The new animated film “FREE BIRDS” is landing in theaters on November 1^st.  The film arrives just in time to save a few turkeys before Thanksgiving.  SpanglishBaby had the opportunity to attend a “Free Birds” roundtable interview with Jimmy Hayward (Film Director) and male voices Owen Wilson (Reggie) and Woody Harrelson (Jake), along with being able to attend a preview of the movie.

The movie is sure to be a “Fall favorite.”  This hilarious, adventurous comedy is for audiences of all ages.  The premise is that two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history in order to get turkey off the Thanksgiving menu for good.

Director Jimmy Hayward shared the main message of the movie. “You’re absolutely part of something bigger than just yourself.  It’s not about turkey or being a vegan or anything like that, because we all know that turkeys don’t talk–well, at least not to us.  And they don’t fly in time machines named Steve. Reggie is selfish and lazy, and Jake is this driven guy — Reggie really learns that he’s part of something bigger.  Just because you get rejected in your life doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t strive to be part of something that’s important–which is being part of the flock.”

I also got a chance to chat with Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson.  The chemistry between these two actors is undeniable, which explains why they work so well together in the movie. I must admit, at points during the interview it was hard to tell if they were actually joking or not, except when they started talking about their kids which peaked the interest of the “mom”  in me.

Owen Wilson on what kind of dad he is:

“Well, they say that the number one thing is to be consistent, and I guess I try to do that a little bit.  But, I actually remember you (to Woody) saying that a big thing, right before Ford (his son) was born is just to hug your kids a lot, and I do that, which comes very easily because he’s very hug-able.  And so, it sounds corny, but you can’t hug your kids enough or give them that confidence that they’re loved.”

Woody Harrelson on a “Dad’s fails”:

“My “Dad’s fails” have to do with if I’m working and can’t go to a play they’re in, that drives me crazy.  I have one coming up where my daughter Ophelia is in Hamlet.  It’s a problem, but I think I’m going to work it out.  I think I’ll be able to go.”

This November 1^st don’t miss this funny and adventurous comedy for audiences of all ages.

To learn more, Like FREE BIRDS on Facebook, Follow @FreeBirdsMovie on Twitter and Instagram. Visit the official website. Subscribe on YouTube #FreeBirds

Carla Gutierrez was born in Lima, Peru. She is the founder of Notas De Mama a Spanish blog created for Hispanic moms living in the United States. At Notas de Mamá Carla shares her daily life, family outings, recipes, product reviews and DIY projects. She enjoys crafting and decorating her home, while challenging herself to do it on a budget. Carla loves being a wife and a mom, and raising her 3 year old son in sunny California. She loves teaching her son about the Peruvian and American cultures, and is proud that at age 3 he is fully bilingual. Connect with Carla @notasdemama .

Editor’s note: In the next months, we’ll be bringing you interviews with those who have first-hand experience with dual language immersion schools or programs: the parents who have their kids enrolled in them. The idea is to give you a closer look at what these programs are really like, how and why they work, as well as some of the challenges they face. Thanks to our contributor Elsie for coming up with this great idea!

After sharing my experiences investigating Kindergarten options for my daughter, including some Spanish Immersion Programs, it occurred to me that it might be useful for our readers to hear from parents at these schools, whose kids are living the immersion experience day-to-day. Today, I’m happy to share my first interview with a San Rafael Elementary Spanish Immersion parent, Michelle Calva-Despard:

Spanglishbaby (SB): Many of our readers are bilingual themselves and hope to pass this legacy on to their children. However, there are also many Spanglishbaby readers who are monolingual. When did you become interested in bilingual education and why? Is it an old or new tradition for your family?

Michelle: For me, personally, Spanish is a heritage language. My father’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico just a few years before his birth. Spanish was his first language and he arrived at the Kindergarten door without a speck of English.

Spanish wasn’t an authentic home-language for me as a child, but I heard a lot of it through my extended family and always had an interest in becoming bilingual. Unlike my three kids who are recieving a bilingual education since kindergarten, I learned my “foreign language” as a teenager by dissecting sentences and conjugating verbs on worksheets. It took me 10 years of study (middle, high school, college) and then a year abroad at university to become a proficient Spanish speaker/reader/writer. My children will likely exceed that level of fluency before they leave elementary school.

Also, even though I speak/read/write fluent Spanish, it will never be as authentic to me as English. I think that for my children, who are acquiring their second language in that supreme window before the language centers of the brain fully mature (around age 14), this will be different. (How ironic that I began my formal Spanish language studies at the age of 14!)

SB: What is San Rafael’s educational philosophy?

Michelle: Although the plan is to move toward a more “project based learning” style, the model of instruction currently rests in a more traditional seat — which is ironic as Dual Immersion Programs are hardly traditional in the U.S. At San Rafael the 90/10 model of instruction is implemented. This means that in kindergarten, the partner language (in our case, Spanish) is used for instruction 90% of the day. The remaining 10% is taught in English. Each year, the percentages shift by 10%, so in first grade 80% of the day is taught in Spanish, in second grade 70%. By fourth grade 50% of the school day is instructed in Spanish and 50% in English.

SB: What was the transition like for your child when they started at San Rafael? How did you notice their language ability evolve over time?

Michelle: I did speak to my children in Spanish at home, but even though they understood me, they consistently responded in English.

Then kindergarten began for my oldest daughter. During the second week she received a sticker for saying “¿Puedo ir al baño?” That was it. She came home and informed me that she was going to “hablar en español” all the time. As is often the case, with my third child I spoke less Spanish than I had with the first (I knew I would regret this and I was right!). My son entered kindergarten with far less Spanish language comprehension than his oldest sister had. The program still works though. As most of the students enter kindergarten with zero Spanish language ability, the teachers are prepared and ready to help them meet the challenges of a dual immersion program.

SB: Language is not only an intellectual skill, but also a social skill. How has learning Spanish enriched your student’s social experiences and friendships?

Michelle: Besides friendships with Spanish dominant Latino students at school, as they mature, my children are becoming more comfortable jumping into Spanish conversations away from campus. In Los Angeles County, it’s not hard to find Spanish speaking experiences. From ordering food in a restaurant to taking ballet foklorico dance classes, we try to take advantage of our surroundings.

SB: How does San Rafael incorporate Latino/a culture and celebrate the diverse backgrounds of its students?

Michelle: There are the obvious ties to holidays (Mexican Independence Day) and relevant historical figures (Cesar Chavez).

Our program has attracted quite a multicultural cadre of students outside of English and Spanish dominant students. We have a student whose first language was Polish, for example, and students of different religious faiths. The very nature of a bilingual program provides a dual “lense” through which to see the world. This opens the door to a variety of possibilities–from Chinese New Year (instructed in Spanish) and Hanukah, to taking a deeper look at the significance celebrations like Black History Month.

SB: When I toured your school, I was impressed by the active PTA. What is the experience like for parents at San Rafael? How much parent involvement is encouraged?

Michelle: Well you’ve struck a cord here–as I’m completing my second term as PTA President this spring! The dual language program at San Rafael is not something that any of us “stumbled into.” Enrolling our children in this program was a very intentional, informed decision. The types of parents who make a choice like this are more prone to becoming actively engaged in their child’s school. I have said to many an inquiring parent: “I came here for the program but now I stay for it and for the community we’ve built!

SB: No school is perfect. What are some of the challenges, budgetary or otherwise, facing San Rafael, that prospective parents should be aware of?

Michelle: Class sizes are larger than we would like. We’ve had a hard time funding a program coordinator which means the crux of program development, recruitment, etc… has landed in the principal’s/teachers’/parents’ lap. Like all public schools in California, we could use some more money!

SB: What is your child’s daily schedule at San Rafael?

Michelle: My children have a similar schedule to every student in the Pasadena Unified School District. They receive the same content and teachers instruct the same standards. The only difference is the language of delivery.

The school day begins at 7:50 am, and ends at 12:35 on Mondays, 2:15 Tuesday-Friday. It was hard, at first, to get used to such an early start to our day, but it didn’t take long and now I really like it. Even after a full day of school we can hit the park or library on the way home and still make it back before 4:00!

SB: What does your child love most about San Rafael?

Michelle: I know all three of my kids would answer this question the same: AMIGOS!!!

SB: How can a prospective parent learn more about San Rafael and enrollment?

Michelle: Parent volunteers hold weekly tours. A parent volunteer maintains our website which always carries up to date information and contact information for anyone with more questions.

Attend a PTA meeting (first Thursday of every month alternating after school/evening.) I welcome anyone interested to come get a taste of what we do at San Rafael. It’s been a challenging, sometimes crazy, adventure–and I wouldn’t trade my family’s experience for anything.

You can find more information here.

{George López is the voice behind the comedic, three-eyed alien named Thurman; Jessica Alba is the BASA chief (like NASA) Lena; and Sofia Vergara’s character is Gabby, the knockout news reporter. Photo credit: John Nguyen.}

When SpanglishBaby was invited to see the new 3D animated film Escape from Planet Earth we were happily surprised to see that it’s an action-packed movie all about familia. The blue family from Baab includes Gary, a husband and father, Kira, a loving wife and mother, and their son Kip. And you can’t forget the superstar uncle, Scorch. This family is just like any ordinary family but what makes them stand out is their interplanetary intelligence and courage in times of trouble. What was refreshing about this animated family was that they were each different in many ways. However, the fact that dad Gary is a tech nerd, mom Kira a stay-at-home mom, and son Kip just a little boy didn’t stop them from saving the day and becoming heroes.

So, who is escaping from planet earth and what drove this family to a cross-planet mission? The admired and celebrity-like astronaut Scorch Supernova, who also happens to be Gary’s brother. Scorch is known for making rash decisions in his quest to be the hero in every situation and this time around it led him to end up stranded on the “dark planet” — planet earth — as a prisoner of the evil General Shanker.

SpanglishBaby had the chance to chat on the phone with Jessica Alba and ask her a few questions about her role as Lena — Gary’s boss at BASA. Lena is responsible for sending Scorch on a mission to Earth and therefore catapulting the series of events. To much of everyone’s surprise, Lena ends up as one of the “bad guys” in the movie. Before we give too much away, check out our interview with Jessica Alba below:

SpanglishBaby: This is the first time you are doing an animated film. Did you enjoy the process and is there an anecdote you’d like to share with us about your experience?

Jessica Alba: I did. When I first started, you know you do several sessions, and the first time I did it the character was literally a sketch — a black and white sketch, and then each time I came in more and more the animation was done. But you know you’re sort of just listening to your own voice like really loud and there’s a glass wall and a bunch of people on the other side of the glass wall telling you “Louder! Can you punch that up a little bit?” or “Can you do that a little bit different?” You’re not really working with actors, which was strange and different but fun. It was liberating being able to play someone who is totally crazy and just all over the place.

SB: It must be fun to play the villain in this movie. Have your daughters seen the movie yet and, if so, what do they think about mommy playing the bad girl? Do you think they’ll like it?

JA: My older one saw it. My little one can’t really sit through a movie but my older one saw it. When she first heard my voice she looked up at me like (gasp!) all excited. But she was into it. She really liked the story, it held her attention. I think at her age if she can sit trough a movie and pay attention to it it’s good.

SB: What we loved about this movie were the elements of girl empowerment, which we weren’t expecting. Was this something that attracted you to the script in the first place? What do you want girls to take from the two strong female roles in this movie?

JA: You know, I feel like it’s more now than ever, anything that appeals to the younger demographic in entertainment, there is a lot of female empowerment, so it’s not that unusual. The stereotypes have all sort of been challenged. You expect to see strong female characters. I think that’s just really cool and it’s nice to be a parent right now and have those types of women [roles] to look up to.

SB: SpanglishBaby is dedicated to raising bilingual and bicultural kids, so I’m sure our readers identify with you and would love to know what you are doing to keep your Latino heritage alive with your daughters?

JA: We have in our home, in our foyer. Basically, I asked my aunts and uncles, grandparents, my mom, dad and my husband the same thing: for all of the oldest photos that they have of the family. So we basically have generations and generations of photos in black and white all over the wall so my daughters can look at their grandparents and great grand parents as children everyday.

Escape from Planet Earth hits theaters tomorrow, Friday February 15 and  features an all-star voice cast including Rob Corddry, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, William Shatner, Jessica Alba, Jane Lynch, Sofía Vergara, Craig Robinson, George Lopez, Steve Zahn, Chris Parnell, Ricky Gervais and Jonathan Morgan Heit.

On September 3rd, Spanish-language channel Utilisima launched the new original series, “Mi Bebé.” The show which seeks to offer helpful advice to expectant parents is hosted by actress, Lisset Gutierrez, along with doctors and specialists. SpanglishBaby had a chance to interview Lisset (who is herself a mother!), to find out more. Check it out!

SB: So, you’ve been taping your new show, “Mi Bebé.” Are you having fun? Tell us a little about what it’s like on set.

LG: Indeed, I have been recording my new series ‘Mi Bebé’, which has been a lot of fun and above all very informative. The truth is that it’s wonderful to be able to share personal experiences and take-in all the information that our specialists provide in each episode.

SB: You yourself are a mother – what has been most challenging for you as a parent?

LG: The hardest thing about being a mother is thinking all the time and asking myself if I’m going in the right path, if I’ll be the best mother to Maria.

SB: SpanglishBaby.com is a community for parents raising bilingual children – is this something you’re attempting with your own child?

LG: I love that there are so many ways of teaching our children English at such an early age. My daughter goes to a British school because I want her to learn English while she learns Spanish.

SB: What do you hope to accomplish with your show, “Mi Bebé?” What do you want viewers to get out of watching it?

LG: I hope that ‘Mi Bebé’ becomes a program guide for all women, mothers and families. I think we can always use a show such as this one because no one is born knowing everything so it’s great to have an option with this program to solve problems, answer questions and have an answer for every situation as moms.

Mi Bebé airs Monday to Friday at 11:30 am ET/PT on Utilisima.

The third movie based on the wildly popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series comes to theaters everywhere on August 3, 2012. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS, follows Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) – as he “hatches a plan to pretend he has a job at a ritzy country club – which fails to keep him away from the season’s dog days, including embarrassing mishaps at a public pool and a camping trip that goes horribly wrong.” Co-stars Robert Capron, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, and Steve Zahn are also back for more in this hilarious PG-rated summer movie which is perfect for the whole family.

Last week I got a chance to chat with author, Jeff Kinney about the worldwide success of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Check out the trailer for Dog Days (with Spanish subtitles) and then the interview below! (BONUS: the Diario de Greg website in Spanish is a lot of fun!)

Interview with Jeff Kinney

Author Jeff Kinney with Diary of a Wimpy Kid character, Greg Heffley

SB: Hi, Jeff! I’m Tracy López on behalf of Spanglishbaby.com. I got my hands on the Spanish version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid – And as a parent raising bilingual children, I was really happy to see that the humor had been translated very well. How did you ensure that difficult to translate jokes and phrases in the book weren’t lost in translation?

That’s a great question. It is actually something that I actually have no control over, no real knowledge of because the books have been translated into 40 languages. There have been languages that the book’s been translated into that I didn’t even know existed, for example Catalan. It’s sort of a leap of faith where you hope that the translator is getting it right. For example, I wanted to write something where Roderick tells Greg that two dollar bills are not real money and that Greg’s two dollar bill collection is just, you know, it’s just basically play money. I had to really think about whether or not I want to put it in my book because that wouldn’t really translate into other languages because other countries probably don’t have rare two dollar bills. So, those are the considerations I’ve been making since it’s been translated.

SB: Jeff, you mentioned that the book’s been translated into 40 languages, and I was just wondering how you feel about that. Are you surprised at the book’s massive success?

Oh, yes, definitely. Everything that’s happened past 2007 has been like the Truman Show for me. I’m actually sitting with my editor today, and we were just reflecting on all this, and I can’t believe the book was ever published to begin with. I just thought the format was too unusual. For the series to be in all these different places all over the world, and to have the opportunity to meet kids in places like Australia and Scotland, it just blows my mind that kids have taken to these books. I thought they were too distinctly American, but it seems like they really enjoy the narrative, and that’s been one of the real surprises to me.

SB: I understand that Zachary Gordon, who plays the character Greg in the movie, is also the voice of San-San on Ni-Hao Kai-Lan. I was wondering if you had ever heard Zachary speak Mandarin?

Yes, I think we’ve made him do the voice from time to time. But, I believe, and I could be wrong, that the change in his voice made it impossible for him to continue that job.

***

Here’s some more exciting information for fans of the series – Jeff says “One of the things we’re doing that I’m very interested in is taking these stories into animation. For example I am really interested in doing a holiday special.” Jeff also promises that he is planning on continuing the series. “I’m literally illustrating book number seven as we speak,” he said, “And…I hope to keep writing for as long as I have good ideas.”

Ready for the giveaway? Here’s what you need to do!

The Giveaway

We’re giving away one Diary of a Wimpy Kid gift pack to one lucky winner. The gift pack includes:

· Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (book)
· The past two movies on DVD (Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On June 22nd, Disney*Pixar’s Brave finally hits theaters. As excited as we all are to watch Brave (and we should be!), make sure you’re sitting in your seat early enough so you don’t miss a very special short film which will be played right before Brave called La Luna.

La Luna, written and directed by Enrico Casarosa, was actually one of the nominees for the Best Short Film (Animated) category in the 2012 Academy Awards (Oscars), but this is the first time it will be shown to the public. I had the chance to watch it in April with a group of mom bloggers as we were treated to a special screening at the Pixar Animation studios in California. I really wasn’t sure what to expect during the seven minutes of this no-dialogue film, and I can honestly tell you I was enthralled from beginning to end…and wanted more!

What Enrico Casarosa and his team at Pixar masterfully created is a set of dreamlike sequences that tell the coming-of-age story of a little boy who, for the first time, is invited to come along when his father and grandfather perform their nightly job duties. We see and live through the eyes of Bambino, the boy, as he stares starry eyed at the huge and bright moon that appears right in front of him. The men in Bambino’s life take this beautiful spectacle for granted, but for the boy – and us –  it’s bewilderment.

Read more: 5 Reasons Why I Want My Girl to Watch Brave

Enrico Casarosa shared with us that the story he wrote, at the core, comes from “the personal experience of dealing with my dad and my grandfather growing up.” In the short, Bambino’s father and grandfather bicker and banter, but we only know it’s so because of the gesticulations and intonations, since there’s no real dialogue, only gibberish.

“When my grandmother passed, we  moved and lived with my grandfather,” Enrico told us. “It was a small house.  My dad and my grandfather weren’t getting along. Roughly twenty-five years ago, in that kitchen, it would’ve been a lot like what you see in the short…”

Just like the boy, Enrico says “I would always feel stuck in the middle, so I thought that was interesting [and] that there were some good things to explore and a boy having to find his own way when there’s two forces kinda telling him do it this way, do it that way. So it’s a lot about kinda finding your own path.  Of course, the more fantastical side of all this story was something that I really just looked for what inspires me.”

As far as what inspired the director and writer to create La Luna he says, “There’s different inspiration for La Luna. One is Saint-Exupery in the Little Prince, I always loved it growing up.  And Hayao Miyazaki is a big influence on my work, you know.  I kinda study and love his work, and he has this kind of wonderful, kind of surreal, fantastic with very real small details, you know?”

The director goes on to say, “The last kind of inspiration is Italo Calvino.  He’s an Italian writer that we read growing up. It’s very surreal work and he had one story with a ladder to the moon, and in that story, specifically, they were, I think, getting milk from the moon. It got me thinking, wouldn’t it be fun to kinda come up with my own strange child-like myth of what someone could be?”

Aside from the wonderful and imaginative story, La Luna captivates with its distinct animation style and  the sounds (like those of the stars being swept).

This one little film will clearly have you over the moon. Take a peek.

Antonio Banderas probably never dreamed that his character of Puss, which was first introduced in Shrek 2, would take him down a magical road that is making a huge stop at the end of this year with the premiere of his own starring role as Puss in Boots.

We were part of a small group of bloggers and media invited to get a sneak peek of the first hilarious 13 minutes of the film which basically gives you the legendary story of Puss before he meets Shrek and Donkey. A prequel of sorts.

What we got to see had all the Latina bloggers cracking up because of the very Latino-feel and vibe of the movie. Flamenco-dancing felines in a cat fight inside a Spanish cave are always fun to watch! Adding to the Latino-ness of the movie are Salma Hayek, in the role of the very sexy Kitty, and the superb Guillermo del Toro heading this Dreamworks animated film as Executive Producer.

After the film preview, we got the chance to stalk chat with Antonio Banderas and Guillermo del Toro. Of course, I wouldn’t pass up the chance to talk to them about my favorite subject of all: bilingual and bicultural upbringings. We loved to know that his daughter, Stella Banderas, speaks Spanish and is completely bilingual!

We were told that we could not record video.  Obedient as I am, I was only recording audio during my question, and then I saw that everyone had their video cameras out! So, the most important answer is audio-only (!), but I was able to get a bit more of video for your Banderas-viewing enjoyment. Can’t keep that moment all to myself! (And if you needed to know: Sí, ¡es bien guapo!)

Below is a transcript of the audio-only portion where Antonio Banderas answers when I asked him how important it was to him that his daughter, Stella del Carmen, be raised bilingually and that we all strive to do so:  (Scroll up for the full interview and down for the first official trailer of Puss In Boots.)

That’s something that I start with my own daughter. It’s cultural. It’s not the same to read Gabriel García Marquez in Spanish, than to read a translation in English.  The subtleness of the language is there, you know.  So for me it’s very important that she’s connected with a world that she belongs to and it expands your mind. Even for Americans, I would tell them to learn Spanish, too. I think for me it has been very important to also learn English because it gave me possibilities in another language. Not only working for somebody, which it did, obviously, but also cultural possibilities. To read, in this case, Fitzgerald, for example, in its own language which is an unbelievable, beautiful experience. So, yes, I recommend for everybody to have the possibility to actually open themselves to different languages because you understand not only just the language, you  understand the character of the people which is related to that.

Puss In Boots Movie Trailer

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htwiwtbnlqg&playnext=1&list=PL0DB8F548DE4BFEE6

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb5lxfi9bsU

Not only did I get to talk to Ranger Smith, but also to Yogi Bear and Boo Boo! I just had to do it because I knew my girl would get the biggest kick out of it. We had seen the movie days before and she was in love with Boo Boo, voiced by Justin Timberlake.  She flipped when she saw this video of her mamá talking to her favorite bears in Spanish and them answering back in English.  Yes…El Oso Yogui entiende español!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN2BINES-10

Photo courtesy of KCET

Several weeks ago I was invited to visit the set of the PBS series Los Niños en su Casa which is produced in Los Angeles (actually five minutes from my house!). As a blogger you get invitations to events that are not always relevant to what you write about.  You attend most because it’s a good way to network and meet other bloggers. We don’t write about them all because we want to maintain the trust you have given us to inform and connect you with resources and information to guide you through your bilingual upbringing journey.

I’ve decided to write about my experience with Los Niños en su Casa, not only because they treated me with great respect and I enjoy watching the show, but also because it’s truly the only bilingual-English/Spanish-series on TV right now and Alina Rosario, the show’s host, is a wonderful mom of a ten-year old boy she and her husband are raising bilingual and bicultural.  Can’t get more relevant than that!

See, the producers have taken up the challenge to create the same show, with the same topic every episode, and shot in the same set but with different hosts, guests and language! The English language version of this award-winning show is known as A Place of our Own and as Los Niños en su Casa in its Spanish version.

As described on their website- it is a daily television series, a website, and an extensive outreach program devoted to the unique needs of people who care for children. And, by creating the show and websites in both languages,  they are making sure their messages aren’t missed by Spanish speakers . These are visionary executives!

Alina Rosario

On the set, I had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful woman, mom, journalist and actress that has hosted the show since it started in 2005-Alina Rosario.

As the host of a show dedicated to providing hands-on resources for the daily challenges of raising a child, Alina is well aware of the importance of giving her ten-year-old son the gift of a second language and a connection to his Latin heritage.

Alina was more than happy to share her bilingual story with you. We hope reading each other’s stories will continue to inspire us all and make us aware that there are many ways to obtain the same results, given a true commitment and dedication from our part.

Can you give us a brief overview of how English and Spanish have been used in your household?

All family members in my home are bilingual. When my son was born, we committed ourselves to speak both English and Spanish to assure he had the exposure, a thorough understanding and a full comprehension of both languages. I would say a phrase, a word, or a comment, and I would be sure to repeat it in Spanish. I would do the same from English to Spanish.

Now that my son is 10 years old he can speak both Spanish and English fluently, and has become an excellent translator.

Due to my in depth and vast exposure, he has taught himself to read Spanish. This was accomplished by my daily commitment to speak and translate in both languages, to read to him in Spanish, to provide him with the availability of Spanish books that piqued his interest, to encourage him to view  Spanish movies and to listen to Spanish music.
My dedication and persistence to secure my son’s bilingual abilities have paid off, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.

Have you made a conscious effort to raise your son bilingual and bicultural?

Yes, I absolutely have with a passionate commitment.

I want my son not only to be bilingual, but also to have a strong sense of self and belonging. Especially when it comes to his heritage, his communication with his grandparents, family members and friends who do not speak English. I strongly believe these traits, passed from generation to generation, will have a profound effect on him.

I have lead by my actions. My son will have the tools, skills and foundation to pursue opportunities, dreams, desires and life goals while being proud of his roots, his family and his cultural history.

When it comes to talk about raising our children bicultural, it will be unforgivable to negate our children their given right to learn who they are, where they come from, and how learning about their culture and heritage can enrich their life and the life of others around them. Embracing their culture and fusing it with the one from the country where they were born, or where they live, can only make them so much more special. I also believe that if we teach them about our culture with love and respect it will make them feel proud of us and proud of who they are.

Hopefully he will carry and pass on these priceless “gifts” to his children and his grandchildren. Hence, they will pass them on to theirs, as the family and cultural tradition continues.

Alina Rosario with her son

My biggest challenge has been to compete with school and the TV.

When my son was 2 years old he started a preschool program and, in a matter of only three months, he was speaking more and better English than Spanish, plus, his vocabulary had improved at least 50%. Unfortunately, speaking Spanish took second place for him, and he was reluctant to use it.

We continued to talk to him in Spanish, but he would only answer in English. Of course, speaking only English at the preschool program four hours a day, and then watching two hours of cartoons in English, became a huge distraction and competition for the Spanish language.  It took a lot of work and dedication to bring him back to the bilingual road.

Which of these do you use as resources to increase language exposure?  Books-Music-Movies-School-Language Programs-Nanny/Daycare?

I use books, music, and movies to increase his exposure to the Spanish language.

We listen to Spanish music and radio stations in the car and we have watched most of the classic Spanish children’s movies together. I always encourage him to ask me if there is something he doesn’t understand about the movies. I also read to him in Spanish a few times a week and, most importantly, I speak Spanish to him all the time.

Do you have a favorite book in Spanish that you read to him?

Yes, it’s called “Habia Una Vez….” It’s a compilation of many different stories; our favorites are “La Caperucita Roja” and “Los Tres Cerditos”. These are favorites because they are fun stories and you can do dramatizations and do different voices and faces. You can let your child choose and play one of the characters. Then you can take turns playing different characters, have the characters be bilingual, or tell the story once in Spanish and once in English.

Ask your child to read the part of their character. It’s a great way to get your child to read and, if they don’t know how to read yet, have them at least repeat the lines after you.

Your words of wisdom to parents raising bilingual children?

As with anything we do with children, the most important thing is for them to have fun. It’s important not to force them to learn the language, but rather persuade them to be interested in learning it.

They need to have the opportunity to explore the language, not just by the daily verbal communication, but also by being exposed visually to letters and words, television, magazines, movies and books. They also need to be challenged mentally with games and conversations on subjects that are of their interest. We have to remember that if it took us from Kindergarten to high school to learn to speak and write Spanish correctly, we can’t expect our children to learn the language by just being passive listeners.

By raising our children bilingual we’re giving them a better future, but it takes time, work and dedication. Most of all, it takes perseverance from your child, but mostly from you.

Please leave any thoughts or messages for Alina and/or Los Niños en Su Casa in the comments.

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I was pretty excited when I found out journalist Jorge Ramos had written his first children’s book last year and I was even happier when I found it at my local library. As a fellow journalist, I have always admired the work of Ramos–Univision Network’s nightly news veteran anchor–and although I have only read a couple of his books, (he’s written eight), I’ve always been interested in the subjects he covers: immigration, politics and journalism. However, since writing for children is a completely different thing, I was extremely interested in seeing what “I’m Just Like my Mom, I’m Just Like my Dad“ was all about.

For those of you not familiar with Jorge Ramos, he has been the co-anchor of Noticiero Univision, the Spanish Network nightly news, for over 20 years. In that time, he has covered virtually every historical event and has interviewed a multitude of influential world leaders including Bill Clinton, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and Barack Obama. Ramos also hosts Univision’s weekly public affairs program, “Al Punto,” which provides an in-depth analysis of the week’s top-stories as well as exclusive interviews with newsmakers. Time magazine has named him one of the “25 most influential Hispanics in the United States.”

Photo courtesy of Univision.com

On bilingualism…

During a recent conversation I had the privilege to have with Ramos, he told me how absurd it sounded to him when people in this country claimed that one language is better than two.

“I have traveled all over the world and this is the only country where multilingualism is not valued,” Ramos told me. “In the United States, many people have the wrong idea that what unites the country and its people is the language, when the reality is that it’s all about its values, its laws, its attitudes and the fact that they have always accepted people that come from all over the world.”

Ramos doesn’t understand how others can’t see that speaking more than one language opens up our minds. Being bilingual will open the doors to the rest of the world, other ideas, countries, languages and cultures, he explained. How can that be bad? I don’t understand either…

Especially when there is no stopping the future: Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the country. Currently, one in four kindergartners is Hispanic. In fact, according to a recent study, by the year 2023, there will be more minorities–including Hispanic, African-American and Asian-American–school-aged children than whites. Did you know that more Spanish is spoken in the United States than any other country in the world, except for Mexico, of course. Wow! Aren’t you happy you’re teaching your kids español? (All these statistics, by the way, courtesy of Ramos.)

On Spanglish…

Although some of this info was unexpected, what really took me by surprise was when he told me that he was a “defender” of Spanglish. I assumed, wrongly, being a journalist and all, he’d be one of those who gives the term a negative definition: the bastardization of the Spanish language, that’s what my Dad would’ve said.

“Spanglish is just how we talk, it’s the combination of living in English and Spanish,” he told me. “It is our reality and we can’t deny it.”

Even though he doubts Spanglish will ever become an actual independent language, he told me the most marvelous thing about languages is that they are constantly changing. As you all probably know, the Spanish–and for that matter, the English–we speak today is, by no means, the same one our ancestors spoke 100 years ago.

“We often use Spanglish when delivering the news because it helps us communicate with our audience,” he went on to explain. “In this era of globalization, it’s all about the mixture of cultures, languages, peoples of all colors.”

On his first children’s book…

Interestingly enough, a “mixture” is exactly how he describes his first venture into children literature: his bilingual book “Me Parezco Tanto a Mi Mamá, Me Parezco Tanto a Mi Papá.”

“Es una mezcla completa,” he told me and went to on to explain why. “It combines the past, the present and the future. English and Spanish. Boys and girls. Why? Because this is how we live, in a mixture.”

Have you noticed that children always want to know who in their family they look like. My daughter is too young for that, but whenever anybody meets her for the first time, they immediately pronounce: “Es igualita a su papá.” (This doesn’t make me happy because I swear she looks like me when I was her age, but that’s a story for an entirely different entry!). Ramos has written a book that addresses this question and the cool thing about it is that once you’re done with the story of how this girl is just like her mom, you can flip the book and read all about how this boy is just like his dad.

I’ve read it to my daughter a few times and although she doesn’t yet get the whole deal of who she looks like, she definitely understands what it means to be part of a family and so she likes to point out who each person is in Ramos’ book because there are children and their parents, but also los abuelos.

Ramos revealed that he came up with the idea about 13 years ago after his father passed away and during an interview with renown Chilean author, Isabel Allende, who was also mourning the premature death of her daughter.

“She told me that the people who we truly love never really die because we repeat them in our gestures, our expressions and in the way we look. It was the best advice I ever got.”

I know exactly what that’s all about. I see my father in Vanessa every single time she pouts.

Oh, wait…there’s a giveaway!!!

As a special gift to SpanglishBaby readers, Jorge Ramos is giving away one autographed copy of  “Me Parezco Tanto a Mi Mamá, Me Parezco Tanto a Mi Papá” to one lucky visitor. Gracias, Jorge! Here’s what to do:

1.  Leave us a comment telling us who your kids look like or anything they do or say that reminds you of a loved one.

2. For a second entry, subscribe to our feed either by email or RSS and leave a comment letting us know. *You must have left a comment (step #1, above) to receive a second entry*.

3. Want a third chance to win? Blog or Tweet about this giveaway. Just make sure to send us the link in a comment.

For the part that nobody likes, but we’ve gotta have, check out the Giveaway Rules.

This giveaway ends at midnight EST on Sunday, March 22nd.