I can speak Italian fluently. My son is special needs, he really doesn't do well with just being spoken to. He doesn't even understand English all that well when just being spoken to. I'm not Italian, my DH is. My family is German, Norweigen and Native American, so knowing English is also a big thing, since most my family speaks that. I agree that being biligual is a gift, but I know my son, and I know how he learns. Using fun activities and workbooks along with being spoken to is key for him. That is what I'm looking for. It's not that my mind is made up, I just know what works for him. He doesn't learn traditionally. He strives with hands on stuff. When we started using activities for him when learning to talk (in English) that is what got him going. Workbooks and activities are more for learning to read and write it, not really to speak it, but it will help with speaking it. I want something interactive, and a good workbook for him to help. We do speak to him in Italian on a daily basis, and I know it takes time for him to learn. We just want to incorporate a structured program for him as well.

^ Yeah I understand that. I know it can be crucial to speak fluently to them. The problem we have though is that ds1 doesn't do well with just being spoken to. I know it 's not impossible to learn when older though, so I'm not that worried. I learnt my first language in my teens, and my second in my 20s (I'm trilingual, German and Italian with English of course). And I have many relatives whose children didn't start any language until pre-teens and can now speak fluently, mostly French, without having parents who speak it. I would really like some child/toddler friendly work books, or other fun activities that revolves around learning Italian. My son works best when its an activity or a workbook. Just speaking to him isn't going to work.

Thanks for your help.

Yes, we have quiet time. When Our youngest takes his nap in the afternoon, DS1 and I have quiet time. It's usually 2 hours. We read, do some crafts at the table, color/paint, or do something quietly on the floor like a puzzle or something.

Gianni is 3 years and Garatoni is only 9 weeks. I know it's best to start right off the bat, but we did wait until Gianni was around a year old to start (I was unsure at the time how to go about doing 2 languages). DH, myself and my mother in law speak Italian, but not always, just sometimes, but DH and I have decided to speak every day in Italian and English. MIL speaks Italian every time she sees the boys, but speaks to them mostly in English. We don't know any other Italian speakers where we live, and haven't had a chance to take them to Italy, but hopefully that'll change soon. Gianni can say grandma/grandpa in Italian and exucuse me, that's about it. He doesn't do the greatest with just being spoken to, he needs more hands on stuff, or fun stuff to help him learn.

We're on the MN/IA border.

Does anyone know of good Italian cirriculum, books, tapes, DVDs, things like that? DH is Italian and we want both our boys to speak it.

Hi everyone. I'm new here. I'm a mother of a 3 year old and a 9 week old, both boys. My husband and I live in Minnesota, and we're going to start homeschooling our oldest this September. He has ADHD and can be hard to handle, and I don't think public school is right for him at this point. I'm a SAHM and DH is a pilot and aviation mechanic.