Language Stars. {Giveaway.}

Language is quite the thing in our house.  Ellie has been in speech therapy on at least a consult basis since six months old, and she receives weekly speech services now.  We also want her to know Spanish, which I don't currently speak, but I am working on.

We hope to put Ellie into Spanish immersion school, and in the meantime, this is what we discovered.  Locally, there's a program called Language Stars.

Here's some info from them: "A foreign language puts the world in your child's backyard, bringing other cultures to life. Introducing Language Stars: play-based, full-immersion foreign language classes that open children's minds to new worlds. Toddlers, pre-schoolers and K-5th graders benefit from an early start, during a unique window of opportunity when their young brains absorb the magic of another language and culture easily and rapidly. Centers are located in the Chicago metro area and DC metro area."

Um, hello awesomeness.  Play-based and immersion?  For toddlers?  Sounds like a big winner to me.  Ellie has already picked up some Spanish with the things we're doing, and I would love to give her additional exposure before starting school.

Open House Weeks are occurring January 14-27, and they come with a long list of perks.

Ready?

1. Tour your local Language Stars center.

2. Meet their international teaching team.  

3. Learn about the window of opportunity and why NOW (aka, childhood) is the best time for your child to learn a foreign language.

4. You will receive a special Open House gift for you and your child.

5. You can enter the giveaway to win an iPod Mini!  Whoot!

Oh, and if you enroll during the Open House Weeks, you save $100.  That's only for new families, though.  If you're already enrolled, you can save $100 on tuition for every family you refer who enrolls by January 27, 2013.  

To register for the Open House Weeks, you can sign up here.  If you're more of a phone person, you can call 866-55-STARS.

You can check out the DC metro area Language Stars right here on Facebook.  And about that iPod mini?  There's one for each market, and you can enter to win one right here.  (Retail value $329.)  Use the Rafflecopter entry below, but you usually have to use a real computer, not a mobile device, just based on my experience.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enjoy!  Let me know what your child learns.  Ellie currently will say "Si!" but not "Yes."

Note: This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.  I'm not responsible for Rafflecopter.  

A Grandma's Heart.

This Mother's Day, I'm working with Clever Girls in support of Macy's Heart of Haiti to shine a light on the "trade, not aid" program, which provides sustainable income to Haitian artisans struggling to rebuild their lives and support their families after the 2010 earthquake.

We're approaching my second Mother's Day as a mom, and my mom's second Mother's Day as "Grandma."  I've always known that my mom loves me and would defend me at any cost, but being a grandmother has amplified those attributes.

(My mom and me, Christmas 2011.  Photo by Matt.)

You might suspect that my mom's defensiveness of Ellie comes somewhat from Ellie having Down syndrome, but it's just my mom.  Ellie can do no wrong in her eyes, and I love my mom for her "grandma-colored-glasses."  Down syndrome, if anything, just is one more reason Ellie is amazing.  And should you encounter my mom out and about and have Down syndrome or accompany someone who does, get ready to sit down and hear about Ellie's amazing feats.

Awhile back, I wrote about Ellie's fine motor skills.  I stated that Ellie was behind her typical peers because she does not engage in voluntary release.  No "give it to Mama," no dropping blocks into a tray, no placing shapes in a shape-sorter.  Since Ellie had never demonstrated any of these skills consistently, I wrote a little blurb about her delay, and I laughed about it with the therapist.  I have a baby hoarder.  I hit publish, and the next day, my mom called.

(Me, Mom, Ellie.)

"What do those people mean saying that Ellie is behind!?!?"

"Well, Mom, she doesn't demonstrate any of those skills, so it's a big gap in her abilities.  She can do some things at her age level, but she doesn't let go of things.  She's kind of selfish."  I laughed.

My mom informed me that Ellie should receive credit on the developmental checklist for voluntary release, because, "She can do it, she just doesn't want to."

(Ellie and Grandma.)

Mom, thank you for loving Ellie.  When we received Ellie's diagnosis, I worried that people would see her delays more than her heart.  Grandma Sally certainly hasn't seen the delays.  She only sees perfection, just like any grandma should.

Of course, I'm giving my mom the necklace at the top of this post as one of her Mother's Day gifts.  (Shh, don't tell.  And Mom, if you're reading this, I'm getting you something else, too!)


Thank you to Macy's Heart of Haiti for sponsoring my participation in this “Share Your Heart" promotion. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

More info on "Heart of Haiti":

What is Macy’s Heart of Haiti? Heart of Haiti is a “Trade, Not Aid” initiative launched by artist and social entrepreneur, Willa Shalit, The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and Macy’s. Already, Heart of Haiti has led to employment of 750 artists in Haiti, providing financial benefits for an estimated 8,500 people in the country.
Each item is a one-of-a-kind design and handmade by a Haitian master artisan from raw materials such as recycled oil drums, wrought iron, papier-mâché and stone. The collection features more than 40 home decor items including quilts, metalwork, ceramics, jewelry and paintings and is made almost entirely from recycled and sustainable items such as old cement bags, cardboard, oil drums and local gommier wood.  
Heart of Haiti products are available online at Macy’s.com.

Pen Ready.

As I'm sure you've all figured out, I lug my camera everywhere.

Okay, almost everywhere.  I love adore am obsessed with my DSLR, but I admit, sometimes it's a bit too big to carry.  I mean, I already carry a diaper bag everywhere, too, right?  Sometimes, I would love to have something smaller that didn't require quite as much thought.  I shoot in manual, and since I'm still learning, I mess up frequently.  (If you're looking for examples, just scroll through this blog!)  I also spend a lot of time learning my camera, reading photography websites, and just playing with the settings and features.  A lot of times people ask me about the time it takes to learn.  Well, the answer is a lot of time, and I still have a long way to go.

There's a new trend you may have seen.  Olympus has a much smaller camera out - the Olympus PEN® E-PM1.  From the looks of things, there are way less buttons and bulk.  I would love to try one.  Olympus gave over 1,000 people cameras in six cities, and had them start shooting.  The results are some pretty sweet photos, which you can see at http://penready.com/.  These aren't "photographer" people, these are just regular people with cameras.  Sadly, I am not one of them.

Add it to my wish list to supplement my DSLR!


This post is sponsored by Olympus.