Bringing up Baby Bilingual: February 2009

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Bienvenue!

Welcome to Bringing up Baby Bilingual! Since 2006, I have used this blog to explore raising children with more than one language and to reflect on my efforts to teach French as a non-native speaker to the enfants in my life--my son Griffin (8 years old), my daughter Gwyneth (4), my nephew Carl (10), my niece Eleanor (5), plus a few young students every year.

On this blog, you'll find profiles of bilingual and multilingual familles, resource recommendations, storytime suggestions, book reviews, discussions, descriptions of games and language learning activities, and--of course--stories about our petits bouts de choux.

Thank you for visiting my little corner of the internet. Please share your stories, too--I love hearing about other families' journeys in language learning!

my son Griffin (age 8)

Bibliophile, builder, soccer player, freestyle dancer, negotiator, never walks when he could run, does math for fun. Kind, compassionate, enthusiastic, creative. Quote: "If I had a superpower, it would be to never forget anything I read."

my daughter Gwyneth (age 4.5)

Sweet and sassy shrieker, snuggler, bibliophile, organizer. No longer a "three-nager," thank goodness! Imperious, affectionate, stubborn, clever, whiny. Quote: "Let it gooooooo!"

Moi

Sarah @ Baby Bilingual: Lafayette, Colorado, United States; I'm a former French teacher who now tutors, reads, writes, procrastinates, and coordinates an enrichment program called Reading Buddies at the public library. I appreciate whimsy and good books and great cheese. And I'm a "maman"--my son Griffin was born in January 2008 and I speak exclusively French with him and his baby sister, Gwyneth (July 2011), just as I did with my nephew.

View my complete profile

Visit Sarah's profile on Pinterest.

The best of Bringing up Baby Bilingual

So you want to start a second-language story time?
Free books!
On being a non-native speaker
Auto-immersion (language activities for the car)
So you don't speak French but you want to help your kids learn it? (parts 1-4)
Suggestions for supplementing Rosetta Stone
French Films That Aren't Freaky
My favorite listservs
Profiles of bi/multilingual families
Teaching languages to young children: What works best
How to Read to Babies
Carl's first mot in French
Gratuitous nephew pictures: Carl bonds with books in French
Gratuitous French food picture
Breastfeeding rant (off-topic!)

Why?

What's the story behind this blog?
Why learn a second language?
Why learn a second language as a child?
Why learn French?
Testimonials from parents

How?

100 Tips, Tools, and Tricks
Get Bilingual (YouTube tutorials about teaching your non-native language to your children)
Getting started and staying motivated
How to raise a brilliant, bilingual baby
Listservs that can help
Multilingual Children's Association: FAQs
Multilingual Children's Association: Getting Started
Omniglot's Five Steps to Success
Raising Bilingual Children: The Basics
Recommendations for two languages in early childhood
Tips for Bilingual Parents
Why, when, and how

Who else?

A Bilingual Baby (en espanol)
A French American Life
All Done Monkey
Apples and Manzanas
Babel Kid
Baby Steps to Independence
Being Multilingual (expert blog)
Bilingual Avenue (with podcasts)
Bilingual Babes
Bilingual Monkeys
Bilingual Readers (bilingual booksellers' blog)
Blogging on Bilingualism
Bonjour Mama
Books and Brownies
Brussels Sprout
Busy as a Bee in Paris
Early Languages
Espanol para ninos bilingues
Expat Since Birth
From One Swamp to Another
Gato and Canard
German in the Afternoon
Intrepidly Bilingual
Kids Go Bilingual
La Cite des Vents
La Mother Tongue
Lalou's Languages @ Home
Life as a Bilingual (Francois Grosjean's blog)
LinguistKids
Me Mama Maman
Multi Tongue Kids
Multilingual Education Cafe
Multilingual Mama
Mummy Do That!
Non-Native Bilingualism
Notes from the OPOL Family
Our Non-native Bilingual Adventure
Pardon My French
Perogies and Gyoza
Raising a Trilingual Child
Russian Step by Step for Children
Spanglish Baby
Superpositoire
Teaching and Learning Spanish (blog)
The Bilingual Advantage
The Educators' Spin On It
The Globetrotter Parent
The Head of the Heard
The Language Playground
The Piri-Piri Lexicon (formerly Gato & Canard)
To Destination Unknown
Total Immersion--French Style
Trilingual
Trilingual Mama (formerly Busy as a Bee in Paris)
Trilingual Trio
Uh oh Spaghettios
Verbosity
We Speak Japanese and English
Where Going Havo?

Non-native speaking parents

Españolita...¡sobre la marcha!

Una Plataforma Diseñada para el Éxito sin Esfuerzos desde el Inicio
1 year ago
Soul Travelers 3

Heavenly Reyna Drops "Come Back" via Teddy Marquee & Ophelia Records!
2 years ago
Intentional Mama

Bonne Année! A Brief Update & Top Posts from 2019
6 years ago
Sra Casado Teaches Bilinguals

Teaching Spanish Number Vocabulary to Elementary Students
7 years ago
Bringing Up 8 Bilingual Babies

German with Big Brother
8 years ago
Monolingual Dad

4 common mistakes parents make when raising a bilingual child
9 years ago
Dad's the way I like it

Springtime family fun in North Wales
9 years ago
Our English Homeschool (in Romanian)

Story of the World - Istoria povestita copiilor
10 years ago
German in the Afternoon

Quick Update
10 years ago
Panda Mom

Summer Camps in Taiwan?
10 years ago
Bonjour Mama

10 years ago
Apples and manzanas

She said YES!
10 years ago
Non-native Bilingualism

Shoe, Schuh, or Shu? (OR...'On the road to Trilingual')
10 years ago
Books and Brownies

Word Woes of the Multilingual and Unknown
10 years ago
Our Non-Native Bilingual Adventure

Maman, en français, c'est La Reine des Neiges
11 years ago
The Bilingual Baby Blog

Movie: Frozen (and why it's an awesome choice for teaching Spanish)
12 years ago
Bilingual Adventures

ABECEDARIO
12 years ago
Life y Lenguaje

Ente…Pato…Duck…
12 years ago
Education bilingue dans une famille monolingue

C'est la rentrée mais c'est aussi la reprise de l'anglais !
12 years ago
La Mother Tongue: B is for Bebe, C is for Gato

¡Leaving Children in Alone in Cars is a big NO NO!
12 years ago
Confessions of a Wannabe Soccer Mom

Language Update: May 2013
13 years ago
Big Boy and Xiao Chien

My Review of My First Chinese Writing Exercise, Simplified Chinese
13 years ago
Ari auf Deutsch

Deployment has sunken in
14 years ago
My Bilingual Boys

Moona Luna
15 years ago
An American Between Worlds

Multilingual Living
16 years ago
Papa et Piaf

J’étudie, tu étudies, elle étudie …
16 years ago
Bilingual Babes
NNS Parents (discussion forums)
Open Hearts, Open Minds
Laloulah

Bilingualism & multilingualism

2 Languages 2 Worlds (research-oriented blog co-authored by three bilingual academics)
An English-speaking family's suggestions for learning French
Ask Moxie's readers' experiences with bilingualism
Ask-A-Linguist FAQ
BabyCenter's readers' advice on starting a second language with kids (2013)
BabyCenter's readers' experiences with bilingualism (2007)
Bilingual Readers (blog with advice from booksellers)
Bilingual for Fun
Center for Applied Linguistics
Discussion forums from Multilingual Children's Association
Discussion forums from Mutilingual Living
Enfants bilingues (in French)
Librarian's list of links
Multilingual Children's Association
Multilingual Families in the UK
Multilingual Living
Multilingual Mania
Multilingual Matters (publishing house)
NYT Motherlode readers' experiences with bilingualism
Omniglot's Recommended Resources
On Raising Bilingual Children
Raising Bilingual Children (summaries of recent articles)

Language teaching resources

Bilingual/Bicultural Family Network teaching tips
Chillola: Foreign Language Learning for Kids
Colorin Colorado (English language learner & teacher resources)
Early Languages: Helping Children Learn Languages, 10 Minutes a Day
FLTEACH archives (foreign language teachers' listserv)
FLTEACH resources (huge list of websites about teaching, languages, media, and more)
Foreign Language Fun (blog with activities and more)
Foreign Language Lesson Plans
Librarian's list of links
Mis Musicuentos (blog about teaching HS Spanish creatively and communicatively)
Nanduti (early language learning)
National Centre for Languages: Primary grades
National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL)
Spanish Lesson Plans for Children (blog)
Spanish Playground
Suite 101 language study (short articles)
Super Language Websites (too extensive to summarize here!)
Teaching and Learning Spanish
TESOL/ESL/TESL Resources
Wanna Jugar With Migo? (blog with lessons for young children, in Spanish but applicable to other languages)

Language learning activities

Easy ideas from Bilingual/Bicultural Family Network
Easy language activities for preschoolers
Foreign language activities form Pragmatic Mom
Foreign Language Fun
Francparler (French vocab games)
Handmade Beginnings (blogs about creating your own materials for teaching young children)
Language Learning (free online book)
PicassoHead (teach facial features vocab with this game)
Reading & speaking activities
So You Want to Learn a Language (list of links)
The Language Playground

English language teaching and learning resources

CAL (Center for Applied Linguistics) English Language Learners
ESL Children's Drama Games
FLTEACH links (scroll down to English)
Reading Rockets (literacy activities for children)
TESOL/ESL/TESL Resources

English language for kids

A Europe of Tales
Chronicles of an Infant Bibliophile (blog with kids' book reviews)
English language word games
ESL Children's Drama Games (blog with activities for children)
Hello World's games, puzzles, songs, and activities in English
Illustrated English vocab from Chillola
Learning Games for Kids
Mad Glibs
Mama Lisa's World
Nanduti (early language learning)
National Geographic Kids
Reading A-Z
Up to Ten (games, songs, etc.)
Vocabulary.co.il (vocab games)

Children's Literature (in English)

365 Great Children's Books
Childhood 101 (articles about reading)
Imagination Soup (articles about reading)
Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books (blog)
Read Aloud Dad
Reading Rockets (literacy activities)
We Read It Like This

French language learning

About.com resources for French
Best French Websites
Chansons francaises et francophones pour FLE (songs)
Chansons pour etudier le francais (songs and videos)
FLTEACH links (scroll down to French)
French Today Blog (culture, vocab, travel)
Interactive online French lessons
La trousse de francais (blog with activities, many online)
Languages Online: French (lots of online activities)
Learn French at Internet 4 Classrooms
Multilingual Family in the UK's recommended sites
Online French resources (many types listed)
RFI Langue francaise
Tennessee Bob's Famous French Links
Tex's French Grammar
The French Corner (fun blog and French lessons)
YouTube playlist by AATF

French language for kids

Alberta Language Learning Environment (games, etc.)
Alphabet francais
Arbre à poèmes
BBC French for kids (activities & lessons)
Caillou
Child-related expressions and commands in French
Child-related vocab in French (1)
Child-related vocab in French (2)
Comptines et Chansons
French songs for teaching children
Hello World's games, activities, and dialogues in French
Illustrated vocab in French from Chillola
Jeux et compagnie (games, etc.)
Justine et Sebastien (stories and vocab for French and English language learners)
L'Europe des contes
L'ecole de Sylviane (resources for teachers)
La maternelle de Moustache (printable activities for teachers)
Language for Little Learners (materials in French for young children)
LanguageMom French for Kids (program for purchase)
Le monde de Victor (ages 2-4)
Lire et recreer (many short texts, some activities)
Ma Puce (tips, recommendations)
Mama Lisa's World en francais
Matern'ailes (resources for teachers)
Mes premiers pas en francais (blog focusing on resources)
Momes.net (site geared towards young children)
Nanduti (early language learning)
Petit Ours Brun
Petites Tetes (activities for kids, info for parents)
Poisson Rouge (games without much language use)
Tete a modeler (arts & crafts for kids)
Tot French: Teaching Tips for Parents of Preschoolers
Up to Ten: Un site ludo-rigolo-educatif (games, songs, coloring, etc.)
YouTube playlist from AATF
activities in French from Foreign Language Fun
atelierstorytime (recommendations and links promoting reading)

Radio en francais

French, Swiss, & Canadian online radio (links)
RFI (Radio France Internationale) home page
Radio Ouistiti (for children)
RFI Langue Francaise (for learners of French)
Radio Barbouillots (for children)

Global learning

Around the World (Time Magazine for Kids)
Geography Learning Games for Kids
Global Table Adventure
Imagination Soup (posts on cultures and diversity)
InCulture Parent
Language Castle Lists (preschoolers and multiculturalism)
Middle East Map Quiz
Moms Gone Global
National Geographic Kids (magazine)
National Geographic Travel Photos
US States Map Quiz

Blogs en francais

Ben's Bilingual Baby Blog
Chocolate & Zucchini en VF
Dans la bibliothèque de Noukette
Enfants bilingues
Expat Forever
French Buzz--Ressources en français
L'avantage bilingue
L'évier devant la fenêtre
Le blog bébé
Le blog de Zelba
Maternage
Merci pour le chocolat
Mots en bouche
PG et co en Asie
Pirouette Cacahuete
Sissi en Suisse

La belle France

Chocolate and Zucchini (food blog)
Discover France (French Embassy in the US)
French Kids Eat Everything
I Heart France (blog)
La tartine gourmande (food blog)
Lucy's Kitchen Notebook (blog)
Paris Daily Photo (blog)
Parisian Fields (blog)
The Sweet Life in Paris (food blog)
This French Life

Magazines & newsletters

Bilingual Family Newsletter
Multilingual Living Magazine
This French Life

Book and article reviews

Baby's First Steps in French: Parents' Guide
Intro to Bilingualism (part 1)
Multilingualism from Infancy to Adolescence
Raising Bilingual Children
Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages

Baby Sign Language

Baby Sign Language Academy
video dictionary of baby signs

Early childhood education resources

Childhood 101
Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile
How to Raise a Reader
No Time For Flashcards
Science at Home
The Educators' Spin on It

Parenting resources

Baby Center (not just about babies)
Brain, Child (magazine)
CELLcasts (podcasts for parents from the Center for Early Literacy Learning)
Ideas for Families (games and projects)
MILF (Mother I'd Like to Friend) very funny blog
Moms Gone Global (activity blog with international flair)
Preschool Themes (crafts & activities)
Rookie Moms (activities for babies-preschoolers)
Tiki Tiki Blog (essays by Latina mamas)

Ressources pour parents en francais

Eveil du bebe (Teteamodeler.com)
Parentalite (Petitestetes.com)
Vos questions de parents

Tired of reading about languages?

Adequate Parenting (blog to banish mommy guilt)
An Alien Parisienne (hubby's friend in Paris)
Book Drum: Beyond the Page (all about your favorite books)
Cheez Whiz and Mustard (Francophone Canadian music teacher and mom)
Foodiggity (food and lifestyle blog)
Garden Mama (inspirational blog)
Little Farm. Growing. (friend from grad school is now a farmer!)
My Mother's Apron Strings (my friend Kelly's mom's food blog)
Notions & Threads (low-stress craftiness and good vibes with my friend Kelly and her friend Kandyce)
Plum Cake (creative baker whose posts make you drool and reflect)
Reading Buddies at Lafayette Public Library (my job)
Running Lines (Denver Post theatre critic blog)
The Cold Cold North (my friend Melissa's musings)
The Straight Dope: Fighting Ignorance Since 1973
This Chickadee (my cousin Becky's crafts)
Three Tarts (my co-authored food blog)