CELEBRATING THE BILINGUAL CHILD MONTH
October is Celebrating the Bilingual Child Month. A person who is bilingual knows two or more languages and understand multiple cultures. This month recognizes bilingual children. These children act as a bridge between multiple cultures.
Children who speak two or more languages offer fabulous insights for classrooms. Celebrate their culture and language by encouraging them to share a little through activities. Don’t single them out, but help them to be enthusiastic about their heritage through interactive games that include the entire class. Even parents can be part of the celebration. Invite them to their children’s classroom to contribute exciting stories or delicious family recipes.
Strengthen reading skills by bringing home bilingual books. Visit libraries and online resources that provide bilingual options. Across languages, many words look and sound alike and often have similar meanings. Provide the children with opportunities to discover these words and explore their meanings and common connections across cultures. What other languages share related sounds or roots?
HOW TO OBSERVE
No matter the languages or the culture, sharing and celebrating is encouraged all month long! Use #CelebrateTheBilingualChildMonth to post on social media.
HISTORY
Language Lizard founded Celebrating the Bilingual Child Month in 2006 to recognize the many children who speak two or more languages and understand multiple cultures.