About

Welcome back and thanks for reading!

gidget

Hi, my name is Nicole, or as I like to affectionately refer to myself, Gidget.

I’m essentially a stay-at-home mom, but I wear a lot of hats. This blog, which is a a sort of “side project” of my main blog, Gidget Goes Home, is where I plan to hang up a few of these hats.

Here’s a few of the topics you might read about here on Gidget Loves Language, and how they fit with me personally and professionally…

::Reading::

I’ve always been an avid reader; just ask my parents about the time I checked out about 15 books from the library for a 3-week trip, only to finish most of them on the drive there. When I have the privilege of taking part in a blog tour or doing a book review, you’ll find it here. I may even have some book giveaways from time to time! Feel free to contact me for potential book reviews.

::Writing::
I’ve also always loved to write. As a little girl I would compose poetry and in junior high I took my first stab at fiction (I didn’t get very far, but it was a start!). I started college as a journalism major, but then decided to switch to Spanish, but I’ve never given up on the dream of writing. I started blogging for family & friends, began to dabble a little more at fiction, completed a NaNoWriMo novel, and keep up my personal blog as a creative outlet almost daily. I have loads of ideas bouncing around in my head, that will hopefully someday find their way to paper.

::Language Learning, especially Spanish::
About halfway through college I found my academic passion to be foreign languages and specifically, Spanish. I have a bachelor’s in Modern Languages and Literatures (where I studied Spanish and French) and a master’s in Spanish (literature and linguistics). During my undergrad studies, I also studied abroad for a semester in Santiago, Chile. I’ve worked with almost all ages of language-learning students in some form or another and worked as a college Spanish lecturer for two years before “temporarily retiring” to stay home with my daughter in ’07. I love languages, and I love teaching Spanish, and I’m excited to have a place to discuss and share ideas and resources related to language.

::Multilingualism::
As many people ask me, I do hope to eventually teach my children some Spanish. I’m not a native speaker, so I have my own challenges, but I feel that the benefits of being bilingual outweigh my own insecurities. I look forward to hearing from others who are marching down this path as well. My son (who was adopted) is one-quarter Mexican, which gives me all the more reason and inspiration to bring Spanish into our home.

::Home Education::
This blog will also gradually become a record of my homeschooling journey as it unfolds. My oldest is currently in preschool two mornings a week, but I do hope to begin incorporating some schooling in our home life as we hope to homeschool at least part-time. This decision will always be subject to change, but for now that’s where my husband and I see our family headed.

my cute kiddos

You can read more about me if you like, but otherwise let’s just say I’m a self-proclaimed grammar nerd, a polyglot, and a mom (and wife) with a love for all things language.