Hi there! Long time, no blog. Sorry folks. This whole first-time-mom thing is hard work!! But, I'm back, and I will really try to get more into the regular swing of things again.
So, this is another FAQ that I get often. And you know, it's a tough one. My parents didn't know the language and so they weren't able to teach it to me. Since this was before the time of language classes for babies and kids that are now out there all over it seems, there weren't a whole lot of resources for busy parents to add this to their laundry list of stuff to teach a child. I really don't fault them at all. Unless you are fluent already, I think it would be very difficult to teach your child a language from scratch. So the thing is, yes, I wish I were fluent in Spanish. But again, I do not always think it is possible for folks to do this. I guess my suggestion would be that if there is anyway you can do it, do it. It most certainly will not hurt, and as you probably know, it is so much easier for kids to learn a language when they are young than when they get into middle school or high school and take it for a class. I didn't take it until college, and by then, it was just a chore. Another class with homework, you know? So, I really wish I had been interested earlier and grabbed onto it when I was still young enough to catch on quickly. I even tried to take classes as an adult. Well, add those to a full-time job and other activities, and you can imagine how productive those classes were. So anyway, like I said, if you can do it, do it. My husband and I plan to do our best with our daughter, even though neither one of us is fluent. But giving her something is better than nothing, right?
And, speaking of our wonderful daughter, yes, I will write more about her later. Sorry I'm all business tonight, but I just got overwhelmed with guilt for shirking my blogging responsibilities! And there's only so much free time here after her bedtime arrives and before mine comes, haha! But rest assured that our trip was wonderful, our daughter is wonderful, and I am very much enjoying being a mom!! We are very lucky in that we had absolutely nothing go wrong and in that she is a very happy and healthy baby.
Have a great week!
Posted by meredith at March 12, 2007 08:37 PM | TrackBackFirst of all, CONGRATS!! Second of all, I think nowadays, well in MN at least, there are a lot more schools that are starting to teach Spanish at an earlier age. I know a few schools in the suburbs that have Spanish as a part of the curriculum in grade school. So even if the parents don't speak Spanish, they can get it from school. But I say parents should definitely learn as much Spanish as possible so it's not just the kid's responsibility. I know picking up a language can be difficult but Spanish is one of the easiest languages out of all of them!! A lot of words are similar to English.
Posted by: Amy at March 13, 2007 03:14 AMThanks for this post. My husband and I are learning Spanish as we teach our son. There is a great children's author that mixes Spanish and English in a rhyming format. (Not sure I can mention her name) We also purchase toys that say things in both languages. Although we can't hold a conversation, I realized on a trip to Guatemala two weeks ago that I had learned more than I thought. I hope our son has the same understanding that we tried, but are not fluent ourselves. Thanks for the insight.
While I agree that learning Spanish as a child is the easiest, it's certainly not all that difficult to learn it later on.
I took Spanish all through high school and into college. I loved the language and was saddened to realize how much I have lost over the years. I'm very uncomfortable speaking, but I can still understand fairly well and can read a newspaper enough to get a general understanding.
My older daughter also started studying Spanish in high school and is now continuing in college. She is planning a career in international studies. She holds her own well with native speakers. And I'd love her to find a good opportunity to spend time this summer in Guatemala.
My local community college offers a three level basic course, followed by a conversation course. My husband is currently in the 2nd level of the basics and doing well. I will join him when he gets to the conversation level. We're looking forward to it.
It can be done. And it can be fun.
Congrats Meredith and family!
My husband knows Spanish, but he is very rusty wtih it(if you don't practice it often, you tend to forget). I want to expose my daughter to as much of it as I can, but it is hard to find time to really study it.
So I find myself learning words, and my husband teaching me proper sentence structure and grammar.
While I feel a duty to educate my daughter about Spanish (and also I'm just very interested in learning it), some children may not be all that interested in it when they get older. My aunt through marriage is Hispanic, and she is fluent in Spanish and English. Her family is as well. When she 's tried to teach their son(now a teenager), he hasn't shown much interest. Unfortunately for us, she lives in another part of the country.
I tried to learn as much Spanish as I could before traveling to Guatemala, and when I got there I found people to be very patient with my attempts to speak it. If you stay in contact with the foster family/hogar, you'll have many opportunities to practice it.
The one good thing is how many more opportunities children have today to be exposed to Spanish literature, children's tv, and music--not so 10-15 years ago. We read Spanish or Spanish/English books to her, & try to expose her to Hispanic music. She really enjoys the music!
Posted by: Mary at March 15, 2007 02:36 PMCongratulations! I love your blog and I'm so excited that you have your daughter home with you. It is a wonderful, yet challenging time, and yes, there is very little free time.
Come read us at adoptionblogs.com - lots of info there on Guatemala.
Lisa
I have been really enjoying reading
your blog.
And congratulations on the new baby!
We worked hard to find a nanny who is a native Spanish speaker (and amazing with our dd--that was most important, obviously). At 19 months, dd has lots of words in both languages and gets more by the day. It's amazing what sponges they are with dual languages--I just hope we can keep it up (nannies are pricey!!).
Posted by: Julie at March 24, 2007 05:44 PMHi Meredith,
I missed the beginning of the story but I wanted to check on the odd chance... Did you grow up in Oregon? I know the odds are astronomical but my daughter from Guatemala had/has a biological aunt that was adopted by a family in Oregon...