How soon after adopting should I enroll?
Immediately! You might not realize it, but children can lose their language skills almost completely in as little as 2 months. The good news is that they can maintain it if they have regular exposure, but don’t wait even a few weeks.
What if we adopted a few months ago?
Probably your child has forgotten how to speak if there has been no Russian language reinforcement in your family. However, it is likely that if you begin ongoing exposure to fluent Russian speakers, your child will at least understand the language and later, he or she can learn to speak and read and write, too. So, the sooner the better, but don’t lose hope if it has been awhile. Contact us for an evaluation and we can help.
Is a weekly class enough?
Although our classes are rich with language, music, and other subjects, we strongly recommend that you find additional Russian exposure during the week. There are creative ways to achieve this. For example, how about finding a Russian nanny or care-giver once a week so that you can do errands or enjoy an evening out? If you start piano lessons, consider finding a teacher that can instruct in Russian. Arranging play dates with other Russian kids is probably one of the most effective and natural approaches. You can play Russian music and recorded poetry. If you consider it, you will find that there are many opportunities to be exposed to Russian more than one time per week.
Won’t this slow down my child’s English acquisition?
In the long run, it will only help. Bilingual children have an enormous academic advantage over children that do not have the privilege of having two or more languages. That is why many public schools are now offering language immersion programs (such as Spanish in Robbinsdale and St. Paul and French in Edina).
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me.
Vladimir Sivriver, MS, PE, RLS
Director of Bookvar School