For those of you that have been following our blog for the past year you know that we have been raising Gabriel bilingual. Now that we also have Cristian I continue to only speak Spanish to the boys. Some days I worry that I am not exposing them to very much English other than some of the books we read to them, their English speaking family members (all of who live further away), and a short stay in church childcare. However, the other day when I picked up Gabriel from childcare at our church the teacher shared that Gabriel normally only plays quietly and walks around. I wasn't too surprised because he is definitely more observant than anything else when we are out. But what she told me next nearly floored me! She told me that in very clear words Gabriel told her, "Mami will be back in a minute!" What?! I was in shock because although he speaks a few English words, his sentences are usually completely in Spanish. I was almost in happy tears and you better believe that I am beginning to worry less about how we are choosing to raise our boys. Children are so smart and are capable of soaking in all of their surroundings even when we think they are not!
I talk more about our story and why we are choosing to do that here. One of my big goals this year is to share more tips on how we our raising our children bilingual. Although it helps to have at least one parent speaking the language I strongly believe that exposing children to different cultures and languages is crucial for balanced development. As I mentioned before I read to Gabriel in both Spanish and English. He is so far a huge fan of reading and these are some of his favorite Spanish books! I am also working on a video about reading in Spanish (so cross your fingers for me that I can make that happen soon ;) !
Mi Perro- This was a gift from a friend and it's by far his favorite book! It is so interactive as you can take out different pieces and explain to your kids what they do and how to use them!
El Camioncito Azul- This book is so lyrical and rhythmic! I love reading it to Gabriel and making all of the different animal sounds. It is such a cute book and has a great story.
Eres tu mi mama?- This was the first bilingual book we purchased for Gabriel and I have the sweetest memories reading it to him when he was only a month old!
Our sweet friend Gladys, over at The Mother Overload is also raising her daughter Mia to be bilingual and today she is talking about her story, research that supports teaching your children another language and some of the misconceptions behind it! I also answered a few short questions along with some other amazing momma's that are also raising their kids bilingual (and trilingual!) I hope you hop on over and give it a read!
I hope you are having a great week and it's almost Fri-Yay!
Abrazos, Keila
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