Photo by yoohoojuju
Hola! We’ve been stuck inside the house for TWO days. It started snowing Thursday night and it only stopped Saturday afternoon. Today, in typical Denver fashion, it’s supposed to be a beautiful, sunny spring day – so we’ll be leaving the house shortly before we all go locos!
Before we leave, here’s our weekly roundup… Enjoy!
1. Chicago Tribune: Multilingual Chicago Speaks – Many Americans and recent arrivals to our country mistakenly believe all children should learn English first. While learning English quickly is crucial for adults to function well in the United States, applying this straight-from-the-gut outlook to children is fundamentally flawed. And this attitude, which masquerades as common sense and has been unwittingly co-opted by many legislators, educators and the general public, is hurting all children– non-English and English-speaking alike. As always, education is an important topic for SpanglishBaby and one we will continue to explore. It’s great to see a newspaper like the Chicago Tribune publishing opinion pieces like this one.
2. Chicago Tribune: Little pre-K access for Latinos. Kids behind at start of school, advocates say – Latino families with young children constitute a significant portion of the nation’s population and future workforce, but several studies show those children are less likely to enroll in early education programs because of various barriers including language, cost, transportation and a shortage of pre-kindergarten spots in poor neighborhoods. For those and other reasons, Latino children lag well behind white children in reading and math skills when they start kindergarten. Another one on education. An extremely important topic: how to raise academic levels of low-income, Latino kids.
3. National Geographic: Bilingual Babies get head start — before they can talk – Even before they can babble a single word, babies in bilingual households may get a head start in life, according to a team of scientists in Italy. Rather than confusing babies, hearing more than one language gives newborns a mental boost, according to the new study, which tested seven-month-old infants. In case you were looking for reinforcement to help you along this daunting journey of raising bilingual kids.
4. ABC News: How Bilingual Babies may be Brainier – How growing up in a bilingual home can boost a baby’s mental flexibility. A pretty well done interview about the study above with a knowledgeable pediatrician.
5. Jose Luis Orozco De Colores CD Giveaway! – According to Tati, our fellow blogger over at Wanna Jugar with Migo?, this talented artist created a beautiful collection of Latin American Folk Songs for children. This is a wonderful way to introduce the Spanish language to your children, especially if you win one of the FIVE CDs she is giving away. So stop by her blog to learn how to win and while you are there, take the time to read the great interview she did with Orozco. Thanks, Tati!
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You all provide such wonderfully up-to-date links to stories, press releases and products relevant to raising bilingual children. I know I am one of many who appreciate you putting this all in one place, once a week.
And…as for Señor Orozco’s music…¡qué fantástica! I recall hearing him at an early childhood educator’s conference, and for those able to use immersion, he has some cool songs!
Boca Beth’s last blog post..Music Monday from Boca Beth Bilingual Beats for Children
Alot more consumers ought to understand what this is and exactly how it can help, I thoroughly enjoyed your posting and I’m hoping that others did aswell. BTW I hope you don’t my if I link this to my site, becuase i know my readers want this, Thanks. Thanks