Daily Learning

Growing up, gifts or money enclosed in a greeting card meant I knew what I would be doing the next day – writing “thank you” letters. My mother wasn’t strict with my sisters and I in many ways – but when it came to etiquette, we knew what was expected of us. Fortunately, writing the “thank you” letters never felt like an obligation to me because I loved to write, I loved everything about the process of sending mail, andRead More ...

At the end of last year, our nanny announced she was going back to Mexico. I thought I was going to die. Going back to work full-time when my son was barely 8-months-old had not been easy, but I thought we’d won the lottery when we met our nanny and at least I was able to work knowing that both my children were in good and loving hands. While I completely understood her reasons for going back home, I wasRead More ...

My son Santiago turned two a month ago and I am blown away by how his vocabulary has exploded. Like his sister, he was an early talker. But the real expansion in his repertoire of words has taken place in the last couple of month. He loves music. Not only to dance to it, but also to sing it. Just last night, he was serenading me right before bedtime and even after I could hear him signing through the monitorRead More ...

My plan was to write about a completely different topic today, but something pretty amazing has been happening the last couple of days with Vanessa in her Kindergarten class. When I informed her teacher that Vanessa is bilingual, she told me there were two kids in her classroom who also spoke Spanish, but are not bilingual yet and so they are attending ESL classes. I wanted to ask who they were and if I could meet their parents, but IRead More ...

Anyone that gets to know my little girl will notice that she is very observant. Yes, even at the tender age of eleven months the girl soaks up her surroundings before taking the plunge to interact. To watch her reactions on our first family vacation was, as cliché as this may sound, priceless! There are numerous stories about my time in Miami that replay in my mind each time I am about to visit the vibrant, colorful, Latino city! TheRead More ...

Editor’s note: This is Part 3 in a continuing series by Amy Conroy. To read the first two parts, go here. I would like to revisit one of the golden truths I’ve learned, Point C: our children are our best allies, our most gracious and charming ambassadors (when they’re not throwing berrinches or acting like super-ninjas in the local supermarket).  What I mean by this is that my experience right now would not be as rich without my children. TheRead More ...

Editor´s note:  The following is a guest post from Clara Carrier from the Ronald McDonald House of Charities After thirteen years as a Colombian-American, life in the U.S. has come with many challenges, but also very gratifying experiences. One of these is my own job. Yes, you read it right, my very own trabajo. For the first time in many years, I am able to dedicate my time and efforts to further a mission of improving the health and wellRead More ...

Remember a couple of weeks ago I told you that my daughter needs to be evaluated by a speech therapist because her clarity is below average for her age? I’m still waiting to get the appointment due to health insurance coverage issues. (No surprise here, huh?) Meanwhile, I’ve noticed something that left me in total awe and completely gave me one more point to validate her bilingualism. As I’ve mentioned before, my girl has no problems expressing herself and isRead More ...