Teaching Kids New Langauages

Most of us live in very diverse communities, surrounded by people who speak a language other than English, whose homes emanate lovely aromas of their ethnic foods and whose families practice different traditions. We live in a very global economy where knowing a second language is no longer a luxury. According to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), it is easier for young learners (usually in elementary school) to fully learn a new language than it is to teach older kids and teens (like high schoolers), and knowing a second or even third language can greatly benefit their lives and job opportunities in the future.

What better gift can we give our own children than the gift of second language instruction? Providing this learning in the first 5-10 years of life not only makes it easier for the child to be wired for all future language learning; it also opens up their heart and mind to accepting those who look, speak, and even act differently than their immediate circle of family and friends.

Why is it important?
According to Beth Butler, an expert in teaching Spanish, recent research suggests that many benefits are derived from learning more than one language early in life. A majority of children in various bilingual learning studies demonstrated enhanced cognitive development (what some refer to as a boost in brain power), increased problem solving abilities, a richer cultural awareness, higher standardized test scores in both math and verbal sections, a keen ability to block out potential outside interferences, and these children read sooner than their monolingual peers.

You might be thinking as you read this, “No way! I want my child to concentrate on learning English before he gets all confused with Spanish.” The myth that exists about children learning two languages can become language delayed and/or confused is just that – a myth. Children are hard-wired from birth through about ten years old to learn several languages. Young children will learn the new language more quickly, retain it better, and speak it with native or near-native pronunciation. In fact, Newsweek and Time both ran feature articles suggesting that second language instruction should be begin as early as possible in a child’s life, and these major publications stated that the “window of opportunity” to introduce a child to a second and third language is between birth and age ten.

How to bring in a new language
Many parents deliberate over how to bring a new language into their child’s life – particularly when they as the adults speak only one language. Many experts agree that the bilingual approach for the very young child is best. Teach the new language alongside the native language. It’s as easy as pointing to a cat and saying “cat” then “gato.” Linguistic experts agree that it’s just as easy to teach a baby two words for one item as it is to teach only one word.

This bilingual method provides continuing education in the child’s native tongue while acquiring skills in the new one. Language experts agree the strong sense of pride, higher self-esteem, and long term retention associated with this bilingual approach is reason enough to choose this route for the younger years. According to many experts immersion programs, where the child will hear only the targeted new language, should be reserved for those in middle school years and beyond.

You can find excellent DVDs and programs to help teach another language. Some of my favorites include Little Passports, which sends monthly packages to your child to help them learn other languages, Little Pim, which gives your child exciting activities that they can do on any computer, tablet or mobile device, and Early Lingo which teaches children through DVDs.

Practice makes perfect
Aside from using educational programming on television to help your child practice, the ACTFL suggests that parents should get involved in the learning process and try to engage children in speaking in multiple languages. It may also help you as a parent to learn a new language with your child. It is also important to practice reading in the language that your child is learning to speak so that they are used to seeing the words and translating them in their heads.

You can also visit one of your local Children’s Board of Hillsborough County Family Resource Centers to connect with other kids and families learning a new language and to practice together.

Our world is increasingly bilingual, and we need to prepare our children for it. Students of second language instruction have access to a greater number of career opportunities later in life, are wired to learn multiple languages, and tend to be more creative than monolingual students. The benefits of second language instruction have been proven, and it’s time to begin the instruction now – when the child is young, when the language acquisition part of the brain is more accepting and while the child is excited about new languages, new cultures and new people.

For schools and learning facilities to help your kids learn new languages, visit:

Tampa Language Center– 813-988-7900
Kumon Learning Center– 813-831-9495

You can also find a list of schools with Spanish language experts here.

Read more about kids and languages:

When to Teach Kids a New Language
Communicating Using Sign Language

Talking to your kids about tragic events

It can be difficult to watch a news broadcast without hearing bad news, especially with recent events. Whether you are trying to stay informed on international matters or just trying to catch up on celebrity gossip, your kids are curious about what they are hearing on the news. Trying to explain the intricacies of war, natural disasters, or even a celebrity scandal can be increasingly difficult– especially if your child is younger.

So how can we make the news an educational experience for our kids, instead of something scarring and traumatic for life?

Before you explain it, think of how it is perceived 
The most important thing to remember when exposing your kids to the news, is that children perceive things much differently than an adult, according to KidsHealth.org. A news report about something like a school shooting or a bombing, for example, can make them fear that it will happen to them and it can cause severe anxiety. They also may be afraid of things as simple as a thunderstorm by watching the news– especially when newscasters use terms like “deadly” and “severe”.

Take a step back when viewing the news, and think of how your child might perceive it. Try to find news programs that do not use sensationalized, loud, or particular disturbing images. You might want to check out a news website and watch it alone at a later time, or watch short clips of reports to decide if that it a channel worth bringing into your living room. Sometimes, there is no way to sugar-coat or dull the news down, but trying to find the right TV news station that doesn’t make every single story completely terrifying can help. You can also encourage your kids to read the newspaper, which you can easily monitor before they see it.

Break it down into simpler terms and be proactive
It is important to keep your kids informed on what is going on with the news, but you should also try to explain it to them in terms that they can understand, according to KidsHealth.org. Ask your kids what they think about current events, how it makes them feel, and what they think the people involved should do.

Ask them what they can do to help as well. Sometimes, especially in a traumatic event or a natural disaster, it can be easy to feel powerless and small, which will cause your child to have more fear. By helping your child find some way to help, no matter how small, you are empowering them against fear. Be open to their questions as well and don’t be afraid to tell them your opinion of a news story.

It is also important to teach your child the context of a news story. Is this an isolated incident being reported? Something more regular? What are the chances that your child will ever encounter what they are discussing on the report? Your kids should be informed, but they should also learn to use the news as a reference point for the world around them. If they don’t understand a report’s context, they may think that tragedies happen every day to every person and that is not realistic.

Filter what types of media they consume
KidsHealth.org suggests that you watch TV news with your kids so that you can filter it, and then turn it off once you have seen the report. Discourage your kids from watching the same report over and over. If you want to follow a story, perhaps you would like to keep up with breaking news during a tragedy for example, consider downloading an app on your phone or visiting a news website so that your child is not constantly exposed to it.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America suggests letting your child know that it is okay to be upset or even angry after a traumatic event in the news, but to field how much information your kids are taking in. You should also assure your kids that you will do everything you can to keep them and the rest of your family safe.

Another thing you can do to help your kids stay informed without staying afraid or confused, is to encourage them to consider their news sources as they grow older. KidsHealth.org suggests that you teach your kids to consider why something is newsworthy or why it is on the air. For example, was a segment on the air just to boost ratings, or is it something that will actually have an effect on their lives? When a teen or child understands the mission of the news, they can more accurately choose a good news source and can feel in control of what they are exposing themselves. This is a good thing for parents to consider as well– is the news source you are watching just trying to boost ratings, or are they trying to keep you informed and safe?

Beware of overplaying the news. Especially in matters of extreme tragedy, like a school shooting for example, we can be tempted as adults to be sucked into what is called the “24 hour news cycle”. When we watch these news stories over and over, it can instill fear in kids and cause them to become a little obsessed and afraid of the tragedy, making them think that it will happen to them.

It is true that knowledge is power, and the news can be a powerful and highly useful tool for teaching your kids about the world around them. With open communication, the right news sources, and a little monitoring, having a news informed child can be a great thing!

If your kids or teens want to find ways to get involved after local events or tragedies, visit The Children’s Board online.

Getting Back into the School Routine

By Angela Ardolino

Kids all over Tampa Bay are clinging to the last few days of summer but as the new school year approaches parents should be thinking about how to transition their kids back into the school schedule. Easing them back into a routine will help parents and kids avoid the anxiety that comes along with a new year.

The key to a stress free transition is starting early. Don’t wait until the first day of school to start a routine. If you start early, this will give your family time to get accustomed to the new schedule.

Night Before:

As school starts, establish everyone’s bedtime for the school year and implement them with a wind down period one-hour before their bedtime. The wind down time is a perfect time to pack book bags, make lunches, turn off electronics and settle in for the night. It will also ease the morning rush if everything is prepared. Keeping the house quiet and calm during wind down time will also ease the transition into bedtime.

Making sure your kids are getting enough sleep is very important. On average, school-aged children need at least 9-hours of rest. Any less, and they’ll be tired during the school day, making learning and retention almost impossible. Here’s a bedtime chart to use as guidance when establishing bedtimes in your home.

Bedtime Chart:

0 – 2 years of age: 7:00pm
3 – 5 years of age: 8:00pm
6 – 8 years of age: 8:30pm
9 – 12 years of age: 9:00 pm
12- 15 years of age: 9:30pm
15+ years of age: (Your child, by this age, should be able to decide when they need to go to sleep and prioritize their after school responsibilities accordingly.)

Morning:

Morning time should only be for getting ready. Doing anything more like packing bags, making lunches, finishing homework, etc. will make the morning stressful for kids and parents. Once your kids are in grade school try giving them each there own alarm clock, making each one responsible for getting up and dressed for the day without mom or dad.

Eating a healthy breakfast will also energize the kids for the first half of the day. Families often resort to cereals or other quick fixes that are high in sugar and have little or no nutritional value. Here are some fun, simple breakfast ideas for school days that involve little or no prep.

Afternoon:

Most of your kids will have homework on a daily basis and encouraging them to complete it right when they get home will leave the late afternoon and early evening for play time, bath time and family time. When the kids get home, snack time is the perfect opportunity for you to sit with them, talk about the day and what they learned as well as give them a short break before heading into homework. Giving too long of a break between snack and homework time might cause your kids to lose focus making it more difficult to complete homework later in the evening.

Their homework will hopefully be assigned to re-enforce what was learned earlier in the day. Find a quiet, well-lit area of the house where everyone can sit together to do homework. If you have older children, they can be the designated homework helper for your little ones. Of course, mom or dad is always around to answer questions but allowing your teens to take a leadership role will instill confidence in them.

After school activities are also a fun, great way for kids to learn new things outside of the classroom and make new friends during the week. Discuss with your kids what sort of activities they might be interested in doing after school like karate or performing arts and find one day a week where afternoon time includes these activities. If any of the activities involve and change of clothes or other prep work, make sure its done the night before and loaded into the car. You can find a full list of after school programs and classes online that might interest your kids.

The new school year is an exciting time to start fresh and learn new things. Creating a schedule that everyone can follow will help create a regimented and consistent school schedule.

Sources:
TBParenting.com 
ChildrensBoard.org
MomsWhoThink.com