Toddler Language Awareness

I basically assume that ML (2) doesn't make much distinction between German and English since he mixes freely right now - he'll say "You're krank" and "I go draussen". Pretty common stuff for a bilingual this age. Of course I address him in German, even when we're out in public and we've gotten some funny looks lately from the kids in NJ's karate class. So it was a lot of fun when Emma, who is 8, asked for me to tell her some phrases in German. She then repeated them to ML - "Setz dich hin", "Komm her", "Werf den Ball." He was delighted! He thought it was hysterical. So I guess he really does know the difference since he didn't expect Emma to be speaking German to him.

Proud of the Language

Since Opa has returned to Germany, we've been experiencing an interesting development from NJ's (6) language skills and interest level. He is now very aware of the fact that speaking German is a valued skill and he wants to tell everyone about it! He addresses complete strangers in the library and at the store in German! And he's even using the formal to do it! Verstehen Sie Deutsch?, he'll say. And the people will look at him because they think they just misunderstood him. He'll repeat himself in German and then I'll explain for him. It's quite bizarre. :) And he's fond of disciplining his little brother in German. Hmm, I wonder where he got that idea. Perhaps I need to use a little more English when telling someone to stop doing something.

His vocabulary is still quite lacking but he's comfortable using the words he knows - pretty cool!

Animal sounds in German

http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/ballc/animals/german.html

We love the rooster (Hahn) - kikeriki!

Unsere Woche mit Opa

Thanks for everyone who wished us well for Opa's visit. I'll write more about it later but suffice it to say that we had a great time. We of course spoke lots of German, including my older son, 6, who made a true effort and seemed to enjoy using his skills. He's got a lot of work to do in terms of increasing his vocabulary but he can make himself understood and he had no problem goofing off with Opa!

I think the week was also useful from my father-in-law's perspective because having only heard second-hand about the challenges we've been facing with NJ's sensory integration dysfunction, I think he and my mother-in-law were under the impression that a little more strict parenting would remedy the picky eating and other troublesome behaviors. Now, having seen it up close, Günter could tell that NJ isn't a bad kid and that his problems are not simply due to too much time in front of the TV or too much junk food. I think that he, too, will be a little less judgmental. Plus, he could hardly fault NJ for being picky since he choose not to eat about 90% of what we ate! It's all relative, isn't it? :)

Luckily, he didn't mind cooking for himself which was fortunate since I am not talented in the cooking department and am no Lilo Mueller. She had the menu planned out for his return and I'm sure he's enjoyed being back home again.

We do miss him and it was fun to have him around for a short visit.

Multicultural Living Magazine

The latest newsletter from the Bilingual / Bicultural Family Network is out and has many great articles on multi-culturalism and bilingual kids. Check it out!

Bilingual Families Connect

Tips and advice for bilingual families.

In Praise of Libraries

So I snuck out tonight early after our little guy was in bed, leaving my husband and Opa for some quality time. Where do I go on my cherished time alone? The public library, of course! I was wandering around with my large empty bookbag, kind of enjoying all the possibilities on all the rows of shelves, when a librarian asked if I needed any help. Not being one to hide my emotions, I blurted out, "No, I'm just enjoying this - it's all so wonderful!!" Thankfully she didn't laugh at me, but instead we got to talking and apparently she shares my love for libraries, even going so far as to check them out when she's on vacation.

Did you know your local library can get just about any English book in print for you and it's basically free?! They will even go to museums and universities if necessary to find what you're looking for. All you have to do is ask. With our homeschooling, I'm constantly, almost obsessively on the look-out for great books for the kids and this may help cut down on my book budget. Of course it is much harder to get German books, although many libraries do have German collections.

So the next time you go to the library, chat with the librarian. You won't regret it!

Pretend I'm a Farbe...

ML (2) is in a stage of much language mixing. His latest gem: "Pretend I'm a Farbe. I'm grün!" How can you not love this?

My kids never cease to amaze me

As I posted a couple days ago, we are currently enjoying a visit from Opa, our first in several years and it's the children's first true German immersion experience. I wasn't surprised to see ML (age 2) interacting with Opa in German since he tends to do that with everyone, whether or not they understand him. But NJ (6) has completely floored me! He is quite consciously aware of the need to speak German with Opa and is successfully doing so most of the time! I can see him searching for words he wants to use and picking up new ones throughout the day. My father-in-law is gently teaching him new words and has been wonderfully patient with NJ's attempts to communicate. I had expected NJ to be a bit shy about speaking in German but so far, this hasn't been the case. Interestingly enough, he can't really translate back and forth, even when I know he knows the word in both languages. Perhaps that's the difference between someone who learns the language formally in a classroom setting, like me, or someone who picks it up along the way, the way NJ has done.

Der Opa kommt!

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our Opa from Germany! He's on an airplane as we speak. All week long the kids have been talking about what we'll do with him. We were having breakfast this morning which we usually do in English so we can sneak in a little schoolwork which is mostly discussed in English. Niklas said "C'mon guys, let's speak German!" Love that enthusiasm! My mom is looking forward to using her newly minted German knowledge with Guenter as well.

Ein schönes Wochenende!

Crazy for the Magische Baumhaus

My kids are completely hooked on the German Magische Baumhaus (Magic Treehouse) series of books. In each book, Phillip and Anne travel to a different time or place in history and accomplish a task set for them by their friend, Morgan, who is the librarian from King Arthur's court. Along the way, they learn about the place and time they're visiting and they make new friends.

My son, NJ, likes these books so much, he begs for more chapters at bedtime and as soon as we finish one, he's ready to start another. The language is a little beyond his German comprehension but it doesn't seem to bother him and he asks lots of questions. He and ML both enjoy the pictures scattered throughout the book. So far, we've been to ancient Egypt, the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, a rain forest, visited with the dinosaurs, been to the moon, and just today attended a one-room schoolhouse on the prarie during the 1870's.

NJ likes these books so much, he has demanded I get the whole series - there are over 30 titles to date - yikes! So I will be adding more to the Alphabet Garten catalog very soon. Here is the current listing.

Interestingly, we tried reading one in English and NJ refused to listen to it. My mother had gotten him one about the first Thanksgiving in English and he was so disappointed it wasn't in German that I had to translate on the fly. Very tricky stuff - how do you say Pilgrim in German? I have no idea :) He's a particular kid and likes things just so.

Book Review: Frederick

Frederick is a little mouse who would rather collect colors, words, and sunlight while his fellow mice are busily gathering provisions for the long, cold winter. The other mice are quite nice about his not helping to collect nuts, berries, and wheat and when the food begins to run out, they turn to Frederick and he feeds their minds with visions of colorful leaves and plants and warms their hearts with the sunlight he's saved.

My kids enjoy the simple illustrations in this large German picture book. The text is limited to 1-2 sentences on most pages so there's lots of time to take in the pictures and not too much German vocabulary to digest. The poem about the four seasons at the end of the book is a peaceful and joyous ending and we could identify with the little mice looking forward to the goodness of Spring.

Here's an excerpt:

"Macht die Augen zu" sagte Frederick
und kletterte auf einen großen Sten.
"Jetzt schicke ich euch die Sonnenstrahlen.
Fühlt ihr schon, wie warm sie sind?
Warm, schön und golden?"

Frederick
By: Leo Lionni
Format: Hardcover, 20 pages

The Bilingual / Bicultural Family Network

Have you seen the The Bilingual / Bicultural Family Network (BBFN)? They have tons of articles, tips, and advice for bilingual families. It's a must-see for parents of bilingual kids.

I am fortunate to be a contributor to the BBFN April newsletter! I've written about our struggle with passive bilingualism and sensory integration dysfunction. While the two are not necessarily related, they both have a very real impact on our family. I hope you enjoy the article. Let me know what you think!

Viele Gruesse,
Sarah

Toddler Favorites

Dear Sarah,

My son is 21 months and enjoys his german books immensely. His
favourites are "Ich kenne alle Farben", it has a colour wheel that he
enjoys turning. Also from the Mini Lesemaus series, he enjoys "Meine
Haustiere", as we are learning all about animals. The illustrations
are delightful, and the text is uncomplicated. Fantastic books!

- Kim

When do kids start speaking German in an immersion environment?

Dear Sarah,

I am an "Oma" taking care of her grandson since his birth. I have him 12 to 13 hour per day-his parents are doctors in a residency program and work horrendous hours.

I always speak German to him. His receptive language is the same in both English and German but he says more English words. He is now 21 mo. old. Sometimes I say something in German and he says it in English. Ex. I said "was tust Du" and he said "What doing?" "Siehst Du den Voge?" He says "Bird". He is too young to decide to only speak English, I think. What has been your experience with your bilingual children. Did they start out speaking English?

Inge

---

Dear Inge,

Thank you for your message! How wonderful that you're able to care for your grandson. It really varies with the child as to what they start speaking. It's quite common for a child to respond in English even though he's getting so much German input. In fact, it's interesting that he is translating what you're saying - a lot of kids have a hard time doing this even if they are fluent bilinguals. I would say that it's not so much a case of him consciously choosing German over English but rather he's just saying what comes naturally to him. At this age, I don't think kids can really differentiate between the two languages. My two-year old often tries to speak German with my English-speaking mother. I think you'll start to see more and more German words come from your grandson, especially since you do spend so much time with him. My two-year old also mixes languages quite a bit, i.e. he'll say "I'm krank" and "I mach' das". This is also quite normal for this stage. Please see http://www.biculturalfamily.org/as_talkingtalking.html for more information on toddler language development.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. I'm enjoying the responses from my latest newsletter.

Viele Gruesse,
Sarah

Will two languages confuse my toddler?

Liebe Sarah,
My mom is from Germany and watches my daughter, Gabriele, while I work. She speaks only German to her, but then when I come home, all she hears is English. (my husband and I don't speak German - I can a little, but not very well.)
What is your opinion about this situation? Do you think Gabriele will become confused?
Vielen Dank,
Ingrid

---

Hallo Ingrid,

Thanks for your message. Honestly, I think your daughter is in an ideal situation! She has a very clear deliniation between German and English - Oma speaks German and Mom and Dad speak English. Lots of bilingual kids grow up with much more complicated arrangements, like the one we strive for in my house - my husband and I speak German to the kids and sometimes to each other but frequently switch to English. When my mother's around (she only speaks a few words of German), we'll switch to English except with my younger son with whom I always speak German regardless. Of course, as I mentioned in my newsletter, we speak far more English at home than I'd like so there's less consistency with our language pattern. But I hear time and again that kids just sort it out. My older son (almost 6) very clearly understands the difference between the two languages and never mixes unless it's intentional. The little one mixes all the time but he's still sorting things out and I'm truly not worried. I believe if the child does speak in the second language (as opposed to just understanding it) age 3 is about when she can distinguish and choose between the two consciously.

How old is your daughter? I assume she's not speaking yet? I guess some confusion might arise from you wondering if she's said something in the other language or was it just something in English you didn't understand. My mom has this problem with my toddler right now - "Was he speaking German or was I supposed to understand him just now?"

I think your daughter is very lucky to have your mom to teach her German from the start. I'd love to hear how it's going. I hope you don't have any well-meaning busybodies telling you your daughter is going to be disadvantaged by learning German in this manner. :) See http://www.nethelp.no/cindy/myth.html for some myths about bilingualism.

Viele Gruesse,
Sarah

The Usual Whirlwind

What do you get when you combine a growing family business, two rambunctious boys, an entry into homeschooling and the Christmas season? Well, the first thing you get is one very tired mom :) We need to get a bigger coffee pot!

Surprisingly, we have all weathered the holiday season without too much stress so far. The kids are having a blast playing with each other and thankfully we have help! What would I do without our wonderful babysitter and my hard-working assistant who does all the shipping? The kids helped carry out 88 packages to the mail truck this morning! It's by far a new record for Alphabet Garten. I'm pleased that I've been able to keep almost all the popular titles stocked for Christmas delivery. Now I just need to do some online shopping myself!

I think part of the reason we're still pretty relaxed (if you know me, this is VERY unusual for me!) is that we don't have a lot of outside committments. We have karate lessons and we have to meet our package pickup every morning but other than that, we can adjust our day as needed. I can't imagine having to get kids out the door and picked up on time on top of running the business. I'm so glad we're homeschooling and can take advantage of the flexibility that offers. Who would have thought that taking on the responsibility of homeschooling would actually reduce my stress?! A pretty cool side effect.

The kids are both really into German DVDs right now. Maybe it's because they know I'm a sucker for it and will pretty much let them watch one whenever they ask. But it seems to be paying off for Niklas, 5. He is almost exclusively a passive German speaker - he understands most of what he hears but rarely speaks any German. However, he's started to spontaneously speak German to his brother and when talking about a DVD! Hooray!!! I was beginning to think he'd really lost interest completely. And his accent is still excellent even if he is way behind in vocabularly for his age. I'm very pleased with this development.

- Sarah

Busy Books for Toddlers

We're currently away for Thanksgiving and so we don't have access to the piles of toys at home :) We brought a few books with us and Max has had a great time with one our of our lacing books, Fädeln, schnüren, zubinden, with Shoelace Each page has several places to lace up and complete the picture - lace up the tent, create a rope ladder, etc. Max loves the pictures, especially the animals playing with the "Kinder" as he says.

Another fun choice for traveling is Sesamstrasse, Wir lernen die Uhr. Our favorite Sesame Street characters introduce telling time with a movable clock.

So help ease the holiday fidgets with some fun and educational books, auf Deutsch natürlich!

See all German books with effects from Alphabet Garten...

German Music Recommendations for Toddlers

Question
I have a a 16 month old daughter. I'm trying to expose her to German in a fun, age-appropriate way. I already purchased 2 CDs from your site: Schnappi and and Zehn Kleine Krabbelfinger (or something like that). Can you give me your top 5 favorites for other CDs that would expose her to German and be fun?

Thanks,
K.

=========================================
Alphabet Answer
Hi K.,

Thanks for your message! Here are my top five for young kids:

Anything by Rolf Zuckowski, in particular "Im Kindergarten" and "Rolfs bunte Liederreise"

Erste Lieder fuer die ganz Kleinen
Traditional nursery songs with a modern instrumentation

Kleine Raupe Nimmersatt (Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar)
Songs and story on a CD.

Tanzalarm
Targeted toward older kids but also fun for little ones. My toddler (21 months) loves this CD and demands it on a regular basis :)

Sesamstrasse
Either 3CD set or the single CD, Unsere Buchstaben. Lots of fun!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Viel Spass!
Sarah

Book Review: Drachenreiter

I love reading Cornelia Funke novels and Drachenreiter was my latest indulgence during a weekend at the Jersey shore. Drachenreiter is the story of Lung, a wise and beautiful silver dragon and his search for a home safe from the prying eyes and bull-dozing machines of people. Lung and his loyal friends, Schwefell, a grouchy Kobolde, and Ben, an orphaned human boy, have many narrow escapes as they travel the globe in search of the Der Saum des Himmels, rumored to be the last haven for dragons in the highest part of the Himalayas. Funke's magical creatures practically spring off the page as she describes fairies (beautiful and delicate but mischevious and trouble-making), dwarfs blinded by a lust for gold and jewels, the deadly basilisk serpent, and others that inhabit the earth ignored and unseen by most humans too busy to notice them. I was in constant fear that the dragon would be discovered during his daily stops to rest but somehow he always managed to escape detection.

The ending, which I of course won't betray, was wonderful and satisfying. I always end a Funke novel with such a feeling of affection for her characters and Drachenreiter was no exception. I can't wait to find some time for my next indulgence, the brand-new Tintenblut!


Drachenreiter at Alphabet Garten
By: Funke, Cornelia
Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
Dimensions: 6.25 in. x 8.5 in.