I spend a lot of time reading all over the internet.  Some days my browser has so many open tabs that those tabs have shrunk to barely discernible bumps surrounded by arrows on either side of the screen to tell me there are more tabs in hiding.  On those days my eyes cross in the way someone’s mother once scolded of permanence.

I’m sure you’re wondering what I read that causes my eyeglass prescription to change regularly.  The simple answer is “just about everything.”  Of course, I read about Third Culture Kids.  Sometimes that means I read about Tim Tebow–an easier thing to do when you live in the Denver area and he was a Bronco.  I chase leads on new films about TCKs.  I jump around a lot of blogs about expatriates.  They have information about educating children in another culture, learning a language as an adult, and adjusting to life in a new place–all things I address in my position.

I read about dating, marriage and singleness because I don’t know a teen who doesn’t have questions about those topics.  I certainly don’t have all the answers.  I read about helping children learn a new language because that’s a high value in WorldVenture.  Once in a while I find a scholarship competition.  When you work with families who can use all the financial help possible, scholarship info is a potential gold mine. I find practical school type things to help kids learn to read English better or to help their parents conquer a wiggly math concept.  (Trust me, math concepts are often wiggly . . . and slippery.)  I read about laws and policies that help keep kids safe.

I find great ideas to use in my summer class room.  Some of them I can adapt to the themes and ideas I want to teach; others are tailor made for what we do.  Since I’m not really a pre-school/elementary teacher (and those are the kids who take a good chunk of my time), so I need all the help I can get.  I love finding new tools to help me convey the truths I want them to learn.  A few of the things I find are just practical–a time out jar or instructions for making an alternative to water balloons.  (Yes, my idea of practical may not be the same as yours!) While I know these finds don’t take my place in the classroom, I hope they enhance the experience of each one who enters it.

There’s so much stuff out there.  It needs sifting, so I sift.  I read and decide if the article is helpful for the families with whom I work.  If it is, I email it or post it on the parents page on facebook; or if it’s for WorldVenture’s TCKs, it goes on their page.  If it’s applicable to the adult TCKs I know, it just goes straight on my facebook.  Other things go on my pinterest boards because it’s better than bookmarking and other people can decide what to do with them.  And yet other things get filed away in different places for training modules.

In case you’re wondering, I thought I’d give you the links to some of the places I frequent.  Many of these are new to me.  I hope you find some gems here.

Drieculturen – A Dutch TCK, Janneke, writes about her experiences and TCKs in general

Communicating Across Boundaries – an ATCK, Marilyn, writes about faith, TCKs, the Middle East . . . and so much more.  This is one of my favorite posts on this site–so far.

Multilingual Living is a great source for raising bilingual (at least) children.  It gives a lot of practical tips.

The newest finds have come from Tumblr in the last few weeks.

I Am A TCK is a fascinating mish-mash of visuals and articles from around the web that reflect a TCK life.

International 3CK has a headline about being an international student, but it’s scope goes beyond that one aspect.

Poetic Jabbing is a beautiful mixture of pop culture, water images, scripture, Orthodox Christianity, and nuggets about being a TCK.

There are so many others . . . but I don’t want to overwhelm you.  This is just a smattering of the places I go to read, see, glean, and pass on pertinent info.

What are some of your favorite places to go on the internet?  Why?

 

photo courtesy of  Michał Koralewski on RGBstock.com