At Home, Classroom, Community Support, Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs, Families, Schools,

THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT: ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT BOOK SHARING

August 26, 2014

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photo credit: Mary Ann @ flickr.com “Come here, little huggy bear!” “Are you ready for bed, my little coconut candy?” “Let’s put your coat on, my flea!” If you’ve ever used any of these terms of endearment with a child, English probably isn’t your first language! And if English is your first language, you probably can’t imagine calling your baby a “tiny elephant”, like they do in Thailand, or “breadcrumb”, which is popular in Finland. Whether you are used to calling your loved ones “pumpkin”,............. CONTINUE READING

Families, Giveaways,

NEW GIVEAWAY: READ TO ME!

August 8, 2014

Would you like to receive a free reading guide for young children? The Read to Me! Program in Nova Scotia, Canada recently put together a wonderful month-to-month Guide to Reading with Your Baby in the First Year.  Each month gives information about a baby’s development, tips, recommended books, and rhymes.  And the guide is even provided to children in Arabic, Chinese and French! The Guide is a wonderful resource for early childhood educators and new parents alike, and now you can win a FREE copy.............. CONTINUE READING

At Home, Dual Language, Families,

5 (FUN!) IDEAS TO INCORPORATE LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL LEARNING INTO YOUR FAMILY’S PLANS THIS SUMMER

July 24, 2014

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    photo credits: Jens Nink, Heather West, both @ flickr.com With summer here, many parents have a challenge ahead of them:  keeping kids productively entertained until school starts up again. Whether you or your partner is a stay-at-home parent, or you just want to make the most of these warm, sunny summer nights and weekends, there’s no reason you can’t make language and cultural learning part of your routine! Here are 5 ideas on how you can make learning about a new culture............. CONTINUE READING

International Folktale Characters,

INTERNATIONAL FOLKTALE CHARACTER: FINN MCCOOL

July 8, 2014

photo credit: Mattman4698, Brendan Cullen, both @ flickr.com Name: Finn McCool (or Fionn mac Cumhaill) Age: Roughly 1,414 years – but a good mythological cycle never reveals its real age. Appearance: Handsome, with very light colouring. Also a giant? Maybe. Definitely a big, powerful guy with a big, powerful beard. Oooh, I do love a guy with a beard! Is he in some kind of ancient alt-folk band? Does he wear plaid shirts and listen to Mumford and Sons? You’ve got it all wrong. Finn............. CONTINUE READING

Language Lizard Announcements,

IT’S TIME TO ANNOUNCE OUR GIVEAWAY WINNERS

June 19, 2014

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 photo credit: lakennlinnea @ flickr.com Thank you all for participating in our SMILE giveaway for a free copy of Augustus and His Smile. Congratulations to our winners – Karen L. from Indiana (Haitian Creole edition), Connie N. from Washington (Spanish edition), and Eman B. from North Carolina  (Arabic edition). Don’t miss our next giveaway… sign up for our newsletter at http://www.languagelizard.com/newslettersignup.htm.  And continue to check our Facebook page and Twitter postings!   .......... CONTINUE READING

At Home, Families,

READING UNDER THE TREES

June 4, 2014

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by guest blogger Karen Nemeth EdM  When I was a young girl I told everyone that one day I would have a house with a weeping willow tree in the yard because I loved to hide in the shelter of the cascading leaves and read books.  That is what I loved so much about reading – that I could do it anywhere, anytime.  I also loved to read at night in a tent with a flashlight or early in the morning when the............. CONTINUE READING

At Home, Dual Language, Families, Libraries,

YOUR BILINGUAL STAYCATION STARTS HERE!

May 27, 2014

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This summer, are you looking for a vacation that’s easy, cheap, environmentally friendly, relaxing, educational and fun no matter what the weather?  Give up the hours you’d normally spend trawling the internet looking for the perfect spot and instead opt for a Bilingual Staycation!  You’ll be able to spend these sweltering months bonding with your child and learning more than you ever would poolside at a resort. To take a staycation, you simply need to stay put and enjoy your hometown and its............. CONTINUE READING

Book Reviews, Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs, Giveaways, Libraries, Schools,

SMILE! YOU’RE ABOUT TO GET A FREE BOOK!

May 20, 2014

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With spring finally here, it’s hard not to SMILE! And did you know that NATIONAL SMILE POWER DAY is just around the corner on June 15th, 2014? (Yes, this is also Father’s Day… another reason to smile!) With this in mind, we’ve decided to GIVE AWAY our favorite bilingual book about SMILING: Augustus and His Smile. This award-winning book – available in over 20 languages* – teaches children that happiness can be found all around and within us (see review............. CONTINUE READING

At Home, Families,

HOW TO HELP YOUR TEENS LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE

May 6, 2014

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-by guest blogger Tim Johnson Learning a second language can have a lot of advantages, especially in our incredibly interconnected modern world.  It provides opportunities to share ideas and opinions in business or simply to make new friends.  However, learning a new language can be very challenging and many late-life language learners may be at a disadvantage.   To give our children the best opportunities later in life, parents are encouraged to provide them with knowledge of a second language at an early age.............. CONTINUE READING

Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs, International Folktale Characters, Libraries, Schools,

INTERNATIONAL FOLKTALE CHARACTER: MAMY WATA

April 16, 2014

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    Woohoo!  It’s almost summer!  Let’s go SWIMMING! Did you bring your bathing suit?  Oh yeah…um…I totally left it at home…plus you know, I ate less than half an hour ago…I don’t want to get a cramp… You’re looking decidedly shifty. What’s the real reason you don’t want to go swimming?  Ok, to be honest, it’s because I’ve been doing some reading up on popular African deity Mamy Wata. Who?  Mamy Wata, which means “Mother Water”.  She’s a water entity worshipped by many people in............. CONTINUE READING