Last week, I gave Spanglishbaby readers the opportunity to take a special peek into a kindergarten classroom at a dual-language school. I received many great emails from parent to teachers – THANK YOU for all your questions and comments. I also got quite a few requests asking me about dual-language in the upper grades (not just 4th or 5th grade, but beyond). I am excited to be able to share with all of you great insights as well asRead More ...
What Happens Inside a Dual-Language Middle School Classroom?
The One Mistake I Made Raising a Bilingual Child
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 ...
Recommendations for Immersion Travel in Peru
The past couple of summers, my family and I have taken vacations that have enabled us to be immersed in Spanish. Our goals have always been to improve our language skills, to learn about and visit the historical sites throughout the country, and to experience the culture. My previous SpanglishBaby posts about our travel experiences always included information about our activities, our Spanish classes, and the home-stays. In the comments section, there were often requests for further information and moreRead More ...
Why Bilingualism Will Have to Wait
When we became parents, we hoped to raise our children to be bilingual. However, since I am the only Spanish speaker in the house, and most of our social circle speaks English, the reality is that my kids speak English and occasional Spanglish. For a time, I had pinned my hopes on sending the girls to a bilingual immersion program, an option we are lucky to have in our district. This winter when we applied to the lotteries (it’s all lottery inRead More ...
Expose Your Kids to Spanish in These Unlikely Places
I’m not a huge breakfast eater — unless I go to the French bakery by my house, which is run by a couple from the south of France who moved to Denver five years ago. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but the bakery is on my way to Santiago’s preschool and so I stop in there regularly to devour freshly-baked croissants and the best baguettes I’ve ever had outside of France. But one of the other reasonsRead More ...