Lately, I have had many conversations with non-native Spanish speakers who are fluent and passionate about the language and about raising their children to know the culture, so they learn to love the language. I appreciate the cultural approach to language learning because my husband and I used it quite often when our children were growing up. Minda Gomez, founder of the space Martinez Kids Adventures is doing an amazing job at raising her half Mexican, half American children to be proud of their two cultures and to be fluent in both English and Spanish, with the support of her Acapulco born ..read more

As a trusted source, and one that has been offering information, education, tools and resources for bilingual and multicultural parents for over two decades, I am always in the look-out for experts that I can refer parents and teachers to when navigating the bilingual journey. Especially when asked about Spanish and bilingual materials. Enter, Corrie Wiik, a non-native bilingual mom, educator, content creator, blogger and founder of mamallamalinguist, a Spanish education site that helps families learn and practice Spanish via thematic resources and parenting tips. A non-native bilingual speak ..read more

Award-winning Latina author Anika Aldamuy Denise is a force. In a soft, confident sort of way. Of Puerto Rican and Italian heritage, and raised in Queens, NY, Anika is the author of 11 children’s books. Her latest book, Phenomenal AOC, is a picture book biography of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest Congresswoman in the history of the United States. “I was so honored to write a book about AOC. I grew up in the same neighborhoods that are now her districts. I wanted to capture her charisma, her energy, her will to help others, to succeed. She is an amazing example for Latinx children!” I ..read more

  Are you raising a child with a disability bilingual? Whether your child has Down Syndrome or autistic, has a fluency disorder, or any other genetic condition, he can become bilingual. This was the topic of conversation last week in my special IG Live with a bilingual speech-language pathologist and bilingual mom, advocate, or raising bilingual children, Liliana Vazquez. Liliana and I discuss bilingualism among children with disabilities and offer her perspective as it relates to language development and fluency. Is it any different than it is for children with no disabilities? Not real ..read more

How is your children’s summer reading going? When my kids were growing up, it was always tricky to get them to read during the summer. Especially since most summers were spent in Puerto Rico, surrounded by family and with 8 grandkids running around my parents’ house daily, it was not easy to get them to sit down for a reading routine. Mostly because we didn’t have as many wonderful titles as there are today, over twenty-five years ago. Still, my siblings and I knew the importance of reading and we tried to instill the love of books in our children. Last week, I had the opportunity to intervie ..read more

Sonia Smith Kang is an amazing resource for parents raising multicultural children. Her company, Mixed-UpClothing, was founded ten years ago with the purpose of highlighting the beauty of cultures and to teach all children and families about the multicultural and multiracial world we all live in. Mixed- Up clothing, now available at Macy’s includes play clothes for ages 0-12. The company is looking to expand to other major retailers soon. “My dream is for families from any culture to have access to our clothes-line and that by purchasing parents can be more aware and educated about different ..read more

Most of us are trying to figure out our professional careers in our mid-twenties. Many start-up in one area and then move around to others before that “Aha” moment strikes, and they find their calling. A few gifted ones know it from the beginning, especially if languages and cultures had played a part in their life growing up. That was the case with our IG Live guest, Natalia Simons, author, and publisher of Bilingo Books, a children’s books line that embraces diversity, languages, and cultures. A story-teller at heart, Natalia grew up with an English father and a Spanish mom in England. Her ..read more

I have to admit, when I read the study about dogs being #bilingual, I wasn’t surprised. My son, 32, has a dog, Momo, that he has sworn is bilingual since they rescued him three years ago. I still remember the call, a few weeks after Momo became part of the family. “Mama, I think Momo is bilingual. He can understand Spanish when I speak to him.” I smiled and was more amused by my son speaking to the dog in Spanish than by the dog’s response. Fast forward a couple of years, when I saw the released study by Dr. Cuaya, I was surprised and admit, I stood corrected! I forwarded the study to my son ..read more

Social media has made an impact on bilingualism. Through social media, we have been able to build a strong #bilingual community that educates, uplifts, and supports one another. It has also helped create opportunities for collaboration where like-minded experts join forces to work on projects that benefit the bilingual community overall. That is the case with the two bilingual mom entrepreneurs I interviewed last week, María Rodriguez, Spanish philologist, author and educator, founder of the online platform mybilingualchildcorner.com, and Claudia Soruco, a Bolivian child psychologist, author ..read more

It is always a humbling experience to talk to someone that wears her heart and her life’s passion on her sleeve. Such was the case when I interview Carylee Carrington last week. A Jamaican born, raised in New York City children’s book author on a mission to ensure that children have access to diverse literature wherever they live. To that end, Carylee founded her 501 c-3 non-profit, Read with Carylee, with the purpose of supporting and championing the call for diverse literature for all children. I invite you to watch our IGTV! Known as the Queen of Tutus, (she wears tutus for her interviews ..read more