Welcome

Sat Sri Akal! Hello!

We are a Punjabi-American family trying our best to instill a Punjabi identity in our son in an English-speaking environment. Bonus: I’m learning to speak Punjabi along with him and am slowly finding my own identity as an American married into a Punjabi family. There are triumphs, challenges, and a lack of strong Punjabi community where we live. My hope with this blog site is to share my experience as the majority language parent, create and share resources for other families going through the same thing, and hopefully build a bit of community along the way!

  • Raang (Color) Practice
    Eh Raang Kihera? Harneet learned his colors in both Punjabi and English long ago. Because he did master them so early, I can sometimes get in a mindset of, “He already has this, I don’t need to work on it.” That is a bit of a slippery slope! There have been times when I askContinue reading “Raang (Color) Practice”
  • Ways We Bring A Taste of Punjab to Home
    One issue in our home is that our daily life can feel very isolated from India. My focus can be so much on the basics that must get done in a day that focusing on the target language and culture has a habit of being put on the back burner.  Creating fun ways to integrateContinue reading “Ways We Bring A Taste of Punjab to Home”
  • My Most Basic Tips
    I keep this hanging on my fridge. A friendly reminder to myself to be in the habit of mixing in Punjabi throughout the day. A friendly reminder to myself that it doesn’t have to be perfect, and for Harneet to know that as well. Our goal is just to have it be natural flow inContinue reading “My Most Basic Tips”
  • This Week’s Resource: Flashcards
    Sat Sri Akal! How many flashcard sets have you been gifted for your child’s learning? How many of them that you received were in Punjabi (or whatever your target language might be)? Zero? Same. Simplest fix? Take my existing flashcards and grab my permanent marker. Is it as aesthetically pleasing as I would like. CertainlyContinue reading “This Week’s Resource: Flashcards”
  • Introduction
    It’s 2011 and I arrive at a small island on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. I meet a sweet, tall, handsome Punjabi guy named Raja at the eco-resort I’m going to volunteer my time. He is there to volunteer too. He has a natural brain for languages and can speak six of them whileContinue reading “Introduction”