Category Archives: children

Five Brothers, One Family

Posted on May 29, 2020 by maryannniemczura

As we recall this Memorial Day all the sacrifices made, we are grateful as a country for our liberty. We visit cemeteries, march in parades, fly the flag, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing our National Anthem. We are … Continue reading →

Posted in children, education, faith, family, freedom, Memorial Day, resilience, soldiers | Tagged Bill of Rights, Brownie, civics class, Constitution, education, faith, freedom, history, love, parades, Pledge of Allegiance, role models, soldiers | 14 Comments

Life’s Unexpected Pleasures

Posted on April 24, 2020 by maryannniemczura

Noticing that we had a new mail carrier, I opened the garage door for the large package she carried. We chatted. Then I offered her some small snacks. She had not had lunch and was most appreciative. A hug followed. … Continue reading →

Posted in buddy bench, children, German, hugs, mail carrier, painted rocks, wearing masks | Tagged Bach, delivery trucks, elementary school, grocery delivery, Mainz, music, Prague | 42 Comments

Eyes in the Back of my Head

Posted on October 10, 2015 by maryannniemczura

Young children sometimes think their parents and teachers have a super power, a way of knowing and seeing things even when their backs are turned. Using humor, they explain to children that they have these eyes in the back of … Continue reading →

Posted in children, eyes in the back of the head, laughter, medicine, parents, schools in Germany, teachers | Tagged best medicine, children, eye glasses, eyes in the back of the head, humor, parents, schools, teachers | 7 Comments

Lessons from Mom and Dad

Posted on June 6, 2015 by maryannniemczura

When our children were infants, I recall purchasing a book about development of infants and what to expect at different ages. The statement about the three-year-old stuck with me because it helped me cope with some very difficult persons and … Continue reading →

Posted in adults, children, flexibility, Fulbrighters, manners, narcissists, patience, tolerance | Tagged character building, dealing with others, flexibility, narcissistic people, patience, tolerance, zero-tolerance | 5 Comments

Childhood Freedom

Posted on March 14, 2015 by maryannniemczura

Recent media accounts of a couple in Maryland prompted me to write this week about the freedom and pleasure of childhood play. I was fortunate to start my early childhood years in rural Massachusetts in and around the Springfield, Palmer … Continue reading →

Posted in a stranger, childhood play, children, family, family stories, Fulbright Teacher, Germany, life lessons, life skills, Maryland parents, Massachusetts, Musings, Parents, rural America, school, schools in Germany, Sturbridge, Upstate New York | Tagged childhood, children, freedom, independence, life skills, Maryland parents, Massachusetts, parents, play, responsibility, trust | 2 Comments

How Learning German Changed My Life

Posted on March 7, 2015 by maryannniemczura

What do you consider most important in your life? Looking back, was there a single turning point in your life which made you who you are today? Probably, like most of us, life’s most eventful moments come in a series … Continue reading →

Posted in children, college education, customs in Germany, education, family, family stories, Foreign Language Learning, Free German University Study for American students, Fulbright Teacher Exchange, German culture, German language, Germany, global citizens, languages, life lessons, Parents, schools in Germany, Teacher, University of Colorado at Boulder, vocational education in Germany, world languages | Tagged college education, Colorado, family, flexible, German language, Germany, learning, open-minded, opportunities in life, teaching, tolerance, university study, vocational education in Germany, world languages | 7 Comments

Holding Fond Memories

Posted on February 14, 2015 by maryannniemczura

It seems weeks now since we have felt Mother Nature’s wrath with one storm after another and bitter cold wind chills biting us as we attempt to brave the outdoor elements. When I was a child growing up in Sturbridge, … Continue reading →

Posted in animal tracks, blizzard, children, family, Massachusetts, Nor'easter, Nostalgia, schools in Germany, Sturbridge, Upstate New York, Valentine's Day, winter, winter activities | Tagged beauty, blizzard, children, embracing life, Massachusetts, memories, Mother Nature, New England, Nor'easter, simple pleasures, sledding, snow, snowmen, Sturbridge, Upstate New York, winter | Leave a comment

Our Lives Were Forever Changed

Posted on February 7, 2015 by maryannniemczura

During the first Fulbright Teacher Exchange Year in 1990-91 when I taught English as a Second Language in Neresheim, our son, Thomas, turned seven in February. His younger sister, Emily, turned three at the beginning of the Fulbright year in … Continue reading →

Posted in birthday celebration, children, customs in Germany, education, family, Fulbright, Fulbright Teacher Exchange, Germany, Oscar Mayer, parents, schools in Germany, Teaching, Teaching in Germany, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Tagged culture in Germany, family, Fulbright Year, German kindergarten, German Schools, Koesingen, Oscar Mayer, remembering, rural towns and villages, teaching in Germany, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 6 Comments

1000 Pounds and 1000 Feet Tall

Posted on January 31, 2015 by maryannniemczura

Language development in children has always intrigued me. When my two children were young and learning to talk, they each had distinctive words for milk. One would ask for “muck” and the other would ask for “moke” rhyming with poke. … Continue reading →

Posted in children, education, Foreign Language Learning, Fulbright Teacher Exchange, kindergarten, languages, learning words, school, Swabian German, word meanings | Tagged elementary school, Fulbright in Germany, Germany, Language development in children, learning languages, Mother's Day, speaking, Young children | 3 Comments

Languages Reveal Cultures

Posted on January 17, 2015 by maryannniemczura

As a German language educator for some forty-eight years now, I am still intrigued with languages and words and recall as a young girl in Massachusetts how we used certain words for everyday things. When I was ten and moved … Continue reading →

Posted in children, Colorado, education, family, Foreign Language Learning, Fulbright Teacher Exchange, influences in life, languages, Massachusetts, parents, rural America, school, South, Sturbridge, Teaching, Teaching in Germany, Western Massachusetts | Tagged bag, childhood, childhood play. Massachusetts, Colorado, countries, cultures, education, family, foreign languages, Fulbrighter, Germany, poke, regional differences, remembering, rural towns and villages, sack, teaching, words | Leave a comment