This is a teaser about language schools in Chicago. I am doing some research to post a lengthier more informative post about this.
Today Nesta and I headed to Spanish Explorers class at Multilingual Chicago on Milwaukee and Central Park Avenue. I had set it up all via email which is the best way for me to do anything, since talking on the phone while Nesta is around gets me nowhere. He just wants my phone at all times. Anywho, Elise from Multilingual Chicago was my contact there. I emailed about trying out a class, and she emailed me back. I originally set it up for today at 10:30 am but seeing as how naps had been changing I emailed her to see if we could switch it to 9:30 am. She was great and she said no problem.
We arrived at 9:28am and she greeted us. She showed us the room, told us to take our shoes off and informed me that after class there would be juice and cookies for the kids. As I entered the room I heard Spanish spoken only. There were kids from 1-2 years of age with their care givers. One of the care givers had two little girls and she spoke Spanish to them. There were some toys and the teacher Sarah was playing with the kids. Nesta was still acting shy (nadie se la cree) but soon enough he was pulling out toys. Shortly after the teacher sang a song where we said good bye to the toys. Nesta did not like that song. This was weird for Nesta since we do not say Adios, we say Bye. Even when I lived in Mexico we said Bye, so Nesta did not get what Adios was.
The class started with a song and introductions. Most of the kids were too shy to say anything in Spanish (or English) but one little girl did respond in Spanish. I noticed that her mom also spoke Spanish. The next song asked each kid his or her age. Then we stood up and raised our arms arriba and then brought them down abajo. We then made a circle which grew bigger grande and then smaller chiquito. Like this the class continued with dancing, and many opposites; fast or slow, to the left and to the right and so on. After the moving and singing the teacher presented the theme of the class which was learning the clothing for winter; hat, gloves, and scarf. A song went along with this as she pulled out each item from a bag. Of course my dear Nesta wanted to hold all these items. A paracaidas was then taken out and Nesta was beyond excited. He loves all the colors. After this she moved on to a project where the kids glued a snow man to a piece of paper and added his hat, gloves, pants and scarf. For the little ones she had crayons so they could color instead of glue. Nesta ate half a crayon. After the projects were done she pulled out a book where a frog was dressing itself with socks and boots, and a hat. Some of the kids pointed to the items she asked of them. At this point, my energetic child took off and was trying to unlock the door or throw himself on someboy else’s grandma. I’m not sure what happened, but I think they were still looking at the book. When we got back to the circle we heard good-bye song.
Overall, I really liked the class. I liked the project even, but at this point it was a struggle for me because Nesta wanted to stick the glue stick in his mouth and he is not even interested in coloring. The other 1 year olds were not walking much so they seemed well behaved, although they were not coloring either. I don’t know what kind of project I would have for a 1 year old. At home we have edible crayons, but the point is not to eat them. We’re not there yet. I think Nesta would have enjoyed the class more if it had been more about singing and moving around. He really liked that part and of course you have to move around when you are 1!
I spoke to Elise on our way out, and I asked her what she thought of a toddler learning a third language. My husband took French in high school and he wants Nesta to learn French too. I think they will try the French Explorers class next week.
Some great things about Multilingual Chicago:
- They have adults classes.
- They let registration happen whenever you are ready. $270 for the class, but pro-rated if you start late.
- Free parking if you get a spot at 5/3 Bank.
- They teach kids all ages.
- They offer classes for toddlers in Spanish, French and Mandarin.
- They have Spanish Story time on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 am.
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