Boca Beth Giveaway

Posted by Karin | 0 comments

Like many parents my husband and I see the value of, not only exposing our children to another language, but helping them to become fluent in a foreign language. After much consideration, we chose Spanish for our foreign language instruction; not only because it is the second most widely spoken language in the United States but it is also the 4th most commonly spoken language in the world (following Mandarin Chinese & Hindustani, which are spoken primarily in China and India) and is also gaining importance in Europe where it is the foreign language of choice following English! Plus, phonetically, Spanish is nearly perfect making it a fairly easy second language to learn.

But how do you go about teaching your child a foreign language when you yourself are not a native speaker? Is it possible to do so? When should you start? When is it too late? Could you, or should you sign up your 3 year old for formal instruction in Spanish?

While you can find the answers to these questions and more inside, “The Bilingual Edge: Why, when and how to teach your child a second language.” by Kendall King and Alison Mackey the long and short of it is this:

• While younger children are better able to perceive and discriminate between new sounds, its never really too late to teach your child a foreign language
• You do NOT have to be a native speaker to be able to teach your child a foreign language–you can learn along with your child!
• You can create good language learning environments by having fun integrating the language into your daily routine of morning songs, alphabet and counting games, guessing games, word play and even reading to your child in a foreign language and encouraging interaction.
• Children learn their second, third and even fourth language the same way they learned their first language—at home, through daily contacts, emotional bonds and everyday interactions.

Think about how you spoke to your child when he or she was an infant—-you used simple words and as your child grew, gradually began to participate and became more adept in communication, your interactions became more sophisticated and advanced. You’ve already taught your child one language and by using the same method you can easily teach them another language.

The Boca Beth Learning Program is fun, educational and meets all of the recommended requirements for introducing a new language to children. The goal of the Boca Beth program “is to give the children of today a head start on becoming bilingual adults through the use of music, movement, beginning reading, speaking and creativity. We should not be striving for conversations at this point–it’s all about vocabulary and repetition.”

What I really love about the program is:

• Its fun and enjoyable. My children don’t moan and groan everytime I bring it out.
• Since it’s creator, Beth Butler, was a preschool and elementary educator the themes on the CD’s and DVD’s easily integrate into our daily learning so we don’t “have Spanish class” we instead include Spanish into our learning and fun.
• Fans of Baby Einstein will recognize the puppet, Boca, since it was created by the same puppet maker. He’s a great mascot and the kids love him. They also think it’s fun when I use him to do a puppet show or have him lead our games. Beth recommends letting the children have turns holding Boca—but I haven’t done that yet. I’m slow to give up control!
• The DVD’s are educational and fun. My kids enjoy watching them and I can feel good about the time they are spending infront of the TV. The videos are shot in a style similar to Baby Einstein and like Baby Einstein, they do hold attention.
• You can join the Educator’s Club and download two extra language cards per month in addition to the other free resources available on the website.
• All of the songs on the CD’s are so catchy and enterataining that even our babysitters have taken to dancing around the house and singing, “What’s Happenin’?/ Que Pasa?”

During the month of September only, Boca Beth has graciously offered to give ALL Heart of the Matter readers a 20% discount off of any CD or DVD on her website. Just enter “heart” in the discount box.

Additionally, ONE lucky Heart of the Matter reader will win a Boca Beth Beginner Set Program pictured at the top of this review.

In order to enter to win the Boca Beth Beginners Set Backpack we ask that you:
1.) Visit the Boca Beth FREE Resource Center and sign up for the newsletter
2.) Post a comment about what your favorite Boca Beth free resource is, the ages of your children and why you would like your children to learn Spanish.

Karin Katherine is a proud stay-at-home mother of four who feels blessed to be the mother of 5 year old fraternal twin boys and two daughters, ages three and 4 months. As someone who never changed a diaper until she had children, Karin is surprised by the fact that she has been changing diapers for the past 5 years straight with no end in sight! As the 7th of 8 children, Karin feels blessed by her average size (in her mind anyway) family and wouldn’t mind a few more– God willing and her husband notwithstanding. Her biggest homeschooling dream is to one day homeschool across the United States in an RV. Please visit her new blogs Mommy Matters and Passport Academy.