Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

THEATER AS A TEACHING MEDIUM FOR LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE

Why didn't I think of this sooner? Take the children to a modern Greek play as a "live" and "lively" way of educating them in the language.  It seems so natural, and so obvious, yet I never thought of it.  So, as a result of my mom suggesting we go and see a comedy called Ta Kitrina Gantia, (If the Glove Fits, or literally, The Yellow Gloves) at the Hellenic Cultural Center in Astoria, Queens, I jumped at the chance.  Usually,  Mother's Day, is fun for about a half hour of opening cards and then going to church and out to eat, Mother's Day was exceptional this year.

For one, I spent it with my husband and children in the morning, and then later, he enjoyed a day with his mom, while I drove my children and mom in to Astoria to see this Greek comedy.  Having already warned my children, that if they misbehave during the play on this particular day, every silly band they own will be {xilia milia komatia mesa sta skoupithia}.  That means in a million pieces in the garbage.  Look, they owe me a few, as I do go out of my way, as most of us to make them "enjoy" Greek school.  Do any of the following scenarios sound familiar?  If you do your home work well, and with out whining, we'll go to the movies tomorrow.  If you want ice cream then you need to say, "thelo pagoto se parakalo, Mama".  Child repeats it then we go crazy high fiving the kid.  Such is the life of raising a bilingual child as a first generation Greek-American parent. Not easy.  All our parents had to do was the stare down...and the kicker is that this worked.  If I give my children the look, they whisper to each other, mommy looks funny....yes mommy looks funny all right until.....

Back to my reasons for acknowleding this as the greatest mother's day. 
The second reason that it was so special was that after all my concern that my children behave, they genuinely enjoyed the show.  Who would have thought?  What happened was an unexpected reward for the children, Yiayia and me.  It's not easy teaching our children any second language if it is not spoken exclusively in the home and here is this wonderful revelation and opportunity to further the childrens' bilingualism, as well as appreciation for their culture.  Mother's Day, this year, brought my children a renewed sense of their abilities, and progress in the acquisition of the Greek language.  Simply for them though, it was more about the fun.   That night, and every night since my children have asked me to read Greek stories to them.  All three are competing with each other to be the first to tell me what each sentence meant. 

This is my thank you to Ta Kitrina Gantia of the Ichneftes Theater.  Thank you for wonderful acting and tin perifania pou estanthikane ta paidia mou, kai estanounde tora pou eivai ellines. Sas euxapistw. 
With love.

***Crisis in Greece***

Christos Anesti,
Today, I'm taking the opportunity to discuss my concern over the growing crisis in Greece.   Given, that I have family in Greece, but more than that, a permanent connection to all that my grandparents, and hence Greece has/ had given me; I am deeply saddened by the deaths of  three people and the chaos that is at hand. 

      I was thinking, what could one person do?  Me alone, if I could do anything to help I would but, truly what can one person alone do?  It only takes one person though to talk to one other, and then the second person talks to someone else...You get what I mean.  I can't do anything alone.  However, all of us together those of us who are Greek, those of us who are not, all together we certainly can.  Maybe you fell in love with Greece through books, or visiting Greece or maybe just visiting a Greek household, where you were automatically welcomed in as family.  To you all I am writing, please pray that the crisis subsides and that Greece's economy is restored.   Please also consider, if in any way, there is a channel provided for us to legitimately help restore Greece's economy even slightly and we are requested to assist, please consider offering what you are capable of.
            Please enjoy the following three videos...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T03YfCa1ISE&NR=1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9faZU04ffs&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZB7GCiY--8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPwuE6ZHWhc
God Bless Us All.  

The Greek Parade in NYC 2010

Being fortunate enough to live in the New York tri state area allows us to commemorate a plethora of cultures through parades in Manhattan.  This allows those of us who may never travel to Italy, the Domenican Republic or Greece to get a lovely glimpse of some of the dances, hear music and see beautiful and unfamiliar costumes.  For me, living in New York, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to parade in the Greek Independence day parade with my three children.

This year we did not go on the float but rather they all marched in parts of the parade (Girl Scouts division, Greek School division).  For my children, it was an opportunity to feel and be filled with pride as so many Greeks, as well as non -Greeks spilled into the streets of NYC blanketing the streets between 69th and 83rd, with beautiful blue and white Greek flags and of course the American flag.  This for the children that are forced to attend Greek school each week is like the Olympic games for the athletes that have to get up at 5am for practice before school each day.  Finally, on this day, the children get a chance to wave the flag, dare I say enjoy the audience on the street sidelines and feel somewhat like a celebrity.  From what I can see with my own children, and what I remember growing up marching, this is a yearly highlight of the Greek school experience.  For even the children that may initially go kicking and screaming, or just "grumpy", by the end of the day, they too will be smiling. 

Celebrating March 25, Greek Independence Day

A wonderful advantage of living in the United States, especially New York, is that we can vicariously travel the world with all the different cultures, religions and languages that we are exposed to here.  Just as St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in our childrens' schools by wearing of green being that Greek Independence Day is hard for our children to grasp at a young age, I take this as an opportunity to instill pride and a looking forward to celebration.  My children know that back in 1821, under the Ottoman empire, parents who were caught teaching their children Greek, were beaten and often killed.  Hence, there was "to kreefo skoleio"...which means the Secret school, where children were taught our language in the churches or caves in the middle of the night.  So, as much as my children may not like going to Greek school, they know what others had to go through to learn Greek.  Because they are young, now is the time to instill this day as a day of celebration at new found freedom.

So, I remind my children and students as well that the Greek flag has nine lines for the Greek word Elef8eria which means freedom.  The children come off there school bus to see blue and white balloons outside on the lamp post as well as nine balloons in the house with a cake made as the Greek flag.  The first year I did this, they were all overjoyed and surprised.  Since then they truly look forward to this day.

Essentially, regardless of whether you are trying to instill a love of the country, Israel, Italy, Spain or a part of Africa, it helps a child internalize it when we point out various holidays that may not be recognized  strongly in the area you live in.  This is part of America's beauty; We are able to enjoy and take pride in our roots that started in other countries.  We will soon be participating in the Greek parade in Manhattan, where we have the opportunity many cultures do to offer some visual beauty of Greek ethnic costumes and a chance to enjoy a positive focus on Greece in these difficult times.

Today, I say, Zntw n Ellas (long live Greece), and God Bless America.

This is on our way to Greek School for the Greek Independence Day Show. 

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Greek Pajama Party Speak Greek Night

There's nothing as motivating as telling our children they can stay up all night, sleep on the den floor as long as they (we all) speak Greek during that entire time.  It becomes quite easy to get the children to practice, paraphrase and learn under the guise of keeping it fun, when they get to sleep with stuffed animals, blankets, in the middle of a floor where they are NOT usually allowed to be.

During this time, we have ice cream, the only catch is that the children request for all things in Greek, and I respond in Greek, not difficult when it is for desired things.  I also do a puppet show for my children, all in the foreign language. (The puppets I bought from a craft store for 2.50 cents each).  The puppets talk to each other, argue, act silly, and talk to each of my 3 children.  Three of the puppets can only speak Greek, so if my children do not understand, they can ask the one (giraffe) puppet , "ti leei".  The giraffe puppet, is the only one who is bilingual, so he can help translate English->Greek, Greek->English.  This keeps it light and fun for my  children.

.....and of course they each earn their newest patch for a job well done!

GREEK ALPHABET PRACTICE ON INTERNET

I'd like to share a site I found that gives children the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Greek alphabet and test their memory.  Since my children will take any opportunity to get on "mommy's laptop", I imagine that your children may also be more than happy to practice their alpha- omega with such an incentive.  The website is as follows:

http://www.inrebus.com/

Then scroll down to Greek Alphabet flash Memory game.  There are others with in this site as well.  Enjoy.

Goal Charts and Calendars

Many of us use goal charts and calendars as a way to gage and motivate positive behaviors as well as keep record of our childrens activities.  Recently, I decided to make calendars for each of my children as a way to track the approach of Santa's visit in our second language.  It worked so well, I decided to continue this approach, and the children have memorized the days of the week along with the numbers really well.  So, I decided to continue this method of motivation, and incorporated a goal chart along with each new month.

In a nutshell, I am exposing and reinforcing the children's knowledge of the days and month, as well as specific desired behaviors in Greek (or whatever second language is being taught).  So far, it has been a very easy and fun way of interactive learning.

Photo of the Pajama Party Shirts

After the last post, it was suggested to me that a photo of the pajama tee shirt with patches be posted.  Here it is.  To my children, it is a source of pride as they earn the patches.

REWARDING THE CHILDREN WITH A PAJAMA PARTY

Well, this one is not for the faint of heart, but as I've said before, my intent is to give you ideas on motivating and getting the children to understand and become bilingual.  Every so often, (but not too often), I offer our children a "pajama party" night.  Granted, this is likely best suited for children from toddler to the upper tween years.  However, I'll tell you that it really has worked well for me so far.  There are several benefits to having these fun nights.

1)  The children get to spend time with me and I with them, with out the constant pressure of having to run from one activity or another.  (Plus, my husband would say, he gets to watch the television in bed with no complaints from me describing how boring it is to watch football.!)

2)  We play games that are from the Greek culture (an asset, if the kids will be playing tavlee, cards, or kreefto, with cousins in Greece).

3)  Most of all, I speak to the children in Greek only. They get to respond in Greek. Now of course there are many times they do not know how to say something, but I will let them know, how to say it, and then when they do....out comes the treasure chest.  (As always, keep it light, this is really important, as this generation is not like ours where we just got the look and we dealt.)  Anyone recall, the koutala, or how about, tnv zwvn.?

So, what do we do exactly?  Well, firstly, I present it as a real treat.  After all, I am sleeping on the den floor, and they get to sleep as late as they want.  Generally, we do this when there is no school the following day.  We all wear a T-shirt that is worn just for these nights, the pajama party shirts.  Each morning after our  night has ended, each of the children earn a patch, which I iron on that following morning.  At this point, you could imagine that they take great pride in wearing the pj shirts with all the patches.  I wear one also, since we are all a part of this together.  In fact, both girls and I, as well as my sister in Greece have the same color, pink.  My son wears a lime green, as does my godson who lives in Greece.  Yes, these shirts have traveled to Greece, along with patches I did not forget to bring on our last trip.  My sister earned a few patches already. (Oh, there is another benefit to these parties).  By including my sister and son, in on something as special as this, my children's connection to their aunt increased / increases their bond. Getting back to what we do during these nights...  The kids vote, and they pick if we start with a snack, game or craft.  I try to give them as much decision making power as possible.  After all this is work hidden under the guise of being fun.
First I open my now famous "Mary Poppins bag".  This bag contains a never ending supply of books, art and crafts supplies, all of which the children never get to actually view in the bag.  I started this Mary Poppins bag idea when my oldest daughter, now eight, was four, and they still love it.  The children are still young enough that they enjoy it's mystery.    In the bag is also their favorite colors for nail polish, and I will offer them a pedicure and manicure.  All these little activities I maintain in Greek and because of the high value they regard these "sleep in the den" nights, I find they are very willing to enjoy it as such.  This works well, since the foundation of forein language acquisition is easiest in the early years.

Snack?  Everyone must say, "I want (flavor) and (topping) please.  In other words, Boro na exo sokolata me sirope se parakalo?  I'll have my kids repeat this phrase if pronounciation is not clear...always easily, and going at the childrens' pace. 
Games? I may say that I will ask a question and whoever repeats correctly what I asked, gets to pick a trinket from the treasure box.  (For a child that can not guess or is easily frustrated, I would offer to have them repeat when someone else answered correctly and they would pick from the treasure chest also.)  If you have one child, then use yourself.  If they don't know, you can just offer to tell them and when they repeat it,  well they've just earned a treasure.  In a nutshell, during, the time that we make a craft, we use phrases like, "pass me the scissors please", I need 2 yellow sheets.  I encourage the children to say everything or as much as possible in our foreign language. If they are too frustrated, I let them know that they are doing great, and I will communicate in Greek and leave the kids to speak in what ever comes naturally.  Revisiting those words and phrases that were too hard is important and I certainly get back to it.  As always though, it is of paramount importance that the children find it worth their while, and equally important that we encourage a confidence in their ability to "get it".

The final treat of the night is that the children pick a movie & I make popcorn. The children usually will fall asleep by the end but all of them happy that they stayed up past midnight!  We as parents know our own childrens' strengths and what may get their attention.  I hope you will find this post useful, and if you use this idea I would love to learn how it went.

A LITTLE COMPETITION AND INCENTIVE GO A LONG WAY!

January 12, 2010

So Sunday Morning was very chilly and I had taken my 3 children shopping.  I told my son, kleese to femwaar sou, (which means zipper up your jacket).  He yelled, "what?, I don't understand what you're saying?!"    I replied, "you do not need to yell, but if any of you can guess what femwaar means, you'll get a toy from the treasure box when we return home."  The girls being more advanced in the language got it.   To motivate my son in now REMEMBERING this new phrase, I told him, the meaning again, (repetition is key) then I said, " if I ask you in one hour what this means and you tell me correctly, you too will get a prize."  Well, he did earn that prize.

The kicker to this story though, is that the next evening we were in the market, when I noticed his pant's zipper was down.  Now that he is five, he finally appreciates discretion, and lit up when I said, "kleese to femwaar sou"  He remembered!!!

Did you ever wonder why children can pick up another language easily if they are immersed in the foreign language? Let's think about it.

For any of us lucky enough to spend a few weeks in Greece [insert here {any foreign country}], we returned home with greater fluency in communication skills as a result of higher recall and increased vocabulary. 

How does it happen?  How can we mimic some of the variables that help to develop a bilingual child?  Children are forced to use all their senses when hearing a language that they do not understand.  If we think about entering a foreign setting where we understand little to nothing, wouldn't we watch carefully, the facial expressions of the people around us, their body language, tone of voice, where or what they are pointing at? 

A LITTLE INTRODUCTION AS TO WHY AND HOW I CAME UP WITH THIS BLOG

I grew up in New York, though many people I meet often say, "where in Greece were you born?".  I guess it is that obvious how much I love, Greece, the language, the culture...in essence its beauty.  What fortified my love for the language was less about Greece's beauty and more about my grandparents, and cousins.  It's quite a long and intricate story to tell, but it was during my childhood and adolescent years that my love for the language and culture blossomed....When I turned 8 years old my father passed away.  Up to this point my parents had chosen to share the responsibility of raising my sister and I bilingual.  Mom would speak only English, while Dad spoke only Greek.  After his passing, however, my mother was concerned with how she would have us continue remaining comfortable communicating in Greek.  As a result she signed us up for Greek school and had us visit Greece every summer.  The former we hated, the latter, we loved.  The benefits however, were two-fold.  We not only kept ourselves fluid in our communications, but we grew up very close to our aunt's, uncles, Yiayiathes, and Pappou.  Over those years, yes we increased our vocabulary, learned expressions and the right way to greet someone (firm handshake paidi mou, kai apo tis thio meries filane), but it was secondary to the fun we had in learning where are roots came from and who and what we represent as members of our family, specifically and of Greeks in general  .  So here I am hoping to pass on what we can.