Being A Bilingual Parent

I have been working harder lately at teaching my children Polish.  I'm also hoping that in two years, we can work on Spanish together.

I had been using Polish words here and there before with my kids but I knew it wasn't enough.  Polish school was also not an option.

Trips to the local library never ended with colorful board books in Polish for children, because my library doesn't have it.  And it seems I may actually need to know titles to find such books and request them to be sent to my library.  I think.  That's what it seems, so far.

So, I rolled my mental sleeves up and thought hard. 

What tricks were used to teach me English when I was ESL?   

What tricks was I suggested to do for French when I studied it for six years (which I recall very little of, partly due to a lack of opportunity to use French)?

A Polish friend of mine, Maria (thank you, Maria) reminded me of a game that I remember playing to learn different animal names.  She, herself, had seen a child saying Elephant in Japanese at the zoo one day and still recalls the word. 

The kids walk around a room with the teacher pretending to be the animal, all chanting in a sing-song voice the name of the animal.

So, this week, we are chanting a few animal names while playing in the living room together.

We are getting silly, we are making loud monkey and bird and elephant noises.  We are laughing.

And I'm hoping they remember.

The trick I remember the most about learning English was the ESL teacher resting her hand on my shoulder, looking in my eyes, and saying two words.

"Don't stop." 

I knew those words already in English.  They were some of the first words I had learned from her.

So, whether you are learning a new language yourself as an adult, or teaching your kids. 

Don't stop.  Keep trying. 

Na razie...

Related Posts:

I Love Sesame Street

We Learned English

Teaching Children About Poland

Teach Kids Polish:  Belly and Belly Button

Wordless Wednesday: In the Garden, Radishes

First Harvest in our garden was...

Rzodkiewki

(pronounced Zhohd-keyehv-key)

Radishes

Radishes are planted in our garden for their flavor in several summer dishes, as well as companion plants.

Plant radishes to deter cucumber beetles, cabbage worms, squash borers, squash bugs, slugs, flies and other pests.  With this in mind, radishes should be planted with cucumber, cabbage, beets, squash, melons, beans, peas and spinach.  Some suggest carrots as well, while others do not recommend this pairing.

Use radishes in the following recipes:

Farmer's Cheese Spread or Pasta Twarogowa

Kanapki

Chłodnik

There are many other recipes you can use radishes in, or you can enjoy them simply by slicing them thin and layering on good bread with butter and a pinch of salt like all the Slavs love to enjoy.

Polish Mama Nutrition:

Radishes are high in of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Folate and Potassium.

Radishes are a good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Magnesium, Copper and and Manganese, as well as several trace minerals.

They are low in cholesterol, calories and fat, so are perfect for diets.

Read More about radish nutrition facts.



 

My seeds come from Dom itp.  This post is not sponsored by them but if you choose to follow the link or button to their site and purchase anything from them, I would receive commission and thank you.

 

 

Related Posts:

Word(y) Wednesday:  Our Polish American Garden

Word(y) Wednesday: Chicago Botanic Garden, European Plants

Word(y) Wednesday: Garden Inspiration, Cabbage and Violets

Word(y) Wednesday: Chicago Botanic Garden, European Plants

I hope you noticed something new last week on my Wednesday post.  I'm planning on sharing the Polish word to the majority, if not all, of my photos each week to help others learn Polish. 

Associating a word with an image is easier than associating a word with a translation of the word.  It's also the way children learn their "mother" tongue.

Think of this as a blog version of flashcards in a foreign language class...



Also, our own garden is getting along very nicely and I've added two new flower beds filled with seeds from Dom itp.  I'll be sharing photos as the seeds start growing.



Last week, we went to the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Czosnek
(pronounced Chohs-Nek)
Garlic

Jagody
 (pronounced Yah-go-dih)
Blueberries
These are the flowers

Wyspa

 (pronounced Vis-pah)

Island

Paproć
(pronounced Pah-proh-ch)
Fern

Maki
(pronounced Mah-kee)
Poppies

Europejski Ogród
(pronunced Eh-ooroh-pay-skee Oh-grood)
European Garden

Kwiatek

(pronounced Kvee-ah-tehk)

Flower

Lawenda
(pronounced Lah-vehn-dah)
Lavendar

Bodziszek Leśny

(pronounced Bodz-ih-shehk Leh-shnih...  Note: DZ is pronounced like the J in Jump)

Forest Geranium.  Also known as Geranium Sylvaticum or Wild Cranesbill

Na razie...

Related Posts:

More Spring

Our Polish American Garden

The Holes in the Wall

Wordless Wednesday: Our Polish American Garden

The children and I started a garden...

Rzeżucha (Garden Cress) one day old indoors...

The same Rzeżucha three days old...

Another planting of Rzeżucha over a week old planted outdoors...

Baby Beets...

Baby carrots...

A garden friend hiding from falling raindrops...

Pumpkin...

Radishes planted around the pumpkin patch to keep out uninvited bugs naturally...

Sweet Peas...

Brussel Sprouts...
(Oops, turns out these were planted next to the Brussel Sprouts, which never came up.  These are another variety of pea)

Maki (Poppies) to bring bees and other pollinators to the garden...

Baby cabbage (Kapusta) I need to transplant...

Our Piękny Jas (5 growing total in this bed alone)...

The little red bird we rescued a few days ago after it was hit by a car while flying.  After a few hours of rest, he flew to his tree where his mate greeted him and they returned to their nest together...

Our home made Worm Farm in the shed...

We also planted other plants, such as Alpine Violets, wild Polish strawberries, curly parsley, Polish Dill, red and white carnations, and several other flowers and fruits and vegetables.  We are waiting one more week to plant cucumbers, heirloom and Malinkowy Tomatoes, and a few others.

What are you growing?



Watch for the next few Wordless (Wordy) Wednesday posts to see what else we are growing and how you can grow it as well.

The majority of my seeds come from Dom itp. Some seeds they offer are sunflowers, pickling cucumbers, Polish wild strawberries, several different flowers, parsley roots (I highly recommend trying this in some of your recipes), and many other varieties.  Their prices are comparable to going to your local chain or gardening store.  It's like having a piece of Poland in your backyard.

Na razie...



Disclaimer: The links and banner for Dom itp are part of an affiliate program. While the company does not pay for me to post their links and banner, I do receive a portion of all sales made using the links and banner in compensation. If you do purchase something from them this way, I sincerely thank you.