Muzzy Spanish

How can I teach my daughter a second language?

I was born in Costa Rica and so were my parents. When I was 2 wks. old we moved to the U.S. My bio-mom died, but my Dad made sure I kept up my heritage and spoke two langauges: English was my 1st, but Spanish was my 2nd. He tought me from the time I was 3 till Middle School. By then I knew a lot. I want my 3 1/2 year old to do the same. She also wants to learn about her heritage and her Dad(my ex) is Colombian so she has a lot of Spanish roots in her. We watch Dora and Go Diego Go and some of those othere Spanish speaking cartoons. But I want her to learn more. I heard about Muzzy. Do you think she's too young? She already knows some Spanish and will even talk to me in one sentence"Como te llamas?" which means What Is Your Name and is the only phrase she can say. So should I go with Muzzy? Any other video or book ideas for toddlers! Thanks a ton! She knows most of the basics from Dora and Diego.

Public Comments

1. start with the basics in the espanol language by teaching the alphabet and sounds then go on to basic naming and you can use post it notes on everything in your house in both english and espanol and colors also just like you would do in english
2. baby einstein has a video for toddlers and i think, not positive, that they offer english, spanish and french to choose from. the best of course would be complete immersion, take a trip for a summer to visit the grandparents? Or look for music, dance, art, etc. classes that are given in spanish. Just brainstorming:) and since you are a spanish speaker, why not speak spanish in the house?
3. speak a lot of spanish tell her words in spanish like intsead of hey say stuff like como estas spaek some spanglish to her and play spanish cartoons for her
4. SPEAK, SPEAK, SPEAK always to her in Spanish!! I am the daughter of a Spaniard & a Cuban and was born & raised in the US. My parents spoke to me exclusively in Spanish & I traveled to Spain as a child, and moved there at 18 & stayed for several years. I am completely fluent. I have a 3 yr old son & I speak to him EXCLUSIVELY in Spanish, as do my parents. I have taken him to Spain & Mexico, read to him in Spanish regardless of the language that is written in the book. I believe the key is to speak to him always in Spanish, although he answers me in English & German (from his dad & other grandpas). He's been to Germany too!! Speak to her always in Spanish, ask her dad & grandparents to do the same. For example, when my son identifies something in English or German, I'll say, "Si, verdad, es una silla, muy bien!" That way it doesn't sound like I am correcting him but rather agreeing with him and amplifing his vocab. I'm not familiar with any videos as we don't watch TV, but there are tons of books out there! He can express himself in any of the 3 languages now. I wholeheartedly encourage you to speak to her in Spanish and encourage her to learn! What a great gift!! Good luck!!
5. Many regular DVDs (one I can think of right off the bat is Bob the Builder) have language selection. Select Spanish on a regular DVD and watch it together in Spanish.
6. Teach her like you taught her english. Just use it around her and talk to her in spanish. She will pick it up. It will take longer than when she learned english because not everyone around her talks in spanish. Kids are very smart and learn very fast. I am not sure about muzzy. I don't know the ages it is sugested for, but if it is suggested for her age group, i would give it a try.