My Story

Circa 2006, I came across an article in Hawaii magazine about the Aha Punana Leo and their mission to revitalize the Hawaiian language through innovative preschool programs that were designed to be family-based learning centers rather than daycare facilities. After reading the article word-for-word three times and scouring the website, I declared to my then-fiance "our children will go to this school!" 

Nevermind that we didn't even live in Hawaii at the time nor did I speak a lick of Hawaiian beyond aloha and mahalo.

Six years and two kids later, we began our journey as an immersion school family and tentatively took our place in the Hawaiian Revitalization movement. To be clear, no one in our family is a cultural practitioner or indigenous language expert. Despite my husband being from Hawaii, neither of us knew much "real" Hawaiian before Ikaika's first day of school (which I have since learned is quite common for modern Hawaiian families). 

This blog is a forum where I can write about issues relevant to language immersion, since I spend most of my time thinking/talking about it anyway. I also want to educate people about what immersion education means on a practical (ie. not overly academic) level and perhaps remove some of the mystery surrounding it. I want my family to be able to better understand what we are doing and why. I also wouldn't mind hearing from other multilingual, multicultural families. We are not alone...but sometimes it sure feels that way.

To be clear, although I am very proud of the schools my children attend (DISCLAIMER!) everything I write here is 100% my own opinion, nothing more. I can not speak on behalf of any institution, organization or movement. I can only share my own experience me ke aloha.