Editor’s note: We continue with our 31 Days of Reading in Spanish. Check out the book review below and don’t forget to enter our weekly GIVEAWAY of $100 worth of books in Spanish! BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW My stepson just came back home after spending a year training with the Marine Corps. My kids are in awe every time they see him wearing one of his uniforms and bombard him with all types of questions. Graciela Tiscareño-Sato’s son was the same way andRead More ...
31 Days of Reading in Spanish: Buenas Noches Capitán Mamá
31 Days of Reading in Spanish: ¡Jonrón!
Editor’s note: We continue with our 31 Days of Reading in Spanish. Check out the book review below and don’t forget to enter our weekly GIVEAWAY of $100 worth of books in Spanish! BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW Baseball is a summertime tradition in America and although I’m not a sports fanatic, watching movies or reading books about playing outdoors makes me relish the summer heat even more. As a T-ball player, my son is intrigued by books about baseball, and ¡Jonrón! isRead More ...
31 Days of Reading in Spanish: ¡Ya Soy Hermano Mayor!
Editor’s note: We continue with our 31 Days of Reading in Spanish. Check out the book review below and don’t forget to enter our weekly GIVEAWAY of $100 worth of books in Spanish! BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW Books are a great way for our kids to learn important lessons and deal with life’s changes. One of the biggest changes a small child can go through is becoming a big brother or sister. Since my son is about to go through this, IRead More ...
Immersion Travel: Summer Camp in Puerto Rico
It’s been two weeks since we arrived in Puerto Rico and the experience has already been much more than I expected. My kids have been so immersed in Spanish at every level and in so many settings that a couple of days ago Vanessa actually came up to me and out of nowhere asked: “Mami, ¿qué tal si me olvido mi inglés?” I wanted to laugh at her ingenuity, but I just reassured her that this wouldn’t happen. Truth is sheRead More ...
5 Tips to Exercise Your Bilingual Brain
We talk about bringing up our babies bilingual, but what about improving and polishing our own bilingual skills? I have heard many of us say that we don’t live in an area where Spanish is spoken or we have significant others who are not native speakers, so English is the dominant language. I lived in the UK for six years, where I went months without speaking Spanish. I even found myself struggling to come up with words when I wouldRead More ...
What NOT To Do: Tips From a Monolingual Mom in a Bilingual Household
From the moment the test read “pregnant,” it didn’t take long before I was sitting on a plane reading about the OPOL method and other strategies for giving one’s child the gift of two languages. Friends asked me about birth plans and attachment parenting, but I researched precious little of the topics concerning my other mama friends. I was fascinated by language development and raising a bicultural baby. The only problem? I don’t speak Spanish. I was relying on myRead More ...
A Closer Look at Dual Language Immersion Schools: Jackson Elementary
Editor’s note: In the next months, we’ll be bringing you interviews with those who have first-hand experience with dual language immersion schools or programs: the parents who have their kids enrolled in them. The idea is to give you a closer look at what these programs are really like, how and why they work, as well as some of the challenges they face. Thanks to our contributor Elsie for coming up with this great idea! Today, I’m happy to shareRead More ...
The Day My Daughter Learned It Pays To Be Bilingual
The reasons for raising a bilingual child are varied. For me, it’s mostly because I can’t fathom my children not speaking my mother tongue, not being able to communicate with my family back in Peru or my husband’s family in Puerto Rico. But it’s also because of all the proven cognitive benefits of speaking more than one language as well as the financial advantages. I recently got the opportunity to show my 6-year-old daughter Vanessa exactly how it pays toRead More ...