Running on Fumes in Foreign Lands: Why Taking Care of Yourself is the Best Way to Care for Your Kids I think the depletion starts subtly, often long before we even pack our first international moving box. For me, the training ground for selflessness began in early motherhood. First, it’s adjusting to the way food tastes and smells during pregnancy—when coffee suddenly smells like tuna. It’s getting
reflections What It Feels Like on the Inside I really don't feel inside the way I think people view me on the outside. You see me and think white mono-cultural monolingual "normal" girl. But inside I desire to push away from anything like that. Inside my longing is to know you and be
podcast Educators Going Global How does your school support students to find belonging? How about on their first day? How about on their last day? What if there was a guide for how to do this?
reflections Stayer Story: It's October for You Too, Amy It had finally gotten far enough past new teacher orientation and the start of school that I was feeling like I had enough space to invite some new members of our community over for dinner and games. As the kids sat and played together and myself, my husband and this
resources Life Without Nico Maia and Nico are best friends. They do everything together, but one day they learn that Nico must move across the world for his dad's schooling. And suddenly Maia's life has a hole in it. One of the hardest things as a parent can be knowing
reflections Wonder Woman It was the first time we were allowed to go to a movie theatre in (I don't remember) how long. Putrajaya had zero cases of COVID so the mall was open and someone organized a trip to go see the new Wonder Woman 1984 movie. I was just
resources Franklin's Bad Day Normally Franklin loves to play outside in the winter, but today was different. He woke up grumpy and everything just seemed to go wrong. Franklin's friend Otter moved away yesterday. In our international life we are all arrivers, stayers and leavers at some point or another, but my
resources Goodbye, 382 Shin Dang Dong Jangmi is saying goodbye to Korea and moving to the US. She boxes up precious items from her home and wishes she could box up so much more to bring with her. Jangmi has many questions and wonders what home will be like in a place that seems so foreign.
Members only children's movies Paddington: Fitting In, Belonging & Home - Movie Discussion Guide “My body had traveled very fast, but my heart, she took a little longer to arrive.”
Members only farewells RAFT: Steps to a Good Goodbye For many of us in the northern hemisphere school year, it's that time of the year for goodbyes. Many of us want to avoid them, but can we take advantage of this moment to make a good goodbye?
reflections Have you ever had a year without a friend? I remember my second year abroad. I finally had a good friend. We went on a Spring Break trip to Quito together, led a weekly Bible study together, had daily prayers together during Lent, shared the cost of a taxi together so we wouldn't have to carry our
reflections Sacred Objects TCKs (Third Culture Kids), and for many of us who have had to move around, carry sacred objects. These objects might be the one thing that has stayed with us throughout our moves. Sacred objects can come to represent a place or a person or provide a sense of comfort
resources Featured Children's Books: Questions & Activities to Help in Transition Though my life's work has been primarily in caring for students and talking with them about the international life full of constant change, I find myself struggling to be a safe space for my own children to share their feelings. (That deep desire to see them be happy.
resources Alexander, Who’s Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to Move It had been a very long time since I had been read to and probably an even longer time since I had been read a children's story. We were seated in the freezing cold auditorium. A large group of adults, young and old, who were either preparing to
reflections Guacamayas & Goodbyes Do you ever have days where you are just sad? Where you question everything and wonder why you chose to live this life? Where maybe you've been waiting for doors to open but they just don't seem to? Where your resilience feels low and tears are
reflections Featured Finding My Voice I believed firmly that the world didn't need my voice, another person saying things that you already know. My voice didn't matter.
podcast The NorthStar Narrative I was so excited to sit down with Stephanie Shafer from The NorthStar Academy to talk about the importance of transitioning well. Helping families in transition is my passion because caring for the whole family means caring for the child too! Hope you enjoy the conversation! The Importance of Transitioning
podcast Talks with a TCK Friend I had an absolutely lovely time talking with Marie Suazo from Talks with a TCK Friend! She creates such a safe space to share your story and as my own story has a lot of ups and downs, that space was such a blessing. Since beginning this conversation Marie and
Members only resources Transitions from A to Z Change is a part of life. But so often we find ourselves caught off guard and unprepared when we experience change. Learning to manage change and transitions has become a growing area of focus and research with books like Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age by
