For more than 10 years I have been on the offense about the WHYS of introducing a 2nd language to babies and toddlers!  YES!  I did say “babies and toddlers.”

Thankfully, many studies continue to pour out of the Ivory Research Towers backing up the methodology of my Boca Beth Program and Product Line.

Reading this latest research finding today from the Harvard Center on the Developing Child really adds power to the punch of ‘the earlier the better’ when it comes to introducing babies, toddlers and preschoolers to more than one language.

Thank you / gracias to all who have believed and continue to believe that we can  make a difference in the communication of our future generations one bilingual song at a time.

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

Catch this video with some real hams acting it up during this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8caPFwBs_M

Would you like to see the lyrics in print?  Here they are at this link (look for the 8th song).

Later this week we will explore some other fun and free bilingual resources that help young children learn two of the most widely spoken world languages.

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!  ~  Boca Beth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1QmeEdFOSc

Being a Christian, I know that Whitney is in a better place.  She’s a believer!  And although she fought substance abuse addiction and made some personal choices that led her away from the life God intended for her she is still in Heaven today and for eternity!

I hope that all of us feel a sense of peace in knowing that she is with our Lord Jesus Christ and His Father.  Having brought a child through detox twice from drug addiction and having attended countless NA meetings with my child I have come to understand a fraction of what it must be like to be addicted to something that controls you.  It’s an illness that will consume your life if you don’t call in the support of Jesus Christ, your family and clean friends.  And even then, it’s a daily struggle to stay free from your addiction.

Thank you Whitney for trying to beat this all-consuming addiction so that we might delight in the gifts God gave you.  You have blessed and will continue to bless thousands upon thousands of fellow human beings ~ all whom are never free from sin and all of whom are praying (or should be praying) for the grace of God.

With love and true admiration ~  Beth Butler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1T7yGhDVec

How about this one from another great language learning company?  (Although I must admit it’s more geared for adults … particularly with the attractive brunette who is a bit … well … you know what I mean!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJmfROmUvsg

Now this fun video uses full immersion (speaking only in the new language of Spanish) and truly geared for children.  Although there is no music in this snippet I bet your children will still enjoy the images.  Beware … the intro takes up half of the running time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk5uUU5LGj0

I realize that my Boca Beth program and product line is not the only way you will want to keep Spanish in your daily routine.  That’s why I love sharing with you things I find that might appeal to your child’s style of learning.  HAVE FUN!

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

The children have fun!

The retention derived from learning with music is long term!

Music is a universal language so it assists in teaching many concepts!

This bilingual video below is a bit longer than most of my Boca Beth ones off my YouTube channel; reason being is not only does it showcase my bilingual song for kids to learn English and Spanish vocabulary, but it also features a felt book that reinforces all of the fun learned via my song!  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5F78m_b3zo

See you later this week for another round of Boca Beth fun bilingual teaching tips and resources to bring Spanish and English together at a very young age!

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

That game is a fun way to introduce names of fruits to little children, isn’t it?  Whether the children are trying to learn English, Spanish, or even better yet, BOTH!  Here at The Boca Beth Program we make it fun, we make it easy, we make it affordable!

Catch this shorter video with some fruit learning fun from my friends over at www.OnLineFreeSpanish.com:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW550JS1JeU

Follow this link for a learning page suited for children who can read and match up names of fruits with their images.

Later this week we will enjoy some other cools ways to help you introduce a second language to your special little one!  Remember – it’s never too early to start.  Time and Newsweek magazines ran feature articles stating that the ‘window of opportunity’ to learn a new language is between birth (yes – birth!) and age five.  

Birth – five is the optimum time to introduce a new language so that your child will become a lifetime language learner with smiles and jump-started brain power!

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

We are focusing in on using our Boca Beth bilingual children’s song titled Counting Teens / Contando numeros this week.  In doing so I suggest you take a quick peek at my suggested activity to go hand-in-hand with this song – the suggestion is short but practical for in the home or in the classroom.  Go here and look for #7!

Use this video to brush up on the numbers 11 – 20 in Spanish.  It’s kind of fun because the gentleman is using a phone to show the numbers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx2Z1FdfTcg

Use this worksheet to allow your child to count and color the numbers 11 – 20 in English!  (simply follow the link that sentence creates)

Use this video to hear the numbers 11 to 20 in English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in5AQMNf-GU

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

See the lyrics from my Boca Beth bilingual children’s song titled Counting teens / Contando numeros at this page of my web site’s free resource area.  Or here they are below to show you both world languages:

“Counting Teens / Contando numeros”

To do the calendar and have some fun

We need to count to 31.

Most of us know 1 through 10
So let’s begin at e-l-e-v-e-n!
Eleven is once – easy to say!
Once, once, eleven!
Twelve is doce – easy to say!
Doce, doce, twelve!
Thirteen is trece – easy to say!
Trece, trece, thirteen!
Fourteen is catorce – a bit more to say!
Catorce, catorce, fourteen!
Fifteen is quince – easy to say!
Quince, quince, fifteen!
Now the numbers get a little longer.
In Spanish we put them together.
You can do this! It’s easy, you’ll see!
Sing along and count with me!
Sixteen is dieciséis.
That’s 16,
Dieciséis!
Seventeen is diecisiete.
That’s 17,
Diecisiete!
Eighteen is dieciocho.
That’s 18,
Dieciocho!
Nineteen is diecinueve.
That’s 19,
Diecinueve!
Twenty is veinte – easy to say!
Veinte, veinte, twenty!

Now listen in and hear how to count to 20 in Spanish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI3H4vr28yU

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

The Huffington Post (along with MANY media outlets) reported on Mitt Romney’s downplaying of how much he earned in speaking fees in a one-year-time-period.  That amount:  $374,327.62!  The article goes on to report other disturbing disparities between our upper and middle class citizens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfgo28R5Ldc

To give you an idea of how many speeches an average-priced speaker such as myself (in the field of early childhood education which I feel is a very important topic for our country’s future) would have to give to reach Mitt Romney’s amount,  that number would be 107 speeches in one year.  

Then you get to a show like Shark Tank (which I used to watch faithfully as an entrepreneur and an American with a dream that the ‘little guys’ can make it big with the help of some of the already established ‘big guys’) where a guy like Mark Cuban arrogantly struts his wealth.  It’s not his success and wealth that continue to irk me, it’s his overall “I am better than any of you” attitude and vibes he sends off.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E_TPgKMp-g

When he brought up that the reason the VIP table price at an establishment shot up simply because he was in the house I turned the TV off!  Mark, there are people in our country unable to put food on their table, moms who can’t clothe their babies, teachers who take a bus to work to educate the future generation, and YOU have the audacity to smirk about how much people are willing to pay to sit near you?!?!?!  

When is the madness going to end?  I respect the celebrities that give and give grandly.  The Oprahs, the Ellens … those ladies know how to make their money and find ways to share with other human beings some of their great fortune.  I know, I know!  I am sure Mr. Cuban gives to charities too, but do you really think he does so with such genuine hope for helping humanity at large?

Thanks for listening / Gracias por escucharme ~

Boca Beth

P.S.  (Author disclosure:  BOCA the mascot and I were flown to Los Angeles in October of 2010 to pitch to the Sharks of Shark Tank.  It was a fantastic experience for us both!  We were treated very kindly by the entire staff of ABC/Sony and appreciate the opportunity to be there.  We did NOT get a deal.  I recall Kevin O’Leary shouting “Kill the chicken!” meaning “Kill BOCA!”  I beg to differ!  The negotiations were eye-opening for me as the owner of the Boca Beth company, and most of the Sharks that season were brutally honest but kind!  Now the show is turning NASTY, MEAN-SPIRITED, and not full of hope for the small guy to make it big.  Let’s end this madness and narrow the gap.  It’s everyone’s responsibility to pitch in and help our country grow stronger.)

BOCA (Daymond John) attacks Kevin O’Leary after his “Kill BOCA!” comments!  

Fun! Fun! Fun!  No matter how old I get I still LOVE Birthday Celebrations!

Especially when little ones are singing along to the Happy Birthday song I wrote in a bilingual format.  Listen in!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrff-R0iyXo

Find the words to this Boca Beth song right here on my web site‘s FREE bilingual resource area for teaching Spanish and English at the same time to young children.  (Look for the 6th song down.)

Now check this really fun video out from another group of talented people bringing Spanish and English together the fun way!  With MUSIC!  ¡La música!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycwcnpwQbjs

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth