Open Hearts, Open Minds

Thanks so much for your positive comment, Fiona:-)...

2012-06-01T15:01:13.616-04:00

Thanks so much for your positive comment, Fiona:-)

It sounds like you are doing a great job with what...

2012-05-31T16:22:06.106-04:00

It sounds like you are doing a great job with what you have to hand.
It is easy to be critical, but what ever way you look at it you are giving your son an amazing gift.

That's all we can do, and it will be enough! ...

2012-05-31T10:43:01.319-04:00

That's all we can do, and it will be enough!

Thanks for participating in the Bilingual Carnival this month, hope to see you next month too!

Interesting post,Lynn as I share your concerns! Wh...

2012-05-07T07:23:59.749-04:00

Interesting post,Lynn as I share your concerns! Where I live there aren´t any immersion nursery schools or even really "bilingual" ones but many offer English classes. I´ve gone for the next best thing in that one nursery school has two native English speakers working there which is the closest I can get to immersion or bilingual kidergardens!I´ve written a similar post on my blog!

I can relate to so much of what you've written...

2012-04-29T11:42:11.110-04:00

I can relate to so much of what you've written here.

Hi German, yes the Binky Tree is actually at a par...

2012-04-19T14:18:43.812-04:00

Hi German, yes the Binky Tree is actually at a park in a local community. It's very cute! I believe it's something that originated in Scandinavia, but am not 100% sure. I'm finding the binky-tree naps are a bit of a challenge, but I'm sure Elliot will adjust:-) Good thinking on the triple frogs!

What a neat thing! Where is this binky tree? At fi...

2012-04-17T16:39:16.543-04:00

What a neat thing! Where is this binky tree? At first I thought you meant you hung them on a tree in your yard, but I'm assuming it's somewhere in your community. Our Aleksander never became attached to a binky, thankfully. Although he has become awfully attached to his "favorite froggy" (we have 3, hoping to have back-up just in case, but there is one special one - go figure!)
I hear you all the other transitions! Potty training, preschool, big bed. I guess we'll figure them out and get through them just like all the other milestones! Good luck on your house hunt!

Oh, that is precious! I, too, have been surprised ...

2012-04-10T20:11:36.430-04:00

Oh, that is precious! I, too, have been surprised to hear my own words coming out of my son's mouth. "Do I really say that??" I wonder.
Now he's starting to tell me what to say: "Thank you," he'll say when he gives something to me. Or if I accidentally hurt him without realizing, he'll say, "sorry." It's so adorable! And I just love his little voice :)
Luckily we haven't had any "oops" like you :)
Thanks for the smile!

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement, Ge...

2012-04-03T09:13:31.379-04:00

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement, German. It's so good to know that there are others out there going through the same thing!

Good for you for giving yourself this pep-talk!! W...

2012-03-30T14:29:53.800-04:00

Good for you for giving yourself this pep-talk!! We all need a good boost now and then, especially those of us non-native speakers raising our children with our second language. It's so much more challenging than I ever imagined it would be. I'm constantly looking for the right word and wondering if the grammar I just used was correct. Even though I know my German is very good. I find myself slacking off - for whatever reason. Usually, I get inspired (often through someone else's blog post!), and start all over again. Even a little bilingual input is beneficial, and I'm sure you're doing a whole lot more than that! So good for you for giving yourself this pep-talk! We all need to hear these words of encouragement now and again!

Thanks so much for your feedback, Sylvia. Since I ...

2012-03-26T14:02:57.463-04:00

Thanks so much for your feedback, Sylvia. Since I wrote this post last September, Elliot has gotten much more involved in the class. The teacher never pushes him to participate if he doesn't want to and I find that he always watches and listens, even when he doesn't talk. I hear him repeating things from the class that he hasn't otherwise learned from me...so it's turned into a positive experience:-)

I just stopped by your blog from the carnival beca...

2012-03-23T22:07:13.376-04:00

I just stopped by your blog from the carnival because I am myself a mom raising her son in a non native language so I am always excited about meeting other parents who share the same experience.

I used to be an English teacher for kids exactly that age - we had classes for age 1-3 and 3-6. You totally should not worry about anything. Your son is so little still! How would he manage to sit and "listen" when child learning happens while exploring things, running around, touching.... anything but doing what people tell you to do. Kids learn by following their heart, what they interests them at that very moment, and as much as we like to make the decision what they should specifically learn, we have no control over that. The learning happens inside of them and can't be controlled from outside. In my classes for kids that little I never expected them to sit and cooperate. They were there with their parents and whatever they did was fine with me. If the majority of the class did not participate in whatever I offered my offer was not the right one and I had to switch the activity. From what I can read the teacher offers a wide span of activities which seems to be quite nice. Just don't pressure yourself or your son into sitting still which is completely against his nature ;)... Maybe talk to the teacher and ask her what would be ok for her that he does if he doesn't participate.

Your other worry of what he'll learn there - it really isn't so much about that, I guess. He'll learn from listening to the teacher, he might learn a few words from whatever she tries to teach, but mostly he'll find out that the language he is being spoken to by his mom is also spoken by other people, may have a different sound in different mouths, is generally something that is useful for him to learn and use. Don't worry about vocab and input so much, it's so much more about the experience of being there and having that taste of diversity.

Sorry about that long rant, but I have heard all of these concerns by parents of my students so often and the only thing I want to to advise is - RELAX! :)

Hi! I will be hosting February's Blogging Carn...

2012-02-19T03:13:39.107-05:00

Hi! I will be hosting February's Blogging Carnival on Bilingualism at www.perogiesandgyoza.blogspot.com on February 23. I really hope you can participate this month too! Please send your link to perogies.gyoza at gmail.com before the 23rd and then check back to see what everyone else has posted!

German in the afternoon: Thanks for sharing your m...

2012-02-05T21:58:17.902-05:00

German in the afternoon: Thanks for sharing your method and your success. Interesting approach:-) I try to both discipline and comfort Elliot in both English and Spanish, although I also find myself gravitating toward English, especially for the comforting. It is exciting...isn't it?

This post is very refreshing and inspiring. It'...

2012-02-02T21:30:09.936-05:00

This post is very refreshing and inspiring. It's wonderful to hear of your success - despite your lack of recipe!
I, too, chose not to use OPOL with my son. My approach - or at least my intention - is more consistent, however. I try to speak German with him from when he wakes up until he goes down for his nap. Of course, there are lots of thing that get in the way! And like Bonne Mamam, I switch very quickly back to English when disciplining or comforting my 2-year-old.
Like you, I'm seeing wonderful progress in Aleksander. He's only been talking for about 2 months, but he switches easily (though not always willingly!) between the languages. And sometimes he requests that Mama speak "Ger-man". It's really quite exciting.
Good luck with your continued endeavors!

Thanks for your comment, Bonne Mamam. Sometimes, I...

2012-02-01T14:06:37.125-05:00

Thanks for your comment, Bonne Mamam. Sometimes, I think all-Spanish would be "better," but I just don't think it's realistic for my situation...so we'll see what happens:-)

This is such a inspiring insight into the fact tha...

2012-02-01T07:46:08.204-05:00

This is such a inspiring insight into the fact that strict OPOL doesn't necessarily have to be the way forward. I am really happy to hear that your approach works - especially having being warned so many times that it should be OPOL or nothing...at the moment I am trying to get myself up to 100% French with my daughter... although sometimes (particularly when she is mid tantrum or feeling under the weather) I flip into my English speaking comfort zone. Keep us posted with your progress

2012-02-01T07:44:41.798-05:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

Oh I totally feel you on this one! Thankfully, our...

2012-01-13T06:55:47.555-05:00

Oh I totally feel you on this one! Thankfully, our mall
Has a play place that I can reward for good behavior! 2yearolds are tough stuff!!

I can't understand that what going on in our w...

2012-01-06T05:58:47.976-05:00

I can't understand that what going on in our world why people are drinking and driving. The drunker are always making nuisance and they are getting in a big trouble. Why our government not taking strict action on this type of crime.
Toronto Criminal Lawyer

Great interview. I really liked reading about your...

2011-11-29T15:42:42.311-05:00

Great interview. I really liked reading about your research process and how you really got to explore what the different options might be like.

"Do Your Research"--I can't agree mo...

2011-11-19T14:51:15.813-05:00

"Do Your Research"--I can't agree more! These are all such thoughtful answers, K.

Thanks to you both for participating!

Another great interview. I love reading things fr...

2011-11-18T17:29:09.204-05:00

Another great interview. I love reading things from the birth mother's perspective. Thanks so much..I can't wait to start following both of your blogs!

Great interview! Love how I find new blogs to read...

2011-11-18T00:01:57.694-05:00

Great interview! Love how I find new blogs to read through this interview project!!

Lovely interview. I especially identify with how ...

2011-11-17T20:55:26.386-05:00

Lovely interview. I especially identify with how faith gives us the strength we need. We are still waiting to adopt and it's our faith that helps us along each step of our journey!