Our three months in Bolivia: What the kids have to say

Foster had a major breakthrough this weekend: he started speaking Spanish in sentences! Foster's comprehension was pretty good when we got here, but his spoken vocabulary was not much more than names of a few food items, colors, numbers 1-10, Estados Unidos, please and thank you.

Now nearly 4 weeks into our stay, this weekend he just all of a sudden started stringing words together. Truly, this just sort of burst out of the blue and is something everyone has noticed, particularly since he's said very little until now. Samples of his newfound ability to speak:
Quiero papel para biblioteca (I want paper for library)
Esta debajo escalera (It's under stairs)
Voy a dormir en el medio (I'm going to sleep in the middle)

Susana arrived already able to say a few sentences (particularly those beginning with "I want") and she now jabbers away all the time. She does not always make sense, and she massacres the el/la gender thing, but she is completely in Spanish mode...she plays with Foster in Spanish even when they're alone, answers me in Spanish even if I say something to her in English. So her brain, I think, is very busy assimilating, and it will be interesting to see how/what comes together next.

Elliott had the most conversational Spanish to begin with, and he picked right up so it is a little harder to gauge his progress. He has been able to follow along at school and has never reported feeling totally lost. He's not afraid to talk to anyone, so he has made friends to play soccer with at recess and to talk to on the bus on the way home. For Elliott, I expect his progress will be more subtle and will have a lot to do with learning spelling and grammar at school.

Here's what Elliott has to say about school so far. After concentrating all day at school in Spanish, then doing homework, he's lost some enthusiasm for his journal. Nor can journal-writing compete with the Wii lego Star Wars game! So I provided him with a more painless, fill-in-the-blank format (his contribution in green).

I can't believe I've done 3 weeks of school. It seems like: I've been here for a year already.
Now I'm used to: going to school.
My favorite class is: Musica and Matematicas
My friends are named: Diego, Lucia, Nicolas, Jorge, Santiago and Ignacio.
What I like best about this school is: English class! And that we're there 5 hours and not 7 like at home.
One thing that is different here is: we use paper with little small squares for everything. [K: graph paper]
Some new words I've learned this week: Avanzar (to advance), Recreo (recess), Chisguete (water gun), Merienda (snack), Sin querer (by accident/ without wanting to)

Last, photos for you grandparents out there, illustrating the kids' secret to learning Spanish: non-stop PLAY with spanish-speaking playmates! Be sure to go to the last one to see just how tiring all this play is...