October is Bilingual Child Month. It’s a time to celebrate the linguistic and cultural diversity among us. This celebration is for you.
Happy Bilingual Child Month!
We want to celebrate children who are on this journey. At the same time, we want to celebrate bilingual/multilingual adults who went through the adventure of acquiring more than one language.
More importantly, we want to celebrate the pushing hands behind the scenes- parents, teachers, and all the supporters in the family and community. As we know, every journey comes with joy and challenges, no matter how wonderful it looks on the surface.
I have the honor of working with Read Your World to bring you the “Celebrate Bilingual Child Month Together” Liv Zoom event. You can register HERE and join us Live with our distinguished panelists on October 18 (Wednesday) at
2:15 pm New York | 7:15pm London | 8:15 Amsterdam
With so many resources out there I constantly receive messages from parents telling me that one of their current challenges is resources. I know they are referring to resources that they (parents) can trust. Resources that can guide their bilingual family journey in the right direction.
In this panel discussion event, each of the panelists is an expert who is bilingual. Every one of them has personal experience raising bilingual/multilingual children or teaching a world language. Furthermore, their current work involves creating resources for parents and educators who are raising or teaching children more than one language.
The panelists are bringing you research-based insights, everyday life-tested advice, and tools you can trust and use. What you will notice is the diversity of our panel. From the East Coast to the West Coast of the United States to the Netherlands and U.K. you will hear these experts’ views on raising bilingual children and literacy.
Here are a brief introduction to our panelists:
Dr. Ute Limchaer-Riebold
is a multilingual Family Language Consultant and Intercultural Communication Trainer at Ute’s International Lounge & Academy. In her consultations, courses, and webinars she bridges between research and practice, and offers tailored advice and practical solutions for international families who raise their children with multiple languages and cultures abroad. She is fluent in German, Italian, French, English, Dutch, and Swiss German. Connect with Dr. Limchaer here. Download her book, “How to Raise a Bilingual Child” free here.
Anneke Forzani
is the founder of Language Lizard, a woman-owned independent publisher and bookseller providing bilingual books and resources in over 60 languages. Language Lizard supports educators, libraries, and literacy organizations working with immigrants, refugees, and language learners to support language learning, promote multicultural education, and maintain heritage languages. In 2005, Anneke Forzani founded Language Lizard to provide “mirrors and windows” bilingual books where children could see themselves reflected in the stories and learn about the world around them. As a multilingual, first-generation American, Anneke was inspired to share her love of diverse cultures and languages while supporting literacy among bilingual families. Connect with Language Lizard here.
Explore their book series: Language Lizard Living in Harmony series features: Be Kind, We Can All Be Friends, and Who Are We? This series uses colorful illustrations and simple text to explain concepts of diversity, kindness, and friendship. Language Lizard World of Stories collection are adventures set in diverse areas and cultures around the world. The Three Little Sun Bears and The Three Little Howlers are an adaptation of a classic folktale featuring culturally relevant animals, food, and settings.
Yoshito Darmon-Shimamori
is a dad to his two trilingual sons, a foreign languages teacher, founder of Library4Multilinguals, and an author specializing in multilingual literacy. His aim is to make the experience of learning to read and write in the home language a fun and compelling one. He is the author of “The Parents’ Guide to Raise Multi-literate Children”, “In Search of the Lost Words – A Bilingual Time Travel Adventure” (a graphic novel for multilingual pre-teens and teens), “How to Become a Multilingual Superhero – A Practical Guide to Unleash Your Superpowers”, and “My Multilingual Diary”. Connect with Yoshito here.
Frances Díaz Evans is a Latina author, educator, and multicultural and language advocate. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a Master of Education in Spanish. She is the founder and writer of the multicultural and bilingual parenting site, Discovering the World Through My Son’s and Discovering Español, a business dedicated to teaching Spanish online. Through her work as a multicultural and language advocate, she is committed to promoting the Latino culture and Spanish language. As an author, she takes great pride in her work; aiming to instill a love for Puerto Rico and bilingualism in children worldwide with her book Coco, la cotorra puertorriqueña. Connect with Frances here.
Moderator
I will be the moderator for the event. I have been on a mission to promote the joy of raising bilingual children since 2001. From Africa to South America, I’ve worked with parents and learners from public schools, international schools, and the diplomatic community on four continents. I founded Miss Panda Chinese in 2011 when the parents in my daughter’s preschool asked me to share the songs and rhymes I taught their kids in the preschool. As my daughter happily advanced in Mandarin with her classmates, one day, my son announced he was no longer going to speak Mandarin with me anymore. My mission to guide kids in learning more than one language in joy became clearer than ever on that day.
With my love of languages and cultures, I also wrote “First Mandarin Sounds: An Awesome Chinese Word Book” and “Little Bun: A Bilingual Storybook About Feelings,” which is a collaboration with my daughter, who is a co-author and illustrator. My dedication to making Mandarin accessible is evident with over 300+ free resources, including the popular “Playful Chinese” podcast. My language learning experience includes English, French, Spanish, and a couple of Chinese regional languages.
Celebrate BILINGUAL CHILD MONTH with a Giveaway!
Join Panel Discussion Live on October 18 at 2:15 pm EST and get a chance to win top diverse books by experts! Register to join Here!
Here is a sneak preview of the giveaway items!
From Dr. Ute Limchaer-Riebold: The Toolbox for Multilingual Families (2 copies of the paperback version) – 123 activities and games to foster understanding, speaking, reading, and writing in a fun and entertaining way with 0 to 15+ year-old children in all their languages.
From Language Lizard: A set of 15 bilingual books in assorted languages and a copy of the teacher’s resource, Building Bridges with Bilingual Books and Multicultural Resources. Many of the books in the set have lesson plans to help build a culturally responsive classroom, support literacy development and expose children to other languages and cultures.
From Yoshito Darmon-Shimamori a.k.a. Multilingual Dad: The Parents’ Guide to Raising Multi-literate Children [digital version] – This guide gives you all you need to start teaching your child/students to read and write in the home language through PLAY! You get the theory about the effectiveness of play, teacher tips to correct in an empowering way, and 70+ games that will help you go from the letter/character level to the short text. The activities present can be adapted to all languages.
From Frances Diaz Evans: 1) Educational Resource: Puerto Rico Culture: Landmarks and History Presentation and Mini-Book (Spanish) | Description Discover the rich history and culture of Puerto Rico through a colorful and engaging slide show that explores the island’s traditions, landmarks, and people. 2) Children’s book: Coco la cotorra puertorriqueña (Spanish Edition) International Latino Book Awards Honorable Mentions: The “Mariposa Award” categories for Best First Book – Children’s and Young Adult in Spanish and Best Illustrated Children’s Fiction Picture Book. At the Iguaca Aviary in the El Yunque rainforest, a captive parrot seeks to be released into the wild. He is happy, but once free, will he be accepted by the wild flock?
From Miss Panda Chinese: Little Bun: A Bilingual Storybook About Feelings (one copy, English-Traditional Chinese or English-Simplified Chinese version | digital copy for outside of U.S.; hardcover for U.S. address). Follow Little Bun and see what he does when he has big feelings. Raising a bilingual child is an adventure. It is about the language, culture, and even more about the feelings and emotions that your child experiences on this journey. Read Little Bun together and support their developing social-emotional skills.
Happy Bilingual Child Month! It’s a celebration for you, the pushing hands behind the scenes. Let’s celebrate together! Join the Zoom virtual event Live, meet the panelists, and win top diverse books!
Celebrate Bilingual Child Month Together • Celebrate Bilingual Child Month Together • Celebrate Bilingual Child Month Together