How to choose a good summer school for your child
Educationalists have long been concerned with the phenomenon of the learning gap. Study after study has shown how the break in children’s learning that occurs over the long summer holiday sees gains made in the previous school year eroded and the new school year starting with a lot of catching up, covering old ground and […]
US embassy London – hints and tips
This past Thursday, we made the trip to the US embassy in London to renew our daughter’s American passport. For children under the age of 16, you must renew in person. We’ve done this trip several times since our eldest was born in 2001. We’ve registered births, applied for passports and social security cards and […]
Future-proofing your child: four essential work skills to learn now
Future-proofing your child: four essential work skills to learn now – guest post As parents it is very easy to worry so much about our children’s qualifications that we can forget the many other skills employers look for when they offer that first job. What skills do employers want to see evidence of and how […]
Tutoring via Skype
So I normally get up at 4am to work while it’s quiet, but this morning I was woken at 2am by our new and apparently loud and sleepless neighbors. It was a shock because the house next door has been empty for over a year and we are an end terrace and our previous neighbors were elderly […]
Freezing in Britain – Top Tips for Keeping Warm!
January and February are always the most depressing months here in Britain. The bills come in, the darkness is oppressive and the cold is persistent. I know there are colder places in the world, but the cold here just seems so COLD and without abundant soft snow or amazing icy glaciers to look at, it’s […]
6 Helpful Apps to Use While Traveling During the Holidays
Whether you are flying, driving or walking down the street, traveling for the holidays can be chaotic. From car rentals and packing to baking and gift giving, starting now until the new year, count on making lots of online reservations, spending a few shiny pennies and eating plenty of pumpkin pie. While on the go, […]
Tax Rules for Americans Living and Working in the UK
For those who are working in the UK and need advice and help on your taxes, this useful guest post explains how you can easily get into trouble and more importantly, how you can get out of trouble and also where to start, what to do and who can do it for you. Take time […]
Online support and expat communities
Gosh, since I started this blog I’ve discovered so many online support networks and communities. If you are looking to connect with like-minded people, then take a look at this list of groups, pages, forums and newsletters that you can join. It really can make a difference if you have just moved and are looking […]
Slurping Soup and P.E.T
Depending on where you live in the world, your kids might already be on summer vacation, or summer holiday as it’s called here in England. We still have four weeks until they break up and it always amazes me how little time they actually have off school. It’s only six weeks and by the time […]
American history Fenn style
An update to my post about American history: We have done two weeks of American history lessons and so far so good. I take my hat off to parents who homeschool their children on a full-time basis. I always thought it would be challenging but I highly underestimated the amount of patience that is required […]
Birthday parties and hen dos – British style
Over the years I have learned to throw the perfect English children’s birthday party – from the quintessential home party complete with homemade cakes and cru de te, to the raging soft play party, to the pre-teen sleepover party with midnight raids and questionable movies. I’ve written before in a previous blog post about birthday […]
The Do’s and Dont’s of the British children’s birthday party
Two of my children were born in March so it’s a busy month for parties in our family! I have learned so much about how to throw the perfect British children’s birthday party. And also what the party etiquette is when your child is attending a birthday party over here. If you’ve never done it […]
American driver in Britain
A reader commented recently on how I didn’t put anything in Bringing Up Brits about driving in Britain. I think perhaps by the time I wrote my book, I felt I had mastered the art of driving on the other side of the road and parking in unimaginably tight spaces. But looking back, it was […]