A few weeks ago I received an email from a ‘Spanglish mami’ asking me a great question I thought I would address on a specific post. The question had to do with Spanish ‘outside’ school hours – specifically playgroups designed to help children continue developing their Spanish-speaking skills. She was wondering if I knew of any particular playgroups she could reach out to.

At the time I not only thought it was a great question, but it also sparked my curiosity. I went online and decided to do some research. In the past, I had used and met great people using a website designed to ‘put together’ people with similar interests from cooking, road biking, knitting, to girl friends just trying to come together to watch a movie or grab a quick bite – meetup.com. I quickly searched for children playgroups whose purpose was to spark foreign language interaction. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

There were children’s groups everywhere in the United States. My search was focused in an area in Southern California, yet I was really excited to see groups in New York, New Jersey and everywhere else in between.

I gave the suggestion to the mom who had contacted me and asked her to reach a couple of groups I had found. I also asked her to please let me know how things went, as I was curious to see where her quest would take her. I heard from her a few days later, and while the groups were a bit too far from what she was looking for, she had been talking to one of the group’s organizers who gave her ideas to get started on her own group if she wanted to.

Playgroups are a great way to let children experience the language in a much less structured environment. From my own experience, I know that as soon as students go to recess or lunch the language of choice is English, regardless of them being in a dual language program or not.

Have you been successful at setting/joining playgroups for children? If so, many other Spanglishbaby readers and I would love to know. Of course, we also invite you to visit SpanglishBaby Playground, where so many of you have already started forming local groups!

Much love and happy talking,

Kelly

Photos by National Assembly for Wales

One of my favorite things about belonging to the SpanglishBaby community is the opportunity to meet other families who are also raising bilingual and bicultural kids. I have met online friends and local friends through SpansglishBaby Playground where families have been organizing local playgroups all over the nation, from South Jersey to Orlando, from Philly to Colorado you can find local groups wanting to meet, play and speak Spanish!

Find your local Playground and join us today!

Tri State Mamas: NY, NJ and PA – Philly zoo, Sesame Place and the aquarium are on their list!

South Jersey SpanglishBaby – South Jersey / Philadelphia – I’m only 20minutes from the city and would be willing to travel or host at my house…So if you’re in the region, then this is the group for you.

Motor City Mamacitas – Metro Detroit, MI. – Get together with other Oakland County Spanish-speaking kids (native and non) to immerse them in fun and a second language.  

Bilingue in San Antonio – San Antonio, TX. – For San Antonio parents who are trying to teach their children Spanish…lets get together online and in person to help our kids learn more Spanish and practice speaking it.

Denver Mamas – Denver, CO. – For moms in Denver (or any of its surrounding cities) raising bilingual kids. Let’s share info on upcoming bilingual events, schools, camps, story times and other fun things to do in Spanish! 

NC Familias Bilingues – North Carolina – Ser Latino o extranjero es una experiencia única en cada parte de este país. Queremos compartir con otras familias Latinas y bi-culturales en nuestro estado.

East Los Angeles – Los Angeles County and Inland Empire – …those of us out of the city can group together when the city is just a little to far to travel… but at least LA is nearby, we’d love to get together on the weekends.

Los Angeles Moms Raising Bilingual Kids – Los Angeles, CA. – A space for L.A. area moms to share local tips, events, happenings and school information for bilingual/bicultural kids (Spanish/English)

San Diego Mamas – San Diego, CA. – A place to share local events, immersion schools, activities, meet new families close-by and more!

Nor-Cal Madres – San Francisco Bay Area – Let’s share events, get together and have fun if you live in or around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Oklahoma City Bilingual Mamas – Oaklahoma City, OK. – A group for bilingual mamas (Spanish/English) that reside in the Oklahoma City Metro.

Orlando Mamis  - Orlando, FL. – If you are in the Orlando area, this is the place for you!

Did you find your playground?  If not, you can start your very own today! Is simple, here are the steps on How to create your local Playground

For information and tips on how to start a playgroup please read Roxana A. Soto’s post Are-playgroups-really-that-important?

Let’s get together, play and speak Spanish!

{photo by  phalinn}

The last year and a half has been an incredibly hectic, albeit rewarding one for me. I decided to finally give it all I’ve got and be a self-employed entrepreneur with two blogs under my belt. Of course, this meant lots of traveling, eating out, time juggling and a balancing act between being a wife, mom, friend, writer, business woman, etc, etc.

The lack of sleep and exercise, as well as my new terrible eating habits finally got a toll on me and exhibited through exhaustion, restlessness and a lack of patience. My daughter could perceive all of this and the last thing I wanted was to take anything out on her. In fact, the one thing I have not allowed myself to let go is the time I invest in her. Yes, she does have to spend all day in school and some aftercare, but the time we have together I make it count.

Thanks to her, I’ve come back and am now again working out and being conscious about what I and we, as a family eat. Truth is that I am the one that sets the standards in my house, and if I let that go then it’s my survival menu of quesadillas, waffles, cereal and scrambled eggs every day!

Now that I’ve managed to slow down a bit and understand that if my family and I aren’t eating well and being active then the consequences won’t make any of my hard work worth it, I’ve decided to take the Together Counts pledge of becoming more active and healthy as a familia. It’s really such a simple concept, but one we sometimes need to consciously come back to and make a priority.

For the last four months I’ve also been contributing to the Together Counts blog with articles on topics I’m passionate about. Writing all of these has been part therapeutic in the sense of “practicing what I preach.”

Hope you head on over to Together Counts and enjoy these articles:

The Power of Playgroups

The Culture of Food in the Holidays

Activity Planning While on Family Vacations Abroad

The Benefits of a Daily Family Walk

Like Together Counts on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Share: How do you define the concept of “Together Counts” as it applies to your family?

Disclosure: I was compensated as a writer for the Together Counts blog. All opinions are my own.

Do you live in Central Florida? Do you love SpanglishBaby and want to be even more connected to your local bilingual parenting community?

Come meet me (Chelsea) and some of your other bilingual neighbors at Lake Eola Park (playground) on Sunday, December 4^th, at 1 PM.

I hope to make some new Spanglish-speaking friends for me and my family!

If you plan to attend, please send an email to chelsea@spanglishbaby.com or leave a quick comment.

I look forward to meeting you!

{Photo by: SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget}

It was a lovely sight. A dozen children, most of them preschoolers, all speaking Spanish — and some English – in the backyard of my house. I hadn’t hosted a meetup for my bilingual playgroup in a long, long time. And I’m so happy I finally did.

We’re about to celebrate our three year anniversary as a group and I can honestly say that the friendships both my children and I have made because of it are priceless. I was lucky to join the group as it was being formed and got to attend the first meetup ever back in June 2008. At the time, I only had Vanessa who was almost 2 years old. The organizer’s daughter and mine hit it right off and became instant friends.

I use to assist and organize tons of meetups at the beginning because I was a SAHM, just starting to research this whole blogging thing in preparation of what eventually became SpanglishBaby. I had a ton of time in my hands and I’m so grateful I happened to find a group like this online. Not only have I met all kinds of wonderful people, but I’ve ensured that my bilingual and bicultural children have friends who are growing up just like them.

We’ve written before about the power and importance of playgroups, but just to bring the point home even further, I wanted to share with you what one of the moms in our group – for whom Spanish is not a native language, but is raising two bilingual and bicultural daughters together with her Mexican husband – wrote about the recent meetup at my house:

I was ecstatic when I read my friend’s update on Facebook because, in the end, that is what the whole point of our playgroup is all about. If only we could do it more often. Vanessa hasn’t refused to speak Spanish yet, and I’m praying to all the gods that she never does. But I know that the possibility lurks right around the corner as she starts her all-English journey the first of August when she begins Kindergarten. I know I’ll have to rely much heavier on my playgroup to help make sure she still has exposure to Spanish in a playful setting and not just at home with us.

Finally, I also wanted to share a little anecdote about how connected our bilingual and bicultural children feel when they meet others like them. Vanessa attended summer camp at the same preschool she’s been going to for the past three years. This time around she lucked out and had a bilingual and bicultural girl – that we’ve known outside the school, but haven’t really frequented that much – in her class. When I went to pick her up after her first day at the camp, her teacher told me Vanessa and her friend had spent all day speaking Spanish, in their own little world. I was ecstatic. And then, in the car on the way home, Vanessa revealed the news like it was the best thing that had happened to her in a long time. I was even more ecstatic.

Vanessa’s friend and her mom – who’s my friend – were over at our house for the meetup we recently hosted. When I told the mom about Vanessa’s excitement regarding her daughter, she told me her daughter felt exactly the same. There’s just something about realizing you’re not alone in this bilingual and bicultural journey!

If you belong to a bilingual or Spanish playgroup like mine, we beg you to leave your info in our Forums so others can find you. If you’d like to start one in your area, we invite you to also visit the Forum and share your information.

Photo credit: the paessels

Joining a Spanish speaking playgroup is a great support for raising bilingual children.  Soon after my first son was born, I joined my Spanish speaking playgroup, and through our participation, I have really seen the value in the Spanish development of both my sons.  More than anything else, the group has also been a lot of fun for all of us.

The educational benefits to joining a playgroup were obvious for me.  Having a group of friends that know Spanish has been great at motivating my sons to speak it, and it also maximizes their exposure to the language since they are surrounded by Spanish speaking adults and children.  More than anything though, I cherish the friends that we have made.  We’re friends that can have fun together and ones that can discuss the challenges and strategies for raising bilingual children.  This group has also been an invaluable source of support.  When my son was in the hospital, the other moms brought us meals and even offered to donate blood for his operation.  Fortunately, everything turned out well, but this crisis showed me how truly blessed I am to have such wonderful friends in my life.

After the birth of my children, I was fortunate to be able to take a couple years off to be at home with the boys.  For a variety of different reasons, I returned to work in September.  Unfortunately, working meant that I was unable to attend the play dates with my moms’ group.  Occasionally I would see the other moms on the weekend, or I’d get together with a friend, but it wasn’t the same.  As time passed, I began to realize that there were other moms in the group with similar scheduling conflicts.  I also found that some of the other moms were interested in having late afternoon activities for their children.  Seeing that there was an interest, I started hosting events for our group, and even became an assistant organizer.  Thanks to the afternoon and weekend activities, I am once again an active member of the group. Organizing and hosting events has been a lot of fun, and I have discovered that a little structure to the activities, and of course some food, makes them even more successful.

The following are some play date ideas that were big hits with the kids.  They were a lot of fun, and I encourage you to try them with your own group.

Música, Maracas, y Macaroni

I love music and kids do too!  The combination of music, maracas and macaroni is a recipe for success!  I arranged a playlist that had the kids marching, jumping, dancing and singing to the music.  To make all this activity even more fun, I gave the kids brightly colored maracas which they loved shaking as they danced.  Since this was a late afternoon play date, I knew that the kids and mamis would start to get hungry.  Who doesn’t love macaroni and cheese?  It is easy to make and served with a little fruit, makes for a relatively healthy meal.  The kids loved sitting around the table together, and I think the moms appreciated that they didn’t have to go home and make dinner.

Películas y Pizza en Pijamas

A movie with pizza is a great way to unwind at the end of the week.  Put the kids in their pajamas, order pizza and let everyone relax.  Choose a movie that has a Spanish soundtrack and let the kids, kick back and watch.  Having the kids in their pajamas turns the get together into a pajama party with the added benefit of cutting down on the bed time routine after the show.  Mamis get a chance to socialize while their children enjoy the movie.  This activity is a winner for the kids and the moms.

Vamos a Montar en Bici o Patinar

I love to run, bike, roller blade and swim, and have found that many of the other mamis in my group do too.  In the evenings or even on the weekends, it is fun to get a group together and take the kids for a ride.  I have a seat for one of my sons to ride along with me on the bike, or sometimes I roller blade with them in our double stroller.  I encourage the dads to go too, and we usually grab a bite to eat after going out for a spin.  This is a great activity to enjoy some fresh air, spend time with friends, and exercise.

Fiestas para la Familia

Our group occasionally holds parties and picnics for the whole family on the weekends.  Often a theme or holiday is used to make the festivities even more entertaining.  At our Halloween party moms, dads, kids and babies wore costumes.  There were crafts for the kids, holiday stories, and even a piñata.  Picnics at a local park are also popular giving the kids a chance to play on the swings and slides or to kick around a ball.  It doesn’t matter if dad doesn’t speak Spanish; it is just nice to give them a chance to meet the other dads.  You will often be surprised by the friendships that develop.  My husband, who speaks to our sons in German, was thrilled to meet two other dads who speak the same language with their own children.  Involving the entire family in some activities is a great way to relax, bond, and enrich language skills.

Spanish playgroups are great for your kids and your whole family.  With all of the demands put on our time, it may take some creativity to participate, but the rewards are well worth the effort.

Photo credit: whiteafrican

My daughter, Vanessa, loves languages. Nothing could make me happier because I love languages too!

We’re about a little over two months into our Trilingual Adventure with Little Pim – our journey to expose Vanessa to her third language: French, and I’m happy to report that things are going much better than I expected. I try to speak to her in French every single day, even if it’s not for an extended period of time. We either listen to Little Pim’s French Bop CD, watch one of the DVDs from the series, read the few books we have in French or I just simply reinforce the latest vocabulary she’s been learning by using it during our everyday conversations.

At the suggestion of Little Pim’s founder, Julia Pimsleur, during our last Skype consultation, I’ve made it a point to speak French while I give Vanessa a bath. I have to admit that I wasn’t too sure it was going to work out, but it has been an excellent tip.

Before I implemented this new “rule,” I explained what it was all about to Vanessa. I don’t think she was too convinced either, until we actually went to the bathroom for her bath. Julia had mentioned that she used to line up little toy animals on the ledge of the tub, call out each of their names, and her son would dump the correct one in the water. You can’t imagine how much fun this is for a child!

I decided to start with something a little bit easier because we haven’t gotten around to learning all the animals’ names yet. She only knows chat (cat) and chien (dog) from Little Pim’s flashcards and she also knows ours (bear) from a particular book we’ve been reading which I promise to write about very soon. Anyhow, to make sure she’d able to play without getting frustrated about not knowing the answer, I lined up a bunch of different colored blocks she has in the tub which go along with a bateau (boat) – she knows this word very well because she learned it during French summer camp.

I think we used about 6 or 7 different colors and I just called them out and had her dump each one in the water. She was in heaven and, after a couple of tries, got every single one of them right. To change it up a little bit, we’ve also been using her little rubber duckies which are all dressed up differently to play this game. Another variation has been for me to say a number and for her to count the duckies or block and dump the amount corresponding to the number. A few nights later, I decided bath time was a good enough time as any to introduce the names of body parts. Granted, she already knows a lot of them thanks to the ever-popular tête-épaules-genoux-et pieds song (head-shoulders-knees-and toes)! Either way, I’ve been introducing additional terms ever since. Vanessa is so into it that whenever I tell her it’s time for her bath, she always says something like: “Y es la hora de hablar francés, ¿verdad?” I guess I’m know experiencing what the time and place method is all about!

Since, as we all know, the best way to learn another language is to be exposed to it in fun and meaningful ways, I’ve been searching for other options in our journey to become trilingual. I know there’s a French playgroup quiet a bit north of where we live and I’ve been wanting to make it a point to go check it out because I truly believe in the power of playgprous. However, I really haven’t been able to find the time to make a commitment to something like this and I’d hate to start something and not be consistent. So, when fellow blogger, Eve Bodeux of Blogging on Bilingualism, let me know about a local French camp which takes place once a month on Saturday, I immediately jumped on the idea.

I promptly got in touch with the teacher to ask her all kinds of questions about the camp. I was a bit nervous because Vanessa would be the youngest of all the kids in the group and because the teacher told me all of them already had exposure to French. Either way, I figure the only way to find out would be to try it out. So, I signed her up and took her two weeks ago. I couldn’t believe our luck when I found out that the teacher was actually Vanessa’s French teacher during the two weeks she attended Denver Montclair International School‘s French camp this summer! I was worried no more. When her father picked her up, five hours after I dropped her off, Vanessa didn’t want to leave!

What can I say, my girl loves languages .

Disclosure:  This post is part of a series of entries made possible by Little Pim.  The stories, outcomes, and opinions regarding this trilingual adventure are all our own.

Photo by moi

Playgroups. We’ve mentioned them in prior posts, the Multilingual Children’s Association recommends it as do our experts. Plus, the truth is they’re really fun. In an effort to show you just how important they really are, I’ve decided to use the playgroup Vanessa and I belong to as case study. I hope you enjoy reading about it…

I don’t even remember how I found it or why I even started looking for it. The truth is I wasn’t making a conscious effort to find one; I hadn’t really thought about the benefits both Vanessa and I would be able to reap from belonging to one. I just remember searching online for a playgroup and being extremely surprised to find one called: Bilingual Tots–in Denver! The best part was that it had just formed, so when I joined, I was just in time for their introductory meet-up. That was last summer, and now I don’t know how I would do without it.

“I wanted my children and I to have bilingual friends because the more people we could speak with in Spanish the more important the language would be to them,” says AnaGloria Rodriguez, the organizer of Bilingual Tots, when I asked her why she started the playgroup. “I also love learning about other cultures and wanted us to learn more about other Latino cultures because I want my children to be proud of who they are. Basically, I was trying to form an extended family group for us.”

A source of support and encouragement…

It hasn’t even been a year since that first meeting and Bilingual Tots already has close to 50 members. And, though the truth is that not all of them attend regular meet-ups, I’d say there are at least a dozen of us who participate as much as possible. So we’ve had an opportunity to develop friendly relationships not only at the adult level, but our kiddies, too!

“I am overcome with emotion when I think about how successful this group has become,” adds AnaGloria. ‘It is wonderful how some of us have connected and gotten to know one another. I know that my children feel the love of the group.”

To see that love for your self, all you have to do is look at the picture above of AnaGloria’s daughter, Penelope, and my own child, Vanessa. It’s truly great to hear Penny say, “Hola, Vanessa” as she walks over to give her a hug as soon as we arrive at the park or the museum or wherever we’re meeting.

“I recently read somewhere that children will speak the language of the people they love. So I figure the more people my children have to love who speak Spanish, the more likely they are to stick with it,” adds AnaGloria.

For Lili Strachan, mother of three boys, and recent transplant to Colorado from Scotland, Bilingual Tots has given her and her children an opportunity to make Spanish-speaking friends in their new home. But, as she explains, the playgroup means a lot more than that.

“The true benefit is being able to exchange ideas with the other mothers about bilingualism,” says Lili, who grew up in Florida and whose parents are Colombian. “In addition, I am learning about customs and words from the other mothers that are from many different countries.”

And that’s what I truly like the most about our playgroup, its diversity. Everyone’s in the same boat, but for different reasons and using different methods.

Maybe these tips can help:

Ok, enough boasting, so how can you get started? Here are some tips:

• First of all, check online to see if a playgroup like ours or similar already exists in your area. Chances are, it does.
• If not, and you’re willing to be the organizer of one, the best place to go–according to AnaGloria–is meetup.com. It’s not free, but it works wonders. Getting groups with similar likes, needs or hobbies together is the reason they’re in business. You can also create a Yahoo! group for free.
• You have to be willing to host the first few meetings until your playgroup gets more members and you can start to rotate. Hosting a playgroup doesn’t have to be a huge deal. On the contrary, simple is better, especially for the kids. When we meet at someone’s home, we normally do a potluck and it always turns out awesome!
• In terms of activities, again, keep it simple! We’ve just started implementing circle time and we sing a few songs in Spanish and will soon start reading a simple book to the kids. But more often than not, we just let them be. Nothing’s better than free play in Spanish!
• If your group starts getting big, think about other places where you can meet other than someone’s home. Community centers, your local church, libraries or bookstores with children’s sections are all possibilities. Just call and ask. When the weather is nice–as is often the case in Colorado, even in winter–we meet at a park for a picnic. The kids love it!

To sign-off, I’ll let my friend and fellow Bilingual Tot member, Lili, tell all of you how important she thinks playgroups really are when raising bilingual kids:

“I personally think that it is not a choice, but a requirement. I truly feel that you MUST maximize your child’s opportunities to be around Spanish-speaking adults and children. Plus IT’S FUN!”

If you belong to a playgroup or you’re thinking about starting one yourself, we’d love to hear your story. Or, if you have any other tips or anything you want to share that would be helpful to others, please feel free to do so!