When Your Bilingual Kid Hates Spanish Class
It’s the worst nightmare of a parent trying to raise a bilingual child. “I hate Spanish class and I have all my foreign language credits now—I don’t want to take it next year. Are you going to make me?” Those were the words of my 14 year old son, a well-behaved, straight-A student who is [...]
Pocoyo Playset Apps Launch to Help Boost School Readiness in Hispanic Preschoolers
Tomorrow, the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN) Early Learning Collaborative (ELC) launches its Pocoyo® PlaySet™ online and mobile apps, to help Hispanic preschoolers build their skills in English, reading and math. The project was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement, with the goal of closing [...]
Mommy Maestra: Apps For Reading In Spanish
A week or two ago, a Facebook follower asked me about apps that teach children learning to read in Spanish. This question is becoming more and more common, so I decided to do a little research and compile a list of apps. Below are all the ones I’ve found so far. I’ll try to update [...]
Is Your Bilingual Kid Smarter? ¡Sí!
In our day and age, raising a child to be bilingual is seen as a positive step, as it will help him communicate with more people and be more desirable in the job market. But increasingly, research is showing that bilingual kids are cognitively more advanced than their monolingual peers. In plain English? Bilingual kids [...]
Kids With Special Needs Speak Spanglish, Too!
This morning at 6 a.m., as usual, my daughter Ayelén, who has Down syndrome, woke up reluctantly and started getting ready for school. She then asked me for some milk, using the same phrase she uses every morning: “Mamita, may I have some leche, please?” That’s right: Kids with special needs speak Spanglish, too! I’m [...]
Why Julián Castro & Many Other Latinos Don’t Speak Spanish
Regardless of political affiliation, I would find it very hard to believe that any Latino out there didn’t think San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro‘s keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention was inspiring. Castro spoke so passionately and lovingly about his abuelita, his upbringing and all the hurdles his family has overcome that I’m sure many Latinos identified with him [...]
7 Easy Tips for Teaching Your Child Spanish
Perhaps you’re fluent in Spanish or know the basics, but your kids are not picking up the language as quickly as you’d hoped. You may think it’s because you live in the United States or that you don’t have enough time to teach them. Whatever the reason, don’t get discouraged just yet. Here are seven [...]
Dreaming in Spanish
The words tumbled out fast, no halting. No searching my brain for the right word. No Spanglish. Just rapido, rapido, pan, pan, pan, palabras, palabras, palabras. In my dream I was in full-on Spanish conversation with a Colombian co-worker. It was vivid. Yet now, a few weeks later I cannot recall what I was saying to [...]
I’m Latina, and I Don’t Speak Spanish
I hate when it happens. When my mother-in-law comes over and she is in a heated discussion with my husband and I wonder if she’s talking about me. When I shop at the local Mexican market and I need two pounds of queso fresco. When I’m introduced to a sweet, elderly brown woman who doesn’t [...]
Raising Bilingual Children: All You Can Do Is Plant Seeds
One summer afternoon, as we were getting ready to leave the local public pool, my 5-year old son dropped his towel on the muddy floor. “¡Poné la toalla en el banco! (Put the towel on the bench!),” I shouted across the crowds flooding the locker room. “What?” he asked. I repeated this twice, raising my [...]
