How to Turn any Event into a Learning Opportunity
Although sometimes I long for a few minutes of silence, the reality is that I love the fact that my three-year-old daughter, Vanessa, talks non-stop. Her vocabulary in Spanish is extensive and I know it has to do with the fact that I’ve talked to her since she was in my belly. In fact, many studies show that the amount of conversations and the variety of words that children listen to have a direct influence on the pace at whichRead More ...
A Multicultural Noche Buena Feast
Food has always been my favorite part of Christmas, especially because until my Dad passed away, I never had to worry about anything expect eating! I’m not a big fan of turkey, but his was always para chuparse los dedos. Silly me, I guess I thought he’d be around forever and I never learned any of his culinary tricks. So, for the last five years we’ve just had to make do on our own – luckily we spent the lastRead More ...
Video of the Week: Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure
We’re definitely in the holiday spirit by now! And Dora is sure not one to be left behind. Check out this super cute video of our favorite animated Latina singing about La Noche Buena. Great way to introduce to your younger children this phrase that means Christmas Eve in Spanish. The video is part of Nickelodeon’s new Dora the Explorer prime time special “Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure” which premieres this Sunday, Dec. 6th at 8pm (ET/PT). The song itself isRead More ...
Dora celebrates la Noche Buena
Our amiga Dora has gotten herself and her friends into yet another adventure. This time she volunteers to take Swiper off Santa’s naughty list by showing him the real spirit of la Navidad is giving, not taking away, or “swiping”, in his case. To accomplish this, they take him to revisit the Swiper of Christmas past, present and future. A classic holiday tale, told Dora-style. The first clip I saw of this Nickelodeon primetime special, “Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure”, wasRead More ...
Is There Such Thing as a Critical Period for Language Learning?
I was recently talking to somebody of Hispanic descent who wasn’t taught Spanish at home, but learned it later on in life. She vowed she wouldn’t follow her parents’ footsteps, but ended up doing exactly the same thing with her kids who are now elementary school-aged. “And, now it’s too late!” she lamented. I immediately reassured her that it’s never too late – that’s just a common myth. It is, however, definitely much easier the younger they are. If you’reRead More ...
Video of the Week: Santa Buddies
The 2009 Holiday season has officially begun and the conversation with children during this time is all about Santa Claus. My girl is only two, so this is the first year she’s uderstanding the concept. Her first introduction to the man from the North Pole was with this new Disney movie that came out this week: Santa Buddies-The Legend of Santa Paws. It’s basically the classic Christmas story but this one features the Buddies-those adorable and super popular talking puppies. Read More ...
