children

The Storyteller's Candle" is a book about New York City's first Latina librarian, a puertorrican named Pura Belpré, who was a gifted storyteller back in the late 1920s. Belpré's story is told through the eyes of two cousins, Hildamar and Santiago, who recently moved from Puerto Rico to NYC and are wondering how they're going to celebrate El Día de los Reyes or Three Kings' Day now that they live so far away from the island. In comes Belpré, who pays Hildamar's class a visit, and tells the children about the public library and how it belongs to everyone - no matter what language they speak. And, best of all, she let's them know about the library's Three Kings Day celebration!  ...

Basically, every expert on the subject agrees that if you want your child to learn a new  language, just exposing them to “educational” media in that language won’t-on its own-increase their chances of learning it. For maximum language absorption, children need to be actively involved with caregivers, family and/or friends who verbally interact with them through play and daily activities. ...

Before Vanessa started preschool a couple of months after she turned two, I often wondered how she was going to survive for four hours surrounded solely by English.  I worried that others would think she had no manners because even though she already understood the concept of “gracias” and “por favor,” she knew nothing about “thanks” and “please.” I explained the situation to her teachers and they reassured me everything would be fine. You see, up until then, her lifeRead More ...