CALLIE
Bilingual: Mama, Wife, Teacher
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Sobre yo y Conmigo
Hello, My name is Callie Kretsch.
I am a mother raising a bilingual daughter, a teacher with seven years of classroom experience, and a non-native bilingual. I built Conmigo with my family to provide Spanish language exposure and education to all ages. We believe that anyone can be bilingual, and by learning a language, we raise the understanding of people and cultures.
A little more about me:
I grew up in Newburyport, MA, and now am a resident of Amesbury. My husband, daughter, and I moved back to the area in 2020 after an extended period living in Rhode Island. Though I am native to the United States, I have a strong connection to Southern Spain, specifically Granada. I consider it my home away from home, primarily because of my family’s close relationship with a family there. I spent 6-months with a host family during college, and our families have maintained a close relationship since. A highlight of my Spanish teaching career was bringing my students to Spain to meet mi familia Granadina.
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We are raising our daughter bilingual using a combination of a one-parent-one-language strategy and the minority language at home. In this concept, I focus on speaking primarily Spanish to our daughter at home, and my husband uses English. My husband also uses Spanish frequently with our daughter, as he is learning too.
Our purpose:
To provide Spanish language exposure and education to all ages
To connect with non-native speakers wanting to improve their skills
To give children the opportunity to acquire another language from a young age
Our philosophy:
Anyone can be bilingual. We’ll help you connect to language through a comprehensible input strategy. We present students with authentic comprehensible language in a practical manner for them to use and learn from. We don’t just teach vocabulary and verb conjugations; we engage students in conversation, in reading a novel, and embracing culture.