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!!!
Looking for tips on helping pass on your bilingual background to your children?....Well you're in the right place. As a teacher of Greek as a second language, and mom of three, I've got useful and fun tips for you. Studies show children benefit greatly from being bilingual both intellectually and in effect, academically. So I hope that I satisfy a niche out there trying to pass on the beauty of speaking the language of your grandparents. Happy travels.
Quick ideas for keeping children motivated..
*Do something different, like a "pajama party", where the children get to sleep in sleeping bags in the den with you, and play games that require them to speak in (insert second language here). For some detailed ideas, feel free to read the 1/22/10 post.
*Decorate a coffee can of small trinkets as a treasure box (keep it varied) and let children pick from it, if they learn a new phrase and use it at least 5 times in one day.
You can keep a log of the weekdays-if each day they practice numbers 1-10, or colors for example in the foreign language, they get to pick a movie.
(Remember, your own motivation and attitude are contagious)...keep it fun and reward yourself for the hard work.
"I know I'm intelligent because the more I learn, I realize I know nothing" - Socrates