I was raised in the US. My mother spoke Spanish to us at home. I went to public school and learned to read and write in English. We went to visit family in Mexico about twice a year. I speak both languages with equal ease. Now I have two boys of my own. I speak to them only in Spanish. Their father speaks English with them, although they see him a lot less than they see me. Things are going well, I'm pleased to say. My older son (6) is reading in Spanish, and picking up English reading on his own. I only teach Spanish reading so far. Math, science etc all in Spanish. My sons speak Spanish to each other. But, we live in the US. All their play groups are in English, and the surrounding environment/community is English speaking. I was the only Spanish model for my older son. The younger one has me and his older brother as well. I feel confident that one can raise a bilingual child even if there is only one model for a specific language. I lived it as a child and I'm living it again as a parent.

I love, Love, LOVE the youtube latin classes. Thank you. Brilliance!

Studies show that we use an entirely different part of our brain when we "acquire" a language than when we "learn" it. The window of opportunity for that acquisition shrinks with age.

Funny, I actually don't want my husband to speak Spanish with the children. I worry that he may be a poor model, because he makes lots of errors and has poor pronunciation. Instead, I encourage him to be the English model, and I speak only in Spanish to my boys. What I would love is to go abroad as a family to a Spanish speaking country, but that seems unlikely.

Song of the Trees and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry both by Mildred D. Taylor. Perfect reading level for an 11 year old, plus thought provoking stories that lend themselves to meaty conversations.

Congrats! I've heard of that happening with reading. Perhaps I'm just too nervous. I guess do not have the faith to trust that "click" would happen. Do you think it works that way with all kids? Don't you think that some need direct reading instruction?

Deutsche Mama, I still feel that you would not go wrong to teach reading in German. If you live in the US, your children will learn Eng. How could they not? If the true goal is to raise them to be bilingual and bi-literate, then I imagine that you speak to them exclusively in German. It would follow then to teach reading in the language that you speak with them (just as you would use German to teach math, science, history etc). I understand the fear about English phonics becoming confusing later. I just don't think there is cause for concern. Once you have a child who is reading, I don't think that the odd phonics of English will get in their way. Imagine if you were to learn Hebrew which has an entirely different alphabet and reads right to left. Still, you know what it means to read. You know that these sounds make words, and if you spoke Hebrew, it would make sense (even though they don't include vowels at all!). Best, Gorda

I must agree with DM. If you make German the language of the home, then your children will learn to speak German. I also agree that songs, games and fun activities are the way to go with direct instruction.....avoid the tedium. That's one of the joys of being able to teach at home. Reading aloud helps a lot, music, movies...... I was writing to some one else, that since I'm the only real model for Spanish, I read aloud to my children often. This allows them to pick up on the rich language of stories and hear vocabulary and phrases that don't come up in every day conversation. I don't remember how old your children are, but if they are still young, then putting on puppet shows can be a great teaching tool. I don't know why, but some kids are more willing to talk to a puppet in another language than they are to their mom! Good luck!

Do you still read aloud to your daughter (books that may be too difficult for her to manage on her own).........just curious. I've found that since I'm the only Spanish model, the only way for my kids to learn more advanced vocab (things I don't say on an everyday basis) is to read aloud to them. The rich language in the stories helps their oral lang development. That doesn't sound like an issue in your household, but I was just wondering...

Sorry, Stepnanie, I don't understand your question, but it sounds like you have a lot on your plate!

I guess the reason I do worry is outside pressure ("what?? You're not doing phonics??" or "What?? You're not teaching your children to read in English??"). But I know you all are right... I guess we have to get used to that kind of "outside pressure" when we homeschool, huh? I think if you explain it to people, they may understand (if not agree). Sometimes people don't realize that there is more than one path to take that reaches the same destination. oops I tried to quote you, but it didn't work.

DM asked my son's age and about the language I use when homeschooling.... I have two sons. The oldest will be 6 this month, and the other will be 3 in Sept. I use Span only when home with my children. My children hear/speak English with their father, when we are at the community garden with other families, story time at the library, field trips with other homeschooling families and if we have friends/family over who don't speak Spanish. I myself was raised in a bilingual household. I went to public school (English) but spoke Spanish at home with my mother and grandmother. My father's Spanish was ok , but he is a native Eng speaker. This is an anicdote from my childhood that I believes helps to illustrate why you don't need to worry about the phonics piece so much. I learned to read in Eng and never had formal instruction in Span reading. I heard Span a lot and spoke it well. Once when I was about 9 I decided to try and read a book in Spanish. Even though Span is phonetic, there are many things that are Span specific (do not share with Eng). The story began "Hace una vez..." which is the equivalent to "Once upon a time...". Even thought the H is silent, the C sounds like an S and the Z sounds like an S, I could read it. I could read it because I had heard that phrase a million times. I spoke Spanish, I read English, so I could read Spanish. The more I read Spanish, the more I figured out out what the differences/similarities were, and then I was able to write in Spanish as well. I really believe that if you teach reading in German and simultaneously support Eng by speaking, singing, reading aloud etc. Then the transfer will come easily and you can teach those "funky" points as they come up in writing/reading. Best of luck to you and I think it's fabulous that you're teaching your children to be bi-literate and bilingual!

My husband speaks no Spanish, and I am raising my two boys (6 and 3) to be bilingual. I very rarely speak English with them at all. My husband is very supportive of this. If we have guests, or there is a situation where it might seem rude, I will speak Eng with my boys, but otherwise, Spanish only. If my son asks me a question or wants to tell me something in English, I tell him (in Span) to please ask/tell me again in Spanish. So far so good! It's hard sometimes, but it's such a gift. Don't give up!

For Spanish learners, I recommend Enlace Con el Hogar Actividades en el hogar para el lector principiante by Dominie Press, Inc. It comes with activities, games, little books as well as reading material and suggestions for parents. It's fun and my son feels very successful. He has learned sight words, and is also sounding things out. I check for understanding and he is comprehending what he reads. I really believe that the concept of reading transfers in bilingual children. For example, my son saw the word "stove" and decided to sound in out. He said "stove-eh" because in Spanish there are no silent vowels. But, since he also speaks English, he repeated this word that make no sense a few times, then said "Oh, stove!"

I think you are correct. I think it's a wonderful gift for a child to raise him/her as bilingual and biliterate. At the same time, if that child struggles with learning challenges such as dyslexia, then perhaps learning to read in two languages might overwhelm. It may be best to support speaking in both languages, and wait until the child masters reading in one language before introducing reading in another.

The good thing about learning to read in one language, is that you don't have to learn how to read all over again in the second. What I mean is this: The hard thing about learning to read is that these random squiggles that we call letters represent sounds that are put together to form words that have meaning. Once kids really understand that concept and are starting to sounds things out, they don't have to "re-learn" this idea to read in another language. The concept transfers; especially if the alphabet (Eng/German) is similar. So, I think that you might choose to teach reading in German. Stick to one language until your child really gets it. I would recommend continuing to read stories out loud in English for fun (and as a foundation builder). Once your child can read well and with ease in German (at least first grade level...better second grade level), then that would be a good point to begin English reading. You can talk about the differences in grammar and phonics at that point, and your child will understand. If your child speaks both languages well, then the transition at this point should be easy. Good luck!