Say What?

Spreekt nederlands? (Do you speak Dutch?)  Me neither.  Well, not very well anyway.  I can get by, but that's pretty much it.  I wish I had the absorbent brains of my little people because they have been soaking up the language ever since we moved here!  Especially Carver.

Carver is now at the point that he can have conversations with his Dutch friends.  When he gets mad at one of his sisters, he automatically slips into a Dutch speaking frenzy a la Ricky Ricardo.  When I ask him what he did at school that day, sometimes he has trouble explaining it in English.  Last week, he had to demonstrate "face painting" for me, because he couldn't remember how to say it in English.  Carver usually has play dates with his friend Fabian.  Fabi's parents are trying to teach him English because they plan on moving to the states for a couple of years for work.  SO, when those 2 play together, they communicate in an interesting mix of English and Dutch that I think only they can understand.  Think "spanglish" but more like "nederlanglish" or something like that.  A few days ago, he had a little friend come over that speaks Dutch only (like most of his friends from school).  He was a pretty good translator for me if I needed to ask her questions.  I tried to sneak a few videos of them talking together, because that's the only way we really get to hear Carver speak Dutch.  He's pretty shy about speaking it if we ask him to.

Elsie & Ava still like going to Dutch school too.  Since there school is a Christian school, they have little prayers that they say before snack time.  E&A insist on saying a Dutch prayer & an English prayer before our meals now.  Every. Single. Time.  It gets a little old, but I guess it is neat to hear them practicing too.  They also don't mind watching cartoons in Dutch anymore, and they even answer Dora's questions correctly (since Dora in The Netherlands speaks Dutch and English, not Spanish and English.  Even though she is clearly hispanic.  She's just talented I guess.)

Kaydree, on the other hand, has picked up some British-like phrases from her bilingual teacher and British based curriculum.  Her reading books definitely have some major differences from the English I am used to.  She frequently reminds me to get things done "straight away" and she doesn't like me to get "cross" when she's disobedient.  She also likes doing her "maths" homework (did you know the rest of the english speaking free world puts an S after math?).  

As for me, I am lucky to be able to pronounce street names correctly.  Take the name of our street, for example: Burgemeester Meineszlaan.  Yeah, like that.  OR, I am lucky to communicate with the cashier at my dreaded frequent trips to the supermarket.  Guess I have a thing or two to learn from my kiddos.