spanish

I have made several moves to guarantee my daughter learns Spanish and French. To start, when I was pregnant I made sure to only buy books in Spanish or French. I was also happy to accept hand me downs of books, toys, or clothes from friends and family. One of the large boxes of inherited goods included books – very exciting, until, to my dismay, I opened it up and noticed they were all in English! I decided to keepRead More ...

You might remember how worried I was about teaching Vanessa to read and write in Spanish before she entered kindergarten last fall. In the end, I opted not to go that route and instead she’s been learning to read and write at school in English first. When I made my decision, I figured it’d be easier – for both of us – to transfer the skills she learned in English to Spanish and all would be merry. Little did IRead More ...

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 wasRead More ...

It’s happening. My worst fears have been realized: my son is now answering me in English when I speak to him in Spanish. Maybe he just forgot a few words and it’s easier for him to explain this subject in English. Yes, he understands every word of Spanish. Yes, he can translate flawlessly upon request. Yes, he speaks Spanish with those who do not know English. But why does he answer ME in English, when I’ve used 90% Spanish withRead More ...

Yesterday we talked about how important it is to keep your child’s mind active over the summer months. While there are many ways that you can keep kids busy right at home – one popular option is summer camp. Summer camps range from free and inexpensive to costly; some are sleep away camps and others are day or half-day camps. You can choose a local camp or one as far away as Costa Rica or Spain. To keep your bilingualRead More ...