Monday 23 February 2009

School and fairy tales...

Well, 4th birthday came and went and with it came SCHOOL! Well, sort-of school. It's called a reception class and is in a school, but they really just play and it's only for a couple of hours each day. But, goodness, Laniña´s English has rocketed! Chat chat chat...

Well, for over a month I swear she didn´t speak a single word of Spanish. I told myself to stay cool... Time passed. Then I booked our summer flights to Spain (just a 5-day trip!) and we were talking about it and how all the kids there will only speak Spanish. And suddenly it started to come back... just a word here and there. Then spontaneously alone with me one morning she shouted "¡Mira esto!" (look at this) as she showed me her hopping. It was only thinking about it later that I was able to link the renewed interest in and use of Spanish with the mention of a return to Spain.

She has also begun to ask for a Spanish bedtime story again sometimes. At the moment I think she uses it as a strategy to get an extra story before bed because she knows I won´t refuse a Spanish request!! At the moment she is convinced that the leñador (woodcutter) who rescues Red Riding Hood (Caperucita Roja) is the father of Hansel and Gretel. The pictures aren´t particularly similar, but she spotted that it´s the same word and is very excited about it!!

1 comment:

Cody's Cuentos said...

If you ever need audio of a bedtime story in Spanish, you can find some delightful ones @ "Cody's Cuentos." Some of them might be too long for your four-year-old daughter but there are a couple of nursery rhymes and very short stories.

Enjoy!