When I conducted my survey a month ago, I learned that you, dear readers, are a very diverse lot. Some of you are homeschoolers, others are parents with children in public or private school, and some of you are foreign language teachers. And more surprising to me, a large number of you are not Latino.
In addition, in the section where I asked you what you would like to see more of on Mommy Maestra, you guys are all over the place. Some love the science aspect and want to see more about that. Others want to know more about how to teach your children Spanish. Or for me to share quality books/materials that are written in Spanish-only. Some of you want more resources for preschoolers, while others want more information for older children.
Gulp.
My work is cut out for me, no? Mommy Maestra has blossomed and grown quickly, which shows me how much you all love your children. I mean, why else would you be reading all about lesson plans, activities, crafts, books, and games – para niños?
So my goal for the next few months is to begin organizing the blog in a manner that will hopefully address many (if not all) of these issues about which you have asked. In addition, I am going to add a button to the sidebar for the survey, so that you may continue to request specific topics. I also want to continue to learn more about you, and filling out the survey helps me understand you better so that I can tailor the content of this blog.
Before I close, I went through and picked out a few of the requests that I have received in the survey so far, to give you an idea of who your fellow readers are...
“I'd like to see something about parents trying to teach their children Spanish, traditions, culture, but they are not home schooling. More like after-schooling :)”
“Maybe more step by step articles with pictures that go with text. It's just a suggestion cause I do love the content already.”
“I would love to see more resources, such as how to teach reading and math, in Spanish.”
“I am looking for ways to incorporate teaching a toddler Spanish in the home as a second language.”
“As I said above, love the science, love the resource recommendations - only thing I would change is more!”
“More bilingual ideas for kids 5 and older. There are a lot of toys and resources for todllers and younger kids, but for bigger kids there is a huge need of more.”
“I have a preschooler and a baby on the way, so some of the lessons are not quite for us, yet. Perhaps some more info relevant to preK/Kindergarten level?”
“Curriculum/teaching ideas for second generation bilingual families - my children are familiar with Spanish, but the conversation aspect is the most challenging. Tips on how to make that easier for them/us...”
“Language acquisition, brain development, research information...”
By the start of the new year, I hope to have started incorporating posts on all of these subjects. So when you see me jumping around between English and Spanish resources, toys for babies and word games for older children, you’ll understand that we are one big community of parents.
And I hope you will share your own experiences or discoveries with us, as well. If you would like to contribute a post about one of these, please contact me via email or on Facebook.
Con mucho cariño….