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Un nuevo episodio en el que entrevistamos a una mamá que decide adoptar el español en su vida y en su hogar. No te pierdas la historia de Kaila Bilingüitos - Spanish Immersion & Bilingual Parenting
Parents, in this week's Consejito, I remind to read aloud to your kids.
What are the benefits of reading aloud to children? Here are 5 benefits from , an organization that offers speech and therapy tools for kids:
* Sharpened focus.
* Improved vocabulary.
* Increased comprehension.
* Strengthened listening skills.
* Intrigued young minds.
In a PBS KIDS article for Parents, Deborah Farmer Kris ( on Twitter) wrote, "Reading aloud to kids has clear cognitive benefits. For example, brain scans show that hearing stories strengthens the part of the brain associated with visual imagery, story comprehension, and word meaning. One study found that kindergarten children who were read to at least three times a week had a “significantly greater phonemic awareness than did children who were read to less often.”
The article also stated that reading can strengthen children’s social, emotional, and character development and that a recent study showed that reading to very young children is linked to decreased levels of aggression, hyperactivity, and attention difficulties.
Aren't these strong enough reasons to read aloud to our kids? I think so! And, if you are raising bilinguals or multilingual children, the benefits of reading in all the languages are even more!
Thank you to the parents that shared their reading videos!! Bilingüitos - Spanish Immersion & Bilingual Parenting, We are Root-Ed Box The Colorful World of Monica Nicole Currais and
https://www.facebook.com/claudia.botero.37
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZh3qtbuNNk/
On today’s episode of the podcast, I’m SO thrilled to share the story of and Diandra Morse of on Instagram 💜
🔗 Listen here:
https://learnwithless.com/podcast/bilingualism-early-childhood
Diandra is a licensed clinical social worker in New York State and a mother of two bilingual children. She supports families exploring bilingual parenting, and shares activities, resources, fun ideas, and methods for raising a bilingual child.
In this episode of the podcast, we discussed:
✅ Diandra’s professional and personal background that brought her to the work she’s doing today
✅ The values Diandra feels she is instilling when she thinks about why she’s raising her children to be bilingual
✅ What parts of Diandra’s identity are important for her to share with her children through language
✅ How Diandra’s work as a social worker plays a role in her ability to be culturally responsive in supporting families in multiple ways (both in Spanish and English)
✅ What’s working well in Diandra’s own journey of raising bilingual children, and what parts are more challenging
✅ Diandra’s favorite resources for families hoping to share bilingualism or multilingualism with their families, including Laleo Therapy, LLC Bilingüitos - Spanish Immersion & Bilingual Parenting Bilikids Deutschland and Raising Little Goose
Also… did you know the Learn With Less® infant/toddler curriculum is available in both Spanish and English?
🔗 Check it all out over at
https://learnwithless.com/podcast/bilingualism-early-childhood
And then tell us your thoughts! There are so many golden nuggets in this episode - don’t miss it!
Raising bilinguals, multilinguals? One child, two or three? This week is the perfect opportunity to sit down and take inventory of your family's language plan and see how the kids are doing with their language learning, what progress have they made in the target language, what has worked, what hasn't. Perhaps the bilingual strategies you were using up until now need to be tweaked. Your children's interest have changed, your family's routine was altered by mom and dad's work schedule or the school's activities, or maybe you want to add another language to the mix. I suggest you start by reviewing the methods or strategies to . Check out the images above for my top 3 methods. For parents already in the process- re-reading about these methods can be helpful and can help with any changes in the .
For parents just starting in this journey, learning about these 5 methods can help you decide where to start, establish your goals, and cement your commitment to your family's language learning.
I am always here to help you. And since some parents have asked, this year Im offering parent mentoring sessions, once a month. Dm me for details.
Two linguists I recommend: Bilingüitos - Spanish Immersion Northern VA, Bilikids Deutschland. From online classes to everyday tips and suggestions, they can make a difference in your bilingual journey.
In the next few weeks, I will share other things that should be added to your family's language plan.
Remember that whether re-evaluating a family's language plan or starting for the first time in this journey, every child is different, every family is different. Let's pick a method that works for YOUR family. In any language, in any culture.
Last week, I had the opportunity to chat with a young mom entrepreneur, Kaila Díaz. Born and raised in Virginia to English-speaking parents, Kaila was exposed to Spanish since she was 11 months old. Confident, smart, and passionate about bilingualism, she is the founder of Bilinguitos, a platform that cultivates and celebrates bilingualism and offers families tools and ways to navigate their bilingual journey including language immersion programs, bilingual playgroups, and online resources, and a podcast called Bilingual Parenting Podcast.⠀
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Growing up, Kaila’s love of Spanish solidified as she had the opportunity to travel and work in both Nicaragua and Peru. A linguist and an educator, she has a Bachelor’s in English and a Masters's in Linguistics concentrated in childhood bilingualism. Once back in the States and in her hometown, she and her friends founded Bilinguitos as a way to provide families in Northern Virginia with Spanish language input for their kids through game-based educational programs. Over the years, they have offered in-person instruction, and also online resources such as a network for bilingual families, especially during the pandemic, and the Bilingual Parenting Podcast. Bilinguitos also offers language classes for adult learners.⠀
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I invite you to watch our IGTV!⠀
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The mother of a one-year-old daughter, Kaila, and her husband used the MAH (Minority Language at Home) approach and speak Spanish to their daughter all the time. Her daughter speaks English with her grandparents and outside the home.⠀
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Here are Kaila’s 4 tips for raising bilingual:⠀
1. Maximize language exposure and input!⠀
2. Find the need for the language in everyday activities⠀
3. Seek ways of communicating the need⠀
4. Commit to the long run!⠀
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For more on Bilingüitos - Spanish Immersion Northern VA for them on Instagram .⠀
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Thank you, Kaila!