176: What NOT to do when raising a bilingual child
Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq
There are things we should NOT do when raising a bilingual child. I am going to share the one thing I NEVER want you to do with your bilingual kids. I never want you to bribe your bilingual kids to speak the target language.
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175: Is my Bilingual Child Confused?
Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq
No, your bilingual child is not confused! In this episode, we'll cover common misconceptions about bilingualism and "confusion." We'll break down what it means to "code switch" and what it menas to "borrow" from another language. This episode will put your mind at ease, it's a good, tune in!
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174: The Benefits of Talking to your Bilingual Children
Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq
On this episode, I share how you can bring literacy in your target language to your home for your kids! We talk about how to plan, how to create routines and how to make time in the day.
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173: Teaching Bilingual Kids Literacy
Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq
On this episode, I share how you can bring literacy in your target language to your home for your kids! We talk about how to plan, how to create routines and how to make time in the day.
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172: My Best Games for Bilingual Kids!
Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq
On this episode, I share my best and favorite games for teaching bilingual kids vocabulary and grammar. They are fun, engaging and easy to find wherever you are in the world!
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171: Creating a Need for a Bilingual Child
Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq
On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, we talk strategically about how bilingual parents can create a need to use a language. This is part 3 of a series on how to get your kids to speak more of your target language.
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170: Increasing Exposure for Bilingual Children
Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq
On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, we talk about the importance of exposure and how to make sure that you are creating plenty of opportunities for your kids to get exposure in your target language.
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169: Getting your bilingual kids to speak!
Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq
On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, we start a three part series on how to get our kids to grow from passive to active bilinguals. In other words, we do not want them to just listen and understand what we say. We want them to actively speak and engage in the target language.
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168: 5 fun & easy ways to celebrate the bilingual journey with your kids!
Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq
On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share with you 5 fun and easy ways that can help you celebrate the bilingual journey with your family. Make the commitment and just set some time aside to chat with them about what it means to be bilingual.
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167: How to adjust when language conditions change with Bruna
Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq
On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I host a consulting call with one of our members, Bruna. We address and plan some of the upcoming changes that Bruna's little one will experience at school and even at home with a third language.
info_outlineOn this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share activities that you can carry out at a bilingual play date.
Let’s talk a bit about how children of different ages play. This will help you with your planning and to make sure that you are meeting the needs of your participants.
Play date activity tips by age group
0-2 year olds
Kids at this age learn by exploring with their hands and mouth. They absolutely love to bang, throw, drop, shake and put things in their mouth. Now I understand you don’t necessarily want a bunch of toddlers throwing and banging things around your house. But you can include things like sensory bins for them to play. Add some toys that can help you work on target words in the bin to make sure you incorporate some language. Keep in mind that toddlers will generally not play with another child but instead play in parallel.
3 – 5 year olds
Children this age love imaginary play which is great because there is so much you can do here to work on language skills. Create activities that tap into children’s fantasy play and imagination. The best part about this age group is that they are much more likely to interact with other kids. My kids have both loved to interact with play little kitchens which is great because you can incorporate lots of vocabulary around pretend food and pretend cooking. You can also adapt this activity for different ages.
6 – 9 year olds
Little ones at this age are able to create deeper connections with friends. However, with deeper connections also comes conflict. Be aware that while hosting a play date this age there could be some arguing. This is generally because children in this age group are much more competitive and can get very disappointed if they lose.
Therefore, avoid activities that involved winners and losers. In fact, for this stage I recommend having one friend over for a play date. Keep it even smaller than before to reduce the likelihood of arguments. Dress up for example is fun for this age group and there is no competition. It also allows for some very natural ways to introduce vocabulary through articles of clothing.
10 -14 year olds
Older kids can enjoy play dates too. There will likely be a lot less parent guidance for this group and much more free play. Keep in mind that peer pressure has a big influence with kids this age. Silliness comes in super handy with this group so consider that when planning your activities.
So what do you think? Are you up for the challenge? Don’t overthink it and host one. They will only get better with time and you learn what works and what doesn’t.