Carnaval in Guatemala, like in many other cultures around the world, is a tradition of religious origin, which is celebrated on Fat Tuesday, right before the start of Lent . In most parts of Guatemala we don’t have a huge celebration like Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. Two exceptions … Read more
This post may contain affiliate links. Valentine’s is a great opportunity to teach children about love, about friendship and about caring about others. Here are 10 Spanish and bilingual Spanish/English books that teach about relationships and about caring. BOOKS IN SPANISH ONLY El Libro Magico de la Amistad/ The Magic Book of Friendship Valeria Varita, a … Read more
Blending Baby Teeth Traditions When I was a little girl growing up in Guatemala I would leave my baby teeth under my pillow for the Ratoncito (little mouse) to come and take them during the night and leave me money. My oldest daughter, Ariane, lost her first tooth soon after her 6th birthday and to … Read more
Inifinity’s Read Conmigo Program Sends you Free Books in Spanish! Infinity Auto Insurance has embarked on a mission to reinforce the educational advantages of bilingual literacy. In May of 2011 they launched Read Conmigo, a non-profit program for Latino families across the country. Read Conmigo’s mission: to enrich the learning environment of bilingual households, one … Read more
The Kindle Fire is a great tool for helping children learn Spanish interactively. Most apps for Android are compatible with the Kindle Fire and already there are a few bilingual and Spanish apps available and the best thing is that new ones are popping up every day. Here are our favorite ones so far. Please … Read more
THERE IS NO BETTER GIFT FOR A CHILD THAN A BOOK!! As part of the Dual Language Learners Committee for South Florida, we have been working on supporting parents to keep their home language and culture alive. This has great advantages for the children’s future success in school, as well as for entire family and … Read more
Why is this still big news? As I am reading yet another article on how bilingualism is beneficial for everyone I wondered why this is still treated like big news. There are so many people all over the world who are bilingual and multilingual and we are all living with the benefits that come from … Read more
Your child learns language in a natural way through conversations. Here are some ideas to improve communication in any language. Listen to your child. Let your child know that his stories and conversation are interesting to you. Make comments and ask questions that encourage him to explain and talk about what he is doing. When … Read more
More Fun and practical ideas to encourage learning about your native language and culture: Prepare traditional foods regularly and involve your children in the process. Talk about the process and describe what you are doing as you cook. Take advantage of this opportunity to tell stories about your country, your family and how you learn … Read more
COMMON MYTHS ABOUT LEARNING TWO LANGUAGES AT AN EARLY AGE If I mix English and my native language my child will get confused. Children can differentiate between two different languages from an early age. It is part of the development of a dual language learner to learn some words in one language and other words … Read more
