Week in Links for #BilingualKids — June 8

It feels like a really long time since we’ve done this, but since bilingualism is becoming more and more prevalent in the news, we’ve decided to bring it back. The idea is to gather all the links related to bilingualism, bilingual education, Latino culture and anything related to raising bilingual and bicultural kids in one post every week so you don’t have to go searching for them yourselves. All you have to do is come to SpanglishBaby at the end of each week and get your fill!

So check what’s been going on in the world of bilingualism this week:

Report: More Pre-K Programs Needed for Dual-Language Learners from Education Week — Can’t agree more with this. In an era where more and more children’s first language is not necessarily English, the best way to ensure they learn it is by developing and nurturing their native tongue.

Born with a Preference for Two Languages from Psychology Today  — I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I LOVE Prof. François Grosjean’s Life as a Bilingual blog. His latest post is so cool! New studies show that babies of bilingual mothers, like mine, respond positively to the two languages they heard while in utero! Being exposed to both languages, according to the research, helps babies pay attention to them and acquire them in their first year.

Keep Literacy Alive For Bilingual Children During the Summer from Language Lizard — Who doesn’t worry about this, right? Great advice that I’ll definitely be putting to use.

Bringing Bilingual to the Middle School — Yes, yes and yes! While it’s awesome that there seem to be more and more dual language immersion elementary schools in the country, the trend needs to continue into middle and high schools. The students in this story are the first ones in a continuation program made possible by school official who’ve committed to continue their students dual language education. How awesome is that?

A Comprehensive List of Spanish Curricula from Mommy Maestra — Wow! This is pretty amazing! This is from our friend Mónica and it’s absolutely perfect for homeschoolers. Even though I’m not homeschooling my children, I’m checking this list out in case there’s anything that can help me ensure my children grow up biliterate too! The best part is that Mónica plans on updating the list regularly.

Spanish Alphabet Flashcards — Super cute and free printable Spanish flashcards! All you have to do is download and print! I learned to speak English with flashcards when I was a child, so I swear by them myself.

Have any links I forgot to include? Please feel free to share. The more the merrier! ¡Gracias y buen fin de semana!