About: María José

Before the age of 5, I had never spoken or heard anything but Spanish. My father was transferred within the Chilean Navy to Washington, D.C. just before my fifth birthday. It was supposed to be for two years and it ended up being five before we stepped back on Chilean soil. During that time, I began school and of course had to learn English. My father lived in a Spanish-speaking world due to the nature of his work, and myRead More ...

Here at the very busy familia, we are getting ready for baby número dos in February and of course a new car seat was on the list.  Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics put out a new policy which advises parents to keep their toddlers rear-facing in car seats until the age of two. Did you know that? I sure didn’t! And I can guarantee many other parents out there are unaware of it as well. When Graco and SpanglishBabyRead More ...

As members of the Hispanic community, we know that being Hispanic is not an ethnicity, but rather that we are made up of many different races. Black Hispanics, Asian Hispanics, White/European Hispanics, etc. Most of us get it. I don’t question where someone is from or what their background is just because I had a different perception. And that goes for what language they speak. I am Chilean of German grandparents and my son, whom I have spoken only Spanish to since birth,Read More ...

Last week, I received a copy of Indi Avila’s Sana, Sana book for my son Matías and I to review. What I was thrilled about even more was that Indi had taken the time to sign it and send me a very sweet note with it. This is a story based on a classic Spanish language nursery rhyme that many of us know and love. Reading through the book, I could hear my mamá saying “sana, sana colita de rana, si no sana hoyRead More ...

It’s been a very hectic few months for me after coming back from my six week trip to Chile. There, as you may have read, my son Matías really picked up and strengthened his Spanish. It was an amazing transformation, one that both my husband and I are extremely proud of. He just beams with pride when people realize his son can easily transition from Spanish to English without getting mixed up or asking for help. However, it seems like notRead More ...

My six week trip home to Chile is coming to an end. This is by far the longest I have spent here in many, many years. In my last post I mentioned how happy I was to have my son hearing Spanish everywhere, improving his vocabulary and really practicing the language. But I also realized, that I a native speaker have also benefited from a complete language immersion. Spanish 100% of the time. No English whatsoever. No Spanglish, no fillingRead More ...