There's nothing like the great outdoors on a windy spring day, and so on the nicest day of spring break we ventured to the Delcarte Reservoir in Franklin to meander their story walk. Each season, the Franklin Public Library adorns the trail with pages from a nature-themed book. Last fall, we read  Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn , and had an adventurous time, tromping through the woods and reading each page. So we were excited to return to read the Spring 2021 story, Pine & Boof The Lucky Leaf . This time, we had a special guest reader, 9-year-old emerging bilingual, Cesar! He came to the US from Guatemala three years ago, and has worked so hard to learn English. Now in third grade, he shows off his English skills and reads aloud each page. We recorded just using my iPhone, so the sound quality isn't the best. There's rustling leaves, wind, and train noises in the background, but Cesar perseveres and shares with us this delightful story. Cousins are often referred to as on...

Children come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and abilities, and it's important to teach them to celebrate these differences from birth. As bicultural and bilingual, my children straddle two languages and cultures on a daily basis, and I want to introduce them to and expose them to cultures, traditions, and lifestyles that differ from their own, so that they may begin to develop understanding and empathy for others. April has widely been known as “Autism Awareness Month” in the United States as a way to empower autistic individuals and their families, and this year the  Autism Society of America  has been leading a significant effort for the federal government to officially designate April as  “Autism Acceptance Month.”  According to the Autism Society of America, the shift in the use of terminology aims to foster acceptance and ignite change through building better awareness of the signs, symptoms, and realities of  autism.  Sin...

This past week, the United States celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Week of the Young Child, which recognizes early learning, young children, their teachers, families, and communities, and is sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children .  Locally, the Early Childhood Alliance of Framingham hosted the first Framingham Virtual Family Fair , which brought together community partners who showcased live and rerecorded content for kids ages 0-6 and their families. We were happy to participate as presenters and share a live Play Learn & Grow Bilingual group on Monday, in which we sang songs, read a book and did an activity, while developing vocabulary in English and Spanish.  And, we produced a very special edition of Storytime Bilingue for the event. In celebration of the Week of the Young Child and our anniversary of our Storytime Bilingue series, we reread the very first book we used for our inaugural bilingual story time, back when the soci...

 Snow, snow, snow!  February is the snowiest month for us here in Massachusetts. So before Papi went out to plow last week, we asked him to read us a famous story about a very special snow day! Follow along as this little one explores the snowy world, and check out the mountains of snow we have outside our own windows!

 "Where are you from?" is on the surface a simple question, but for those of whom it is asked, there is no simple answer.  As a mother raising three emerging bilinguals, it is a question I dread they'll have to face someday. So I was overjoyed when the resonant and award-winning picture book, " ¿ De donde eres?" showed up at our door, a surprise gift from our favorite book fairy, fellow bilingual and bibliophile Titi Ashley! How many times have you been asked "Where are you from?" For an emerging bilingual, that simple question can evoke a tumult of emotions. This book shows the story of a grandfather sharing with his granddaughter the perfect response to this loaded question. The beautiful illustrations and compelling storyline will pull on the heartstrings of everyone with the air that they aren't from here.

 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, the famous narrative poem by Clement Clarke Moore, is my favorite story, ever. When I was nine-years-old, my 4-H groups presented it at our holiday pageant, and each of us were responsible for reciting a few pages. I learned my lines by heart, and loved the lyrical story so much, I ended up memorizing all 28 lines of the poem, and so began my love affair with memorizing poems, book excerpts, bible passages, which would last my lifetime.  When my little sister was born, I read and recited 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to her. I'd tell it to myself if I ever had trouble falling asleep. And then when Maya was born, it has been one of my greatest Christmas joys to share this special story with her. It might be counterintuitive to love this story so much while proselytizing that Santa is not real, but there's just something about this story that is so beautiful, with its meter and rhyme pattern, alliteration, and imagery.  The nearly 200...

Often referred to as the most wonderful time of the year, these days between Thanksgiving and Christmas can be filled with magic for kids of all ages. Each family has their own holiday traditions that might go back generations, or might be new experiences that you create each year. As we blend our backgrounds and cultures to build our bilingual family, making new traditions and paying homage to old traditions is one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season.  For these few story times before Christmas, we will be reading some holiday-themed books. I love this story, Good Night Christmas, because it recounts common holiday traditions here in the US, many of which our family takes part in. Cutting down a fresh Christmas tree is one of my favorite childhood memories, and now it's even more special for Maya and Mateo, because we cut a tree from our own backyard! I also remember fondly driving around town as a little girl, enthralled by the house with lights. Now when we are out abou...

It is our evolutionary instinct to love babies. Their big eyes, chubby cheeks, sweet smell and cooing sounds make them irresistible to most grown ups. But what do babies love? Babies love to snooze, snuggle, and suckle. And they love to look at pictures of other babies! So in this week's story time, we read a bilingual book that features all the things babies love to do. S cientific research shows babies' cuteness sets off a potent protective mechanism that ensures survival for otherwise completely dependent infants. When grown humans see babies, they are triggered to have a  hardwired, primarily maternal, caregiving response, and researchers are now learning that cuteness actually sets off unique brain activity. But as babies grow and develop, they need much more than food, water, and shelter. Once these basic needs are met, the next step is to develop baby brains, and research shows the best way to do this is to read to them. That's why we share a story time each week wit...

Books are a way for readers of all ages to explore the world around ourselves, without even leaving our home. I love books that are educational in a fun way, so that when kids are reading them, they don't even know that they are learning. Kids are always interacting with their environment, and here's a story that supports early problem solving skills and scientific concepts. It's another installment in our mini story time segments with just Mami & Teo, and this is one of our bilingual Spanish & English books from our friend Jane Cohen  from the Early Childhood Alliance of Framingham. In Bug Needs a Boat/Esta oruga necesita un barco, the narrator encounters a little bug trying to cross a small body of water. ( And as we read, we accompanied by his own little toy caterpillar.) The story builds little learner's background knowledge of density as the narrator sees which items found in nature not only float, but are strong enough to be a caterpillar's boat. It...

We have a special guest reader for our storytime bilingue this week! Mateo and Maya's older cousin, Cesar, reads the classic "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?" Cesar is an emerging bilingual himself, who came to the US from Guatemala three years ago and has been learning English. Thank you, Primo, for reading with us today!

 Teething is probably the hardest milestone for baby and family to go through. From birth until 36 months old, little ones endure the pain and suffering of 20 emerging teeth! So this week, we dedicate our story to Mateo, who is in the process of having both his upper lateral incisors and canine baby teeth coming in. He is such a strong trouper, and once those four teeth fully emerge, his total teeth count will be up to 11! Little ones love looking at pictures of other babies, so what better way to practice counting skills in English and Spanish than to count the little teeth in these precious baby smiles? And at the end of the book, there's also a page with toothy tips and things to try to get your kids excited about caring for their teeth.  Teeth are actually a funny subject in our house, because both Maya and Mateo were born with teeth. Maya's fell out before we left the hospital, and Teo's just disappeared one day. They both were early teethers, too, and received their f...

It makes me so happy to see how much  Tea  loves books. At least once a day, he toddles over to the bookshelf in the corner of our living room and takes down a variety of books to read and look at all on his own. Twice this week it was too quiet in the house and I went looking for  Two , only to find him sitting on the  trampoline and flipping through the pages of a board book. Even tonight I heard him babbling to himself and saw him playing with his favorite peek-a-boo book!  As an educator and mama, I know just how important it is to read with children from birth, and I we can see already how early literacy exposure has had a positive effect on Mateo's emotional and mental development. Even when the TV is on, he barely pays attention and instead would rather entertain himself with books. Three years ago when Maya was just an infant, I connected with Jane Cohen with the Early Childhood Alliance of Framingham, when I attended a mom's group at the Framingham Publ...

With a day off from school on Monday, I really wanted to take the kids to do something fun in the morning. But since we are in COVID-19 times, there is not a plethora of activities to choose from like there used to be. It made me so nostalgic for this time last year, when my year-long maternity leave had just begun, and we filled each day with story times, playgroups, and had so many options of toddler programming! Community Kangaroo is glaringly vacant nowadays, but there was one activity posted for today. A story walk put together by the Franklin Public Library through the  DelCarte Conservation Area. So that is where we went, and we had the best time! It was the perfect fall day to read Kenard Pak's "Goodbye Summer Hello Autumn" in the woods. This is a beautifully illustrated story of a young girl as she watches the world around her prepare for a new season, from the animals to the trees, to the wind and the air!  The whole walk took us about an hour, because I stopped...

Although it was written just about 30 years ago now, Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss, reaches the best-seller list every year right around graduation time. It's no surprise, because the children's story tells the archetypal truths of growing up, moving out, and embarking upon life's journey on your own. It depicts both the highs and the lows of coming of age, and as children love it for its playful images, meter and rhyme, and nonsense words, adults enjoy it just as much, because even after countless reads, it still pulls on the heartstrings. So when Audelina, the first emerging bilingual I raised, came by after her graduation ceremony in her cap and gown to show off her diploma, I had to record a bilingual story time of her reading this story to Maya and Mateo.  I actually received this copy of the book from my youth pastor at Ojai Presbyterian Church when I graduate from high school in 2005. All of my friends in the youth group signed it, and when I was a classro...

 Mateo absolutely loves trucks. In fact, one of his first "words" was "vroom vroom," as he crawled around the house, pushing one of his favorite toy trucks. Since his big sister is only two years older, he inherited most of her toys, so there is always an assortment of toys on the lower levels of the bookshelf for the kids to choose from. Some are baby dolls, or toys that could be considered "girly," but most are gender-neutral like musical instruments, play food, and puzzles. If Maya is playing with her baby dolls or her doll house, Mateo is happy to play with her. But when I set him loose just to play on his own, he always gravitates directly to his toy trucks, tractors, and cars.  So it is no surprise that the Spanish translation of the classic Little Blue Truck is Mateo's favorite book. Now that he is tall enough to select books for himself from the bookshelf, that one is the first one he grabs.    He clutched it tightly, toddles over to the rug, s...

  "Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions," the artist Pablo Picasso once said.  He is remarking upon how colors are often connected to different emotions and feelings.  Warm colors can give rise to different emotions than cool colors and bright colors can create different feelings than muted colors. As a skilled painter, Picasso must have been deeply aware of the nuances of color. But varying colors can have different effects upon each of us. It all depends on how the psychological effects of color . While there hasn't been extensive research on the subject , there are some color effects that have universal meaning. Colors can make us feel happy, sad, hungry, relaxed. These reactions are rooted in psychological effects , biological conditioning and cultural imprinting.  Colors in the red area of the color spectrum are known as warm colors and include red, orange, and yellow. These warm colors evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comf...

 This week concludes our author study of some of our favorite Sandra Boynton board books in Spanish, and we have a guest reader who entertains us with his animation and antics. I thought it thoroughly appropriate for our beloved Papi to read the book "Cachorro cariñoso" to Maya and Mateo, as it is a playful love song from parent to child. Though he does not sing the lyrical story exactly, his love for his two little ones is quite evident in their interactions together.  So snuggle up with your little puppies at home, and enjoy this sweet and fun story!

 This week we present a bilingual bedtime story for your reading enjoyment. The Going to Bed Book is one of our favorites by Sandra Boynton, and we frequently read it to Maya and Mateo before they drift off to dreamland, so when I found the Spanish translation, I knew we had to have it!  This is a story of some furry friends who are getting ready for bed on a boat in the middle of the ocean. They bath, brush their teeth, put on pajamas, exercise, turn off the light, and fall asleep. It is perfect for establishing a bedtime routine (well, except for the ill-advised placement of the exercise regime!) and helps reinforce that young ones must brush their teeth before bed.  We love to laugh at the funny antics of Boynton's animal characters, and we hope you enjoy this bedtime story with us! Buenas noches a todos!

 This week we're going to do a little dance during Storytime Bilingue--a barnyard boogie! In the next installment of our august's author study, we read Danza del corral!  by Sandra Boynton. Led by the barnyard cow, the book reads like a song itself and you might not be able to stop yourself from clapping or stomping along. So get ready to ... Gira con el cerdo o tal vez con el gallo. Brinca con el conejito. Pasea con el pato. Baila con los pollos locos. Galopa con los caballos. Corre con los ratones. Queda con el burro. Desliza con los corderos. Enloque con los pollitos. Trota con el pavo. Salta con la rana. Y dale una vuelta al perro de la granja. 

Ever struggle getting dressed in the morning? It's a developmental milestone for toddlers as they gain the confidence and coordination to put on their clothes independently, and I can attest that as our little emerging bilinguals grow, they also become much more opinionated about what they want to wear! Not only does she like to pick out her outfit for each day, Maya also enjoys picking out what her little brother is going to wear. And now that she knows which shoes go on which feet, it definitely makes getting out of the house easier. Join us for our Storytime Bilingue this week to read the funny chronicles of a crazy little turkey who is trying to get dressed, but having a lot of difficulty! This week, we continue our author study and read another Sandra Boynton board book in Spanish for our Bilingual Storytime. The book is titled Azul Sombrero, Verde Sombrero  and teaches/reinforces colors and articles of clothing in Spanish. So follow along and learn how to say hat, shirt, shoe...