Sometimes a clown, sometimes a cheerleader

Anyone who has had a 3 year old knows that this is the age of declaring independence and demonstrating strong-willed tendencies (usually toward the exact opposite of what you would like to happen). Trying to get my son to use Spanish can be tricky. If I push, he flat out refuses. If  I cajole, he says it's yucky and he doesn't want to. So I have to change tactics. I act like a clown pretty often, over exaggerating my motions and pronunciation to get him laughing and responding without pressure. Even this, though, will sometimes only win me signs of understanding and not use of  the language.

For instance, at lunch today: (in my clown persona)

"Mommy! These potato chips are delicious!"
".¿Las papitas son deliciosas?"
"Uh-huh."
"¿De qué color son las papitas? ¿Son verdes?"
"Nooo, they're not green!"
"Son azules?"
"No! They're not blue, they're yellow!"
"Las papitas son amarillas?"
"Yes!"
"¿Sí?
"¡Sí!


As we are in the middle of this "Polar Vortex" in the mid-west, we are pretty much confined to activities in the house. So after lunch, the boys and I spent some time in my bedroom, because it seems to be the warmest room in the house. In the middle of reading a story,our 3 yr old climbed up on the bed and said, "Mommy! I am arriba!"

In a split second, my brain processed that he had voluntarily used a Spanish word and my inner cheerleader emerged. Imagine the clown persona after two Red Bulls and you'll have a reasonable vision of how exited I became- "MUY BIEN! ¡Sí estás arriba! ¡EXCELENTE!"

He got a huge smile on his face and took it one step further, "Mommy! I am arriba, and you and my baby brother are abajo!"

Well, the cheerleader cheered and a happy dance ensued.

So I know that he is understanding and learning new words in Spanish. It is still early in our journey, though, and he still is more comfortable responding in English. All of the research says that to succeed, there has to be a NEED for the language as well as exposure. So my goal is to find a way to make more of a need here at home. We go to a Spanish story time every two weeks and have a Spanish play date planned, but it's not until a month from now. Alas, being few and far between, those don't help create a need here in our home. 

I'm considering different paths- maybe a sticker chart for when he uses Spanish or maybe setting a short  play time each day where I "only understand" Spanish. Whatever I do, I know my inner clown and cheerleader will be right by my side!