If you're raising bilingual children, you're probably bilingual homeschooling them. Whether your children attend an English-speaking school and you homeschool in Spanish, or you are full-time bilingual homeschoolers, there are a variety of resources to help you succeed. A bilingual homeschooling plan of Spanish and English from a family is discussed below.
I Should Have Been Fluent in Two Languages
I'm so passionate about raising bilingual children because I should have been one myself. I am a fourth-generation Mexican-American. My mother's first language was Spanish, but she lost it when she started school. She re-learned it in high school, but she was never really comfortable speaking it, so she never taught us.
I intended to marry a Latino, preferably a native Spanish speaker, but I fell in love with a German. So I began studying Spanish as soon as I could, which was in 8th grade at my school. And I've never really slowed down.
What was I supposed to do? We married, started a family, and began the journey of speaking Spanish to my children.
What Motivates Us For Bilingual Homeschooling
This journey has led us to decide to homeschool our children. There are numerous advantages to bilingual homeschooling, such as having control over their education and having museums to yourself on a Tuesday afternoon in January. In addition, my husband works a non-traditional schedule, and I appreciate how adaptable we are in taking days off when he is off. The real impetus for us, however, is Spanish.
I am the only person who speaks Spanish to my children regularly, and I knew that if I sent my son to public school, English would take over, just as it had with my mother. Unfortunately, there were no dual-language programs in the small town where we lived at the time, so that was out. On the other hand, I'd worked too hard for the past five years to teach him Spanish. As a result, we decided to homeschool.
How We Do Bilingual Homeschooling
I won't lie. The beginning was difficult. I naively assumed I'd present everything in both languages. This doubled my workload and that of the kids, and most of those early days ended with us in tears. Then, I started researching guiding principles in dual-language learning and scouring the internet for Spanish resources.
We've been working together for three years, and after much trial and error, I believe we've found a good rhythm that incorporates both languages and works for everyone involved. Accepting my limitations has been a considerable part of this journey.
How much time and effort could I realistically devote to learning new vocabulary each week? After all, bilingual homeschooling in my minority language necessitates learning new words every week.
Were there any subjects that could only be taught in Spanish? Are there any subjects that I should limit to English only?
This has been our best bilingual homeschooling year to date, and here's where we've ended up:
History
This has proven to be a complex subject for me to keep up with in Spanish. In my minority language, there are too many names, dates, and obscure vocabulary for me to keep track of. So, as a result, we read all of our history books in English.
Science
Science has proven to be a surprisingly simple subject to study bilingually. So this year, we're focusing on nature study and journaling. This method teaches science by having your children observe and research their natural environment, culminating in them keeping a Nature Journal. This means that I can curate books on our current topic in both Spanish and English, and we can conduct research and journal in both languages.
Mathematics
We do all of our math in Spanish. The vocabulary is limited and repetitive, and I can move ahead to learn a new language. We use a Montessori-based curriculum written in English, but I can deliver the material in Spanish because lessons are presented through manipulatives rather than worksheets. I was concerned that my children would lack English math vocabulary if we only studied the subject in Spanish, but I quickly realized that this was not the case. English is their most robust language, and they can communicate math concepts fluently in our majority language.
Handwriting
This is another subject that we only teach in Spanish. However, it doesn't matter what language you use when it comes to letter formation, and Handwriting in Spanish makes this subject easy for me to teach.
Reading
Reading is essential. All of the research I read convinced me that when children learn to read in different languages, they do not become confused and that teaching phonics in both languages at the same time is ideal. That's what I did. My first son, on the other hand, defied the odds.
He became increasingly frustrated with Spanish phonics, where I decided we had to call it quits. We only studied English phonics until he was comfortable "decoding" – combining letter sounds to form words – in English. It only took about five months, and I reintroduced Spanish phonics at that point. This time, there was no pushback, and he now reads beautifully in both languages. With my daughter, I'm taking the same delayed-simultaneous approach.
Morning Time: The Adhesive That Holds It All Together
If you're considering bilingual homeschooling in two languages but are concerned about the logistics, I'll let you in on a secret. It's known as Morning Time.
Morning Time is simply a time for the family to focus on beauty, goodness, and learning together. Morning Time is ideal for bilingual homeschooling because it is simple to build a culture around this ritual. Spanish is a part of our Morning Time culture. Aside from the English books I read, Morning Time is a sacred space where I only speak Spanish. My children are aware of this, so there is no pushback.
We start each day by lighting a candle and saying what we are grateful for. Next, we go over the calendar, sing songs, and go over the memory work. After that, we read good books. This is where we read a lot of history, science, Spanish literature, and English literature. We finish our Morning Time by writing two pages in our handwriting workbooks, and guess what? The only thing left for us to do is math and phonics!
We usually finish before lunch, so our afternoons are free for Nature Walks, projects, or simply enjoying childhood.
You are Bilingual homeschooling if you have bilingual children.
The truth is that if you are raising bilingual children, you are also bilingual homeschooling. Maybe not full-time, but you consider things like expanding a child's minority language vocabulary. How can we ensure that they learn to read in the minority language? How to incorporate their minority language into a zoo or museum visit.
I want to encourage you to look into the concept of Morning Time and see if it can help you answer some of these questions. The name is misleading because a family can gather to learn together at any time of day. The key is to keep it consistent, enjoyable, and focused on your target language and learning objectives. Here are some suggestions for implementing this concept at other times of the day in your home.
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You could start by setting aside a 10-minute window after your kids get home from school to gather around a snack. You read aloud from a poetry book in your minority language while they eat. Poesia Alada is a great place to start if Spanish is your minority language.
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Prepare the kids for bed 20 minutes earlier than usual, and then select an engaging chapter book to read aloud as a family. Harry Potter is now available in 60 different languages!
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On a weekend morning, create a writing tradition for a loved one in your minority language. This allows you to concentrate on your minority language's writing and punctuation.
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Keep one child awake after bedtime to practice reading in your minority language for a few minutes. Even 15 minutes a couple of times a week will yield fantastic results.
Keep It Simple, and Keep Going!
Be encouraged that teaching your minority language at home is possible, whether you choose to go all-in and homeschool in Spanish full-time or whether you carve out small pockets of time to learn together as a family.
The work is demanding, but it is well worth it!