Ethnic Identification and the State of Being Entre
As the rapid influx of Spanish speakers transforms the American populace, I stand between two cultures, two languages, two peoples, simultaneously grateful for and bitter about the prejudice that grows with the numbers. I think it is important that everyone experience being a member of the minority. Speaking Spanish has provided me this opportunity: under the guise of my gringa appearance, I carry around a sensitivity for and understanding of Latino culture that others don’t expect me to have. IRead More ...
Still Inspired to Give a Hand
Author´s Note: Last year I wrote this post because I was highly inspired and motivated to help out the RMHC Day of Change after a visit to one of the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald Houses and the families I met there. In support of this year´s Day of Change, happening this Thursday, September 9th, I´m re posting this article so it can continue to inspire us to give our change in those little red boxes. They really do help familiesRead More ...
Adventures at School Bilingual DVD {Giveaway}
Just in time for back-to-school, Scholastic has come out with the latest set of DVDs in its Storybook Treasures collection. Adventures at School includes a total of 14 stories, three of which are narrated in Spanish. Like the Max and Ruby stories, these are short and varied in illustration and topic, with some catchy tunes. Aimed at 3-to-9-year-olds, they feature a range of animals and kids that make for funny characters and relatable storylines. All the stories feature accurate, read-alongRead More ...
Can Everybody Learn a New Language?
A friend of mine who is a Spanish teacher at a local elementary school said something over the weekend that got me thinking about whether or not everybody is capable of learning a new language. She said that in her years as a teacher, she’s seen with her own two eyes how some children struggle to learn Spanish while others pick it up with unbelievable ease. The most interesting part is that, some times, the students who struggle are the ones you’d least expect: theRead More ...
“We Did It” Dora – The New 10th Anniversary Bilingual Doll {Giveaway}
As we mentioned last week, this month marks the 10th anniversary of the creation of Dora the Explorer character—the energetic bilingual Latina girl loved by all children and their parents, but especially by those of us raising bilingual children. In honor of this milestone, Fisher Price just debuted a singing and dancing “We Did It” Dora doll that will put your niños a bailar—or at least that’s what happened at my house when she came out of the box! TheRead More ...
The Language of Family
Many of you know through our tweets and our Facebook updates that my daughter and I are currently in El Salvador visiting the family for one whole month. It has been two years since the last time we were here and a trip was long overdue, especially for Camila. My daughter, who just turned three, has a long-distance relationship with everyone in her family, except for mamá and papá. I always feel guilty that, not only will she be anRead More ...
