Although I'm not huge on making New Year's resolutions because it's hard for me to keep them, I do like the idea of having some specific plans to ensure my children's bilingualism–especially because I feel like, lately, I've been slacking off a bit. And also because my son will be starting Kinder in the fall, which means he'll be exposed to even more English and I'm afraid his Spanish will start to suffer.
Read more ¿Qué más?: Bilingual bebés on board: 5 tips to ensure your kids speak more Spanish
More books: I need to practice what I preach. My children are lucky to be surrounded by books in Spanish. I've pretty much spent a small fortune putting together an amazing library for them. I just have to read to them a lot more and on a regular basis because I've noticed that my daughter's vocabulary is lacking and I know books are a great way to help improve that.
More Spanish-speaking friends: My kids get a lot of exposure to Spanish, but mostly from adults. My husband, my mother, my sister and I all speak to them only in Spanish. We have a lot of grown-up friends who speak to them in Spanish too, but their kids feel more comfortable speaking in English among themselves. So I have to make an effort to find them some Spanish-speaking friends.
More culture: I also need to make a better effort to expose them to more cultural events honoring or celebrating Latinos and our traditions. I took them to the local art museum last year for a special bilingual event they have every month, but they only went three times. So I need to be more consistent.
Immersion travel: I'd love for my kids to spend the whole summer in Puerto Rico with their cousins, but they're still too young for that. So, for now, we'll have to make do with just a few weeks. They had such an amazing experience last summer, that I want to make sure to save enough money to make it happen this summer again.
