Summer is here and the long days of relaxing at the pool or the beach have arrived. After two weeks or so with your children being home all day, you may be ready for some new adventures…. Even some educational ones!

As an educator of early language instruction, I am always looking for new opportunities and ways to expose my children to languages. Whether your child is learning a second language for the first time, or perhaps learning a third language, there are many ways to incorporate some bilingual fun into your summer. (more…)

Share the sentiment of Valentine’s Day with your children and family by incorporating some Spanish language love! For Clever Parents who are looking for some new ideas to the traditional Valentine Day activities, here are a few bilingual ideas:

• Make maracas out of two small paper plates, popsicle sticks, and some rice. Decorate plates with stickers or markers. Staple plates together with rice inside. Be sure to attach the popsicle stick as the handle. Have fun shaking!
• Host a Valentine Day Dance Party: go to your local library and look up children’s music in the international section. Some good suggestions are Jose Luis Orozco music, Sol y Canto, Latin Playground, La Vida Mickey. Invite some friends over for a Latin dance party. Shake your maracas and move to the beat!
• Read Te Amo Bebe, Little One by Lisa Wheeler
• List of Valentine theme words in Spanish:

Amor- love

Amigo- friend (more…)

Top Ten Reasons for Your Children to Learn Spanish

10. Exposure to multiple languages at an early age enhances their speaking and cognitive skills.

9. Learn words and phrases that can be useful in everyday situations.

8. To give them a chance to actually retain the language, rather than learning it later in life and losing it (until age 13, children’s brain retains it’s plasticity, allowing them to easily absorb and retain languages).

7. To have a head start in their required language education in school. (more…)

¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? Estoy bien y ¿tu? Muy bien, gracias. How many of you are having flashbacks from sophomore year in high school? How many of you took French, but can generally understand these phrases? How many of you never took Spanish at all, but are familiar with these phrases just because Spanish is so commonly spoken and heard in our country? The answer is probably many of you! As a former “high school Spanish student” myself, I can clearly relate to learning the language later in life.

Learning a language after the age of 13 is a difficult challenge and if you are not in a situation where you will continually use it, language retention is often lost. My language education came mostly from the immersion method, as I lived and worked in various Latin American countries. My husband and I made the choice to begin our children’s language education very early (from birth), so that their development in a second language happens naturally as they are growing.

If you are fans of Dora and Diego, the fact is that you probably have some Spanish floating around your home. These shows have certainly hit the mark with engaging children to actively learn the language. Exposing children at a young age to multiple languages benefits their cognitive skills, as they easily have the ability to absorb and retain languages. (more…)