BOCA BETH: One Song at a Time

I am so blessed, so very appreciative to have had our last day in Puerto Rico end up in the streets/las calles de Old San Juan/San Juan viejo.  It really gave me, my three children and my husband the opportunity to see, experience and feel the San Juan of long ago, of today and of the future. 

I remember reading an article from a travel writer of The Tampa Tribune (Life Printed Daily is their tag line, and I love it!).  He wrote specifically about San Juan, about having a certain budget and making his stay fit that budget - all the while enjoying the local flavor and beat of Old San Juan.  We saved that paper, we read it right before leaving the resort to drive to San Juan, and I am so glad we took the time to do a little research!

My three children loved, loved, loved the forts - my English/History major husband loved, loved, loved the forts, and I (with my vieja rodilla/old knee) loved, loved, loved the quality time we continued to spend in this lovely spot with panoramic views of the ocean.  It was surreal …………………. looking across the cannon gateways into the beautiful blue mar/sea and feeling the ocean breezes upon my Irish freckled cheeks.  Man - I was the total picture of “Gringa gone loca en San Juan.”

As we drove from the resort in Rio Grande (near Luquillo - a very cool beach area my amigas de Puerto Rico had advised us to visit), I reminded our two teens to practice their Español for the last few hours to which they replied, “Oh Mom!”  I swear, I am the only one (other than my vino/wine based husband) who insisted on speaking Spanish even when the resort staff would reply, “I am from Chicago!”  Ay, mi madre.  Could someone get me a native speaker here for the kids’ language acquisition please?!?!?!

It’s kind of like Dr. Kendall King and Dr. Alison Mackey (authors of The Bilingual Edge) whispering in my ear, “Beth, just a few minutes with a native speaker will be terrific today - don’t put all the weight on you alone!”  These two linguistics professors from Georgetown University talk about how children do not need their parents to be native speakers of a language to give their children a sound foundation on which to build skills in a second language.  In fact, one of their “Fast Facts” states:   Sounding exactly like a native speaker of the target language is less important than being able to communicate in the language and enjoying using the language.   

I have truly lived that statement, believed in that statement, raised my three bilingual children using that statement and created a bilingual product line around that statement in a nutshell.  That is why ………….. when you look at or hear or experience any other bilingual or immersion product for young children you will be hard pressed to find a program so integrated, with so many cool resources (many of which are FREE!!!!) like my Boca Beth Program.

I feel proud tonight.  Coming home on the tail end of a five day trip to a country that is a common wealth of the United States - one that struggles with its independence from and co-dependence upon the United States - I feel poised to say we are on the right path amigos/amigas/friends.

Children will feel proud of their heritage, their culture, their native language while also learning a new language that will help them travel successfully through our global society, our ever-demanding world of diversity.  You invest a few dollars in one of our CDs or DVDs or cool coloring/activity books for the trip and your children will be loving the la vida loca and learning the language too!

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth