Daily Blog

  Raising bilingual kids is no easy task. That’s why I’m never surprised when I hear from parents who say they had every intention of making it happen with their children, but somehow things didn’t go as planned. While there is no right or wrong way of raising bilingual children, I do think there are some of the things we parents have been known to do which tend to hinder the process. But before I get to the list, I just want toRead More ...

¡Hola! It’s been over a month since I posted — my daughter, Lucía, was born on January 29th and needless to say it’s been very busy times! But I’m slowly getting used to my life as a mamá of two and trying to manage it all. I’m still not sleeping much, but they say sleep is for the weak, right?! Anyway, back to business! This week I wanted to share something a little different. I often get asked, “how do youRead More ...

One of the biggest investments I will make in my journey to make sure my daughter grows up completely bilingual and bicultural is to make sure we visit family in El Salvador and/or Mexico every single year. There’s nothing that gives me more joy than to see her play con sus primos or lay next to abuelita as she gives her nieta another masajito upon request. So last week during my girl’s spring break, her and I headed down to ElRead More ...

It’s time for our fourth SpanglishBaby LIVE Google+ Hangout and we’d love for you to join us tomorrow. This time around we’re discussing bilingualism and children with special needs. For those of you who’ve never joined a Google+ Hangout, you should know that it’s just like hanging out with a bunch of friends, except that you’re not all in the same room. WHAT: In our fourth Hangout we’ll be discussing the basics of bilingual education and dual language immersion programs as part of Google’s #SpringIntoEducation movement. WHEN: Thursday, March.Read More ...

My second child is approaching his first birthday, and with this milestone comes the excitement of new words spoken and understood. Also, as it relates to our bilingual ambitions, this age is my favorite because success is defined in a measure that is achievable for our monolingual household. It’s cheating, I know, but at almost one year old, my hijo is completely bilingual! Actually, just today, he said “más” and used the sign for more. I was ecstatic! I continuedRead More ...

Out of all the Latino cultural traditions we embrace and celebrate in our Mexican/Salvadorean/North American home, the one my girl now looks forward to the most is the making of cascarones for Easter. Yes, it does have a lot to do with the fact that she gets to smash an egg shell filled with confetti on her mamis head and make a huge mess at it, but who can blame her? This year I’m looking to get a bit moreRead More ...

  I have nothing against technology when raising bilingual children. Apps, online games and movies in Spanish are a great supplement in this journey — but they’re just that, a supplement. It is a mistake to think that just sitting your child in front of the television set to watch a show in Spanish or to let them mouse around with a bilingual computer game will expose them to the kind of vocabulary needed to become proficient in the minority language.Read More ...

Saenz Awarded PEN/Faulkner Prize, First Hispanic Winner from Fox News Latino — I was super happy when I heard the news, not only because Benjamin Alire Sáenz is the first Latino to win the prestigious award, but also because we really like his bilingual children’s books and the publishing house behind them, Cinco Puntos Press. Felicidades to all! Challenges and tips for raising bilingual children from NBC Latino by Monica Olivera — Monica spoke to three experts about some of the mostRead More ...