It’s been a summer . . . a summer full of an extra three weeks thanks to our local public school system deciding to finally get more on track with the rest of the country, the rest of the state, the rest of public school systems’ calendars.  I remember hearing all of the parents sucking in a deep, deep breath when our children celebrated the last day of school late May 2007 - most of them well realizing the extended nature of their ‘release’ from the halls of education!

Our children are so much smarter than many parents give them credit for, aren’t they?!?!  They can debate, manipulate and extrapolate with the best of ‘em!  I know, I have a 17 year old who has this “light at the end of the tunnel” focus to finish his senior year and play in the World Series Poker Tour!  (Now, I might be quoting the name of the TV show and series incorrectly, so pardon me.  I can’t keep up with Jack’s Big Music Show vs. Dragon Tales vs. World Series Poker vs. Billiards Open!)

Here’s my point in all of this………no matter the age of your children, no matter the point of which you are in your summer celebrations, no matter what your own knowledge level is of Spanish as a second language.  You can, you should and I will help you ’sprinkle Spanish fun throughout the rest of your summer.’

The latest and really great read of a book on bilingual education is out - is ready to absorb - is ready to make you feel like “Sí, yo puedo - Yes, I can!”  The Bilingual Edge is written by two moms, two professors of linguistics and two people that really bring it home when it comes to helping you understand the whys, the whens, the hows of bringing a second language to your own children.  I had pre-ordered this book and felt like it was Christmas in July when my copy of the book arrived.  I can’t read it fast enough (though my 7-year-old will disagree as she loves having summer time with mommy working from home!).

Here are some of the very cool, very reassuring quotes for those of you who speak only English (with un poco of Spanish mixed in from High School Spanish just for a teaser!):

Even parents with limited second language proficiency can interact with their child in the second language, providing important language input.  The value lies in the interaction….it’s a myth to assume you need to be a native speaker to provide quality second language interaction for your child.

Any parent can raise a child who knows more than one language, even if that parent is monolingual.

Rich, dynamic and meaningful interactions is critical and more important than having a perfect native-speaker model.

So . . . do it!  Sprinkle in some Spanish fun during the rest of your summer months.  Download some cool free stuff off my Boca Beth site to get started and find what works with your child(ren).  You can do this.  You should do this.  Our children need a 2nd (and even 3rd) language for this global society in which we live and love!

 We were just in Puerto Rico as a family of five, and it was so cool to witness the varying degrees with which my own three children utilize their knowledge and command of the Spanish language.  My two boys have the Latino daddy while my daughter has the new husband as her daddy (he is totally Gringo but so respects and wishes he had command of Spanish as a second language). 

Our eldest son felt embarassed verbalizing his Spanish while our other son loved the culture and the ability to speak the language.  Then our daughter experienced mixed feelings at 7 years old about hearing Spanish so much, having mommy speak it so much to all of the ’strangers’ and being prompted to speak some herself (which normally is reserved for our vecino/neighbor Jorge back home in Florida)!  Ah, la vida, la vida!!!

My lesson for you today as moms, as the ones who dictate the daily routine in most of your homes - particularly with what you expose your children to is this:

Give your children daily and interactive exposure to a second language with something fun that both you and the kids enjoy - that way using it daily will be easy because everyone thinks it is fun!  Fun, easy - those are the two key words in our lifestyles of today.

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 21st, 2007 at 6:46 pm and is filed under Teacher Mom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.