International Mother Language Day is celebrated worldwide each February 21. This year’s theme is “multilingual education – a necessity to transform education in a multilingual world.”
Let’s look at its history and ways you can celebrate at home and school!
Guest post by Afsaneh Moradian
About two years ago, my child informed us that they are nonbinary. That they don’t identify as either boy or girl and that their pronouns are now they/them. Of course, this was fine with me. But, it did take a lot of work to stop using she/her in reference to my child. I’d been doing that for so many years, I was on autopilot. I tried and made a lot of mistakes in the beginning. Then I saw my child’s face when someone called them she. My child cringed and felt so uncomfortable.
Women’s History Month is celebrated throughout the whole month and we are thrilled to share with you this guest post by author Vivian Kirkfield.
I had a lucky childhood.
I didn’t have to worry about food or shelter or safety. And growing up on the Lower East Side of New York City, I learned early on that people came in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I didn’t need books to introduce me to different cultures – I just played with the neighborhood kids – their family backgrounds spanned the globe. [Read more…]
{ Guest post from Pack-n-Go Girls}
Greetings! The Pack-n-Go Girls Team hopes that this post finds you and your loved ones healthy.
No matter where you are, the school year is going to be full of challenges. It doesn’t matter if you’re a student, teacher, librarian, or parent, school is being redefined, which creates its own level of stress for everyone.
Pack-n-Go Girls Adventures wants to help you ease the stress a bit and at the same time creatively engage young learners. Lisa Travis and Janelle Diller, Pack-n-Go Girls authors, are happy to do live interactive author visits via Zoom–for FREE! Their goal is to inspire kids to become curious readers, great writers, and global citizens.
Diverse Early Chapter Books for Girls | Pack-n-Go Girls
Lisa and Janelle take young readers on a virtual author visit through the Pack-n-Go Girls countries of Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Thailand, and Austria. Lisa and Janelle share their writing secrets to make their writing come alive, and at the same time, they provide a glimpse of cultural similarities and differences, teach some language phrases, and quiz kids on fun facts.
At the end of the discussion, they’re happy to do a Q&A with your budding writers. The kids love it!
Are you homeschooling or not in a traditional classroom this fall? This offer applies to you, too. Gather eight or ten other homeschoolers and Pack-n-Go will gladly Zoom with them. Or if you don’t have a way to corral students for a specific time, feel free to share their YouTube video of the author visit. The YouTube video is 37 minutes. For live meetups, plan on about an hour–a few minutes more if you want to allow for questions. Most kids never get to talk to a real author, but when they do, it inspires them to read and write more.
Here’s a valuable tip: Pack-n-Go Girls authors aren’t alone in their willingness to do this. Most authors are only too happy to do a short Zoom conversation for free just for a chance to talk about their books and connect with readers. Contact your favorite authors through their websites or publishers.
Contact Pack-n-Go Girls at hello@packngogirls.com to get details for your author visit today! Let’s do some world travel from the comfort of your classroom!
MCBD has been blessed with an amazing connection and relationship with Language Lizard for several years. We are also honored they continue to be a reoccurring Medallion Level Sponsor for our Multicultural Children’s Book Day celebrations. This company always presents a high level of professionalism while providing much need products in a huge variety of languages. We are lucky to be able to continue to work with them and share their wisdom. Enjoy.
“Bilingual is in my blood,” shared Anneke Forzani, company president and founder of Language Lizard; a woman-owned business that offers award-winning bilingual children’s products in over 50 languages. “My passion for bilingualism started when I was a child and that thread runs through all parts of my life. My parents immigrated from Belgium so the European lifestyle was part of my childhood. My father was also a college professor so I have fond memories of him inviting students who couldn’t go home for the holidays to our house. Our Thanksgiving table was often surrounded by a variety of languages and cultures.”
Forzani went on to share that this love of language stayed with her well into adulthood and was instrumental in the creation of her company, Language Lizard. The mission of the company is comprised of Two Pillars:
Pillar #1: To facilitate the celebration of diversity and multicultural education with bilingual (dual-language) children’s books, audio resources, multicultural posters, and culturally responsive teaching support. Language Lizard is also committed to supporting the academic and social development of English language learners while promoting the maintenance of home or heritage languages.
Pillar #2: To continually give back to the community.
“Language Lizard is pleased to support any companies that are interested in providing a unique charitable giving program to the communities in which they work, or to educational programs that they support,” Forzani noted. “We also participate in the Pledge 1% Program. It’s a global initiative that strives to change the world by inspiring early-stage corporate philanthropy. Pledge 1% is an easy way to leverage a portion of our future success to support nonprofits in our community. It’s a small commitment today that can make a huge impact tomorrow.”
The company supports dual language learners and promotes multicultural education and the maintenance of heritage languages by offering many products in hard-to-find languages like Hmong, Somali, Farsi, and many more.
 Inspire kids to learn languages and understand diverse cultures
with our creative, award-winning multilingual products! BOOKS: All of their books are dual-language (bilingual) and include English as well as the language you select. Each page (or facing page) contains both languages. Please click on any language below to find the products available in that language. |
“The need to establish an awareness of and respect for other cultures in the next generation is clear,” Forzani shared. “We are living in a global community. In the US, over 20% of the population is either foreign-born or has a foreign-born parent. The Census Bureau estimates that by the end of the 21st century, minorities will represent more than half of the total population. In addition, with the expansion of the Internet and inexpensive international communications, the world is becoming increasingly interdependent.”
With a constant eye on providing the tools and resources for adults as well as kids, Forzani and her team pooled their knowledge and expertise to create their wildly popular book Building Bridges with Bilingual Books and Multicultural Resources. Published in 2019, this robust book is a practical manual of lesson plans, literacy games, and fun activities from around the world to celebrate diversity in the classroom and at home. This resource gives educators the tools to build culturally responsive classrooms that embrace multiculturalism.
Building Bridges with Bilingual Books and Multicultural Resources
“Our children must be comfortable working and playing with people of other backgrounds and ethnicities in order to succeed. As teachers and parents, we have a responsibility as well as a terrific opportunity to develop young people who are tolerant of other cultures and comfortable working in a diverse environment. We also have the ability to help children maintain existing home language skills and encourage parental involvement in education while at the same time promoting literacy and a love of reading. Language Lizard aims to give you the tools to do so.”
Their BLOG is filled with articles that support the education of dual-language children and promote literacy.
Parents, teachers, and librarians can also download free multicultural lesson plans that teach all students to appreciate and understand the diversity in our communities.
Language Lizard is a longtime sponsor of Multicultural Children’s Book Day and a current 2020 Platinum Sponsor.
The Company is located in Basking Ridge, NJ, and can be reached at 1-888-LLIZARD (888-554-9273) or info@LanguageLizard.com . For address information and to contact Language Lizard using their online form, click here.
Their products have been well-reviewed by critics, families, and teachers. Click here to read reviews and awards on specific products. Click here to read Testimonials by Language Lizard’s customers.
Language Lizard is excited to announce an epic giveaway to promote reading to celebrate 15 YEARS of supporting language learners!
Language Lizard giveaway
Win packages of bilingual books in over 50 languages! Extra winners selected during the pandemic. All entrants receive a free diversity lesson plan.
Enter for a chance to win throughout the year by doing 2 easy steps:
(1) Fill out and submit the giveaway form and (2) Sign up for our newsletter.
Sign up at www.LanguageLizard.com/
