Niños bilingües

As a Colombian mom raising a multicultural daughter, it's important to me that my daughter grows up understanding about my culture as well as her father's European culture.  While there is nothing better than traveling to actual Colombia, I do my best looking for books that can bring the country a little closer to home in America and I am so happy that we have come across these books.

It's important to me as a Latina mom and American citizen that my multicultural daughter grows up learning about her native country, The United States of America.  While we celebrate our Hispanic heritage and European heritage, we make sure to honor and celebrate our American culture and country as well.  With 4th of July just around the corner, these are our favorite books that honor America in English and Spanish.

There are many ways to teach kids about being a good friend.  Besides talking about it and modeling by having good friendships yourself, you can read to your child.  Teaching children about friendsip sets their foundation for future relationships. Here are some books in English and Spanish that can help you achieve that.

I'm assuming that if you're looking at this list of books you're in need of help getting your bilingual child potty trained.  My daughter is now 6 and we're well past the potty training phase but I can assure you, it was not easy.  I still don't understand when I hear moms say that they potty trained in 3 days, for me it seemed to take forever.  Don't worry, the good news is that they will get potty trained and one day you too can look back.  I'm providing you a list of books that will help but you can also check out our potty training blog links and our potty training charts that I created in desperation to help my daughter get potty trained and guess what?  They totally work!  but first let's get to the books:

As a Latina mom raising a bilingual and potentially multilingual child in a fast paced and shifting world, I know that college education and continuing education is the only way for growth.  I want to teach her that you are never too old to learn and that learning is something you do your entire life and not just in college.  Here are my....

Having a daughter with very strong emotions and that suffers from anxiety, I am always looking for books that send encouraging messages or that can become part of our everyday reading.  As a parent who has been suffering grief for months after losing my father, it's also important to talk to my daughter about deep feelings and sadness to try and normalize the conversation and the importance of mental health. 

Too many times in Latino culture these conversations do not take place and we're forced to internalize and deal with our own feelings on our own.  When our children see that we're open about our emotions, when we seek help, and it's simply a part of our lives, then we can not only have a better relationship with ourselves but a better relationship with our kids as open communication is enforced.  Here are...

Moms tend to have very special relationships with their young kids.  I love nurturing this relationship with my daughter and having books that celebrate our relationship.  I'm sharing with you a list of books that celebrate moms that are perfect to encourage their bilingual journey.  Most of these books we have, others are on our to buy list.  Is your favorite one here?

While we usually spend Christmas with our American family, as a Latina mom it is important for me to pass on our Hispanic traditions as well. We start the season celebrations with the day of La Virgen de Guadalupe, then Las Posadas, Nochebuena y Navidad y los Reyes Magos. This year the celebrations will look quite different, but I think it is important to still read the book, have a piñata, sing the songs and celebrate as this way the little latinx will then learn their Latino traditions and understand their heritage.  Here are the top 12 Bilingual Spanish Books for Kids for Navidad.

Navidad! Such a special time of the year. As many special occasions this year, Navidad 2020 will be different and in a smaller scale, but it can still be magical and fun for the little bilingual ones at home!

As we are raising bilinguals, I try to balance between the hit toy or what they really really want, and a couple in there that also enforce their Spanish skills. It takes a bit more research, but it is all worth it. Lucky you, our very own Janny has been building great lists for a couple of years  (2017, 2018, 2019) and we have put our heads together to keep the list growing.

We are a multicultural family and as such we celebrate all things Latino and all things American. While Thanksgiving is not widely celebrated in Mexico, it is a big deal for my husband and a time filled with traditions for his side of the family. While raising our bodoques bilingual we get them exposed to both languages and both cultures.

We typically go back to his hometown and have dinner with the whole extended family - aunts & uncles, cousins and their families, something around 35 people.   (Though this year with the pandemic, Thanksgiving will be a bit different.)  Dinner is a potluck – each family brings something, so it is filled with flavorful turkey, stuffing, so many sides and all kinds of pies that one could imagine! Before dinner one of the older uncles presides prayer and then we all go around the table sharing what one was thankful for that year. It is a time to reflect and be grateful for all your blessings, something that I want my little Latinx to learn.

As a Latina mom it is so important to pass down my Hispanic Heritage to “los bodques”. Día de los Muertos is such a special celebration for many Latino cultures and especially big in Mexico. I grew up celebrating every year, it was a whole affair. First, we would go to el Mercado de Portales to get everything for the ofrenda (the altar) calaveritas de azúcar and chocolate, flores de zempasúchitl (marigold flowers) and of course the pumpkins and mole for the food. In Mexico, we prepare our ancestor’s favorite dishes and wrap them very well so they can last for a week or so and place them in the ofrenda. Do you celebrate in your country? What are the special dishes or ways to celebrate?

A couple of ways for passing our Latino traditions are of course celebrating in your own home and making the little Latinx part of it, music, and our beloved books. Here are some of our top pics:

Growing up Latino, October was always a festive month, we celebrated Halloween but also Dia de Muertos. There would be decorations all around the city and we would have a party at school, get to dress up and “pedir la calaverita” <trick or treat>. I am so excited to celebrate now with “los bodoques” and get to pick a costume, decorate altogether and do some pumpkin carving – or painting for them. Sharing the best of both cultures with my little Latinx. 

Let’s get in the Halloween mood with these awesome bilingual books for Latino kids...