My love for Albuquerque runs deep. Sure there’s great food, lots of sun, and beautiful hot air balloon gems that fill the sky each fall. However, the thing I love most about Albuquerque is the cultural influences that permeate every aspect of life in this beautiful city we get to call home.
One place that is working to keep the culture and language of Albuquerque’s roots alive is Instituto Cervantes. Their location is at one of our favorite places, the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Instituto Cervantes is the largest international Spanish teaching organization in the world, established by the Spanish government to teach the Spanish language in 44 countries. Here in the United States their locations include New York, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, and little old Albuquerque.
Who knew we had such an amazing resource here!
Instituto Cervantes is committed to teaching Spanish language and culture to the next generation. They have a whole division dedicated to this called CervantesKids. CervantesKids will help your child learn Spanish along with with an extensive library and fun cultural activities. They have two main programs within CervantesKids for kids ages 0-12.
After School Classes & Spanish for Homeschoolers
If your children are out of the toddler years (lucky you!), there’s still hope for them to learn Spanish before high school. Instituto Cervantes offers before & after school and homeschool programs for kids 6-12. The classes are only 1.5 hours once a week, so there’s plenty of time for other extracurricular activities. Each session includes 10 classes.
The classes at Instituto Cervantes are amazing compared to my flashbacks of conjugating verb worksheets. This Spanish immersion and enrichment program helps students learn and practice their Spanish speaking skills through guided recreational play, speaking and listening activities, arts and crafts, and storytelling. The goal is to give children the opportunity to learn and improve Spanish proficiency. At the same time, Spanish and Latin art, culture, and geography are taught to students.
Instituto Cervantes employs highly qualified native teachers from Spain and Latin America who hold advanced degrees in Spanish (Masters or Ph.D.) and are experienced professionals in child education. Before and after school programs are held at your child’s school. This cuts down on you playing taxi driver to another weekly activity. Instituto Cervantes works with local parent & teacher associations to bring these premiere classes straight to the schools. They are currently working with 10 schools around Albuquerque. If you are interested in bringing their program to your child’s school, call 505-724-4777.
Mommy and Me Classes
I had big plans for motherhood when I was pregnant. We weren’t going to have any plastic toys, feed her only homemade baby food, and teach her Spanish. While you may be giggling to yourself about these unrealistic expectations, the funniest part is neither my husband nor I speak Spanish. Sure, I took some Spanish in college (because it was required), but I am far from fluent. The same goes for my husband. However, because our children are of Hispanic heritage and we know the amazing benefits of being dual language, we fantasized about bilingual niños.
Luckily, Instituto Cervantes has Mommy & Me Spanish classes! This class is designed for moms (or dads) who would like to help their children naturally develop a second language. It is never too early to start exposing your child to a new language. This class welcomes children ages 0 to 6 years old, accompanied by a parent or caregiver. Songs and games fill the class to make it fun and engaging, while also maximizing learning. Your child will learn by listening, seeing, touching, imitating, and practicing.
If you are like me and LOVE the Spanish cultural influences in Albuquerque, make sure to check out Instituto Cervantes. Their next session begins September 6th and registration is now open. You can download the Fall Brochure to see all that they offer or reach them at 505-724-4777.
