CNN’s Anderson Cooper is devoting this whole week to a special report called “Kids on Race: The Hidden Picture.” I don’t have cable, but I just watched the first segment, which aired last night, online and I must confess: I cried. I don’t know if you’ve watched it, but it was really difficult to watch a bunch of both white and black 6-year-olds — in other words, kids Vanessa’s age — talk about how the color of your skin mattersRead More ...
How Early Should We Talk to Our Children About Race?
Scholastic Parent Circle: Favorite Friends Pack in Spanish {Giveaway}
As I’ve mentioned several times before, my daughter has been learning how to read in English at school and coming home and transferring what she’s learning into Spanish. Although we have tons of books in Spanish at home, we don’t really have a lot of books for early readers. I’m not a huge fan of translations and so I’ve kind of stayed away from those, so I was curious to see what Scholastic Club Leo‘s Paquete Amigos Favoritos — a setRead More ...
Books & Libros: ¡Disfruten la primavera!
For those of us who live in year-round warmth (i.e. here in Florida), springtime means the HEAT has arrived. For many of you, though, it means the snow is melting and the sun has decided to appear. No doubt, that’s something to celebrate! Keep your kids busy during Spring Break — or spend some of that lazy beach time — reading a selection of topics from this list of primavera-themed books. Entertain them with Clifford’s aventuras or use the weatherRead More ...
An Easter Egg Hunt in Spanish!
This Easter, instead of doing the same old boring egg hunt we do every year, I’ve decided to turn it into an opportunity for Vanessa to practice her Spanish reading skills while hopefully having a ton of fun! The premise is simple: a scavenger hunt with clues in Spanish, but with a twist. All you’re going to need is a bunch of different color plastic eggs, paper, marker and whatever you’ll need to make your children’s Easter baskets, which IRead More ...
I want my daughter to know about all her different cultural heritages
There are two things my mother-in-law and I had decided before Sabrina was born. The first was that she would be called Oma (abuelita in German) because she very much identifies with her German roots. Her family immigrated in the late 18th century to the United States via Russia. Both her parents (Sabrina’s bisabuelos) first language was German. The second thing we had decided was that she, being the Oma or second generation German-American, would speak to her in EnglishRead More ...
Easy-To-Make Cereal Box Easter Basket
Spring, is near! Hurrah! Hurrah! Between the winter weather and rain you may be stuck in your casa, more than you would like to be. So pull out your craft box and let’s get started. Your main supplies are basic things you may already have in your house: cereal box and tissue paper. You can also use leaves, Spanish moss, ribbon or scrapbook paper to personalize your Easter basket. These are great to use as party favors, Easter class treats orRead More ...
My Mom Just Got Back from Peru with a Suitcase Full of ‘Encargos’
“I’m never brining any of you any more encargos,” my mom complained as I help her lift the two huge suitcases you see in the picture above into my car’s trunk at Denver International Airport yesterday. She just got back from a six-week long trip to Peru and both my sister and I bombarded her with our lista de encargos even before she left. In fact, mine kept on growing while she was already there and I remembered I alsoRead More ...
Having Spanglish Fun
Secondo’s days of excessive repetitive motions involving toy vehicles are for the most part over, but he still has a tremendous passion for airplanes, buses, cars and trucks. The centerpiece of the boys’ room is a rug made up of an intricate design of roads, runways and parking spaces. It gets a lot of use, so I finally remember to throw it in the washing machine one day. I hang it up to dry, though, and forget to bring itRead More ...
