"Juegos y canciones" is the name of the free drop-in playgroup I started attending with Hudson, held in Wallingford on Tuesday mornings. And, yes, it's pretty damn cute. During the school year Ben was able to take Hudson to the local library for story times in English and some in Spanish, but I never had the privilege to see the cuteness since they are rarely scheduled on the weekends. I would ask for reports from Ben about what happens at story time, and he would say pretty much the same thing each week, but I was hungry for details about my baby. Now it's my turn!
I have a bit of a complex about being the "white girl" whenever I'm in an environment surrounded by Hispanics (like flamenco classes) so I myself am probably a bit more shy, but Hudson takes just a minute to scope out the toddler scene, finds a toy he likes, and goes for it. His interactions with other kids are still a bit timid but he's still one of the youngest ones there, and doesn't have words yet. He can't tell kids that he was playing with that shopping cart or can he please have a turn with the ball.
We have free playtime in the room for a while and then the leader reads a story. It's amazing to see Hudson come sit in the group with all the others and actually watch the story. They have an attention span for exactly one board book and then they all start drifting to other toys. But for those few minutes I am bursting with mommy pride that my boy is actually participating in a social situation. Snacktime might even beat story tine for the cuteness factor -- I had never seen my son sit in a little kiddie chair and eat crackers with other kids like it was the most normal thing ever, so I felt a little blown away the first time. He likes to poke faces, so that was the only interaction with his fellow diners, that and trying to take goldfish crackers off one another's napkin, but it was great all the same. He was a little person!
And of course it was all in Spanish. Hudson is not speaking yet (almost 16 months) but he understands a lot of what is said to hin in Spanish, and I am so grateful to have a time when he can hear Spanish coming from many voices, not just mine. At the most recent playtime there was another American mom with two older girls (the group is for 0-5 but there might not be too many resources for older kids, I don't know) but other than that all the women there - no men - are Hispanic moms or nannies with bilingual kids, or babies exposed to both languages. I have to get used to Mexican and Latin American accents, and expressions but at the same time I need to be consistent in my own speech. It's a strange process indeed to navigate the world of blingualism and multiculturalism.
The support and enthusiasm felt in the space is really important especially since I am not a native speaker (though I have been asked by other Spanish people what part of Spain I'm from when I introduce myself!), and it is in fact sometimes really hard to make myself keep going and truly not speak English with Hudson. To be able to sit with him and tell him to share his playdough with his neighbor and have him react, or to have meaningful reaction at any moment in Spanish, is quite possibly the coolest feeling I've had as a parent. Watching language development even in English would be exciting, but this feels very special, and it is a good booster for my confidence and dedication to bilingualism to go to playtime every week. I'm on the hunt for even more events and groups!
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