One Mother's First Year with a Spanish Immersion School

Thankful for guest posts! Have you been thinking about putting your child in a Spanish immersion school but need some help deciding? Here's the perspective of one mother, Francesca, whose child is finishing up her first year in Spanish immersion kindergarten. I hope it helps!

Loving our Spanish Immersion School

As it turned out we had more choices than we expected for Texas public schools. We had our regular home school, an Applied Learning Center, a nearby public Montessori school, Spanish immersion, and of course the very small part-time homeschool that she had been attending for preschool. All of our friends and pretty much every other mom in town was desperate to get into that Applied Learning Center, so the chances of that seemed slim. We still applied and we did not get in. When I called to ask about our other choices this wonderful voice said, "Have you considered Spanish Immersion?" and instantly it clicked! Of course!!! We immediately went down there to peek in on the class and we signed her up that day!

Of course Spanish immersion is perfect for our family, why did we not think of it or look for it ourselves? Honestly, I didn't think there was anything like that available through our public schools. My husband and I have traveled extensively - we love the world and languages. My mother is a Spanish teacher and I grew up going to Spain in the summers with her and her group of high school students. Strictly speaking I never took Spanish. I just absorbed. So I can understand quite a lot, read some, and write very little. I have always been disappointed and embarrassed by my level of Spanish. I feel like after all those summers I should have been fluent. But it is hard to practice Spanish with kids from Texas and the many German, Dutch, and French kids I met in Spain while traveling. So there was more English spoken and them trying to teach me German, than there was Spanish practice. 

"I wanted it to become part of her naturally."

I really wanted my daughter to have a strong foundation in the Spanish language at the start and not just speaking. I wanted her reading and writing and singing! I wanted it to become part of her naturally. We met her dynamic teacher and he told us about his kindergarten class, and the amazing things they did in class. We saw his kindergarten students - after only being exposed to Spanish for three months - following his directions (in Spanish), answering him (in Spanish), speaking to each other (in Spanish) and singing to us (in Spanish)! He then told us he was heading to Spain that summer before our daughter started kindergarten to take some classes for a month. So I insisted he go to Ávila where my mother lives and have my mom show him around. He did go and he says it was the best part of his entire trip! 

Julianna has always loved classes and preschool so she was very excited to go to kindergarten. She had no trouble transitioning. She came home the first few days saying he would not speak English to them and she did not understand him at all. However none of the other kids did either so it's not like she was alone in not understanding. She had not been exposed much to Spanish at all before this. After a few weeks she came home saying a few words, singing a few songs. We both nearly sobbed and fell over with joy upon hearing the first song she sang us in Spanish! After a month it was totally normal that school was in Spanish. She is still very shy about speaking Spanish to anyone or even us, but I know she can. Her teacher sends is videos of her taking and doing science, computers and math all in Spanish. They make QR codes, grow plants for science, garden for food, they learned to dance the Mapalé, they dance flamenco, they call my mother in Spain and talk via Skype in class, they draw their versions of Picasso paintings, they make ice cream, they do addition, subtraction, they are starting multiplication and so much more. When we go up to visit her class she and the other students must only speak Spanish and she does. She speaks with a beautiful accent. She writes in Spanish and knows where all the accents go! She also writes in English. She had learned to read by November (and we had been working on that for a long time) in Spanish and it made reading in English so much easier for her. 

It has made me practice my unused Spanish. She corrects me all the time. She finds it baffling that I know any Spanish at all. She says "Yyyyou know thaaaaat?" It is mind blowing to us that she can do it so effortlessly and seamlessly. It frustrates us that she does not want to speak outside school but we are letting her set her boundaries, after she refuses to speak in Spanish to us, we say things like,"We are so proud that you are learning Spanish and we love to hear you speak. We know you will show us how well you can speak when you are ready." We are trying not to push it. But then we get cards for Valentine's day and Mother's Day from her written in Spanish and she will read them to us. Sometimes we act like we have no clue what a word means in order to coax her into reading it to us. Honestly, we could not be happier.

The school that houses her Spanish immersion school is a nice school, with good people and it is a mix of African American and Hispanic and very few white families. I am so glad we chose it. She has made good friends and there are only nine kids in her class this year. A few more may join in first grade but she will have this small class until sixth grade. This fall they are opening a World Languages Academy that all of the Spanish immersion students in the school district will have the option to attend. It will go through high school. They will introduce another language in sixth grade. The cherry on top is that it happens to be right in our neighborhood! My mother-in-law said a few days ago that she was getting a better education than her other grandchildren who are attending the most expensive and highly acclaimed private schools here in Fort Worth. We recommend Spanish Immersion to everyone! At the beginning I thought, "Well if she only learns to speak a little Spanish and nothing else I will teach her to tell time and whatever else they do in kindergarten. Well, she has far surpassed that! There is no way I could do multiplication in Spanish!

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Francesca is a mother of two, learning to do homework in Spanish along with her daughter. She teaches preschool at a part-time homeschool.

5 Tips for Non-Native Speakers to Homeschool Bilingually

 

© bst2012 - Fotolia.com

I'm so happy to publish another article sharing the story of one mom's experience with bilingual homeschooling. The following is a guest post by Heather Magnuson, a mother of two and a bilingual homeschooler.

In a former life (pre-kids), I taught first-grade Spanish-English dual-immersion.  In spite of my previous teaching experience, the thought never crossed my mind that I could actually teach my sons Spanish, much less teach them in Spanish.  I had tried to teach my oldest son Spanish when he was a baby, but at a very early age (14 months!) he screamed whenever I tried to read a book in Spanish.  So, I gave up.

I’ve always been a huge proponent of bi/multilingualism, and it has always been my desire for my children to be (at least) bilingual.  However, I had it stuck in my mind that they would have to learn a second language from someone other than me--ideally, at a dual-immersion school.  But ideally and reality seem to never agree, especially in a military family that moves every 1 to 3 years.

Last year as I began planning for my oldest’s upcoming Kindergarten year, for various reasons, I decided homeschool was the best option for us.  I tucked away the idea of immersion school and began the mad quest to gather all the information I could to figure out exactly how to homeschool. But the idea of bilingual education for my kids kept nagging at me.  I toyed with the idea of hiring a nanny to tutor the kids, which we could not afford.  I thought about starting my own immersion school -- not such a great idea considering the 1-3 year move schedule.  Finally, I had an “aha” moment, “Wait a minute, I am a trained bilingual teacher…Why can’t I homeschool my children bilingually?”  It seems logical, right?  Actually, it seemed terrifying to me.  I shifted gears from trying to figure out how to homeschool to how to bilingual homeschool.  I came across many wonderful resources, including Mommymaestra, which made the prospect not quite so terrifying.

We are now nearing the end of our first year of bilingual homeschooling.  There have been plenty of bumps along the way, but overall I would call it a success.  My goal for this year was to give my kids a good foundation of Spanish vocabulary and create excitement for learning the language—which we have met.  I thought it best to start small and build each year.  I have all our plans in place for next year when we will take on a more formal Spanish study and do part of our history, science, and geography in Spanish.  We are all very excited about the year to come!

The following are some bits of advice for other non-native speakers considering bilingual education.

Don’t feel like you have to be a master of the language or speak it perfectly to teach it to your children.  I hold to the belief that “something is better than nothing.”  Your children will benefit the most from as much exposure to the target language as possible.  They can work out the kinks in the finer points of grammar through formal study.

Set realistic goals according to your resources and language ability.  If the target language is spoken in your home all day, it is realistic to expect your children to output in the target language.  However, if your children are receiving very limited language exposure outside of their schoolwork, it is going to take much more time before they feel comfortable producing the target language.

If you only know a little of the target language, learn along with your children.  This is a great way to model to your children the joy of learning!

Remember, bilingual education doesn’t mean that every subject has to be taught in both languages.  Bilingual education can simply be studying a foreign language.  It can be studying one subject in the target language (Math is a great choice because numbers are the same in most languages).  You can incorporate as much or as little into your own school program.  That’s the beauty of homeschooling!

Finally, just as you don’t have to be a classroom teacher to be a good homeschool teacher, you don’t have to be a foreign language teacher to be a good bilingual homeschool teacher.  The most important qualification you have is that you know your children and how they learn best.  

!Buena suerte!

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Heather Magnuson is a non-native Spanish-speaker, providing her two sons (ages 6 and 4) with a classical, Spanish-immersion homeschool education.  She is documenting their journey on her blog, Homeschool Aventuras. 

Did you enjoy this article? Are you thinking about homeschooling your child? Let me help! My book - The Latino Family's Guide to Homeschooling - covers everything you see here and more. 

A Gratitude Ritual



(Rickydavid/Flickr)


The following is a guest post by Carla Molina of the blog, All of Me Now.

Last year, I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon for 30 days of gratitude in November. Everyday I'd post the things I was grateful for and also what my two daughters gave thanks for before bed. It provided some heartfelt and funny posts.

An old friend commented; she told me I was doing such a beautiful thing for my daughters and teaching them an important lesson. Her words really made an impact. It made me wonder why we only ever gave thanks during the month of November. And so, I ventured into creating a daily gratitude ritual.

We tried different things - giving thanks during a meal, while making dinner, during bath time, in the car - but what everyone naturally gravitated toward was giving thanks at bedtime.

Every night after the girls are snug in their pajamas, I turn out the lights and light a small candle. We each take a turn giving thanks for three things then blow out the candle. Once we've all had a turn, I light the candle one last time and we each make a wish and blow out the candle together. Most recently, my oldest has added her own little touch and, as the candle goes out, she whispers, "Let our wish come true."

There are nights when we're so past their bedtime, I want to skip it so I can get some work done while they sleep. Other nights I simply forget to pull out the candle. But my girls never forget. Every night they ask for it. I think it's a wonderful way for them to go to bed with positive feelings in their hearts.

This year I skipped the 30 days of gratitude on Facebook. It's become a yearlong tradition. And while friends can no longer share in the things we give thanks for, I know our daily practice has a much greater impact on the hearts of my daughters.

How do you encourage your kids to practice gratitude?

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Carla Molina is a freelance writer whose work has appeared on Latina.com, SpanglishBaby, Tiki Tiki Blog and in the soon to be launched Vida Vibrante. A Jersey girl gone New England, Carla is a homeschooling mom passionate about raising her two daughters by example. When she's not taking in a movie or devouring a good book, you can find Carla directing and producing her local Listen To Your Mother show which hits the stage in May 2013. Keep up with Carla at her personal blog, All of Me Now.

Studying Nicaraguan Traditions in Your Homeschool

Hispanic Heritage Month continues here on MommyMaestra! Some fantastic Latina moms are sharing their experiences with passing their culture on to their children. Today's post is written by Tiany Davis of The Homeschool Lounge.


When I think of my family, our Nicaraguan traditions, our culture and the many things that unite us, I'm filled with such gratitude. I'm grateful for the language, the music, our celebrations, our food and FAMILIA! We have a Nicaraguan family reunion coming up and the excitement of tios, tias, primos, primas, nietos y nietas coming together again after being apart for over a decade is overwhelming! We have such a gift to hand down to our children! My mother was born and raised in Nicaragua, and moved to the US in 1972. Nicaragua, known as “The Country of Lakes and Volcanoes”, is a beautiful and fragile country in the middle of Central America.

Central America forms a bridge between North and South America. It's a treasure-trove of biodiversity, lush tropical rainforests, volcanoes, mountains and beaches. Though similar, this family of countries in Central America each have their own unique culture, traditions, clothes and food! There are many traditional Nicaraguan dishes, some of the more popular dishes include Vigoron, Gallo Pinto & Nacatamales.

 Vigoron, Gallo Pinto & Nacatamal

Gallo Pinto: most people in Nicaragua eat this almost daily and it is considered a national symbol. It is composed of a mixture of fried rice with onion and red beans boiled with garlic. They are mixed and fried together over a small amount of oil.

Nacatamal: similar to a tamal, yet unlike the tamales typical of other countries in Latin America, the nacatamal is unique to Nicaragua. The nacatamal is perhaps the largest production within the Nicaraguan kitchen, stuffed with pork, potato, onion, rice, and veggies then wrapped in plantain leaves and steam cooked. Nactamales are often served for Sunday meals and special occasions.

Vigorón: a plate is covered with a part of a plantain tree leaf, topped with yucca, chicharrón and a salad made out of cabbage and tomato. Mouth watering!!

Three Men in Gueguense Comstume Standing on the Street by ROBERTO ZUNIGA

Nicaragua’s music and dances represent the deep cultural roots of the country. Traditional dances are used to share Nicaragua's culture. Dances include Nicaraguan Folklore and “El Gueguense”, a satirical drama that combines theater, dance, and music. Nicaraguan Americans Christianne Meneses Jacobs, is the publisher of IGUANA, an entirely Spanish-language magazine geared towards kids aged 7 to 12. IGUANA, is the only magazine in the US entirely in Spanish. One of the more famous Nicaraguan - American families, is the Lopez family! They're the first family of TaeKownDo, representing the US at the past 3 Olympic games. Did you know that Christopher Columbus landed in Nicaragua in 1502, during his fourth and last voyage of exploration to the Americas? He did!

Even though most of the population is considered "poor", Nicaraguans lead a life deeply rooted in tradition, live life fully, joyfully and celebrate their Hispanic heritage with pride!

Girls in Costumes in Parade at Nicaragua by ROBERTO ZUNIGA

ACTIVITIES TO CELEBRATE HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH:

• Teach About Nicaragua :: Teaching Central America
• Resources to Teach about Nicaragua :: Srta SPANISH
• Rainforest lesson plans & teacher resources 
• Lesson Plans on TpT
• Learn about and meet the people of Nicaragua. Grades 4-8 

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Tiany is Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, and German. She wears many hats and juggles many jobs as a wife, homeschool mom to four boys, mom-preneur and social media engager. She is the owner of The Homeschool Lounge, a community exclusiely for homeschool moms and she blogs at Social Savvy Mom. You can find her on Twitter @SocialSavvyMom.

Teaching My Children Their Hispanic Heritage through Empanadas

This article is part of our Hispanic Heritage Month series featuring stories from Latina moms who have agreed to share their thoughts on raising children and what their heritage means to them. Today's post is by Nadia Jones, publisher of JusticeJonesie.com...

Teaching My Children Their Hispanic Heritage through Empanadas

I am fortunate to have a mother that saw the importance of passing on traditions from my Mexican and Haitian backgrounds. One of the ways that she did this was through food and cooking. When my mom married my father, Haitian born and raised, she learned from my dad’s sisters how to cook and speak French and Haitian Creole "better than most Haitian women," as my dad likes to say. By the time I was 12, my mom was at work with me teaching me about the different spices and dishes from both sides of my family.

Eating and learning about the different spices and ingredients that go into these dishes is just one of the many ways that I plan to teach my children about their Latino heritage. I cook food that I grew up on and also expose my three children to dishes from other Latin cultures as well. Teaching my children about the variations found from one Latin region to the next is a great lesson on culture and geography.

Recently, I used my love for empanadas as an opportunity to introduce my children to the level of diversity found in the delicious little pies filled with all kinds of goodness. I knew that empanadas varied from country to country but I had never really taken the time to learn about the differences. So I decided to educate myself and my children at the same time.

I did some research and found a small Latin bakery known to carry empanadas from several different countries including Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and others. I also did some research on the traditional style served from some of the different countries in which empanadas are most often served. I shared what I learned with my children and with excitement we learned that in some regions like Peru, the empanadas are made with dough-like bread, while in others, Argentina for example, they are more commonly made with a flakey crust that is usually deep fried and filled with seasoned meat. We talked about all the different fillings and which empanada everyone wanted to try.

When we arrived to the bakery the kids were so excited. We ordered 10 different empanadas to split between the five us and then of course, shared and compared. We each had a different favorite. My ten year-old liked the spinach and cheese empanada from Chile and my daughter loved the cheese filled deep fried empanada from Argentina. We ended up ordering a few to go for later and I was so happy to hear my daughter say she wanted one in her lunch the next day.

Our empanada excursion turned out to be a great success. Not only do my children have a deeper understanding and appreciation for a dish that varies from region to region, but, they also learned another tidbit from their Latino heritage.

What are some of the ways that you introduce your children to their heritage through food?

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Nadia, a.k.a., Justice Jonesie, is a mom to three, lawyer, blogger at JusticeJonesie.com, founder of Niche Mommy Network & Conference & co-founder of Blogalicious Weekend.  She enjoys blogging about work-life balance, fitness, and her journey through motherhood. When she is not working or chasing after her kids, you may find her training for a half-marathon or enjoying a chic night out on the town with her hubby. Find her on Twitter @justicejonesie

Being Latina, for My Children, For Our Heritage

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, a number of my fellow Latina bloggers have agreed to share their thoughts on raising children and what their heritage means to them. First up is my friend Carol Cain of Girl Gone Travel (formerly NYCityMama). Please welcome her warmly as you always do...

Being Latina, for My Children, For Our Heritage

By Carol Cain of Girl Gone Travel

Celebrating my Latino culture and identifying the things that make it so only became really important to me when I had children.

Granted, I have always loved the food of my abuelita and learned the language fluently when immersed in the culture upon moving to the Dominican Republic at the age of 9. I also made it a point to learn to dance merengue and salsa (because it became a competition over who could and who couldn’t at parties) and bachata (because it was the forbidden dance when I was in high school).

I picked up a few things here and there, slangs and information about things that you would only know when in it. But, I never really considered it all that special.

Until I had kids. Then so many details of my childhood came to surface, details that I loved and formed who I am today.

Things like how it made me feel when my mother would lovingly ask me "¿De quién tu eres?" (Who’s are you?) to which I would respond "De mami" (Yours) to which she would again ask, "¿Todita-todita?" (All of you?) and I would excitedly respond "¡Sí!" (Yes!); or how my abuelita’s house used to smell during the holidays from the days upon days of seasoning and cooking for the feasts; or how us kids would kill each other over her pastelitos; or how the adults would always reprimand us in Spanish to really send the message that things were serious.

So many things I wanted to pass along to my kids that brought out the Latina in me with pride and a stronger sense of awareness than ever before.

I think this tendency to want to be what our cultural heritage represents, for our children especially, is something we American Latinos experience more than any other. If our growing up was heavily influenced by the US, as kids we followed along – some of us even rejecting our ancestors’ customs and culture.

But when we have kids we finally realize how important it is for us to not let those cultural nuances die with the older generations. We want our children to have a taste of what growing up Latino, even as an American-born child, meant to us.

No one else will pass on those details, that history, those recipes, those sayings, that knowledge, those traditions to our children – no one else will be able to in the way that we can. This realization smacks us in the face when we have kids. The sense of urgency suddenly transforming itself into who we are as a parent and as a person.

And so now, as the American holiday of Thanksgiving approaches, my three boys anxiously talk about it because they know it means I will be in the kitchen all day making pernil and arroz con guandules. Like my siblings and cousins before them, they will fight over the pastelitos.

When I ask them "¿De quién tu eres?" they respond right on cue "De mami". When I call them out by their full names (Irish first name, followed by their Spanish middle named, followed by all of their last names – including mine), they know they are in trouble. I am, in many ways, the typical Latina mother…it is what they will grow to know.

They eat rice more times a week than any other kid on the block, and they can dance a mean merengue. They know they are special and do things a little different, maybe even a little louder than other kids in part because they are Latino. And though they are Irish too, and we work on educating them about that heritage too – let’s face it, we have better food, so you know who they are going to want to learn from the most!

Whether it be through my cooking or through our language or through travels where I can expose them further to our culture, I can’t think of a greater gift to pass on to my children than the beautiful heritage of my people. And maybe, one day, when they tuck their own babies to bed they will ask them "¿De quién tu eres?" too and in those words, just as it was for me, the love of all the Latina mothers before them will be passed along to live in their hearts and in who they represent forever.

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Carol Cain is Dominican/PuertoRican from Brooklyn, NY, and mother of three boys. She's a freelance writer and a travel and food blogger at Girl Gone Travel. You can follow her on Twitter at @CarolACain.

10-Year-Old Mariachi Wows America's Got Talent

I. Love. This. Kid. (You knew I was going to share this on here, didn't you?)

Read more about Sebastian on NBC Latino.

Will Latino Stories Sell?

It is with extreme pleasure that I publish this article by author, Laura Lacámara. Laura has chosen to share her thoughts on the current Latino children's literature market, and within her words I find an important message for all of us as we head into Día de los niños, Día de los libros. As parents, let's make some noise and show the publishing companies what we think about the market.

Will Latino Stories Sell?

by Laura Lacámara

Lately, big New York publishers have been saying NO to making children’s books with Latino-oriented stories or themes. The sales numbers aren’t big enough to justify the investment, they say. It costs a lot to produce picture books, after all. 

Well, in the not-so-distant past, before the phrase: “It’s the economy,” was rolling off our tongues a hundred times a day, there was a much more Latino-friendly atmosphere at these large publishing houses.

What a happy time! The mangos were ripe and salsa music was in the air! This Cuban chica was in demand! My new agent was circulating my first picture book manuscript, Floating on Mama’s Song/Flotando en la canción de mamá. And publishers weren’t dancing around the issue, they were obviously hungry for Latino stories!

I know this because all eight of the “non-acceptance” letters my agent got from the editors of these big publishers (before my manuscript was acquired) ended more or less the same way:  “Please keep me in mind for future Latino-themed submissions. We are actively seeking to expand our multicultural line.” It was clear that something big was happening. Not just for me, but also for my fellow Latino authors and illustrators.

An agent I met at the time told me even better news. She said: Now that we have opened a lot of doors for Latino authors to share their unique stories with the world, we are ready to take it to the next level. We are ready to hear stories of all kinds from authors of color.  In addition to culturally-inspired themes such as the Latino immigrant experience, the doors are now swinging open to include other themes from authors who happen to be Latino and have a story to tell.

That appealed to me. I knew my Latina-ness would still come through, no matter what I wrote. And what I wanted most was the freedom to let my imagination soar and make stuff up that appealed to the child inside of me. It looked like I would get to have my flan and eat it, too!

So how did we lose so much ground? Back then I really believed there were no limits. That the road to cultural diversity in children’s literature was opening up in front of me. But now, years later, I’m literally being told by my editor not to write Latino stories at all (no Latino themes, main characters, etc.) because they are such a hard sell.

I wanted to be free to let my spirit soar, but I never wanted to exclude my cultural identity! Is my only choice now to cut off part of myself in order to appeal to the mainstream?

Not that there isn’t something seductive about finally, after a lifetime of feeling like an outsider, being invited to join the mainstream!

Growing up Latina in white suburbia I felt ashamed of being different and longed to be like everyone else.

And don’t get me started on the never feeling normal because I’m an artist thing...

It’s taken me years, heck a lifetime, to accept that I will always feel like an outsider to some degree. So naturally, it’s with a certain level of ambivalence that I consider joining into the mainstream...

But, wait a minute here!  What is this so-called mainstream we're talking about?  Are publishers afraid that white Americans are under-represented in children's publishing today?

Well, let's see.  In 2010, according to US Census data, 63% of the US population was Caucasian. Yet, according to the University of Wisconsin, nearly 95% of children’s books published that year were by white authors and illustrators. Also in 2010, Latinos comprised about 16% of the U.S. population. However, less than 2% of the books published that year were by and/or about Latinos! Talk about under-representation!

The fact is that nearly 40% of U.S. children come from diverse backgrounds. How can we deny a considerable slice of our population the validating experience of seeing themselves in the pages of their books?

True, when I was growing up, I don’t remember ever seeing a reflection of myself or my culture in the books I read. But folks, that was like a thousand years ago! In the late 60’s and early 70’s, I was a minority in my San Fernando Valley classroom. But today, in the L.A. Unified classroom of 2012, my blonde, blue-eyed daughter is the oddball. Today’s Los Angeles Unified School District is almost 75% Latino.

So what are publishers afraid of? That there is no audience for Latino books? Whenever schools in the Los Angeles area and beyond hear that I have bilingual books to share, they go crazy trying to book me for a presentation! They know what their kids are missing.

And I can see it in the kid’s faces when I get there. Like the girl who was beaming when she announced, "Anita in your book looks like me!"

And kids love it when I share my background and tell them about becoming an author and illustrator. One second grader named Araceli tapped me on the arm as I was packing up to leave. "When I grow up, I'm going to be an artist, like you," she whispered. Maybe she sees it as an option for the first time.

So, I'm left wondering if the enthusiasm for Latino stories was just a passing fad? Or, when the economy turns around, will Latino and multicultural imprints spring up at the big publishers like never before and take their rightful place representing a proportional amount of American culture?

Is there something we as authors, illustrators and/or parents should do to help our voices be heard in the publishing world?

I don’t have any magic answers.  But I do want to create magical stories and pictures. And, while I know the deepest part of me supersedes culture and identity, I still seek the freedom to express myself in the fullest way possible which naturally includes my Cuban-American background.

Meanwhile, I'll go make a flan, and I hope someday soon we can all have a slice! 

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Laura Lacámara is the award-winning author of Floating on Mama’s Song / Flotando en la canción de mamá, which was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection for Fall 2010 and is a Tejas Star Book Award Finalist for 2011 - 2012.

To learn more about Laura Lacámara, visit her website: LauraLacamara.com

Your Stories: Mi Escuelita Montessori

I wanted to end this week with a success story. So I was asking around and looking through my favorite blogs to find someone who has been teaching their child(ren) to read in Spanish. Lucky for me, Karen Rivera from Mi Escuelita Montessori agreed to write up a post on how she has been teaching her daughter to read. I mentioned Karen earlier this week when I suggested you visit her site to watch the video she posted of her daughter. It is inspirational.

 

Karen is passionate about homeschooling using the Montessori method, so if you have any questions about it, read through her blog you will see what it is all about. I know that there are mamis all over this country who are following Karen's homeschooling journey and I, for one, am very grateful that she is willing to take the time to document and share her experience.

Here is her article, written in English and Spanish...

Cómo aprendió a leer–How she learned to read

Que emoción que Monica, de MommyMaestra.com, dedica esta semana a los pequeñines que leen. Y me solicitó que explicara un poquito de como yo enseñé a mi princesa con el Metodo Montessori. Ok, yo no soy la mas experta, simplemente me he dedicado a leer todos los libros de Montessori que encuentro, ver blogs y videos de expertos en el MM. Asi que si alguna de mis amiguitas mamas en Moti tienen que aportar en esto... Porfavor en confianza en el area de comentarios.!! Siiiiempre son bienvenidos.

Monica from MommyMaestra, has dedicated a whole week of info about the little ones that can read, and she asked me how I teach with the Montessori Method. So it goes something like this... I really want to start by telling you, that I’m NOT an expert, I just read ALL the Montessori books that I can find!!LOL. But the truth is there’s nothing more “spectacular" than this!

Nosotros comenzamos presentandole los simbolos (letras) con las letras de lija, es exageradamente importante involucrarlos en el trazo de la letra!!, luego que practicamos lo presentamos (el trazo) en la bandeja con arena. Cuando presentamos el simbolo lo que hacemos es el sonido..., ejemplo si presento la letra D, no le digo esta es la De, si no que trazo con los dedos indice y corazon juntos el simbolo mientras imito el sonido.... du, du, du,....etc. Asi yo puedo estar una semana con tres letras, para que las aprenda bien.

We started by presenting the sand letters to my daughter. It’s very important that you have absolutly no distractions at the moment. You have to invite the child to touch and feel the letter (like tracing it), and at the same time saying the SOUND not the letter. it’s like TOUCH-FEEL-SOUND at the same time. For example, if I’m working with letter D, I trace the letter and say "duh, duh." I DON’T SAY "this is the letter D" - just "duh, duh." At the beginning, I worked with 3 or 5 letters per week or until she learned them.

Yo personalmente, comence con las vocales y luego con todas las que se quedaban en la misma linea... ejemplo, todas las cortas.... m, n, o, s, r, etc. las del abecedario en espanol, como ch, n, ll las deje para ultimo. Igual que las complicadas, h, y, c (que no tienen o tienen varios sonidos).

I, personally, started with vowels and after that, all the ones that stay on the line (the short one)… I know there it’s an order to presented, but I used the visual “thing”!!lol.

Le segui, presentadole la letra con objetos que comiencen con la misma, para que vaya relacionando. El proposito directo de todo esto es hacer al nino conciente de los sonidos de las letras y palabras y que las relacione al simbolo apropiado por medio de una memoria visual y muscular. El proposito indirecto, aparte de aprenderlas, es la preparacion indirecta para la lectura.

Later I presented her little objects that start with the same letters, so that she would begin to relate them together. Through the use of the sandpaper letters, the child learns to recognize the letters by sight and touch, as well as by hearing each letter spoken.

Luego ya ve los simbolos hace el sonido y parea con objetos que comienzen con las letras.

The child learns through hands-on activities. He must handle the letters and become familiar with them before either reading or writing is possible.

Mas adelante trabajamos con el alfabeto mobile, donde ya hace los sonidos y va creando palabras, obviamente comenzando desde lo mas elemental.

Through the movable alphabet the child aquires a familiarity with the alphabet and sees how letters are put together to form words.

Hay muchos juegos para hacer con las letras, como estos de aqui, y demas esta decirte, que tengo letras donde quiera!!!!! en la nevera, en la lavadora, hay pequenos "bowlcitos" por ahi con letras! Todo para que las aprenda!! Espero haber aclarado tu duda y haberte explicado bien, realmente es interesantisimo por que cuando vienes a ver, y crees que conoce las letras, YA ESTAN LEYENDO!!!

There are many games that can be played with the letters, as you see here, and as you can imagine, I have letters everywhere!!! On the fridge, on the washing machine, and in tiny bowls scattered about with letters! Soon reading and writing becomes a fascinating game, and the child is eager to learn and master this skills. Then you just have to keep or provide some interesting materials, so your child repeats the work with the materials.


Leyendo :: Reading



Escribiendo :: Writing

Cuando comenzamos a leer, use la serie de Cuentos foneticos de Scholastics son 1-36 folletos para aprendizaje de lectura. Hoy dia, nuestros favoritos y los de mi hija son los Eric Carle, La mariquita malhumorada, Una oruga muy hambrienta, y Oso polar, oso polar, ¿qué es ese ruido? Los lee TODOS LOS DIAS!!

When we began the reading portion, I used the series, Cuentos foneticos de Scholastic, which is made up of 36 phonics readers in Spanish for learning to read. Nowadays, our favorites are the books by Eric Carle: La mariquita malhumorada, Una oruga muy hambrienta, and Oso polar, oso polar, ¿qué es ese ruido?  She reads them EVERY DAY!


This post is reprinted with full consent by Mi Escuelita Montessori.