Spanish Immersion Preschool / Daycare (day care, attorney, home)

[courym]

My family is moving to Northern Virginia, and our two children (1 y/o and 3 y/o) are currently in Spanish immersion daycare. Does anyone have recommendations for good immersion daycare in Northern Virginia?

[Fairfax Mom]

I have not not heard of any Spanish immersion daycares but I do notice a lot of people with Spanish Nannies have the Nannies teaching the kids Spanish -

my son started Spanish immerision in first grade and loves it -

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by courym

My family is moving to Northern Virginia, and our two children (1 y/o and 3 y/o) are currently in Spanish immersion daycare. Does anyone have recommendations for good immersion daycare in Northern Virginia?

Ok, somebody please, please, I beg you, explain to me why any parent would do this. I am perplexed.

20yrsinBranson

[powersnax]

It's quite ignorant not to recognize the benefits for Americans to know how to speak Spanish. Spanish is the second most popular language in the states, so it helps with building friendships and relating to others. It also helps in the job market, perhaps most notably in the medical field. Physicians do well to serve the community, for example, if they can communicate with their patients without translators... and they save money for the costs of translators.

Europeans can often speak 2-3 languages. Many American's are egocentric and narrow minded in their refusal to learn anything besides English, and when they travel to other countries, for example, they get upset when the locals can't respond in English.

I myself can only speak English fluently, because I'm too lazy to learn another language.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

Ok, somebody please, please, I beg you, explain to me why any parent would do this. I am perplexed.

20yrsinBranson

Learning a second language is easiest at a young age. And it is a great skill to have later on in life. At least that's why I was always interested in having my children learn a second language. If you are putting your kids in daycare or getting a nanny; it seems like a win-win to have one who will talk to your children in a second language. In this area, many nannies are Hispanic, and with Spanish being so prevalent in this country Spanish is the natural choice. But I know many others who try to do this with other languages such as French, Mandarin, etc.

[courym]

Originally Posted by michgc

Learning a second language is easiest at a young age. And it is a great skill to have later on in life. At least that's why I was always interested in having my children learn a second language. If you are putting your kids in daycare or getting a nanny; it seems like a win-win to have one who will talk to your children in a second language. In this area, many nannies are Hispanic, and with Spanish being so prevalent in this country Spanish is the natural choice. But I know many others who try to do this with other languages such as French, Mandarin, etc.

I think you captured my reasons pretty well. As someone who has struggled to learn multiple languages as an adult, I love having my children learning Spanish. One of the great benefits of doing it at such an early age is that my boys don't have any difficulty learning and distinguishing between the two languages. My older son speaks English and Spanish fairly fluently and uses English at home and Spanish almost exclusively at school. If we can find a place for both of children to continue using their Spanish, I have no doubt that they will grow up bilingual.

[eyeball]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

Ok, somebody please, please, I beg you, explain to me why any parent would do this. I am perplexed.

20yrsinBranson

Being able to read the handwriting on the wall and being proactive about setting one's children up for success does not necessarily mean that one is happy about how monolingual Spanish-speakers are being pandered to in this country.

[flyers29]

Originally Posted by eyeball

Being able to read the handwriting on the wall and being proactive about setting one's children up for success does not necessarily mean that one is happy about how monolingual Spanish-speakers are being pandered to in this country.

Thank you. I see the value in learning, say, Chinese for the sake of being multilingual, but Spanish-speaking countries aren't exactly a burgeoning thing in the global marketplace. Unless you plan to move to Miami or San Antonio and work with Latin America (which, who knows that when they're 6 y/o?), then learning Spanish for the sake of learning a second language will probably only prove useful when ordering at Burger King.

Bring on the "noooo, that's ignooranttt...." comments.

[car54]

Originally Posted by flyers29

Thank you. I see the value in learning, say, Chinese for the sake of being multilingual, but Spanish-speaking countries aren't exactly a burgeoning thing in the global marketplace. Unless you plan to move to Miami or San Antonio and work with Latin America (which, who knows that when they're 6 y/o?), then learning Spanish for the sake of learning a second language will probably only prove useful when ordering at Burger King.

Bring on the "noooo, that's ignooranttt...." comments.

Not ignorant at all....very perceptive IMO!

Learning Spanish allows us to communicate with our servants now.

Learning Chinese/Korean will allow us to communicate with our masters in the not too distant future.

[michgc]

Well, first of all, Mandarin is a much harder language to learn than Spanish, and it is harder to find someone to teach it. But secondly, learning Spanish isn't just for ordering at fast food restaurants. If you were to open a business, it would be really handy and financially beneficial to be able to speak to many of your customers. Otherwise, you might need to hire someone who can speak Spanish. Having that second language can help you land a job or command better pay as a nurse, a teacher, an attorney, a translator, a realtor, a business person, etc. I cannot imagine any cons to learning a second language other than the time or expense that it takes to learn it. And if one is already looking for day care, and children easily pick up a second language, it negates the cons. There are only positives to being bilingual or multilingual.