Daily Blog

Almost a month has passed since el quince de septiembre, Costa Rican Independence day. That weekend I set up a meeting point with a good friend, also a tica, gathered up my sons and our Metro cards and we trekked up to the Costa Rican Embassy in Washington, D.C. to check out the festivities, the third year in a row we’ve done so. I can always bribe my children with a ride on the bus or the Metro, because thereRead More ...

  My son is only 17 months and I find myself already thinking of preschool applications! Yes it is true, if I want Enzo to start next year, I have to apply now.  I cannot believe I have to start thinking about what school I would like him to attend next year. I mean, I feel like I am just discovering what kind of kid he is becoming! As I have started this process, I have so many thoughts aboutRead More ...

I grew up in a community where Spanish and English were spoken simultaneously. My parents were definitely Spanish-dominant in their fluency and identity as Mexican immigrants. Most of their friends spoke Spanish and were from Spanish speaking countries. As a child I had to learn which of our guests primarily spoke Spanish, which often times were also the ones I gave a kiss on the cheek instead of a handshake. I lived in a bilingual and bicultural environment, but withRead More ...

I’m the product of a bilingual school and I will be forever grateful to my parents for making the decision to give me such an amazing educational opportunity because I’m sure my life would not be what it is today had I gone to a regular school. Unfortunately, I’m currently not able to do the same for my kids. As you’ve probably read here before, my options in terms of bilingual or dual language immersion schools in Denver are prettyRead More ...

For years now we’ve been talking about and celebrating the Day of the Dead festivities on SpanglishBaby, but this is the first year I’m finally going all out with Camila since I feel she can now get a better grasp of what it means. My plan is for us to put an altar together for the bisabuelos and bisabuela she never met. We’re also invited to a party this Saturday where all families have been asked to dress up asRead More ...

Study Suggests that Learning a Language Can Make Your Brain Grow from The New York Daily News — More proof that learning a new language is a great way to keep the brain healthy! 5 Cool Places to Learn a Foreign Language Abroad by CNN — Too bad I already speak Spanish because all of this sound absolutely fascinating. Maybe I should check out the option that will allow me to learn Italian? 8 Things We Love About Being in a Spanish Immersion School from MamiRead More ...

Curling up with our bilingual niños and a good book can be one of the best daily routines we could have. It allows us to interact with our kids in an educational and fun way. Even better if we’re reading to them en español! To celebrate the joy of reading and raising bilingual kids, we’ve joined forces with Mamiverse and their new channel Mamiverse Books to host an interactive Twitter party with great prizes! The main goal of this Twitter party will beRead More ...

I’m raising bilingual kids with special needs. You can do it too. When my first child was born, I was immediately warned that I shouldn’t expose a child with special needs to two languages. The reasons were that: — Their speech development will slow down from trying to learn two languages — Their brains don’t have the capacity to make the switch from one language to another — They are already challenged with the disability, so I shouldn’t add anRead More ...