Libros

I recently placed a rather large online order for books. I can't wait for them to get here! They are bilingual and Spanish children's books, most of them vocabulary-based board books for young children. I am determined to teach Spanish to my daughter as she grows up. This opportunity is too good to pass up. Why pay for Spanish lessons when she's older if I can infuse her little brain with it from the start?

But there are potential obstacles. First, now that I'm officially unemployed, my contact with native Spanish speakers is limited to weekly small talk with one Mexican guy who attends our church. Everyone else in NS' world speaks English. In my observation, the dominant language of a child's environment invariably becomes her dominant language. So what are the odds she'll come out fully bilingual/biliterate in such a lopsided language environment? Also, it could get a little awkward to speak what seems like our own private language that few others in our surroundings can understand. It's hard to imagine how a dual-language family dinner conversation would work, for example.

Second, my domestic vocabulary is limited. I'm used to talking, reading and writing about things like report cards, school physicals, and Individualized Education Plans, not diapers and nursery rhymes. I can point out the flowers on a springtime walk, but would be at a loss to name them. That's where the books come in. I'm hoping they will be a tool to help me increase my Spanish kid vocab while introducing it to NS and CP.

Here's a clip of NS just after bath time, practicing her emergent conversation skills. As usual, she's tickled to be clothes-free.