May 2008 of James, 4 years, Sydney 6 Years
From BilingualWiki
Contents |
May 2, 2008
I was frustrated today when we tried to play the Portuguese version of James and the Giant Peach. I bought it in Portugal (at no small price) for the kids and was so excited about it. Then it turned out it was only in Greek and English. When Syndey heard that, she said emphatically, "I'm not learning Greek. I already know enough languages!
May 5, 2008
Today James, age 4, had a playdate with a South Korean boy, Daniel. There were so happy to be together. I took them to the ice cream store and we were eyed as a strange threesome-- I was speaking Portuguese to James, then he'd translate to Daniel, but you would assume that the foreign language would go towards the "foreign-looking boy." I've had people confuse Portuguese with Japanese before so that could have been odd for others. A woman sitting next to us couldn't quit staring. Then james in the car was trying to tell Daniel about his favorite song- Chocolate. It's Brazilian and is this Carlos ... (I'll look that up) and is really sort of silly. Poor Daniel was working hard to figure out why it was so funny and laughed sincerely enough that I think he may have understood.
May 6, 2008 Siu Family Update
I see the Siu family Montegnard at church nearly every Sunday. Rarely are all 8 children there, but at least 4 or 5 of them come along with the parents. The mom, Bop, and I have this makeup-thing going where I buy her foundation and she reimburses me. She always tries to give me way too much money. I'm not sure if she's being overly generous of if she's still struggling with the value of the dollar. I'd really prefer to buy the makeup with her because she just needs some guidance, but I've been keeping my head above water with other pieces of life.
A dear woman from church thanked me profusely Sunday for getting her involved with the family. She says she looks so forward to the evenings when she tutors them and gets so much more out of it than she gives. She said that the team is working towards having the family less dependent on the team, but that she can't help but want to be closer.
The children are doing fairly well in school and adjusting socially. The older sons and father have steady jobs and are improving their English.
Sydney loves on of the books I bought her in Portugal. It is a book of why's. So each half page asks another "Why" question such as, "Why do we get goosebumps?" Then it answers the question in a scientific way but with simplified language. I've learned alot as far as vocabulary but also from the content. We open the book and choose which one we want so it's like a game going back and forth.
I realized how much the kids need work in their numbers in Portuguese. We were playing with these number flash cards today and they really struggled to say the names of the numbers 10-20. They really enjoyed how we made it into a game. James still has trouble losing and runs off crying sometimes, but he's slowly getting into the competition grove.
Tonight we went to a lecture at Sydney's kindergarten. A man overhead me speaking Portuguese to the kids and began speaking in Portuguese. He was Brazilian and was to be the babysitter that night. I introduced him to the kids and asked the kids to speak in Portuguese to him. Then off to the side, I told them both that if they spoke in Portuguese to him, even just a little, they would get a dollar when they got home. Isn't that silly? They both did and were quick to collect on their winnings once we got home tonight.
May 8, 2008
A woman I've been emailing me of late concerning teaching English to her Czech son articulated something that I have had difficulties with but have never been able to pin down with words.
"Another issue that I constantly deal with is that of talking through your baby. I mean those situations when people talk to the baby but are really speaking to you. An example of that is the time after our exercise class when the babies are on the floor and the moms tell them what they will do next. In reality, this information is intended for the other moms letting them know whether you are available for a walk in the park or have to rush home. This is a weird example, I know, but this "talking-to-you-through-the-kid" situations come up daily."
My response was "Basically I just have lost that little trick for letting others know what I’m thinking by talking to the baby. I think you just find ways around it by being more direct, but it is a sacrifice, one I’ve noticed many times."
May 10, 2008
I met with a couple today who are having a baby in a few months and want to raise him bilingual. The father, Seth, speaks Spanish and Bione understands a bit. They wanted to do the one parent one language method, but had many concerns. Several I’d already [1] addressed on the site--specific challenges parents have with general acceptance of the full-time teaching. That’s always hard. I gave them what I believe to be right. Input is essential and is worth making a few folks mad if they don’t like being a bit lost while you speak to your kids. You can explain to them what you are doing and their reaction is left to them.
It's also tough to know how to handle which parent works outside the home and input for the child.
They were also just curious to envision what a typical dinner conversation might look like-- who speaks what to whom? I think my answer probably just made things look more complicated than it is. But my husband spoke to them about this too, saying that it's not easy for him. He said he misses hearing about part of the kids' day when they directly address me. We really try to keep it in English but all talking to Stephen's eyes or I'll ask the kids to tell Daddy what they just said to me.
Seth was concerned that he spoke continental Spanish instead of the more popular Mexican spanish. I tried to find out his interests and since literature is one of the top 10 on his list, suggested books on tape published in Mexico. With Spanish there are so many free options-- even the libraries are stocked with Spanish materials.
I also suggested watching youtube. These are mainstream Spanish clips in most cases, with real life situations and language. Youtube= would be helpful] to someone like him who used Spanish in more of a literary setting.
May 11, 2008
Sydney asked me "O que e' Chucky Cheese? Todos os espanhois falam disso e eu sei o que e'?" ("What is 'Chucky Cheese'? The Spanish kids talk about it and I don't know what it is.) I think she's in an interesting place with the Spanish kids. She overhears what they're saying to each other but they wouldn't be able to understand Portuguese if they're like most people. (In most situations, a Portuguese speaker can understand Spanish and speak it more easily than a Spanish speak can Portuguese.) And I can see why she wouldn't ask in English--just not kosher. (Plus, in this specific situation, she wouldn't want to show she doesn't know.)
A friend and I want our kids to learn to samba and play the drums. BUT it's Eduardo da Silva who's agreed to do the lessons and the price is rather steep. I'm willing to do it if she is ($90 total so that's $60 for me since I have 2 kids and she only has one. I think it would be a one shot deal though, for that price. I hope she's still into it. Though I'd be okay paying a bit more if she's out of the picture because then he'd speak Portuguese. This whole double language thing is EXPENSIVE
Speaking of expensive, the kids are enjoying the books I bought them in Portugal. I have to keep the dictionary handy because the continental Portuguese differs from the Brazilian I'm used to, but usually we can guess from context. It's good for my learning too
Another fun thing we've been doing is looking at Brazilian video clips from youtube. I just search for a famous children's figure (In this case, Xuxa) and found heaps of short clips the kiddies loved. Also little cartoons in Portuguese. Have to be careful not to let them roam the site alone because you can stumble on some scary stuff for kids.
May 22, 2008
Sydney has been heavy into writing books. She wanted to write one with me so we did one in Portuguese. Basically they consist of 8 by 11 sheets of recycled papers that have a book cover with a drawing. Inside, each page gives about a sentence of the story and an accompanying drawing. In our joint book, I told her what to write (often writing the words on a piece of paper because writing in Portuguese is still a real challenge) and she illustrated it. Then she wanted to do it in English so anyone could read it. She put the translation at the end of each page. I was thrilled she was interested in this idea.
May 23, 2008
I've stumbled on a couple of good ways to work on vocabulary with the kiddies. One is to do the Where's Waldo (we actually use the Scooby Do version) books. Instead of asking them to find the words shown in pictures at the left side of the page, I find other words. They have to ask, sometimes, what "barril" means (barrel). It really helps me gage what they know and don't.
Also, we've been doing these little no-puppet hand puppets. They love it. We do different voices. We can talk about topics we don't usually discuss, opening up vocabulary in different areas. And they are very involved since they too do the puppets.
