I’ll say little phrases to her here and there and it still amazes me that she responds, understands and attempts to reply in Spanish for certain words/phrases– mainly the words that she signs–but I’ve been slacking on giving her solid hours of hearing me speak only Spanish like I had hoped to do every morning. I’m sure this phase will pass and I will start back up again soon, but this is where we’re at right now. I still hope to get her registered in a toddler language class and I feel like this will motivate me more. Any other recommendations on getting and staying motivated?

A few recent language links…

• Spanish Lesson Plans for Children pointed out some resources for Christian worship music in Spanish
• Foreign Language Fun is having a sale on their holiday-related Spanish & French resources until 12/18
• Think Spanish‘s blog has an article available about the Christmas traditions in South America
• Eleena @ Voices en Español has a great review about a new online video resource called Bablingua

• Head over to Boca Beth‘s blog for a chance to win her Gigante Bag of goodies! It’s open until Monday, 11/17. These are great resources for teaching your little one Spanish!
• Teaching and Learning Spanish had a great post letting us know about ShowTime Spanish a podcast you download for free (or listen to via the web)

And now for the update…

As of yesterday I had written 24, 217 words, which is just about 800 words over the targeted word count. I had a bit of a slow week, but thankfully my early word count cushion allowed me to stay in the game and on track. A couple of plot developments have grown out of nothing which has been fun, and so far, I’m still enjoying the process. My local WriMo buddy and I went out to Caribou Coffee to do a little writing the other night, which was great, and made me feel like I was single and in college again, since my husband and i used to go study at coffee shops a lot before we were married.

Karen!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

In other language news, there was a funny translation mishap in Wales, Foreign Language Fun has some Spanish Thanksgiving activities, and Biligual Fun is giving away a CD along with some great tips on teaching your kids Spanish.

NaNoWriMo Update

Well, last weekend I started strongly, very strongly, and then, let’s just say it’s been good that I had such a large cushion because the last few days I’ve slacked a little. I’m still ahead of the game, but I need to press on if I want to stay that way for much longer. I’ve been really enjoying the process though. I experienced one scene where the words just seemed to flow out freely, almost supernaturally, and even just today, a new character and small subplot crept in out of nowhere.

I’m pressing on!

Spanish

• Download free Halloween Spanish worksheets & a coloring page at Foreign Language Fun.
• Teaching and Learning Spanish directs to some free Spanish curriculum online.
• Check out these 3 online resources for Spanish Teachers at Voices en Español.

Language Learning

• Also from Foreign Language Fun is a reference to a good reason why learning a foreign language is beneficial.

Writing

• Ami @ Write Out Loud has a fun exercise on mind mapping called “Webbing Words.”
• This is from a while ago, but I love this post by Writer Dad about when his wife bought him his MacBook. It’s a sweet testimony to supporting and following dreams.

And now for a bit about my writing dreams…

In one week I will attempt to make one of my dreams a reality. I will embark on what I described to a friend as a “month-long journey to insanity.” I’ve mentioned before how crazy I feel doing this, but I also feel like I have to do it.

I have a few friends joining me for the ride, and I’m super excited to see what we come up with. I’ve started brainstorming this week and feel like I have at least a little direction. I’m not too worried about that since I read on the website today that NaNoWriMo‘s founder said he’s “still without a plot or characters and feeling pretty good about it.”

I’m going to try to write weekly updates throughout the month on this blog about my progress with WriMo. But hey, no guarantees– I’ll be writing a 50,000 word novel, packing a house, moving halfway across country, chasing a crazy 18-month old, oh yeah, and eating and sleeping, maybe, too.

You’ll notice a little blue NaNoWriMo badge in my sidebar… feel free to click on over to my “Author Page” at WriMo and see how my “writing buddies” and I are progressing there. And it’s not too late to sign up! I’d love more buddies, aka partners in insanity! It’s going to be fun!