I've taught Rebekah a few words in Spanish from the time she started talking, but she would only say them when we specifically asked her to, which wasn't very often. She also has a talking doll that we switch over to Spanish mode from time to time. We haven't spent time deliberately trying to teach her Spanish or doing specific activities and drills--I think she is too young for that kind of learning and I prefer to incorporate learning into play, like songs and games and educational toys. But she never really showed interest in Spanish and I didn't push her.
Now she has started watching Dora and Diego cartoons--and she LOVES them--and her friend at school lives in a bilingual household, so she is hearing Spanish used in context in several different places. In the past two weeks, she has started spontaneously speaking Spanish! She has been counting in Spanish, and when she plays with her friend Clarissa she uses Spanish words sometimes. I'm glad I know Spanish so I can understand the words she is using. Shannon has been talking about learning Spanish ever since we moved to Texas, and now he says he better get on it or Rebekah is going to learn it before he is. It also makes me want to brush up on my conversational skills to continue encouraging Rebekah. Language skills will help her in so many other areas of learning, so it's great that she's on her way to being at least somewhat bilingual at an early age--it's easier for her little sponge of a brain to learn it than it is for us!
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Good for you. I wish more parents would allow the chance for their children to become bi-lingual. I was an interpreter for the deaf before my daughter was born and so we used sign language with her before she could talk. Now she signs all the animals and we are working on colors and numbers. She is a signing machine. She too will be bi-lingual. It helps that my husband also knows conversational sign language. My daugther thinks it is a natural part of life. I want her to continue that.
Children do learn better in songs and play time rather than sitting down with them to try to teach them at this age.
Good luck with continuing the Spanish.
That's great! I can count to ten in Spanish and that's about it. Other than what I hear on TV...I took four years of French (2 in high school and 2 in college) and I barely remember any of it. I can read it fairly well and can figure it out mostly, but as for speaking or listening to it, I'm totally lost. Kids absorb language skills better than old farts like us (I'm speaking for myself here...).
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