Daily Blog

  Her obsession with all things death began when my grandmother passed away last year. My then 3-year-old daughter Kalila had grown fond of Mamá Leonor, and I never really considered not taking her with us to the funeral. Just the year before, she had sat on my lap at my grandfather’s funeral, although I’m sure she didn’t remember. There were other small children there, too, and I had always grown up believing that children were just as much aRead More ...

Last week, I shared a link to an EFE story I was interviewed for regarding the current state of the Spanish language in the United States. One of the other people interviewed is a woman who runs a language school for children here in Denver and one of her quotes caught my attention. She said: “Bilingual people must possess a certain mastery of both their languages… speaking them is not enough. Writing, reading and comprehension are integral parts of learningRead More ...

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Huggies. All opinions and stories are all own. One of the first things expecting couples do is write down a list of baby names that could be the perfect fit for the little being that is about to join their lives. For some. it’s as easy as continuing along the tradition of passing down either their own names or that of a cherished family member. For others it’s about being unique and/or finding namesRead More ...

This September Enzo started in the pre-nursery school classroom. I was very excited when I got the supply list and I saw that Enzo would be having “homework” — until I got the first worksheets and I sat down to do them with him. The worksheet had a big picture of an apple: A is for Apple. Well… hhhmmmm. OK. So I went ahead and did the worksheets the best way I knew how, I just translated the sheets asRead More ...

Autumn is here, and that means it’s time to look at some of the issues facing parents of school-age bilingual children. Our kids are in school, and every day we ask the usual question: “How was school today?” Their unchanging reply: “Good.” Keeping the Bilingual Focus Like most parents raising their children bilingually, we always want them to talk more in the minority language. Unless your children attend a bilingual or immersion school, their minority language probably isn’t used duringRead More ...

We all make mistakes, right? Especially along this journey of parenthood, we know that we constantly just don’t know and we try our best every single day. There really isn’t a single parenting manual that is a one-size-fits-all or that’s customized to your particular child and/or parenting journey. But we do have each other. We have other parents that are open enough to share the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, and do it without giving orRead More ...

Overall, I am generally quite pleased with everything my husband and I do to further our sons’ bilingual education. But I am the product of my parents’ efforts to raise my brother and me bilingual, and occasionally I can’t help but compare my efforts to theirs. When I think of everything they did for us, I am keenly aware of two things. One, with all of our modern conveniences, we have it much easier. And two, they made way moreRead More ...

This post is sponsored by Huggies Latino. As a first-time expectant mother the list of things to think about, prepare for, rejoice in and even panic over seems to be endless. It feels like every day not only brings you closer to holding your bebecito in your arms, but also takes you on that magical roller coaster of new emotions. When my belly started growing with my little girl and I started talking more and more to her, I realizedRead More ...