Here are Zam and Hizee with all the work they produced during their Spanish classes with Natalia!By the look of our blog it probably seems like we are here in Mexico having a big vacation! And to some extant this is true! Every weekend we have had the opportunity to explore the many astoundingly beautiful and historic sites here in the state of Morelos. However, during the week we are actually hard at work trying to learn Spanish. Our schedule is something like this:
8:00-11:00 am Bruce or Jaime goes to Spanish class (we switch mornings and afternoons every other week)
8:00-11:00 am Zam has school at home with the parent who is not in Spanish class
11:00-1:00pm on Mon., Wed., Fri. Zam and Hizee go to Spanish school
11:00-2:00pm every day the parent who stayed home in the morning teaching Zam (and Hizee and Ziko!) goes to Spanish class
After 3:00 we usually go swimming here at the Spanish school (yes, they have a pool…we are really spoiled!)
This schedule has been working great for us and we’ve really been able to get into a routine here in Cuernavaca.
Many of you have asked how the Spanish is going. To use a much used cliché around here (the language school) I will say that each day is “poco a poco” (little by little). Bruce and I can get by on the street and with our host family fully knowing that we sound like two-year-olds and being quite content with that. Some days feel euphoric (like you can take on the whole Spanish speaking world in an in depth and intellectual conversation) and other days feel more than frustrating (like “hola” and “gracias” are the only words you can muster for the day). However, when we look back on the progress we have made (from zero to two-year-old Spanish speakers in 6 weeks) we feel encouraged!
The kids seem to be learning Spanish on a scale that is quite “rapido!” It helps that they have an incredible fun and kid-friendly Spanish teacher named Natalia who does all kinds of games and songs with them. They love her and they have her all to themselves! Zam has even started to intersperse some Spanish words into his English writing at home-school and Hizee toodles around the house singing her Spanish songs and telling us about all the animal names she knows in Spanish. It’s so great to see the kids having FUN learning Spanish!
This is our last week at Spanish school after which we will be heading to our new home (more details to come)!
8:00-11:00 am Bruce or Jaime goes to Spanish class (we switch mornings and afternoons every other week)
8:00-11:00 am Zam has school at home with the parent who is not in Spanish class
11:00-1:00pm on Mon., Wed., Fri. Zam and Hizee go to Spanish school
11:00-2:00pm every day the parent who stayed home in the morning teaching Zam (and Hizee and Ziko!) goes to Spanish class
After 3:00 we usually go swimming here at the Spanish school (yes, they have a pool…we are really spoiled!)
This schedule has been working great for us and we’ve really been able to get into a routine here in Cuernavaca.
Many of you have asked how the Spanish is going. To use a much used cliché around here (the language school) I will say that each day is “poco a poco” (little by little). Bruce and I can get by on the street and with our host family fully knowing that we sound like two-year-olds and being quite content with that. Some days feel euphoric (like you can take on the whole Spanish speaking world in an in depth and intellectual conversation) and other days feel more than frustrating (like “hola” and “gracias” are the only words you can muster for the day). However, when we look back on the progress we have made (from zero to two-year-old Spanish speakers in 6 weeks) we feel encouraged!
The kids seem to be learning Spanish on a scale that is quite “rapido!” It helps that they have an incredible fun and kid-friendly Spanish teacher named Natalia who does all kinds of games and songs with them. They love her and they have her all to themselves! Zam has even started to intersperse some Spanish words into his English writing at home-school and Hizee toodles around the house singing her Spanish songs and telling us about all the animal names she knows in Spanish. It’s so great to see the kids having FUN learning Spanish!
This is our last week at Spanish school after which we will be heading to our new home (more details to come)!
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