Given that we’re originally from Southern California, I think my mother envisions my daughter stuck inside the house or in the stroller layered up to the point where she’s unable to move as we prepare to brave the freezing cold. And while both scenarios have occurred, we actually have found a lot to do – the highlights of which I plan to feature through my NeighborMedia pieces.

One of the many things I wanted to do with my daughter was expose her to Spanish, not just inside the house, but out of it, without having to go very far. (Anyone who has ever had a 9-month-old understands.) Fortunately, Cambridge has resources – although I’d like to find more -- that allow me to do just that. I’m sure there’s more out there, or at least, I hope this isn’t the extent of it, and as I find more, I’ll try to post them here.

Although my daughter is still years away from even starting kindergarten, the idea of Amigos School seems like a great concept.

Some of the other resources I’ve found include:

Children’s books – this one has been the easiest to find. Both Curious George in Harvard Square and Barefoot Books in Porter Square have a decent (but by no means overwhelming) selection. I have heard the public libraries also offer some children’s books in Spanish, but as my daughter is at the age where she either is chewing on the books or tearing the pages, we’re not quite at that stage.

Classes – Another mom told me about 1-2-3 Spanish Together, a center that offers Spanish “classes,” or developmental playgroups with songs, stories, etc. in Spanish. Classes are around $165 for eight weeks, which isn’t cheap, but is about average compared to other similar type classes in English. The classes are offered at several different sites in the area, including one in Cambridge. Luna Canta offers a similiar class that appears to have a music focus.

Resources – The Cambridge Center for Families (more on them to come) have a variety offer a number of resources (in a number of languages- not just Spanish and English). Their Web site isn’t great, but it contains the information you need to at least find out more.

Story time – This is something I’ve been looking for, but haven’t been able to find. I’ve seen that the Cambridge public library has had Spanish story time in the past, but is no longer on the schedule. Barefoot Books has also featured the occasional bilingual story time, but they haven’t had one recently.