Spanish immersion playgroup for kids

Through a series of divine circumstances, I came to teach a little playgroup/preschool made up of my kids and a few other children 5 years and under. It was crazy really how the idea grew from a group activity where parents would sing familiar songs with their kids, into language immersion, led by me. Parents still come with their children, but I'm the current teacher and I plan the lessons and select the songs, stories and activities for each week.

And it has been so good for my boys to have this once a week, one hour playgroup hearing so much spanish while interacting with other little kids. And I love it too. I look forward to the planning especially, it's definitely become a creative outlet for me!

We've only recently made it more educational. The past two times we've met there was more speaking with the children, repeating words and asking questions as opposed to singing the majority of the time.

I am trying to prepare only one big activity for the hour period and then the rest of our class is mostly routine. The first week we talked about vocabulary for a new song we wanted to learn and I made a big poster of the animals in the song and the habitats they live in. I asked them questions like "Which one is the monkey?" to begin with and then tried to see if, after repeating the new words, they could recall the name of the animal when I asked, "What animal is this?" It was very encouraging to see them all trying to make the connections between the pictures and the words we'd say out loud.

This past week I took an idea from a dvd called "Professor Parrot Speaks Spanish" and I drew out flashcards of the story Goldilocks. Then I told the entire story in spanish with lots of visuals and gestures.

I'm still trying to think up what I can do for this week that will be all in spanish, teach the kids without rushing them too much into unfamiliar territory, as well as be on a level for moms that have a limited vocabulary. Yikes! I need more resources for lesson plans!

A part of the Latin community

Whew! Two years and another baby later, I think I now know exactly what I want to share in this blog.

I have realized just exactly how far I'll go to teach my kids Spanish, and to be frank it may be a little too far when you decide you have to teach all of your child's friends the language too.

But that's exactly where I'm at right now. And today I had the epiphany that for me, them knowing the language is not enough. I need to figure out how to prepare them to be a part of the Latin community as well.

And how do I do that? Good question. Please tell! I am only today exploring the options.

Foreign Language books at the library

In the past, I have been really intimidated by searching through spanish children's books at the library. There are so many books! Plus, the books are all so irregularly shaped and the spines so small that no titles can be read. It reminds me of digging through the bargain bins at yard sales - a task that frustrates me on the best of days.

But today I learned a new trick! Maybe an obvious one, but I'll share it for anyone else who hasn't leapt to the obvious of searching library catalog systems.

I found this helpful hint at http://www.library.uiuc.edu/edx/forlang.htm:
If searching for a foreign language book on a specific subject, add the appropriate subject heading to the foreign language search string. For example, if looking for a Spanish language book on cats, use the following subject searches:

Cats – Spanish language materials
Cats – Spanish language materials – Juvenile fiction
Cats – Spanish language materials -- Fiction

Brilliant! I'll be checking out books on soccer, guitar playing and Mexico now that I know how to find them!

A two-year thrill ride

Yesterday marked the two year anniversary since my husband and I were married. I like to think we've both matured and reached greater mutual understanding. It isn't easy working around each other's different cultures, but it's worth it! I read an article summarizing some thoughts given by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon in October of last year.

He said, "It is time to explain that different ... belief systems and cultural backgrounds are essential to the richness of the human experience."

My sweet husband has willingly shouldered the behind-the-scenes upkeep of the "American dream", that is, he takes care of the lawn and landscaping, grills a mean steak, and does all the other fix-it work needed on the car or in the house. Two years ago I don't think either of us would've seen far enough ahead to have predicted that. :)

And me, I've been learning more about ironing, cleaning and cooking especially. He loves that sort of thing because his mother always placed a strong emphasis on it in his home growing up. It's our balance of expectations, and we have really learned not to begrudge that daily give and take. And gee, our house sure looks good in the meantime!

At the same event I quoted from earlier, Ban emphasized that "men and women of faith around the world can be brought together, rather than separated, by their convictions and their belief in something greater than themselves."

My hubby and I are fortunate in this way. Our biggest common tie is our faith. Though I grew up going to an English congregation and he grew up going to a Spanish one, the doctrine we have been raised on is the same. We are both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) through and through. And our common religion has been a great strength to us through these two years.

And in case you're reading this, amor, thanks for all you do! You're responsible, fun and romantic! Does it get any better than that?! Te quiero!