Danish

Since Danish is my first language and the kids’s second language, I teach them through exposure. My husband is also Danish, and we speak a mix of English and Danish in the household. When Mathilde was a toddler, it was clear she had picked English as her first language (to my big surprise).

Well, I still try to get Danish into our everyday life in many ways. I always start the day with tons of hygge and a big breakfast and then when we sit around the table munching on our breakfast I video call my mom in Denmark. Not only is this amazing to chat 5-10 minutes with grandma every day— but both girls get a daily dose of Danish exposure. I also have Mathilde watch Danish children TV— Denmark’s equivalent to PBS makes some amazing kid’s programs about insects and nature that we both love.

Whenever we visit Denmark, I always get a few Danish books for read aloud — and we have started a little bit of Mathilde reading. I have a friend who is a teacher at a Danish school, she is an awesome resource and have found a few workbooks for me so we also can try out some writing to. I am not too worried about the reading and writing in Danish it will come slowly as we move along through the grades.