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Today's newsletter is long, just fyi, but it's totally worth it! PROLOGUE I will never forget this now dear friend’s comment upon arriving in Spain: “Don’t hang out with the Americans if you want to learn Spanish”. I didn’t exactly follow his advice, at least not in the first months, but I did eventually learn Spanish, and I learned it well enough to be asked all the time, “What?! You’re not Spanish?!”, after speaking to someone for some time. But I didn’t learn Spanish overnight. I think that sometimes people get frustrated when they’re learning a second language because they hear all kinds of (false, in my opinion) marketing that says things like, “Speak fluent English in 3 months!” or “Learn English while you sleep!”… We sometimes forget about all the hard work that goes into learning a language, all the frustration, all the confusion, all the embarrassment (unless you’re a child of course, in which case, you generally don’t suffer so much!). But today I don’t want to talk about all the hard work that goes into learning a language once you actually start actively learning it, I want to talk about all the life events that can lead up to the success or failure of learning that language in the way that you want to. CHAPTER 1 Let’s take a little trip back to the past, in the early 1990’s when Teacher Claire was just a tiny little kid. I think my first time on a plane was before I could even walk, and while I don’t remember that specific event, I of course remember all the yearly trips we would make at Christmas time to visit my dad’s UK family. While I wasn’t being exposed to a different language, I was certainly being exposed to the idea that there was a big world out there, which obviously needed exploring! My parents, while both native English speakers, always talked about travelling and visiting other countries, and my mom talked a lot about her time living abroad in the UK with my dad when they were young. Seem insignificant? Think again. When these kinds of conversations are normalized at home, kids grow up exposed to the idea that the world is their oyster. CHAPTER 2 I think I was 9 when my parents sent me halfway across the world to Oman to visit my aunt and uncle. A friend of theirs was going on a business trip or something, and as any normal parent would, they decided to take advantage of this “plane babysitter” and sent me off, for 3 weeks! I think I spent the first week crying myself to sleep every night because I missed my mom. But the trip was a blast. How many 9-year-olds can say they’ve bartered with bazaar shopkeepers, ridden a camel, swam in the Arabian sea and slept in the desert in a real Bedouin tent?!?!? CHAPTER 3 Something else that certainly made a huge impact on my life was when we “adopted” a kid from Belarus. It was part of a program to help kids who had been exposed to the radiation from Chernobyl. So Stas arrived as a skinny, scared little 8-year-old who spoke absolutely no English. While he tried to teach us some Russian (I still remember a few words ahaha!), he learned to communicate with us in English in 1 summer. What a smart kid. Then he came back every year until he turned 16. It was such an awesome experience, both for him and for us. I always remember being so fascinated with the fact that he could speak 2 languages! CHAPTER 4 My parents were also role models for us kids, at least when it came to learning languages. My dad travelled for work A LOT when we were kids, most often to Europe, and I remember listening to him practice his French at home (with the Rosetta Stone CD’s, do you remember those? Life must have been so much more complicated before the Internet and Duolingo, ahaha!), because first of all he needed it for work, and second of all, he was interested in learning it! I didn’t like French as a kid thanks to a scary teacher I had, but I became super interested in Spanish, and I imagine the catalyst for that was the time that I spent living in Texas, where I made my first bilingual friends, and had my first interactions with people who actually didn’t speak any English! I chose to go on to study Spanish at high school, and while I didn’t learn much, I was extremely interested in Spanish culture, in fact, I remember that in one of my cooking classes (yeah, I chose cooking classes instead of useful things like physics and calculus…ohhhh the American education system…) we had to cook a whole meal inspired by a country, and I of course chose Spain. I can still remember the awful “paella” and “gazpacho” that I concocted…let’s just say my cooking skills got better once I actually did move to Europe! CHAPTER 5 You’re wondering how all these random events have anything to do with how I actually learned to speak proper Spanish, and also how this has anything to do with you and your kids. I’m getting there! Hear me out. Here’s where all of this comes together and gets really cool. In the USA, universities often send information about their programs in the mail. So, one day, when I got home from school, I had a letter waiting for me (yes, a real, paper letter, snail mail style) from Saint Louis University. I had absolutely no intention of going to Saint Louis, that was way too Midwest for me, but I opened it anyways. Inside there was an invitation to learn more about their campus, in Madrid. Not Madrid, New Mexico (in the USA), but Madrid, Spain. Huh…I thought…that’s cool…I kept reading, only to see that they were offering scholarships for any students who wanted to spend at least 1 year at the Madrid campus. My mom encouraged me to send in the application and see what happened, and I didn’t think twice. Turns out, I got accepted, and was offered a decent amount of money off of my tuition to study there, and that, my dear, is where the magic started. CHAPTER 6 BUT if I hadn’t had all that exposure as a kid to the idea that travelling the world is something normal, and if I hadn’t had parents who were super gung-ho about the idea of living abroad, and if I hadn’t already been used to moving house (we changed states like every 3-4 years for my dad’s job growing up, so making new friends had become the norm for me), I might not have jumped on that opportunity. 1 year led to 4, I chose to finish university in Madrid, and by the time I was finished studying, I knew I wasn’t going back to the USA. You know the rest of the story. I eventually met my cute Italian husband who was also living in Madrid at the time, then we moved to Italy, and my language learning journey started again, providing me with new opportunities, new challenges and most importantly, the ability to create new, lasting relationships. CHAPTER 7 So, dear parent, I have a challenge for you. What’s 1 thing that you can do this week that will spike your child’s curiosity in the world? You don’t have to ship them off to Oman, find a job that sends you all around the world or adopt a kid from Belarus. All you have to do is show your child that there is a big, big world out there, and that they should be curious about it! The more curious they get, the more they’re going to want to know what they can do to learn more about it, and the older they get, they’re going to realize that speaking English is one of the things that will allow them to explore it. That doesn’t mean they won’t come back to Italy, don’t worry mom 😉. But that does mean that they’ll have just that many more opportunities to create connections with people, take advantage of study abroad programs, and find a job that they really are passionate about. As a thank you for actually reading this far into today’s book, if you’re not sure where to start, start by watching this story with your child, it’s absolutely adorable. You could then ask them what’s the first place they’d like to visit if they could travel the world like Max and Lemon! You can also download this worksheet to do with them, it’s a way to turn that poor, unfairly hated subject Geography into something fun and exciting! Thanks again for reading this far. You’re an awesome parent and your kid is lucky to have you. P.S. JUST KIDDING. I’ve nothing else to say. At least not for today 😉

How are you feeling about that? I’m feeling pretty good. I don’t know why, but I think 2025 is going to be a good year. If you want to know why I think that, I’ve written a whole blog post on how I’ve decided to stop wishing, and start taking action, and how you can do it too, in any area of your life! Here’s a little something that you can do with your child this month of January to take action on using more English at home! There’s a super short, super easy activity to do every day of the month, BUT the important thing isn’t to do everything. It’s to be consistent. Once a week? Perfect. Twice a week? Awesome. There is no 1 right way to take the first step! Since we’re on the topic of taking action, I want to take the first step and tell you what I’m excited about for 2025! If you’re curious to know more about any of the things on this list, just hit reply and let me know! I love getting emails from you! •Organize English summer camps, in Turin, for kids •Take my students to the UK in the summer •Help more moms feel awesome speaking English •Organize small group, online lessons for kids from all over Europe •Collaborate with local schools in Turin to teach kids in presence

Just a quick note! If you like my emails, do me a favor and make sure that you include claire@yesyourenglishspace.com to your contacts list. Some algorithms have changed and lots of people are telling me they’re finding my mails in their promotions folder, and worse yet, spam! On that note, do you like receiving my emails weekly? Or would you prefer them to be less frequent? The New Year is always a good time to implement changes in how we do things, right? So let me know what you think! POLL. Okay, now that business is out of the way, I don’t know about you, but my “New Year” is in September, not January. Who wants to make all kinds of plans for the next year when all we want to do is take a well-deserved break and chill on the couch with some hot chocolate, right? Another thing that I do not like about this new year period is all the hype about making all kinds of resolutions to basically become a different person and have a different life, only to find that as soon as work and school goes back to normal, that our super plan to “gotothegymeveryday,stopdrinking,quitsugar,workless,spendmoretimewithfamily,fightlesswithpartner,run5keverymorning,getorganized,stopcomplaining,findanewjob,movehouse,etc.etc.etc……..” was just a holiday sugar high. What’s your take on New Year’s Resolutions? POLL I was listening to a podcast the other day that put a really cute spin on the whole “resolution hype” and they suggested to do something a little bit different. Why not try this activity with your child? You can do it in English, or even in Italian but with a bit of an English twist. Here’s how it works: •Get a pen and some paper. Your child might want to use their notebook and fancy pens. All cool. •Set a timer for 1 minute on your phone – you and your child have 1 minute to write as many things as you can for each of the following questions. oWhat awesome things happened this year? oWhat sad things happened this year? oWhat have I learned this year? (It could also be – what English words/phrases have I learned this year?) oWhat new things do I want to learn next year? (Idem – what new English words/phrases do I want to learn next year?) oWhat’s one thing I can do today to start learning ______? (For example – watch a video on YouTube, look for a guitar teacher on SuperProf, look on Google to see if there are any dance schools in my neighborhood, etc. etc.) How cute is this? It’s a super fun activity to do with your family, and you certainly don’t HAVE to put any type of English twist on it, but you can totally adapt it if you want to do so! Hit reply and let me know what your child came up with, it would make my day, because you and me both know that kids say the most hilarious, but also the most profound things, which often remind us adults that our priorities are out of wack. So, on that note, Happy New Year, have lots of fun, drink responsibly, be careful with the fireworks and…yeah. See you next year!

I don’t know about you, but I have already eaten too much food and it’s not even Christmas yet! The only thing that saves me from all these lunches and dinners is that I don’t really love desserts, and since I have a Muay Thai competition in January, even though my gym is “closed”, those of us who are competing are allowed to go and train…phew! Today I will keep it short and sweet – I hope you have an absolutely wonderful Christmas and are able to deserve some well-deserved time off to spend with family and friends. If you want something fun to do in English with your kids, here’s a little Christmas gift from me: P.S. if one of the things you’d like to be able to in 2025 is speak more English at home with your child, I’ve got you covered – I’ll be running a free webinar on the topic the first week of January (date/time to be determined, sorry, my brain is sort of already on holiday) – so just click here to let me know if you’d be interested in participating!

Alex the Dog is back! I threw up a survey on Instagram (still don’t follow me? DO IT!), and everyone unanimously voted for this month’s story to be called “Alex the Dog’s Christmas Wishlist”, and so, consider your wishes granted! Here’s a fun worksheet to get your child to make their own wishlist, just like Alex’s! I had so much fun creating this story, and it also made me think. A lot. It made me think about what a huge difference there is between wishing something to happen, and actually making something happen. I spent all weekend (except for date night with my guy and a forest walk with Alex) working on something to help moms overcome their fear of making mistakes when speaking English with their kids, because I’m tired of hearing, “Claire, I wish I could read stories in English with my child but my pronunciation sucks/I don’t know all the words/I don’t speak English well enough”. Hey – your pronunciation doesn’t suck, you don’t need to know all the words, and you DO know English well enough. All you have to do is take the first step to improving your confidence in yourself. If this is something that hits home with you (and you missed my crazy mail yesterday, sent to you on a SUNDAY!), then click here.

Is your Christmas tree up yet? Let me tell you a little secret. Personally, I don’t love Christmas, but I DO love Christmas with my students! They get so excited when we start our Christmas lessons, and their enthusiasm is so contagious that it gets me into the Christmas spirit as well! This got me thinking about how important it is to use what our kids love to our advantage when we want to teach them something or get them into a new routine. To give you a bit of a “scholastic example”, when I was teaching for the language school, I used to dress up all the grammar lessons I had to teach with Christmas fun; instead of just talking about the present simple vs. the past simple, I got my students to tell me what they did last Christmas, and what they usually do on Christmas. You can be sure that they kept interrupting each other to tell me more things about their Christmas traditions! While my goal as a teacher is to get my kids speaking as much as possible, you can still get them into the routine of doing things in English at home, and you can absolutely use their Christmas enthusiasm to help you! Maybe they usually put up a fight about watching something in English, but maybe they’ll be happy to watch something in English about Christmas! YouTube is full of Christmas cartoons (you can just type that into the search bar), and Netflix/Amazon/Sky/Disney etc. are full of great Christmas cartoons and movies! Want to take it one step further? Download this Christmas Cartoon Review to get them thinking about what they watched, in English! This is just one example of the type of activity that you’ll find in my Christmas Advent Bundle, so if you’d like 24 more activities to get your child doing fun things in English over the holidays, click here to get your copy! P.S. I’m getting some great responses regarding my “International English” survey, but the more the merrier as we say in English, so I’m going to ask for a Christmas favor by asking you to fill out the questions with your opinions! Click this link to open the survey, it’ll take you 5 minutes, promise!

OMG it’s December! For some, that’s a good thing, for others not so much. As I told you last week, I’ve always preferred Thanksgiving to Christmas, “less faff” as we say in English. And this year’s Thanksgiving was surprisingly special! My sister paid me a surprise visit and flew in from Madrid, so we could celebrate together!! We had a fun filled weekend visiting Turin, eating lots, and speaking our usual mix of languages – English, Spanish and “Itañol”, depending on what friends we were with. Before all the fun started though, I of course put her to work in my Thursday lessons and presented her to my students and let them ask her all their questions. They were so excited to meet a member of my family (they’re always asking me about my crazy international family), and that motivated them to show off their English skills. What a happy teacher they make me! This, along with a conversation I had with a student last week about a lunch with his grandmother and his extended French family (where they had to speak English as it was the common language), got me thinking about the fact that it’s no longer strange to find mixed nationality families, or in any case, extended families who live in other countries and hence bring other languages to family reunions. With the holidays approaching, families and friends get together, and often times there is a mix of different languages and cultures under the same roof for a few days, which is an absolutely fabulous opportunity to get kids curious about other cultures and hence learning other languages (English or non). Getting kids curious about other cultures one of the things that I do best, and I want you to be able to do it as well! Read this blog post if you want some extra inspiration on the topic. And, as we’re on the topic of “internationality”, I have a favor to ask you. I’m currently dreaming about forming groups of students not only from Italy, but from all over Europe, so that my students could be exposed to other cultures not just during the holidays, but every week! I’m in the initial phases of this project, and for now I’m gathering some information from parents both in Italy and abroad to see if this could be something that people really want. Could you spend 5 minutes of your week answering a few questions for me about this topic? I would so hugely appreciate it. Click here to open the survey. Thanks. P.S. If you missed Friday’s email about my Christmas Advent Bundle, here’s a little sneak peak/gift for you – it’s the advent calendar from the bundle with an activity to do every day of the month until Christmas, so that you can get your child into the routine of using English every day! If you want to get the whole bundle complete with all the templates for each activity, just click here.

I hope last week’s Alex the Dog story got your child thinking about all the things they are thankful for! This week’s newsletter has a challenge for you and your child, as well as an invitation to try something new! I know you won’t actually be celebrating Thanksgiving (unless you have American friends) this week, but you can still spend the week being grateful! In this Thanksgiving activity, your child will think about something they are thankful for every day, and at the end of the week they will have an adorable Thankful Turkey that they can put together in English, with or without your help! If your child is too old for silly Thanksgiving crafts, don’t worry, there’s also a page for the pre-teens where they can simply write down something they are thankful for every day. I encourage you to do this activity with your child, like I said last week, it’s a great excuse to spend some quality time together while also practicing English. Now, if you like experimenting in the kitchen, I want to invite you to try to make something you’ve probably never made before! My absolute favorite dessert in the whole entire world is pumpkin pie. I don’t really like sweets, but pumpkin pie is just the best. If you think you don’t like pumpkin, think again! This pie doesn’t taste like any pumpkin you’ve ever had before, and it’s so easy to make! It’s something you can make with your child, or if you don’t like cooking but you’ve got a curious pre-teen in the house who does, ask them to try to make it! Here’s the recipe! Pumpkin pie - Italian recipes by GialloZafferano I hope you have fun, and even if the pie isn’t something you’ll try to make again, just think about the fact that you spent some quality time with your child, doing something fun in English, and most importantly, exposing them to the traditions of another culture, which will spike their curiosity in so many ways! If you want to teach your child a bit more about the history of Thanksgiving, this adorable Pete the Cat story can help you do that! (Pete the Cat The First Thanksgiving | Animated Book | Read Aloud) If you make the pie, do tag me on Instagram or send me a picture here!

Thanksgiving is next week! Growing up, Thanksgiving was always my favorite holiday. Halloween was the most fun, and Christmas was nice because we had a longer holiday from school, but Thanksgiving was (and still is) my favorite holiday. I have a pretty small family, so Thanksgiving was always a very relaxed day, and went a little something like this. We would wake up early and go to participate in a 5k run called the “Turkey Trot”, and then eat bagels and bananas in my favorite coffee shop. When we came home, I would help my mom cook – turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, roasted vegetables, and of course, a pumpkin and apple pie! We would all sit down at the table around 4pm and have a huge feast, and then we would all share what we were most thankful for. There are no presents on Thanksgiving, it’s just a day to spend time with family. After lunch, we’d go out on a walk or go to the park to play football and burn off some of the calories, and then we would come home and make hot chocolate and eat pie. My kind of day. Sports, food, sports and more food. To be honest, I’m getting a tiny bit sad writing this right now because my family doesn’t manage to get together for Thanksgiving very often! These memories remind me how important it is to create space with our kids to talk about what we’re thankful for. It’s a beautiful bonding experience, and it can also be an opportunity to incorporate some English learning! In next week’s newsletter there will be something special for you to create this bonding-English learning time, but for today, I’ll leave you with another story about Alex the Dog that will introduce the idea of gratitude to your child, but in English! You can print this worksheet to help you make the most of it! If you love it, hit “reply” and let me know! I love getting feedback from you and your kids.

How did you get on with the Autumn Senses Challenge from last week? Did you manage to get out and get some fresh air, as well as get some English practice in? Today I wanted to talk about the idea of harvesting, but not in the traditional sense of vegetables (though if you’ve been reading me for a while, you know I talk about my vegetable garden all the time…maybe too much!). I wanted to talk about the idea of reaping the benefits (the harvest) of practice and dedication, and I wanted to give you a real-life example to show you how this applies to your child, no matter how old they are today! I’ve always been super athletic. I was a hyper-active child and was always moving around (not much has changed, honestly). I played tons of sports as a kid in school, and as I got older, I discovered that I was an awesome runner, and dedicated myself 100% to track and field and cross country. That turned into marathon running and cycling, and today I keep myself in tip-top shape with Muay Thai, yoga, trekking and the occasional run. I can’t imagine my life without sports. It’s something that has been such an important part of my life for so long, that even when I’m tired after work and don’t want to go to the gym, or don’t want to wake up early to do yoga in the morning, I do it anyways. It’s a habit, and the benefits far outweigh the difficulties. My mom was my example growing up. She is a marathon runner, personal trainer and life coach, and at one point she even competed in figure competitions (sort of like body building, but not with all the huge, gross muscles). We shared and still share a common interest for health and wellness, and I owe my great health to her for always being an example, at the gym and in the kitchen. Why am I telling you this? Because this has everything to do with your child’s success at learning to speak English. The sooner using English (through games, songs, stories, lessons and activities) becomes a habit for them, the more benefits they will reap from it as they grow up. Learning to speak English shouldn’t be limited to memorizing grammar, vocabulary and fixed dialogues. That’s a start, but to really be able to speak comfortably, English needs to be connected to something more. It needs to be connected to something that your child is interested in, and if you, their super parent, can set the example like my mom did for me, it’s a recipe for success. So what does this mean in practice? This means that you have to step up and help your child create the habit of using English on a daily or weekly basis. It doesn’t matter if your child is 3 or 13, you can help them use English! And to help you do that, I’ve created a simple weekly task list with suggestions of short activities that you can do daily with your son or daughter (yes, there’s even things for those rebellious pre-teens to do!). It’s not dated so that you can use it whenever you want, and you can switch up the activities to suit your routine. I hope you like it, and remember, if you have any questions regarding your child’s specific situation, you can always hit “reply” and ask, I do actually answer my emails!

I hope you had a nice long weekend! After a full month of rain, I was actually able to get outside this weekend and do some much-needed garden chores! I finally planted my garlic, and harvested the last zucchini before putting the plants on the compost bin. Can you believe that I’m still picking zucchini, in the mountains, in November?!?! What an awesome plant. As we’re on the theme of gardens and nature, let me introduce this month’s theme: nature, harvest and being thankful. November is a beautiful autumn month, and even those of you who are reading me from warmer places are probably starting to see the leaves change color and feel the crisper air in the mornings and evenings. In the USA, November is when we celebrate Thanksgiving, so later on this month I’ll be giving you some resources to talk about “being thankful” with your child, it’s a beautiful way to bond with them! Today though, I wanted to talk a bit about the benefits of being in contact with nature for kids (and us adults) and how to connect it to learning English! I want you to imagine a world where kids are surrounded by trees, birds chirping, dirt under their nails, and a breeze whispering through the leaves. It's not just calming; it's downright magical—and it’s exactly what kids need for both body and mind. You might think, “Ok Claire, wait, what’s this got to do with learning English?” Trust me, a lot! Let’s explore why being out in nature works wonders for kids and how it makes English learning even more fun! Did you know that time outdoors sharpens focus, improves memory, and even lowers stress? It's like giving their brains a gentle boost every time they step outside. This boost is perfect for soaking up new English words and phrases. When kids are relaxed and curious, they’re way more open to trying new things—like saying “hello” to a tree, “whispering” to the wind, or describing colors of flowers in English! And when all their 5 senses are being used, they are literally learning with every ounce of their body! You can read the full blog post here, I hope it will make you want to lace up your shoes and get outside with your child! To motivate you to do so and to help you turn your outdoor fun into a chance to practice English, here’s a simple Autumn Senses worksheet, where you child can write or draw what they can see, hear, smell, touch and even taste in the autumn! While they can of course do this inside, I highly encourage you to go outside so that they can really experience the autumn with their senses! Before you go, I wanted to ask you a favor. Could you let me know what helps you get your child excited about doing some English practice with you? Your insight will really help me to keep creating content that you love!

The week has finally arrived! Halloween is here! This means Halloween lessons with Halloween crafts, Halloween games and songs, and of course Halloween speaking! As we’re on the theme of scary yet also fun things, I wanted to talk to you about something super scary yet also super fun that I did this past weekend, and share my reflections on it with you. On Saturday, I competed in my first ever Muay Thai match. That’s right. If you don’t know what Muay Thai is, it’s sort of like kick boxing. Anyways, I started this sport 2 years ago, and I never expected to actually compete. But my coach insisted, and so I decided to try. I was SO nervous, not of getting punched, but of making a fool of myself. That sounds a bit ridiculous, no? I’ll give you the verdict of the match at the end of this email, but first I want to connect this last point to learning English. The first matches of the day were kids, and just watching them bounce around the ring, throwing kicks and punches like it was nothing, laughing about it and just having a grand old time, was so adorable, and I honestly felt a little jealous. They weren’t nervous, they weren’t afraid of making mistakes, they were just up there in the ring doing what they had learned to do and having tons of fun while they were at it. This is exactly what happens when kids start learning to speak English when they’re young. They don’t worry about sounding silly or making mistakes like us adults to. They aren’t embarrassed to try. And when it’s made into something fun for them, they’re motivated to keep going, keep trying and keep learning. This is why I insist so much on 1) speaking practice, and 2) making it fun. All the theory in the world is great, but until you’re up there, in the ring, in front of your opponent, the only thing that matters is how well you can put what you’ve learned into practice. This is why using fun holidays like Halloween can be so advantageous to getting kids on board about learning English. They want to do Halloween, and if it’s in English, well, why not?! If you want to take advantage of the week’s theme, then I’ve put something together for you that I think you and your child will love! It’s a Halloween Fun Pack, full of all kinds of activities designed to get your child using English, all while having all kinds of Halloween fun. There’s even a mini game lesson with Teacher Claire included! Click here to see what’s inside and get your copy, it costs 10€, and do let me know if you enjoy it! P.S. I told you I’d let you know the verdict of my match, right? So, to my absolute shock, I won! My first match, against a girl with way more ring experience than me! But do you know what? I would have been just as chuffed as I am having lost, because my goal was to put everything I’ve learned over the past few years into practice and not embarrass myself, and I didn’t. All those hours at the gym paid off, and this is what will motivate me to keep going back, week after week, even when I’m tired and would just rather curl up on the couch with a book. Consistency is what produces results, there is no magic formula. Practice makes better, and when practice is fun and motivating, the more you want to keep doing it. I want you to be able to help your child practice their English in a fun way, a little bit every week, because that’s what’s going to make the difference in their learning journey. Consistency, motivation, and fun. So, here’s my Halloween gift for you – a page out of the Halloween Fun Pack, a Halloween Trick or Treat Scavenger Hunt that you can take with you when you go trick-or-treating on Thursday, giving your child a chance to speak a bit of English while collecting all kinds of treats (and maybe a few tricks). If you want to get the whole pack, just click here! Happy Halloween🎃!

Do you love or hate Halloween? It gets mixed reactions here in Italy, some of my students love it and would be happy to do Halloween lessons every lesson, and other students don’t seem to care much about it. Last Thursday, I was in a lesson with A and C (9 years old) and A was searching for something in her English notebook (she’s the most organized 9-year-old I’ve ever met) until she finally said, “Aha! Claire! Can we sing “Halloween Night?” This is music to my ears, no pun intended haha! When students remember what we do from year to year, and ask me to repeat songs, videos and games, I’m the happiest teacher in the world. It means that they are associating English with fun, and that is exactly what will allow them to grow up speaking English confidently. I absolutely adore Halloween, and I do enjoy coming up with all kinds of fun activities for my students who love it just as much as me! I wanted to share some Halloween fun with you as well so that you can get your child doing something in English under the disguise of Halloween 😉. Here’s a printable complete with a Halloween coloring, craft and activity sheet that your child can do with your help or alone, depending on how old they are. Make it even more fun by giving them some Halloween treats for completing the activities (here’s a super fun recipe if you like having fun in the kitchen with your without your children!). Let me know how you get on with these activities, and let me know what you’d like to see more of from me every Monday! Hit reply and tell me what your child enjoys best (worksheets, coloring, stories, videos)! See you next week for one final Halloween surprise!

Has the autumn arrived to your house yet? This weekend was strangely warm at my house, but the trees are certainly starting to change colors! But my lovely little students in Rome are still running around in t-shirts, telling me, “Claire, it’s summer!” when I ask them what the weather’s like. I’m in full autumn swing here – this week’s lesson plans are full of autumn themed vocabulary, games and stories, and my little ones are already asking me what kind of games we’re going to play on Halloween this year! Don’t you worry, I’ll have something freakishly, fabulously fun prepared! This week’s autumn fun is a silly little story about Alex the Dog and chestnuts. I’ve turned it into a video, so your child can watch and listen along! If you’d like to read the story together with your child, just turn off the sound and read it as if it were a regular e-book! Remember dear parent, the point isn’t to understand everything, the point is to expose your child to English, and open up the possibility for some follow up interaction in English, or with your, or quietly by themselves. I’ve created this quick worksheet that your child can do while or after watching the story, enjoy! As we’re on the chestnut theme, if you live in or near Turin, you absolutely must come to hang out with me next Sunday, October 20th, in Pramollo (it’s about 20 minutes away from Pinerolo, TO). From 14:30 onwards, you can come and eat roasted chestnuts and “waffles”, as well as browse the market for local cheese, jam, honey, buy gifts and decorations made by local artisans, and of course, come say hi to me! I’ll be there helping with the “waffle” making, as well as participating in the market with my Usborne children’s books along with the awesome girls from UTO BOX (if you don’t know about them, you absolutely must check out their website, they make the most adorable portable craft boxes that you can take ANYWHERE to keep your child entertained, and the best part is they’re in both Italian and English!) Below you can find the address, and let me know if you’re coming! It would be great to meet you in person! Alright then, have a lovely rest of the week, and I’ll be back in your inbox next week with some Halloween fun!

October is finally here! Autumn is my absolute favorite season, I love the colors, the fresh air, the foods that come back into season like chestnuts, pumpkin and broccoli, and most of all, the promise of winter (snowboarding season!). Oh, and I also love Halloween – sorry – I know it’s not an Italian favorite, but I did grow up in the USA, and we don’t celebrate Carnival, so the only time we get to dress up is Halloween! Did you know, Halloween in the USA doesn’t have to be scary – you can dress up as whatever you want! My favorite costume was when I went as Pippi Longstocking, I had my long braids sticking out of my head and everything! Anyways, during the school year, my newsletter will take a little twist and focus on all kinds of seasonal fun. Every month we’ll have a new theme, and this month’s theme is of course, autumn and Halloween! If you want to get your child doing something fun in English this week, here is an autumn themed wordsearch, complete with a picture dictionary to color! And, if you want to take these new vocabulary words one step further, why not go on a walk with your child to look for some of the things they found in the word search? It’s a great way to make words stick in your child’s mind, and it’s also fun and healthy to get outside! I’ve got just 2 more quick announcements for you today, and then it’s off to plan my lessons because the school year has officially started! 1)I’m closing my small group courses this week, but there are still a few spots left (a few for elementary school kids and a few for middle school kids), on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so if you’ve been on the fence about having your child do some extra English practice this school year, this is your chance! Book a quick coffee chat with me here to see if I’ve got a solution that works for you. 2)I’ve got something super excited coming up! I’ll be participating in my neighbourhood “Castagnata” this year, with my very own stand of Usborne books, and I’ll also be organizing some fun activities for kids (autumn scavenger hunts/craft time) so if you live in or near Turin, come and say hi! It’s in Pramollo, on Sunday, October 20th. I’ll be sending more details out over the next few weeks, but I figured I would just drop this here for you if you’re reading from Turin and looking for a fun autumn themed family plan, complete with some English fun for your kids! I’ll leave you with the most adorable picture of a very shy creature that only comes out in the autumn when it rains, who I saw the other day when on a walk with Alex the Dog in the forest. Any idea what its name is?

I wanted to share something with you today that I heard the other day in a business coaching call. But first, I need to give you some context. What on earth does a teacher need a business coach for, you might ask? EVERYTHING except the teaching part would be my honest answer. I’ve been teaching kids for a very long time and it’s something that I know how to do very well, but do you know what I didn’t know how to do well when I decided to leave traditional school settings and open that terrifying thing called a Partita IVA? I didn’t know anything about running a business. About taxes, pricing, customer service, websites, social media, newsletters…all the things that go on behind the scenes of any successful business. I learned how to do a lot of things, fast – like setting up and managing a website, writing a blog, posting (though not well) on social media, managing clients and invoices and of course, the fun part, planning and teaching my very own lessons with my very own curriculum. But, I was teaching way too many lessons in a day and hardly making enough money to live off of. That doesn’t sound like a successful business, does it? I realized that still I needed to learn A LOT if I was going to manage as a teacher-preneur living on a P.IVA. So what did I do? I’ll tell you in a minute. But let’s go back to what I wanted to share with you. Let’s imagine you want to learn to play the guitar. So, you buy a guitar…and then what? . . . . . If you thought – and then find a teacher and take some lessons – you would be right. This could be through a private teacher, group lessons, or even just using YouTube University as your teacher. Thanks to the Internet, we really can learn at least the basics of everything nowadays. There’s one more extremely important step though. Any idea what it is? . . . . . If you guessed – practice, practice and practice some more – you’re right. That’s exactly what I did to learn how to run my business in a sustainable, successful way. Could I have learned all this information on the Internet, by myself, and for free? Probably. But I paid a teacher because I needed more than just the information. I needed the accountability, and most importantly, the motivation. I’m part of a group, it’s not 1-1 coaching. And do you know what? The best part of this whole experience is the community – the people I’m meeting, the friends I’m making. And little by little, I’m putting things into practice so that I can keep doing what I love doing most – teaching kids – in the way that I know works best for them. So, I’m curious. If learning something is as simple as – find a teacher, take some lessons, and practice – what would your perfect formula be for helping your child learn English? Click one of the answers below, and if yours is more complicated, you can always hit respond to this email and let me know your thoughts. •The DIY method – you wear all the hats – you can teach your child by incorporating activities at home and using free or paid resources that you find online to help you. •The private teacher method (in presence) – you find a teacher (or babysitter) to come to your house to play with your child in English. •The private teacher method (online) – you find a private teacher who your child can have lessons with online •The language school method – you sign your child up for school year group or individual lessons at a traditional language school •If you’re already my client, you can just click here – ENGLISH WITH TEACHER CLAIRE 😊! Guess what? There’s no best way. The best way is the way that works best for you and your child. Just like there’s no best way to learn the guitar or run a business. It has to work for you. Let me know if you have any questions about what could be the best way for your child to learn English, I’d love to help you decide. P.S. If you’re curious about my method – the private online teacher method – go ahead and click here to see my school year lesson packs – for both groups and 1-1 lessons. 1-1 spots are 99% full, but I’ve still got a few spots left in my small groups, so if you want to know if I’ve got a solution that works for you, just click here to book a coffee chat with me. No strings attached.

So, school’s been back in session for about a week now, but September still isn’t finished, and so I imagine neither is your game of “after school activities Tetris”. How are you feeling about it right now? Are you beasting it and getting everything to fall into the right place at the right time, or do you feel like you’re just hiding under a pile of colorful bricks, waiting for the game to end? Wherever you’re at in the game, you’re doing your best to get your child’s routine back on track because as a super parent, you know how important a routine is for kids. I’m going to take a lucky guess and assume that since you’re reading this, one of the activities that you’re trying to fit into your child’s routine is English, be it after school lessons or just doing some extra English at home with you or a babysitter. So, on that note, I want to give you some quick tips today on how to get more English into your child’s week, because, much like when learning everything, but especially a second language, the more practice, the better! Why is it so important to have English become “routine” for your child? Essentially, a routine teaches kids how to grow into responsible adults. We don't have our morning and evening teeth brushing routine just because it's fun - we do it to avoid unexpected trips to the dentist, and we don't stop doing it when we turn 12, 15 or 18 - it becomes a lifelong habit. We don't have our school day routine with its various activities just because it’s what we're supposed to do. We do it to get used to having to go somewhere and do things for a certain number of hours a day, exactly like we'll eventually have to do as adults at our job. So, we want speaking English to become part of a child's routine so that it becomes something that they continue to get better at as they grow so that they can have access to a world of opportunities when it comes to choosing where to go to university or where to look for a job. You can dive into all the dirty details by reading this blog post! And remember, if one of the Tetris blocks you’re trying to fit in is after school English lessons, I’ve got a pretty no stress option for you. Small group, online English lessons, once a week from now until June! A surefire way to turn English into a *FUN* weekly appointment for your child. Courses begin October 7th, so hop on a “sales free” call with me to find out if I’m the right person to help your child with their English this school year!

Good morning from sunny Madrid! I did a crazy thing back in June and decided to buy tickets to come to Madrid for a long weekend, right smack dab in the middle of all the back-to-school organization, but hey, lucky for me I can take my computer with me anywhere right? I’m here visiting all my super friends, my sister (who followed me to Madrid but then met Alex the human (not Alex the dog) and stayed in Spain) and randomly enough, my dad, who’s popped in for a quick visit on his way back to the US after his summer stay in Scotland with my brother. Oh, yes, we are a bit of a crazy family but it’s beautiful! How did all three of us siblings end up in Europe you might ask? Thanks to my awesome parents who said, “Get out of the USA, travel around a bit and if you want, you can come back.” Long story short, we never went back. Why am I telling you this? I’m telling you this because speaking another language opens so many doors that we don’t even consider before actually opening them. I have an entire “friend family” in Madrid thanks to my ability to communicate in Spanish. My sister is now also bilingual and we can use Spanish to speak in code around the rest of our family when necessary😈. She works for a super prestigious international university that she wouldn’t be able to work for if she wasn’t bilingual. I ended up in Italy because my husband’s company in Madrid needed someone who could speak Italian to open up the Italian market, and so off to Rome we went! Speaking languages offers so so so many opportunities for PERSONAL growth, as well as professional, and this is what I want for your child as well. To have the CHOICE to go, see the world, meet all kinds of cool people and have all kinds of awesome experiences, and then be able to DECIDE if they want to return to Italy or not. Being able to choose is such a beautiful thing. Your child can’t choose everything for themselves right now, which is where you, super parent, come to the rescue. You can choose to give them the opportunity start speaking English, right here, right now. You can choose to help them develop the right attitude towards learning languages so that when they grow up, they can choose from so many opportunities that they wouldn’t be able to do if they didn’t speak English (or any other second language for that matter). It took me quite a while to feel comfortable speaking Spanish. I was, after all, 18 when I moved to Madrid, so even though I was “immersed” in the language (except for the fact that all my friends were bilingual…), it took me a few years to feel comfortable speaking in all situations. And now my friends make fun of me because I speak Spanish with an Italian accent and forget words and essentially just make a mess. Ohhh the trials and tribulations of being multilingual, haha! Your child is already way ahead of me, because they already study English at school from when they’re tiny tots, and they have you as a parent, who is actively looking for ways to give them as many opportunities as possible to practice it. What could they be capable of after 8 months of practicing their speaking skills in a fun, relaxed, kid friendly environment? What could they be comfortable doing in English? I’m not going to tell you they will have a “CEFR Level” like A1. I’m not going to tell you they will, “Get a 10 in English at school” (although that might be a pleasant consequence 😉). But I will tell you that they won’t be afraid of English anymore. They won’t hate English anymore. They won’t think, “I can’t speak English” or “I don’t understand English” anymore. Kids are sponges. Their brains are programmed to learn as much as they can in as short of a time possible. If I had jumped off that plane in Madrid when I was 8 instead of 18, I would have been completely bilingual in 6 months. Instead, it took me quite a few years to get to that point. Your child lives in Italy, so of course, most of their life is in Italian, and that’s fine!!! The few extra hours they spend learning now are equivalent to years spent learning as an adult. So, if you want to give your child an extra English boost, just click this link to sign up for a discovery call with me to see if I’m the right person to help your child get from A to B (or maybe even C, D or F) on their English learning journey. Click this link to see all the details about my group courses for the school year, and as always, if you hate calls, you can always respond to this mail with your questions first, and save the call for later.

Dear parent, school starts this week!!! How are you feeling about school starting again? Over the moon? A bit nervous? Worried? Relieved? School starting up again can cause lots of mixed emotions, not just for kids, but also for parents. There are so many things to think about, like getting school supplies, buying books, sorting out your child’s busy schedule, as well as of course your job, putting food on the table and trying to have some time to yourself as well. I was having a chat with a friend on Friday afternoon, and for both of us as teachers, September is also pretty crazy, and since we’re both millennials, this song by Green Day popped into our head at the same time…hahaha! Do you know who Green Day is? A bit of 90’s USA pop (punk-emo) culture for you today. It's a super emo song talking about wanting the month of September to be over. I know you probably feel the same way ahaha! Anyways, I want to keep today’s email short and sweet because I know you’re busy, and to be completely honest with you, my brain is so so tired after last week’s Back to School English Challenge (which was so much fun, thank you to everyone who participated, live and not!). I just want to remind you that you’re a super parent, and let you know that I’m not accepting sign ups for my small group courses for kids aged 5-12. They’ll officially start in October, and are all kinds of fun. Check out all the details here if you want to know more! Wake me up when September ends….

Dear parent. I absolutely must tell you this story. Trust me, it will cheer you up, maybe even make you smile. I say cheer you up because for many of you, this week is probably the first week back to work, and it’s never easy, even if you love your job! Not to mention that your kids are still at home…Don’t worry, school starts in 2 weeks! Anyways, on with my story. The other day, I was in a lesson with MV. He’s been working with me since the first grade, and now he’s going into middle school! He came to the lesson and said, “Claire, I didn’t do my homework, but I have a story to tell you”. This is music to my ears. This is what I want from my students – that they tell me stories. That they want to talk to me. MV went on to tell me that the day before, his little brother L, who I also teach, had to go to the hospital because he had been bitten by a spider! Not a violin spider, thankfully, but a scary spider nonetheless. Thankfully, everything was fine, L didn’t grow a third arm or turn into Spiderman or anything like that, but this story allowed me to ask questions to MV like, “Were you scared?”, “What are you scared of?”, “How is L today?”. This type of interaction between me and my students allows them to experience real life conversations. For as simple or as complex as the student’s vocabulary is. No conversation is “too simple”. This is, in fact, why we learn a second language, isn’t it? To be able to have conversations. To be able to interact with people. Today my students interact with me in English. Tomorrow they’ll interact with their teachers and peers at school. In a few years, they’ll interact with people when travelling, studying and working. Everything has to start somewhere. If you want your child to get to the point where they feel comfortable interacting with people in English, it’s never too soon to start! You can expose them to English at home through videos, stories and games (check out this blog post for tips on how!). And if you want to take it one step further, you can give them the opportunity to interact in English by signing them up for extra lessons or English activities. Every little thing that they can do in English today will help them feel more comfortable at school, and in the future, at work and beyond. Over the next 2 weeks I’ll be holding some Q&A sessions for parents, regarding English for kids in general, as well as giving you a hands-on experience of what it’s like to learn English with me. Even if you already have a plan for your child’s English learning this year, you can still come and pick my brain, ask for suggestions and talk about your doubts and fears with me and other parents who share the same goal as you – to provide the best education for your child possible. Click this link to save your spot in the time slot that works best for you. You can also submit your questions before the session so that I make sure to have the best answer for you, just respond to this mail with your question and I’ll answer it! As always, remember, you can put your name on this list here to be the first to receive the information for my upcoming school year courses, no strings attached!

The other day, my business mentor (yes, even teachers need teachers) asked me, “Claire, why did you decide to work with kids?” She wasn’t asking me for the flippant, “It’s what I studied” response. She wanted me to do a bit of auto – psychology, dig deeper, and find a real answer. I thought I would share that answer with you as well, dear parent! I started “working” with kids when I was 9. I had a summer babysitting job that helped me to pay for my first riding jacket for my first horse riding competition (don’t worry 2024 parent, it was totally normal in the USA in the 90’s for kids to babysit, pet sit, etc. even at such a young age). When I moved to Spain at 18, it only seemed natural to continue doing so, the only difference was that I did it with kids that didn’t speak English. To be honest, up until this point in my life, babysitting was just a means to make extra cash. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but I didn’t want to be just a babysitter for the rest of my life. I juggled restaurant and babysitting/teaching jobs all through university, and also afterwards. Then I got my first real teaching job in a school. It was only there that I realized that there was something about working with kids that just clicked with me. I’ll be honest, that first year teaching 25 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds was not easy. I didn’t have a curriculum to follow, I had to come up with my own resources, games, activities, etc. etc. I showed up to school an hour early and left an hour later every day so that I had time to prepare my lessons. I cried sometimes when I got home because I thought I was doing an awful job. I thought I would quit at the end of the first year and go back to bartending. But do you know what? I stuck through that first year, and then decided that instead of quitting, I wanted to go back to university to get my teaching degree so that I could make teaching kids my career. And now, my lessons and the time I get to spend with my students is the best part of my day. I don’t love marketing, I don’t love finance, I don’t love complicated tech. But I do it all because it allows me to work with my perfect students – kids. I still haven’t answered the question of WHY I decided to work 100% with kids though. When I started my own online teaching business, I also taught adults, but I made the conscious decision to focus my energy 110% on teaching kids because it’s what I do best. It’s where I’m in my element. It’s where I feel comfortable, safe, at ease. I like talking to kids, and they like talking to me. I understand them, and that in turn makes them feel safe. I love their gust to learn new things. I love their excitement about life, their dreams about their future. I love their creativity. They help me to be my most creative self. They have such big imaginations. And my mission is to help them use that imagination to dream big dreams for themselves. They laugh, they smile. When they are sad or upset, I’ve got quite a few tricks up my sleeve to turn their frown upside down. They don’t worry about making mistakes. They don’t worry about being perfect. They remind me that we aren’t perfect and nobody should expect us to be. They don’t lie. If they don’t like something, the tell me. If they love something, they tell me. They have fun. They tell stories, and love reading or watching stories. They are open minded. They see the world in the purest way possible. Their energy is contagious, and their smiles are what make every second of this business journey of mine worth it. This is why, dear parent, I teach kids. This is why I have big dreams for my future. If you stick around long enough, you might just see some of those dreams come true, and along the way, maybe I can help your child achieve some of theirs. If you’re curious to know how, remember that you can always sign up for a coffee chat with me to ask me questions about your child’s English learning, as well as learn how they can work with me. If you’re considering the possibility of having your child work with me this school year, go ahead and put your name and email on this list, and you’ll be the first to hear about my 2024-2025 courses!

Well good morning! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that most of my recent content has been about my garden, or Alex the Dog. It’s August, it’s hot, and even me, work-a-holic Teacher Claire is taking things a bit slower and enjoying living life a bit slower. I didn’t always have a garden though. Until just 3 years ago, I was the biggest city slicker and every plant I had ever had in my house or on my balcony died. No exceptions. Except the highlander basil that I didn’t even plant on my terrace in Rome…anyways, I only discovered my love for gardening and all things plants when I moved out of the city to my little mountain home. My mom says I used to grow carrots and chives in the backyard as a kid, but I don’t remember much of that, I probably just helped her pick and eat them while she did all the hard work haha! My little garden has become my peaceful place, free of all things technology, where I can think, observe and most of all, learn. I want to share something with you today that I’ve only told to a handful of people because I come from the generation of, “Blow out the candle, make a wish, AND DON’T TELL ANYONE, or it won’t come true”. Maybe what I’m about to share with you will come true, maybe it won’t, but I bet it won’t be because I told you ahaha, what a silly superstition. So here goes. I love teaching kids in English. I love watching them grow and improve. I love creating lasting relationships with them and their families. I love helping them find their feet, become confident in themselves, and then watching them use their English in real life situations, be it for travel, school or even work. I also love being outside in my garden. I love watching the seedlings I plant grow into beautiful plants. Maybe it sounds funny, but sometimes it’s almost sad to harvest and eat them! I do my best to protect them from slugs and deer, and try to keep them watered, warm and happy. One day, I want a space where I can combine my love of teaching kids and my love of all things flora and fauna. I want a place where I can teach kids where their food comes from (of course in English!), a place where they can get in contact with nature, get their hands dirty, and learn how to do all the things I wish I had learned as a child, not as a 30-year-old city kid. I want a place where I can invite not only my students, but their families, to come and get some fresh air when they need an escape from life and work. Does that sound crazy? Does it sound like a place you’d send your kid to learn after school or in the summer? I’m sure it’s not something that everyone would like, but I’m also sure that there are quite a few people out there who would love the chance to connect a bit more with nature. Which type of person are you? Thanks for letting me share that with you. I hope you’re enjoying a bit less screen time and a bit more you time, doing whatever it is that keeps a smile on your face.

First of all, thanks for opening this email, it’s August 12th, and I hope you’re on holiday, so the fact that you’ve taken a minute out of your free time to read me means a lot! Knowing that you probably have lots of other fun things to be doing right now (and if you’re working this week, that means you have tons of other things, maybe not so fun, to be doing anyways), today’s newsletter will absolutely be short and sweet. I just want to tell you a quick little story, a quick heart to heart if you will. Last Monday was one of those days. A terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. I opened Zoom for my first afternoon lesson with C, a bubbly, joyful super fun 9-year-old. Her camera connected, but she wasn’t yet at the computer (she was running around in the background, looking for a shirt), and when she realized that I was there waiting for her, she bounded (not ran, bounded) over to the computer and gave me the biggest, most genuine, beautiful smile as she connected her audio and said, “Hi Claire!”. Needless to say, all the negative things on my mind completely disappeared. We then went on to watch Dragons Love Tacos, shared some laughs, and that was that! The simplest of gestures from one of my students was enough to completely change my mood, and I don’t ever want to forget that smile. I want to make sure that I’m doing everything in my power to make sure that my students come to my lessons with that smile, and if the tables are turned and they’re having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day, I want to be there to help them forget their woes, just like they do for me, even when they don’t realize it. What’s one thing that’s guaranteed to get you smiling, even on the most horrible of days? Hit reply and let me know, I’d love to hear from you.

OMG it's August...! It was Christmas...yesterday...🤯 As the curious child that I am, I would love to know what you have planned for this month! In case you were wondering, I'm staying home this year, but that's okay with me! I live in the mountains, so I don't have to escape the heat, and my little vegetable garden will keep me very busy! Before I leave you and go pick more zucchini (they never end😅), I just wanted to tell you that even though September seems ages away, I'm already thinking about the new school year, as the organized teacher that I am! I'm guessing you're not thinking about the new school year at all, but just in case, if you're even a little curious@ to get some more information about my 2024-2025 courses for kids and teens, I invite you to put your name on this list. It is a no-strings-attached list to save your child's place in the event that you decide to have him/her study with me! September can be a time full of requests and spots fill up quickly! I will still be peeping into your inbox in August with whatever fun things are on my mind, but now, go! it's time to start preparing for the vacations! And remember, if you need something easy, fun but also educational to keep your child occupied while traveling, you can still pick up your copy of Moppy's Summer Holidays printable!

Do you ever wonder why you do things the way you do? Maybe I’m just getting older, but lately I’ve been reflecting on my actions and choices in life, and I must say, many (or perhaps most) of the choices I’ve made as an adult stem from my childhood experiences. In a subconscious way, you could say, but it just goes to show how much a child’s experiences actually influence their adult life! Let me give you a few examples of my own, we can take a quick trip down memory lane together so you can get to know me a bit better! -I am the absolute queen of moving house, changing cities and changing countries. Sometimes I just want to stay in one place and chill out, but then when the opportunity arises to change and go somewhere new, well, I forget about wanting to chill and just go. This has a bucketload of pros, as well as some cons, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just in my nature. And guess what? As a child, we moved house (and city, and state) more or less every 4 or 5 years due to my dad’s job… -As a kid, I lived, breathed and dreamed horses. I was obsessed. Once my parents agreed to let me start taking riding lessons, that was the end (for them anyways). When I wasn’t at the stable riding, helping out or just watching the pros ride, I was reading horse books, drawing horses, dreaming about horses, getting a horse tattoo…anyways. I remember one instructor that I had – Christina – who became my absolute idol. She must have been my age now (of course to my child self she seemed “old”), and I thought she was so freaking cool. She was tall, thin and gorgeous, wore only jeans and t-shirts, and drove the coolest little white antique BMW. Fast forward 25 years – Teacher Claire still loves horses, only wears jeans and t-shirts, and drives the coolest little white antique ’98 Fiat Panda Van… -I chose to study Spanish in high school, and I will never forget my 2 polar opposite Spanish teachers. They were both crazy, one because I think she had left half of her brain and her heart in Colombia on her travels, if you know what I mean, and the other was a little Greek woman who didn’t teach us Spanish at all, but I remember loving her classes because they were fun – we laughed, we joked, we acted out silly plays in Spanish (having no clue what we were saying), and listened to her stories of her world travels. -Although I grew up in the USA, I never really felt like I identified 100% with being American. My dad is from the UK, so I’ve always had two passports. We never travelled around the USA, we always went to England or Scotland to visit my family there. My mom is half Polish, and also lived in the UK with my dad for many years before moving back to the USA. We almost moved to Switzerland for my dad’s job when I was 12 (oh how I wish we would have, though 12-year-old Teacher Claire was not happy about that at the time), and my dad was always on business trips in Europe. Low and behold, I didn’t think twice when I had the opportunity to move to Europe and ditch my American identity…and here I am today, Teacher Claire, on a mission to show kids that there is a big big world out there, and that speaking languages can help them explore it. Do you see where I’m going with this? Kids absorb so much of what’s going on around them, for both good and bad, and this influences their adult choices in so many ways. What’s the point of my ramble today? To tell you that the only thing that really matters when it comes to getting kids and teens to learn English is this: they must have a positive memory of it. That doesn’t mean they must never have challenges in it, or never have problems with it. That doesn’t mean they need to get perfect 10’s on all their English tests at school, or remember every last vocabulary word when talking to their teacher or classmates. It just means that at some point on their English learning journey, they need someone or something that makes it into their brain’s subconscious positive memory box. So, dear parent, I have a challenge for you for the month of August. Perhaps you’re traveling to a different country, where you might need to use English? Perhaps you’ll have interactions with tourists in Italy, and you’ll need to help them out in English? Perhaps you’ll meet a friend who tells you about their travels to another country? Whatever the case, my challenge to you is this: involve your kids. Show your kids that even knowing just a few words in English can be useful in some situations. Or at very least, show them that you are interested in English, not because it’s important to get good grades at school and finish all their summer homework. Show them (even if it’s not true), that you’re interested in English just for the sake of being interested in English. Trust me – even if it seems like they don’t care about anything they’re seeing or hearing, you’re giving them an opportunity to put that memory into their memory box, and they just might find it useful in the future! If you don’t have a clue about where to start, you can always introduce them to Moppy the Monster! I’ve created him, it, her, whatever pronoun you want, to help you show your child that English can be fun. 25 pages of anti-boredom remedies, ready to be printed and packed in your child’s travel bag! It costs 10€, and it’s yours for life, to be used whenever and wherever you want! Check out the full description and details by clicking the fun little green button below.

I often get asked the question – “What should I do to help my child learn English better/faster/more easily?” Guess what? There’s no right answer to this question. Don’t despair! This is a good thing! There is no one right way to learn a language or to make a child learn a language. What works for some kids doesn’t work for others. Some kids love doing exercises and writing everything down in their pristine English notebook. Other kids would rather just sing, dance and play games in English. Others just have fun chatting with their teacher and classmates. I thought about writing another one of my long email books about how “alternative” teaching methods can help kids learn English, but I literally just deleted three paragraphs of what I had written because it was boring. Here’s some tangible examples instead. Francesco was bored with the typical school review approach. He needed to use his imagination, so we started reading stories. As he got older, he started telling me his own stories – about school, friends, sports, life in general. He’s now just passed the Cambridge B2 exam, at 14 years old! Aurora loves her English notebook. She loves writing down new words, doing her homework and most of all, playing “Simon Says”. Do you know why I think she loves Simon Says so much? Because the fact that she can understand what Simon is asking her to do, or not do, is so motivating for her and shows her how much she really does understand, even at her young age. Davide loves talking. Not just with me, but with his classmates. He wants his classmates to have as much fun as he does acting out dialogues, inventing stories and looking up new words. I often let him share his screen to show us a picture of something that he wants to talk about, and I let him be the mini teacher for a few minutes! Maria Giovanna uses our English lessons as her own personal “show and tell” time. Her stuffed animals, her adorable dog and her desktop lamp have become her classmates. They all get a turn to play whenever we play a game or read a story, and she loves the fact that I welcome anything and everything that she wants to bring to her lesson. Once her mom asked me if I wanted her to stop bringing things that “distracted” her. When I explained that she put on a new voice for every stuffed animal (in English) to interact with me like another classmate, her mom was positively surprised! So – the best way to learn English? By connecting with the “why”. I want to give my students a “why” – if they want to tell me about their “horrible, no good, very bad day”, they know they can, on the condition that they try to talk to me in English. If they want to be the “teacher” for a minute and explain something to me, they know they will be listened to. I love learning about their interests – I’m not so old yet that I don’t know what Tik Tok is or who Snoop Dog or Sfera e Basta is, but I let them talk to me as if I didn’t know anything so they can use their knowledge (and knowledge of English) to talk to me about something they’re interested in. No rocket science here. No “my way is the best way” here. Just plain old I want to help kids enjoy learning English. That’s it. And you, dear parent, are already doing your part by reading this newsletter or my blog. By trying out some of the games or websites that I suggest. By using the PDF’s that I create. So fear not – there is no one right way to get your child to learn better or faster. Just keep doing what you’re doing in the way that works for you, your schedule and your lifestyle! As the holidays approach, you’re hopefully getting ready to take some time off and spend some more time with your family. As a parent though, I imagine that can also sometimes be stressful! What to pack, what to bring to keep them entertained on the journey, oh no not the tablet, again! Every summer I create some fun printables for my students to do when they’re on holiday, and this year is no different! Moppy the Mini Monster is ready to go on holiday with you and your child! It’s a 25-page holiday themed workbook full of stories and fun activities for elementary school kids – complete with instructions for you (in both English and Italian) that’s easy to print (90% black and white) and even easier to do (all you need is a pen or pencil and some colors!). The best part? It’s almost free. It costs 10€, and I hope it’s just what you need to add to your kid’s “anti-boredom holiday pack”!

Hey parent. Guess what? You’re doing a great job. Raising kids has got to be the most rewarding yet also the most challenging responsibility on the face of the earth, so hats off to you. Nowadays, we’re bombarded with so much information on how to: •Be more productive •Be healthier •Be more active •Be a super employee or entrepreneur •Be more creative •Be more relaxed •Be a perfect parent The list could go on forever. But with all the information out there online, as well as all the funny reels and carousels full of tips on social media on the do’s and don’ts of perfect parenting, it’s normal to sometimes feel like you’re not doing enough. I just want to tell you that if you ever feel that way when you read my newsletter, please remember that I am your biggest fan and you have my utmost respect – I’ve no idea how difficult it is to be a parent! I want you to remember that even if you never apply any of the tips that I share with you in my emails, you’re still a super parent. I want you to remember that if you don’t have the possibility to sign your child up for English lessons, camps, or study abroad experiences, they will still grow up to be a perfectly successful adult. I also want you to remember that your child is different from all the other children out there, and will learn at their own pace. There’s no rush. As I always tell you here in my emails, the most important thing that you can do is help your child to understand that learning a second language can not only open doors for them in the future, but it can allow them to do cool things even now during their childhood. And to do that, all you need to do is have a positive attitude towards it yourself. That’s it. Everything else you do to help them on their learning journey is extra. So, on that note, in honour of my now 35 years of age, here’s a gift for you to help you do that. It’s a short video story about Alex the Dog that you can watch with your child or have them watch alone if they’re big enough. To complete the story and help your child connect even more with the story and its vocabulary, I’ve prepared a PDF complete with 5 activities to complete during and after watching the story. Let’s call it my birthday gift to you. If you want to give me a gift too, after watching the video, hit reply to this email and let me know if your child enjoyed it and if they were able to complete the activities. I’d oh so love to hear your opinions!

Today is a special day, and this week is a special week! Let me tell you why, and then explain why my personal life actually relates to your child growing speaking English like a pro. Today is my 7-year wedding anniversary and this is BIG news because growing up, I always said, “I’m NEVER getting married!!” Hahah! Never say never! I guess I just met the right person at the right time, and I would have never met that person if I hadn’t decided to go and live in Spain and of course, learn Spanish. And I wouldn’t be here writing to you today in Italian as the “teacher-preneur” Teacher Claire if I hadn’t met that cute Italian boy who is now my husband while we were both living and working in Spain. Funny how things work out, isn’t it? Do you know what else I said I would never do when I was growing up? Become a teacher. My idea of school was everything but positive. I got good grades, don’t get me wrong, but I hated school and most of my teachers – I was the rebellious kid in the back of the class who filled her notebook not with notes but with funny doodles. So, what changed? Learning a language. No, learning 2 languages. If you’ve been reading me for a while, you know that I studied Spanish at school, in the same way your child learns English at school, but when I arrived in Spain for University, I had no idea how to really communicate. Do you know what helped me get over my fear of speaking in Spanish? Kids. If that sounds confusing, let me explain. I started babysitting Spanish kids to make some extra money while studying at university. Now of course, I used mostly English, also because my Spanish was worse than your child’s English is now (trust me), but when you babysit, sometimes kids get upset or hurt, then cry, and they need comfort, in their first language, and rightly so! So, in those situations, to show them that I was there to help and that I could understand their problem (even if I didn’t understand every word they were saying), I would try to speak some Spanish to them. I didn’t worry about making mistakes like I did when I spoke to their parents or to people at university parties. I just tried, because the goal was to be able to communicate enough with them to solve their problem. Textbook language learning situation? Definitely not. Did it work? You bet. Last week I asked you to give me some feedback regarding your child’s English lessons at school. I wanted to highlight an interesting comment that I got from D (thanks, you know who you are 😉). This is what she told me: “A proposito dell'insegnamento dell’inglese, concordo con te [che la qualità non è sempre brillante] a parte un progetto di CLIL che quest' anno è stato interessante e a MG è piaciuto molto!” What is CLIL? My specialty, I actually wrote my thesis on it! Basically, it involves teaching something that isn’t English, IN English. So, teaching Art, Science, History, or any other subject, in English, using notions that the kids have already learned in their first language. And let me tell you, it WORKS! This is an “alternative” method to teaching English, which generally involves a lot more hands on activities and above all, speaking opportunities than a traditional English class would. If you want my opinion, it’s a much more natural approach to learning a language, while at the same time still being compatible with a traditional school context. Let me connect all the dots here and arrive to a conclusion, as I’ve once again written a book (I really should write a book…). •Learning a language changed the ENTIRE course of my life, in ways I never could have imagined as a kid, and I’m so so so thankful that I had the opportunity, and I want the same for your child. •Learning to speak a second language often occurs OUTSIDE of a traditional school context, even if your child can’t travel to another country yet, or ever! •Any motivation is a valid motivation to learn a language, and trust me, your child already has one! I’ve decided to dedicate 100% of my time and energy to helping kids find their own motivation to learn a language so that they can grow up to have as many amazing opportunities as I have had, and continue to have, because I’m not done growing up yet either! On that note, Saturday is my birthday, I’m going to be a whopping 35 years of age, OMG. A good age to finally know what I want to do when I grow up, right? So, while I call myself Teacher Claire, I am the antithesis of all the teachers I had growing up, and want to use my childlike enthusiasm to show your child that English is fabulous. Next week’s newsletter will contain a super gift in honour of my old age for you that will show you first hand just how enthusiastic I am about this whole thing (if you haven’t already figured that out), so don’t unsubscribe just yet haha! Today’s newsletter will be less gift-y and just tell you that I have only 2 slots left for my 1-1 summer lessons, so if you want to jump on that offer, you can check out my lesson packs or book a discovery call here before they fill up! That’s enough, probably too much, for one day, so I’m off to go plan my birthday party. Toodles!

I wanted to talk about something that I’ve been discussing a lot lately with my clients, potential clients, and also friends – and it has to do with the way English is taught at school. I know, I know, it’s July 1st and the last thing on your mind is school right now. But since time flies, September will be here before we know it, so I figured, why not talk about it, it’s on my mind, and obviously on a lot of other people’s minds as well! So, here’s the evidence I’ve gathered from many conversations with people, as well as a bit of my own personal experience: the quality of English education in MOST Italian public schools isn’t brilliant. I don’t like to be a Negative Nancy, I’m not a Negative Nancy really, I’m just realistic. And often times this can be understood the wrong way. For example, just the other week, my dear, loving (and sometimes annoying) husband said, “Claire, that Instagram post about the problem with English at schools was pretty extreme, no? Shouldn’t you try to be more positive?” To which I answered, “Dear husband, first of all, you don’t have a child, so you don’t know what’s going on in school. Second of all, yes, I’d absolutely love to be more positive, but this is the unfortunate, realistic situation, at least for many people!” I could write a list of quotes from mom’s and friends who’ve told me they’re not entirely happy with their child’s English education, but let’s be real – you probably don’t need to read them to know what I’m talking about. Let me know though, because I’m sure (and I know) that some schools actually do offer quite a good English program, so if that’s your case, that’s awesome! But I wanted to dissect this problem a bit here with you today, so that you can also understand why this is the case – and no – it’s not 100% the Ministry’s fault or the teachers’ fault. It actually has to do more with how a language is learned vs. how other subjects can be taught and learned by kids. I want to compare English to Art (NOT Art History), because Art, in a way, is very similar to English. Hear me out. Quality Art lessons must be taught by a passionate teacher. Quality Art lessons require a lot of resources, a textbook and the Internet is not enough. Some kids seem to be born with innate art skills, others not so much. The only way to improve your art skills is to practice drawing, painting, etc. Theory is not enough. All of the above also apply to learning English. The only difference between the two subjects is that Art is often considered (both in and out of school) as an “extra” subject, or as I like to call it, a “reject” subject. This is so sad because Art teaches children so many things, but I don’t digress. English is deemed “more important” just because it supposedly offers more opportunities in life. The problem with both Art and English at school is the same. Sometimes the teachers aren’t passionate about teaching the subject, or just don’t have enough time or resources to bring it to life for their students. Many schools don’t have access to high quality resources to make learning more interactive for the students. The students who don’t learn as quickly as others are often just taught to believe, “I’m just not good at languages/drawing”. And 100% of the student at school don’t get enough opportunities to practice speaking, due to class size and lack of time. These are just cold hard facts. Languages are learned through speaking. Just learning the theory is not enough. If a student grows up to be a professional artist, you can be sure they didn’t just practice drawing 1-2 hours a week, and for English, it’s exactly the same. So, what do you think? Am I a Negative Nancy? I’d love to hear your thoughts on your child’s English education at school. Are you happy with it, or do you think it could be improved? You know what I’m going say by now – if you’re looking for some extra support to boost your child’s learning, I still have a few slots left for 1-1 lessons during July and August, so check out all the info here, and get in touch if you have any questions!