Our Spanish Immersion Pre-K and Kinder students blew me away during our recent Friday field trip to the Little Thompson Observatory. The kids have been working hard; learning all they can about Space and they have an insatiable curiosity for Astronomy.







During the field trip, the kids were able to expand on their knowledge of the Milky Way (Via Láctea) in which our solar system belongs and discuss more about stars, such as the Sun. They even had the opportunity to look at the Sun through a solar telescope and see a solar flare! John Hiatt, our guide and local Astronomer, taught the kids how to find the North Star, the brightest star of Ursa Minor (Osa Menor), and in return the kids taught him all of the names of the planets in Spanish.

The kids explored the star charts on the walls of the Observatory to find constellations, galaxies, black holes and nebulae. The students learned that different cultures have specific ethnoastronomy and were able to look at and discuss the constellations used by the Lakota Indians. The children had lots of questions for John and spent the remainder of our time asking about astronomy research, the history of astronomy, telescopes, astronomy photographing, and space flights!

What an amazing opportunity for our kids! Thank you to John and the Little Thompson Observatory! We'll be sure to visit again soon!

Crystal Ferreira

Thanksgiving

As we approach Thanksgiving, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you—it is such a blessing to have such wonderful families be a part of our school and to be able to work with your children.


Our kid’s immersion Spanish classes joined in the Thanksgiving fun with some great art projects! As they talked about the first Thanksgiving, the kids made cute little turkey centerpieces that list the things they are thankful for.

They also learned some useful table manners in Spanish that they can utilize over the holiday. Our teachers set the stage for success through practice. A "fancy Thanksgiving table" was set up and the kids got to ask questions and practice so that they are now comfortable and familiar enough to wow everyone with their great table manners! So much fun! The students were adorable!

Please remember, school will be closed November 25, 26th and 27th for Thanksgiving.

Have a lovely holiday week with your family.
Happy Thanksgiving!

One-Bunny-One-Language

Our new bunnies are one year old now. As we celebrated their birthday we tried out some IQ tests at home to see how they were doing. My son, James, who’s now four years old and attends Spanish Kindergarten five days a week at Language Exchange, set up a timed language test for them.

‘Dinner!’ (Bunnies run across room and eat food one minute later)
'Cena!’ (Bunnies run across room and eat food two minutes later)

James decided they reply faster to English than Spanish, probably because we always speak English to them. It seemed weird to speak my second language to an animal, and James simply followed suit. The Bunnies do have a role to play though. They are a shining example of the one-bunny-one-language strategy, because now James speaks Spanish to the bunnies. The conversations can go on for quite some time. He even made up special songs in Spanish for them to the tune of 'Little Bunny Foo-Foo.'

The OBOL approach may not be high level language use, being rather limited in subject matter (food, water, carrots, the weather), but at least it gives James a chance to use the minority language with a willing and cuddly listener.


Crystal Ferreira

Today we took advantage of possibly the last beautiful day before some cold weather hits us and brought a little reminder of summer into our classroom. One of our grandmother's is a Master Gardener. As a retired preschool teacher of many, many years she brought her expertise in both plant care and child care to our immersion Spanish group of preschoolers. We planted an herb garden to keep in our room and which will later serve as some wonderful experiments in the 5 senses for this Fall. We learned about care and vocabulary for plants in Spanish. Muy divertido! Gracias Gramms. Please visit us again.

Fridays are always fabulous at LEXNC. We call it Vamos Viernes and the kids and I have even come up with our own jingle for the day. This Friday we finished up our Spain studies but we also had Pet Pals day. The children talked about "mascotas" which pets we have at home, what is required to take care of them, how we treat them and then..we got to share our best Pet Pals. Conejos (bunnies) came, Ratas (rats) and dos perros (dogs). It was a regular petting zoo! To remind us how we care for our pets, Hathor and Isis have become our new classroom mascotas and Lex the beta fish has been brought out of his sabbatical.

Finished up Spain study

Our young students have had quite a run these last few weeks. We have met and walked alpacas, made sangria, eaten tapas, danced the flamenco and acted out and played with our Don Quijote characters about as many ways as you can. It was a blast.
The most amazing thing to me is how they no longer really notice the Spanish factor. It's all the same games and fun for them. The most wonderful thing though has been watching the preschoolers slide into that same level of comfort with Chinese. Wait! Did I say Chinese? That's right...our preschoolers also get one hour of Chinese including Tai Chi every day of class. They are already more globally astute than most of us adults!!

OK, I made the hummus recipe for 11 people Sunday night. It really worked! Tasted great, and took 20 minutes total (not counting the boiling time). Let's hear it for healthy, delicious, fast-food to feed the masses.

Greg Mortenson tonight at Moby Arena

Greg Mortenson did not disappoint tonight as he spoke to a packed Moby Arena. He remains a humble man earnest in his convictions, hopes and gratitude despite the fact that many nights he stands before a huge crowd with no less than 5 jumbo screens on him and on this particular night an elite little circle of Fort Collins' civic celebrities hanging on his every word. It meant so much for me to see him tonight and I was grateful for the company of Crystal and Missy. You cannot underestimate the power of inspiration. His book, "Three Cups of Tea", which recounts his personal journey in building peaceful and respectful relationships on the other side of the world and schools which specialize in educating girls in places where it was never before allowed, has inspired the masses. It truly is a must-read book and in fact, has become so for the Pentagon and military in Afghanistan. And yet, it is a book that speaks to me in my minuscule little city trying to spread the same ideals and understanding for respect, cooperation and communication. When I first began reading the book I was trying to finnagle the exit strategy of my beloved Language Exchange. I was at the end of my rope. Over and over I ask myself "Why, why is the work of creating opportunities for our community to learn from, interact with and benefit from the richness of each other's heritage and language like trying to bathe a cat"? I am so tired of hitting my head against the brick wall with the community-at-large. In a city of more than 186,000 people are you seriously telling me that the number of folks who value, really value language acquisition, multicultural interaction and diversity in their day-to-day lives is only about 200 people?
This, unlike tonight's speaker, does not inspire hope.
A year and a half ago I read "Three Cups of Tea" and cried through the entire thing because my cause, my school, my city means just as much to me. I understood again that the work and purpose of Language Exchange of Northern Colorado is bigger than my 60 hour weeks without pay, bigger than not seeing my children in their formative years, bigger than my financial well-being and bigger than any one popular language or culture.
By the end of the book I decided to dig in and keep swinging as Greg Mortenson had done so many times.
I came to Fort Collins 13 years ago and even then I knew this place was special. It wasn't perfect but it came pretty close. My belief then and now is that if you love a place, the way I love this city you should preserve those things which are important to you, those things which are good about it and work to change the imperfections. That's what the school has been for me; a missing piece in this city that I could be responsible for filling.
As I talk to Crystal I know that it is so deeply appreciated by some, that my heart floats knowing that I have some part of it. Vicki says that I have to get the word out because this is so important. When I watch our students interact with their Chinese teacher during Tai Chi or see people making lasting and impressive relationships at our cultural events for the community I feel in my soul that I am in the right place, that this school must survive. But when I listen to parents complain about paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month in tuition for schools where they are dissatisfied but can't see spending half that on immersion education, when I get phone calls from city offices who don't want my business to dawn international flags I can get more than a little discouraged. Today unfortunately was one of those days. But I got through it. Parents of our students get me through it, my family gets me through and today Greg Mortenson got me through it...again. Thank you to everyone who gives me the reason to do it all over again.
See you tomorrow.

Rosh Hashana begins Sept. 19th. I would love to receive some links to information or personal explanations from the Jewish community here in Northern Colorado. Also if there is someone who would like to give a tour of a Temple for non-Jews please contact the LEXNC office.

Ramadan began on August 22, there will be information for adults and children who aren't very familiar with the Islamic holiday. From my own experience with it as a non-Muslim, it is a hallowed time of thoughtfulness and reflection and the Eid celebration is a celebration for the taste buds alone. Keep an eye out on the calendar for information regarding when and where the Eid will be. This year we hope to have an open invitation for each of you to learn about and even experience the feeling of community which revolves around this Islamic Holy month.
If you have any information regarding Ramadan events here in the communtiy please post them on this blog or contact the office.

Next Monday, August 31st at 7pm Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea will speak at Moby Arena. Tickets are sold out and folks are clamoring to get a hold of one. I have one ticket that I have saved for any enrolled student of Language Exchange of Northern Colorado,LLC. You are eligible if you have a child enrolled here as well. Simply submit your name to our email and I will pull a name out of a hat on Monday morning. The winner will be phoned. You must be able to attend that night. Doors will open at 6pm. This lecture is not to be missed and I look forward to going with you.
Submit your name to: info@languagexchangeofnoco.com
by Monday morning no later than 8am. I will pull the name at 8:30 before the start of Language Sprouts class.
Good luck!

Well, summer came to a close and the Fall semester is upon me without warning. I could not be happier. We have a wonderful new location, great sized rooms and a stone's throw from some of my favorite places...the park, Tortilleria, Oasis Mediterranean Market, the Taqueria and my son's favorite Chuck E. Cheese. I think however the most votes go to Dairy Queen!
Monday morning, the first day of classes here at LEXNC was glorious. It was one of those days when I knew that I am where I am supposed to be.
Our preschoolers stood in the park with their Chinese teacher, Mei, learning Tai Ji in Chinese!! Is that not the best? Thist morning I had the whole Kindergarten class practicing Yoga in the same park taking deep breaths with eyes closed, the sun rising behind them and they just look like little(international) angels. Our children are so truly amazing! I am blessed by their presence.
Right now we have Spanish Afterschool going on in the room to my left and Teen Japanese to my right and we're making copies for tomorrow's Rusian class. There is absolutely no where else in this world I want to be than right here in the heart of Cosmopoitan Colorado. Thank you Language Exchange, you give us so much!

French/Francophone Week '09: A Great Success!

After months of preparation and anticipation, French/Francophone week finally arrived on July 13th. We were heartbroken to have had to cancel our very first event at the Poudre Library, but we still had the extraordinary kick-off we were looking for at the Bastille Day Picnic thanks to the turn-out from our Fort Collins French and Francophone community. The amount of support during the entire week was truly touching. A sincere thanks to everyone. Un gros merci a tous!


We spent the evening of the 14th listening to the live music by Ken Beecken and his fellow musicians while enjoying the dishes and desserts everyone graciously brought, and speaking French, of course! Although English speakers may have been the minority, many conversations were a welcoming "Franglais". This was a really great networking opportunity among French, Francophones and Francophiles. We hope you made some lasting connections...we know we did! And how could we forget our little committed cyclists who raced in the Petit Tour de France. Go kids, go! (See the picture at the top and at the right)


The supportive and spirited atmosphere continued through to the Francophone cuisine and French wine night on the 15th. We had a wonderful representative from Wilbur's Total Food and Beverage come to give a short presentation and introduction to the many types of French wine and to the 6 specific bottles available to taste that evening. As we whet our palates with samples of the red and white wines, aromas filled the air from our Lebanese, Senegalese and French food dishes. It was wonderful to watch traditional hummus and babaganoush being freshly made and even better to taste them. Take a look at the recipes on the right and make them yourself at home! Finishing with authentic crepes and the locally-named Senegalese dish, "Peanut Sauce", I think it is safe to say no one left hungry from this event. (See the above left picture of our Lebanese cook with her spices and our French cook organizing the wine, a true Frenchman :) ) (See recipes on the right)

As for the movie night, the hilarious physical comedy of "Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis" made up for the fact that there were no English subtitles. Look at it this way...no reading! In seriousness, this French blockbuster broke nearly every French box office record and has grossed over $193 million in France alone, and for good reason (Wikipedia). This film showed that comedy is comedy in any language and our constant laughter served as proof! The evening really captured the essence of the week by breaking the language barrier and bringing a diverse group of people together as one.

Thank you again to everyone who volunteered to help us and thank you to everyone who attended. It would not be possible without each one of you. Thank you!!!

*Check out more pictures on our Facebook page:

The first week of camp has come to an end and all of our Li'l Trekkers had a wonderful experience touring the land of Flamenco, Bullfights and acting out the stories of Don Quixote. Can't wait till next week when we go exploring the caves of Altamira and work on our own sculptures after the great Antonio Gaudi.

Welcome! Since 2005 the Language Exchange of Northern Colorado has been the premiere school for language acquisition and cultural exchange in northern Colorado.

We offer programs beginning from 18 months to adult in over a dozen languages. Every instructor at the Language Exchange is a native speaker and represents the best of his/her country and culture. Whether you're just trying to get the most out of your next vacation or getting back to your own roots, we are here to share our passion and expertise with you.

Come by, learn about the world around you, and in the process share of yourself!