one child, none, or ten. This is a tea-and-muffin or booze-and-sofasorcanapees sanctuary for all. But certain standards of behaviour continue to apply - anyone engaging in fisticuffs will be ejected by George Clooney, ably assisted by Mellors the Gardener.

Cheers all!

Is Muzzy good ? I've seen it advertised, but not known if it was worth buying

Ds loves it and comes out with quite a few words here and there. When he's really 'in' to it he can count up to 20 in German. Does directions. Says hello. The really funny thing is when he's listening to the audio CD as he will laugh at the 'visual' jokes that he has seen on the DVD. We now have it on an IPod equivalent that plugs into his car seat and he can listen to his Muzzy while we listen to 'Guards guards' or 'Mort' on the MP3 player in the car

Think I'll have a look then - I could certainly do with better german anyway

My current car audio book is Thud, but GG and Mort are amongst my favourites

JM, I am half German, but my father (very English upbringing) felt that children wouldn't manage two languages, so I was basically brought up monolingual, with only lullabies and a few nursery rhymes. I was always fascinated by the German part of my heritage and loved my mother's old books of fairy tales. I had to learn German at university, and, although it is probably my strongest foreign language, it will never be as it would have been had I learnt it from a child. I think I just feel that JackBaby could have the opportunity I wish I had had.

Anyway, it's not just the actual language children learn: children who grow up with foreign languages have access to another culture, to another way of thinking about both ideas and language (think of all those untranslatable concepts and words and think about the structure of a German sentence compared to an English one); they get a different Weltanschauung. [Extremely pretentious dropping foreign words into arguments emoticon] Research has also proved that they make more connections in the brain and think in a more flexible manner. It benefits all other school subjects in a similar way to that in which music does ...

Ds ought to be OK with the brain connections then: what with 'breakfast music' (radio 3), radio 3 or classic fm in car regularly, lots of singing, german on DVD/CD, French at school....

I wish I had had a better opportunity for languages at school: I started French at about 6 with a French French teacher - fantastic accent, good comprehension etc. Then I moved school - restarted, non-French french teacher. less good accent, started to get tangled up with the written stuff. Went to senior school - restarted French with another non-French French teacher - more words and dyslexia problems showed up (although it took my mother taking me to a friend of hers who could diagnose this to confirm it - school just thought I wasn't very good) - the only thing that got me through reasonably was the oral/aural side - and comprehension. So, as I wasn't in the top group at French, it was recommended that I shouldn't do Italian.

When I went interrailing with a friend after degree (remember those years!) we decided to 'do' Italy quite well rather than try to go everywhere in the month: I taught myself sufficient Italian in 3 weeks from a BBC course so that I could ring ahead and book a hotel room, work out whether they had anything available, make sure it was twin beds, find out if it was ensuite etc. Oh - and have a 90mins conversation with a violin/viol maker in Florence whose English was even worse than our Italian!

Yes, it spinds as if ds should do rather well! Apparently there are links between the part of the brain ued for music and that used for mathematics.

From what I have read about dyslexia and Spanish, a dysexic should find Italian (another very phonetic language) much easier than French.

Hmmmm. OK. Maybe I will teach him a bit of German. You've certainly made me think about it.

Oh, I invited the rev to stop by the tearoom in case she needs some tea and sympathy (or a rather strong drink)... let's make sure the fridge is stocked and the kettle is on, shall we? And that racingpig is feeling sociable because she sure sounds like she could use a cuddle.

Tea, how's your Bailey's? Need a top-up.
Oh, and another toddy for Don'tCallMeSanta... coming up...

spinds?? sounds used

... and anyone should find typing easier than I do!

I did - but then I only dealt with the spoken word, not written which makes things a lot easier! Interestingly enough, I also find speaking German words much easier than French, even though I have very little idea of what I'm talking about. I wonder whether that's due to my heritage...

Yes, I do hope that Rev pops in. At least there is one place that I hope that none of the antagonism ever reaches...

sorry rs - x post! What you said was very interesting!

I was brought up in a monolingual family - for all of my family including me - milk being bilingual is really a big novelty!

Today she got her hair cut - she was chatting to the hairdresser in French and me in English. [proud emotion]

I need to work harder at my own French - I had next to nothing when I came over here and am getting more over time but because I work with English people and we speak English between us - I am not moving forward as quickly as I would like to.

Tea I'm sure you'll be perfectly bilingual by the time milk goes to secondary school.

And I second MT's fervent wish that no antagonism shall ever cross the doors of the tearoom.
Wasn't it nice when someone (I forget who it was) popped in and said she came to visit because "we were the only ones who didn't seem to have an axe to grind". I thought that was lovely.

I heart you all, by the way.

Oh [bragging emoticon] I have new pics of Jackbaby on my profile!!

AAAHHHHH!

Eh...?

not sure abotu tea but is there any booze left?

Otarine- isn't it a sort of blackish purpleish orangey colour IIRC is a while since I read Colour of magic. I was sent that and light fantastic by a friend ( OK, a boy I had a crush on) whilst stuck in hospital with a broken pelvis at 16. Loved them and now have most of TPs disc world books on the top shelf.The TP names thing has been applied to computers in this house/ network, so I'm currently on the Feegle ( net book) Dh is on Vimes and the other lap top is Carrot.
oops, sorry I get a bit carried away. Hi all, any one else for a pint and some chocolate.
Jasper Fforde- yep like his stuff too, also Karl Hiaasen similar set in Florida- actully with KH you generally know who did it, but maybe not WHY they did it and what they are going to do next. I'm steadily working through teh Cadfael books. Yep, another dyslexic booknut, only got two on teh go at teh mo as finished the third earlier while boy was watching a video and we snuggled up on teh sofa. Will look for some more William mayne at teh library.

Here... what would you like and how much of it?
The tearoom has everything. The bar's over there, help yourself. And welcome!

have found the bar now! is lissie still in charge of the tea shop? big hi from me if she is still around!

Hmmm... I don't think we ever had a lissie. Did we? MadBadAndDangerousToKnow started the tea shop... but she has since been replaced by Bocca... very ably if I may say so [suck-up emoticon]...

So, tell us all about you!

This is for Daisy, who was enquiring as to the nature of the gerund.

I always feel very ignorant when you're talking about children's books as I've never heard of (more than) half of the authors. My thread on depictions of onlies in books brought several new names to my notice.

{there is, of course, another tea shop, which I think Lissie might have something to do with, but I'm not sure that its under this topic....}(you're still welcome here though of course - nice to meet you!)

lissie's tea room - that is what it was - when I was last on mn regulary (about a year ago) lissielou?

Hmmm.... unknown in these parts. But welcome, anyway!

Chuck me some bubbly please Bocca!!