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We know those days are ahead of us….

Those of us who do not homeschool and have children in the traditional school setting realize the Winter Break is almost here…..

Thoughts of what will we do with our little “I’m bored” Robots and “There’s nothing to do” Rascals loom overhead and around our feet……

Here are some quick links to get yourself prepared ahead of time.??One of these cool craft ideas?comes from our very own Melissa and her ?Storybook Studio where you can stop by and do some very cool Christmas, Hanukkah and Holiday?shopping.? Find a very easy to make wreath activity by clicking here.

Another cool place to swing by would be Enchanted Learning - a site that is free for visitors, and once you become addicted (like I am!!) they appreciate a yearly membership fee of … hold onto your hats!!!! … $20!? It rocks!!!? I use this site for our Boca Beth Educator’s Club, and our subscribers LOVE their resources.? There is something for every day of the Winter Break if you need it.

As always, Happy Educating!? ?Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

p.s. (For some FREE bilingual language cards to help our during down time?because you still wish to keep their minds sharp and learning a little the fun way (even over the Winter Break), click here for more than 80 Spanish and English fun cards.? Have one child be the ‘teacher’ and the other be the students!? Then switch off!)

I know!? I know!

We are all busy.? Crazy busy!? I read the blogs.? I read the online forum entries.? I know that each of us is multi-tasking like there’s no tomorrow………..

But, when was the last time you scooped your child up onto your lap (or cuddled next to him or her if they are past the ’scooping-up’ stage!!!) and read a book with your child with not one interruption?

Believe me, I am no Poster Child for this daily event!? Once?I get past sunset on the lake, dinner with the family?followed by clean up and showers I am ready to call it a day (and I mean a D-A-Y)!

But, after reading my own abstract for an upcoming training with Head Start staff, I felt compelled to make the cry-out and the kick-in-the-pants to not only my fellow Moms who are busy running their homes as well as their businesses but to myself.

Let’s make a pact here – a friendly agreement – to read to our young children and instill in them the love of reading.? It’s crucial to their success, our nation’s success and the future of this United States of America!

Happy Educating!? ?Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

Believe it or not amigas/friends…they are here!? It’s official when you start shopping at the ‘DoorBuster Specials’ and are greeted by Christmas music in JC Penney Stores!? I felt so very American, so very ahead-of-the-game and so weird to be out shopping early this morning (I have never given myself this much of a jump start on the Holidays since I was single)!!!

Nonetheless, here we are, with Thanksgiving only 6, six, seis days away.? Hold onto your many hats that you wear?or they will blow away at lightning speed based on how quickly the Holidays came upon us and now 2007 will whisk itself out of sight before we know it.

So…………..instead of groaning about cooking and lamenting about cleaning up…………..let’s make it a time to bring in some second language fun with your little children.? You are saying, “Beth, how?? I don’t even speak but a few words of high school Spanish?”? It can be painless, easy and you might even find yourself saying the “F_ _” word (FUN!!!) after is all said and done!

Below are some creative ways to weave Spanish and English together?in the kitchen as well as at the table – assisting young ones with the acquisition of a second language:

• Using an inexpensive bilingual children’s dictionary (Usborne) or free language cards off our own Boca Beth web site’s resource area, begin to introduce some fruits or vegetables names in both Spanish and English.? Not sure of your pronunciation?? Both resources provide excellent pronunciation guides!
• As mealtime begins encourage the children to use por favor (please) and gracias (thank you) and de nada (you’re welcome) at every opportune time for those three manner words.? Today’s society needs to go back to the basics with manner words, and experts agree it’s just as easy for a young child to learn two words for the same concept as it is to learn only one.? The younger the better it has been proven!
• Go around the table during mealtime asking the common ?Cómo estás? question, encouraging each family member to reply with an appropriate response based on their feelings at the moment.? (Bien/fine, fabuloso/fabulous, magnífico/magnificent, or simply no bien/not fine) . . .? most of these responses are heard often throughout our communities, schools, workplace or tv so that previous language lessons are not needed.
• Have each family member addressed by their title within the family (mamá or madre if formal, papá or padre if formal, hermana/sister, hermano/brother, bebé/baby, abuela/grandma, abuelo/grandpa, tia/aunt, tio/uncle and so on).? Again, with more than 45 million people in our country alone having Spanish as their native language, it’s easy to come across these family member terms and their correct pronunciation.? If not, we have many of these words, their meanings and their pronunciation guides on our web site at all times in our free resource area.

As that old ?saying goes, “Try it, you’ll like it!!!”? And Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours!

Happy Educating!? ?Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

The travel schedule for our Boca Beth Program has been a whirlwind!? Now, with only a handful of local and state-related trainings and concerts?left in 2007, I hope to settle into my blogging on a more regular basis and share some great things we have been sharing nationwide with fellow educators.

It’s funny, in every presentation I make, the Dora, Diego, Dragon Tales shows get mentioned … these children’s programs have truly opened up the eyes of parents to show them that little children CAN learn a second language quickly, it CAN be a fun process, it CAN be done before middle school (and should be!).

Now, our jobs as parents and teachers (we are our children’s first teacher on this earth), is to interact with our children, make the journey of learning fun, and model great behavior when it comes to all aspects of life.? Be it keeping our cool during tense traffic, lending a helping hand to an elderly person in a store, being kind to a mentally challenged child in a public setting or simply picking up garbage along the side of our public roadways, reading a good book during a few minutes of down time?……….. our children are watching our every move, and we need to be on our best game as often as possible.

When I train a group of teachers, bringing to them my passion for second language learning among the young children of today, I have other things on my agenda that need to be shared.? Yes, I want all of them to realize the many benefits derived from introducing two languages simultaneously into a young child’s life.? I also want these fellow educators to realize these following points:

• To have the energy to keep up with these young children, we must eat better and exercise some!? Oh – those two “E” words are funny, aren’t they?? We know we should, but we keep giving excuses not to.? We all know it starts with a healthier body to have energy to keep up with the pace we set for our lives!
• A positive mind set is necessary to have a great day and to share that great day with every person you come into contact with!? Starting your day – before your foot even touches the ground – with some quiet time for reflection, prayer, meditation or simply reading 5 pages of an inspiring book can make a huge difference in how you approach your day.? Don’t you admire coming into contact with those people who are always so cheerful and upbeat?? Why don’t you try to become one of those people – it all starts with you and your positive mind set!
• Be sincere and specific with your praise.? Young children particularly need to be told what they did well and how much you appreciate it and recognize it.? We need it too as adults and hopefully you are surrounding yourself with positive people to keep you motivated!
• Accept a compliment with a simple “Thank you / Gracias.”? Why is it that as women, oftentimes we find it difficult to accept a compliment.? Instead we find ourselves replying, “This old thing?!?!?……Got it on sale at TJMaxx two years ago for $10.”? or “It’s so in a growing out stage, I don’t really like it right now.”? You get my drift!? Let’s all agree to accept compliments with a “Thank you” and allow that compliment to feed our positive mind set.

I love what I do – training others who impact the lives of children daily.? I love what I share – bilingual music and movement that provides a fun and easy way for parents and teachers to introduce Spanish & English to little children ages 1 – 10.? I hope you love what you are doing to make this world a better place.

Happy Educating!? ?Sea feliz educando!

Beth Butler

Hola/Hi Amigas/Friends….

That is what Hispanic Heritage Month is somewhat about.? It’s about appreciating others’ cultures.? It’s about realizing that “English only” is a mentality of the past.? It’s about recognizing our Latin American friends and embracing their heritage, culture and language (as?opposed to making them feel ashamed of it).

The whole political climate about bilingual education, immigration, controlling our borders and so forth can really put a sour note on the simple?meaning behind the month-long celebration called Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15- October 15).?? This celebration marks the independence of many Latin American Countries and/or countries where Spanish is the native language.

I, along with many, many, many of my Spanish-speaking/Latina/Latino friends agree that every person who comes to this United States of America should learn English (a necessity that almost every immigrant learns very quickly and often-times not in the most positive manner).

The government of our country, many years ago, declared this month long celebration a way of us recognizing the independence of our Latin American friends’ birthplaces.?

Follow this link to find out even more about Hispanic Heritage Month, to share some fun activities that help celebrate the cultural diversity to evident in our country and to download some FREE bilingual Boca Beth songs that bridge the English and Spanish languages together; thus providing our youth of today a jump start on being bilingual adults!? (Look for the 4th bullet point down, then the last article!)

Happy Educating!? ?Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

The harsh bite of the press release has lost its sting!

The?lawyers at Disney are still reeling from it all!

The parents of DVD-watching youngsters now lock their doors when the DVD powers up!

The manufacturers of these edutainment products shake their head and hope it all passes before the holiday buying season sets in hard!

To?what am?I referring?

The infamous?paper?published early August from?researchers at the University of Washington and the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute that (bottom line) stated that the DVDs we?have been allowing our children to watch while we? get dinner cooked, iron some clothes or (heaven forbid!) finish a few?sentences with our spouse?have been causing a loss of vocabulary acquisition!

Now, never mind that the group of children they ’studied’ was very small in size and forget the fact that they never even laid eyes on any of these little tykes, they simply called up mommy and daddy on the telephone, grilled them about their children’s vocabularies and wrote this damning paper.

Don’t get me wrong – as a teacher I feel that limited use of TV is good for the future of this already stimulated generation of children.? And don’t think that just because I create, produce and sell just exactly the types of DVDs these researchers refer to in their report I am taking a strong stance against their findings.? That is not it at all.? (I have four bilingual music CDs that would sell the pants off of any of the DVDs should the DVDs?be banned from stores like OJ Simpson’s new book!!!!)

All I am getting at is that, as women, as moms, as aunts, as caregivers?most of us have used DVDs with the young children in our lives at some point and time, and those same young children are not destined to live with 28 less vocabulary words than their peers who never had the pleasure of seeing some cool footage from the African savannah with baby lions wrestling the grass as they learn lion/león for second language fun!

The study encourages parent interaction (which most of us all would vote for it placed on a ballot!!!) yet they never once engaged with or set eyes upon their subjects!?

We know interaction with children promotes learning!? DUH?!?!? We did not need a team of researchers who seemingly publish a paper for nothing more than to stir the Baby Einstein/Disney Pot and instill a sense of doubt among young and old parents who strive only to give little junior a head start (and themselves a free moment here or there!) with the comfort of knowing that these quality productions bring visual and audio learning to little ones never before available.

Be it Boca Beth or Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby or Preschool Prep…..can’t everyone just admit that there is merit to all of these multimedia products, and when used correctly and not ad nauseam, can truly enhance the early years of learning for toddlers and make a new parent’s and/or experienced parent’s life more doable?!?!

Happy Educating!? ?Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

It’s time!!!!!!!!!!!? For many of us it’s been a week already of children back in school or back into the homeschooling routine.? For some, there is still the Labor Day Weekend ahead that will then mark the official end to summer and find children returning to the ‘academic grind’ next Tuesday.? Whichever category you fall in, you fall in with a sense of relief………..don’t you?!?!?!

Come on’!? Let’s all admit it!? We love when the early morning routines begin again and add a sense of order to our lives that still ring with “I’m bored.? There’s nothing to do!” to “Mom, can you drive me to the driving range to hit some balls?” to “Can Sarah come over to play?” to “Could you skim the pool so we can go swimming?” (Right in the middle of a client phone call of course!!!!!!) and then back to “I’m bored.? There’s nothing to do!”

Being a teacher for more than ten years in the traditional classroom setting, I remember the first days of school thinking to myself, “Look at you parents dropping off your little darlings with such a smug smile on your faces.? So ready to jump into the car and whoop with delight that I now have them for the next 6 hours!”? I knew as a parent myself what was going on in your minds……………..Visions of a nail appointment without rushing, a lunch that consisted of more than fast food burgers, Spaghetti-Os and chips, an afternoon of hearing nothing other than the birds chirping outside and the tap-tap-tapping of your fingers on your work-from-home computers…………….Oh, the serenity that a new school year brings!

Don’t get me wrong.? I love, love, love my three children with the unconditional love that only a mother has.? Who else would take a trip to Puerto Rico with three children knowing well in advance that all five of the family would be sleeping in the same hotel room which in itself can lead to insanity!? Who else would say, “Let’s go out to dinner tonight to celebrate Mom’s big sale.” knowing deep down in her heart that it would be anything but a celebration as the teasing of two older brothers to younger sister always supercedes any inklings of mommy success!?

We keep trying, don’t we?? And while we will never be the Leave it to Beaver family, I continue searching for that lovely place of “Getting Along” that seems so out of reach as I raise one from age 17 to 18 within the next two months hoping that he doesn’t abandon the ‘academic grind’ to be seen on ESPN’s Poker Stars Tour!? This guy can bluff the best of ‘em (including me!).?

It’s all good ladies!? We can make it!? Thanks to this network of support created by Ellen and Pat we have a forum from which to share, to grow, to learn.?

Our summer travels are at an end (or soon to end with this weekend), our routines will hopefully become more conducive to great business practice and my sharing from the Teacher Mom side of things will rev back up so………………

Put your thinking caps on, get your fingers typing away and open your minds to networlding around the net with women who strive to be great at what their passion is.

Happy Educating!? ?Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

It’s been a summer . . . a summer full of an extra three weeks thanks to our local public school system deciding to finally get more on track with the rest of the country, the rest of the state, the rest of public school systems’ calendars.? I remember hearing all of the parents sucking in a deep, deep breath when our children celebrated the last day of school late May 2007 – most of them well realizing the extended nature of their ‘release’ from the halls of education!

Our children are so much smarter than many parents give them credit for, aren’t they?!?!? They can debate, manipulate and extrapolate with the best of ‘em!? I know, I have a 17 year old who has this “light at the end of the tunnel” focus to finish his senior year and play in the World Series Poker Tour!? (Now,?I might be quoting the name of the TV show and series incorrectly, so pardon me.? I can’t keep up with Jack’s Big Music Show vs. Dragon Tales vs. World Series Poker vs. Billiards Open!)

Here’s my point in all of this………no matter the age of your children, no matter the point of which you are in your summer celebrations, no matter what your own knowledge level is of Spanish as a second language.? You can, you should and I will help you ’sprinkle Spanish fun throughout the rest of your summer.’

The latest and really great read of a book on bilingual education is out – is ready to absorb – is ready to make you feel like “Sí, yo puedo – Yes, I can!”? The Bilingual Edge is written by two moms, two professors of linguistics and two people that really bring it home when it comes to helping you understand the whys, the whens, the hows of bringing a second language to your own children.? I had pre-ordered this book and felt like it was Christmas in July when my copy of the book arrived.? I can’t read it fast enough (though my 7-year-old will disagree as she loves having summer time with mommy working from home!).

Here are some of the very cool, very reassuring quotes for those of you who speak only English (with un poco of Spanish mixed in from High School Spanish just for a teaser!):

Even parents with limited second language proficiency can interact with their child in the second language, providing important language input.? The value lies in the interaction….it’s a myth to assume you need to be a native speaker to provide quality second language interaction for your child.

Any parent can raise a child who knows more than one language, even if that parent is monolingual.

Rich, dynamic and meaningful interactions is critical and more important than having a perfect native-speaker model.

So . . .?do it!? Sprinkle in some Spanish fun during the rest of your summer months.??Download some cool free stuff off my Boca Beth site to get started and find what works with your child(ren).? You can do this.? You should?do this.? Our children need a?2nd (and even 3rd) language for this global society in which we live and love!

?We were just in Puerto Rico as a family of five, and it was so cool to witness the varying degrees with which my own three children utilize their knowledge and command of the Spanish language.? My two boys have the Latino daddy while my daughter has the new husband as her daddy (he is totally Gringo but so respects and wishes he had command of Spanish as a second language).?

Our eldest son felt embarassed verbalizing his Spanish while?our other son loved the culture and the ability to speak the language.? Then our daughter experienced mixed feelings at 7 years old about hearing Spanish so much, having mommy speak it so much to all of the ’strangers’ and being prompted to speak some herself (which normally is reserved for our vecino/neighbor Jorge back home in Florida)!? Ah, la vida, la vida!!!

My lesson for you today as moms, as the ones who dictate the daily routine in most of your homes – particularly with what you expose your children to is this:

Give your children daily and interactive exposure to a second language with something fun that both you and the kids enjoy – that way using it daily will be easy because everyone thinks it is fun!? Fun, easy – those are the two key words in our lifestyles of today.

Happy Educating!? ?Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

Featured Song of the Month: I See Colors/Veo Colores

Introduction of the concept of a rainbow: Depending on the?ages of your children?there are lots of resources available to introduce and explain what makes a rainbow. For most ofour Educator’s Club members the following resource is one of the best I have ever found and used.? Make a huge rainbow out of fabric that you fold over, hot glue it and stuff it with cotton.

Summer According To Children – It’s a time for sleeping in (if you have teenagers), It’s a time for fun (no reading please Mom), It’s a time for anything non-related to learning (Me?? Practice some math – no way!)

Summer According To Parents – It’s a time for making memories (many of us have older teens heading towards college – this may well be the last all-family vacation opportunity), It’s a time for fending off the all-famous Summer Saying (“There’s nothing to do.”), It’s a time for relaxation?and rejuvenation?(Honey you CAN sleep in, just not every day until 2 pm!)

Ahhh…the charming challenge of keeping the troops happy.? Most of us know that there is a probable decline in cognitive development in our children during the summers if in traditional school settings.? In fact, the latest report from a professor of Duke University states that most children lose approximately one month’s worth of learning over the summer time – many losing math and reading skills.?

What’s a parent to do?? What’s a child to do?? What can the ‘team’ do to correct this statistic but still make Summers Sizzle?

I’m no psychology professor, I hold no Masters in early childhood development nor do I profess to know all about making children inspired to do more than just ‘veg out’ over the much heralded summer time.? I will, however, just as my mom always did (God rest her soul), give you some free advice.? FREE ADVICE was always the key my mom kept insisting made her advice so welcome!

• Read!? Read!? Read!? Oh I know!? You’re busy – you don’t even have time to read the business section each morning much less plunk down on the floor with Junior for 5 and read a cool book to him that’s been sitting in his room since the Holidays – unread!? Come on!? You are your child’s best teacher.? You are your child’s best role model (well, maybe not on girls’ night out you’re not!).? You know your child loves, loves, loves the time you spend focusing on just him!? And for the older children (elementary school age) – they are probably into chapter books, and the selections these days ROCK!? I have never been so into my child’s reading selections as I have been with this Magic Treehouse Series.? And then there are the teens – believe me, with two boys (17 and 15) I feel your pain in trying to get THEM to pick up a book.? With one of my boys I found the secret (and it even worked for a while with his older brother).? Find books about what they love right now.? (For us that is billiards, basketball and World Series of Poker.)? Our local library has provided us with the call to action for “Pick up a book and read” – I can’t get Matthew out of his room at times to eat he is so engrossed in the books we have found.? Love that problem!
• Problem Solvers of America stand up and be recognized!? Yes!? Your children need your creative genius to kick in and keep the math mind active during the Summer months.? You can do this.? At restaurants use the menu as a math mini lesson, ask them to estimate what the total bill would be, have them calculate the tip based on 15% and then 20%, check your time of placing the order and have the kids time the food preparation time….you get my drift!? Oh – and that’s only the start!? As a single mom for more than 4 years I used our travel time in the car for not just spelling words (See – my free advice is just flowing!).? I used our car time for math problems – mental math is something our generation of children is losing thanks to cell phone calculators, math/science calculators and more.? And once you are back in the house use your cooking time for fractions, measurements and time lessons (SSSSHHH!? Don’t mention the word lesson please/por favor!)? If you give out allowance get the kids involved in totaling the value of their contributions around the home and their designations for the money.
• Mindless Couch Potatoes Beware!? You are the parent – You need to limit the TV time, the computer time, the Nintendo DS, Game Cube, Game Boy, Game Player, Game Watcher, Game Gobble-Your-Child’s-Mind-Machine now, today, ahora, pronto!? It’s so hard.? Again, with my 3 children, I am no saint, no poster mom for this one, but I do know how important it is.? We all read the studies, and?we hear the reports on the negative effects of multi-media entertainment on children (whether attributed to the violent nature, the amount of time involved, the over stimulation, the constant barrage of media hype) . . . . we all know it’s in the children’s best interest to monitor what’s going into their brains via these devices.? So TRY, please/por favor, TRY to get them balanced in their outdoor time, reading time, quiet/down time, family time and life in general.

So, there you have it, some sizzling summer suggestions from a mom who teaches every day of her life.? With my own three (they often times bemoan the fact that their mommy has this teacher thing in her) and?with the families I reach daily with my Boca Beth Program (moms call and tell me our CDs and DVDs are their summer saving grace – especially on long car rides where another Barney song just won’t cut it!).?

Make the summers work for you and, more importantly, for your child!? Turn your vacations into a classroom without the kids knowing it by sneaking in the local museum or park or zoo for a few hours, use that portable DVD player for some edutaining DVDs (local libraries are great places for rentals in addition to NetFlix and the Big B Guys!) and travel to a spot none of you have been and so some great research together incorporating map skills, science skills for the weather/climate of the destination, language skills by learning new languages specific to that area and so on.

Next up – Road Trip Rainbow!? I will provide with a cool turn key road trip lesson next visit.? So until then……………….

Happy Educating!? ?Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth?