Recently on Amazon.com a new customer of my company chose to write a very negative review about the methodology we use here at Boca Beth.  She knew when she bought the My First Songs in Spanish bilingual music CD that the presentation of the songs are side-by-side English and Spanish lyrics.

The reason I know that she was VERY aware of our true bilingual presentation is that she attended a training by an early childhood professional, and she bought the CD right after the training.  Why she chose to publicly criticize me instead of calling me directly or e-mailing me or asking for a refund is a mystery to this day.  

I chose the bilingual method more than 20 years ago when I began teaching our first born son Spanish as his second language.  His Dad (my first husband) enjoyed a mom from Cuba and a father from Spain, so I presented both languages to my sons as much as I could in a side-by-side format.  When I would give them milk I would say, “Here’s your milk/tu leche.”  When we saw a dog I would say, “Perro/dog.”

Every person has a right to their opinion, and I respect this woman’s opinion on immersion as a method for introducing a new language to young children.  I, however, have chosen bilingual and just wish she had had the kindness in her heart to not post a very public negative comment which all of us know is never helpful to any business – big or small.

Here are some additional bilingual tools to help your family learn about telling time this week (all coming from other companies who agree with me that the bilingual method works best for the younger children ages birth-ten):

A fun site that gives you both the English and Spanish for telling time vocabulary.

My friends over at OnLineFreeSpanish.com always make learning both languages FUN!

Sara Jordan has been presenting English and Spanish in a side-by-side bilingual format for YEARS.  Here is a reproducible book for the older set (6-10) – enjoy!

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

P.S. (What do YOU think?  Am I crazy thinking that a fellow teacher and fellow female should have picked up the phone and called me or at least penned an e-mail to me instead of  hurting not just me but my reputation with a very negative review?!?!  I would love to hear your thoughts.)