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We are a bilingual family and proud of it. Spanish and English are spoken equally in our home and we knew when we had our two boys that we wanted them to have a dual language education.

My husband is a native Spanish speaker and I am a native English speaker so our boys have learned both. We realized early on that by giving them a bilingual education they will have more opportunities as they grow up. After both boys were born and approaching school age, we researched bilingual programs and schools in our area and found several that we liked. We moved to a new area of the city in order to have them attend their current bilingual schools and it was a great decision. They have attended Spanish immersion schools since Pre-school and will continue through high school.

Every year since the boys were born we return to my husband’s family home in Mexico to visit his family and friends. By traveling in Mexico with our children it helps them to understand Spanish better and also to get a different perspective of the world outside their hometown. To deepen their language learning we will be moving to Mexico next year to completely immerse them in the language and culture for two years. This was a big decision to make and one that we are confident will change our boys lives (and my husband and I’s lives) for the better. Our hope is that by being immersed in the language and culture of Mexico their Spanish will become completely fluent (speaking, reading, writing) and that when we return to the U.S. they can learn a third language.

To be bilingual is an amazing thing and I am so grateful for the opportunities it has given our family and the love of other cultures it is developing in my children. I believe more people, especially children, should be given the opportunity to have a bilingual education.