Daily Blog

It’s official! My 3-year-old son’s vocabulary in English has multiplied exponentially the last couple of months, and he’s starting to have a preference for his new language. I’ve been observing him closely lately and I am pretty amazed by the fact that whenever he plays by himself, English is his language of choice. Nothing wrong with that, except that it’s all totally new for me because his sister didn’t really do that. I’m pretty sure it has to do with the fact thatRead More ...

Just found this great video on the Great Schools YouTube channel that in very simple terms lays out the basics of dual language immersion programs and bilingual schools. Just love the drawings! ...

The Latino Children’s Summer Reading Program from Latinas for Latino Literature — I am so happy that our friend over at L4LL have put together this program and I can’t wait to get started with my two kids. Besides summer reading lists divided by age groups, there are also several useful resources and printables. The challenge is for your kids to read at least eight books from now to Aug. 12. To reward them, L4LL will be giving away prizesRead More ...

There is never a dull moment in this bilingual home of ours. Each day my husband or papi is getting better and expanding his vocabulary to more than just “caca” or “leche,” and my son incorporates words he has heard me say into his conversations with me — things he would only get from me. Not my mamá or his tata. For instance, when Lucía was crying he said “me carga cuando llora la Lucía.” Carga being the new word, one that I use probably tooRead More ...

Living in a monolingual household with no family near by, in an environment with less diversity than I care to admit, there are days where I utter not a syllable in Spanish. With my oldest child, now 3 years old, Spanish immersion was regimented with specific rules — I cooked in Spanish, I narrated the TV in Spanish. But now, with two kids under 3, there are no rules. There is only survival. And even in English, some days I hardlyRead More ...

Living In Two Worlds, But With Just One Language from NPR — I’m sure a lot of you can relate to Elysha O’Brien’s story about being a “Mexican white girl who doesn’t speak Spanish.” The college professor’s parents made a conscious decision not to pass on their native language to avoid discrimination. Sad, but very real for so many Latinos. WISD Shutters Dual Language Program — A school district in Texas decides to end the dual language immersion program in twoRead More ...

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! After sharing my experiences investigatingRead More ...

When should academic centered schooling begin? This has been the question I have been grappling with for weeks. My daughter is not quite 3 and was accepted to a private dual language school for this coming fall where academics and inquiry-based learning is at the heart of what they do. This past January is also when we switched her to an “English school” where a play curriculum is at the heart of how children’s curiosity is nurtured. She is emotionallyRead More ...