Giovina Cecili and Vicky Rodriguez run the Spanish immersion preschool Mi Escuelita in downtown Carmel. (Submitted photo) By Amanda Foust  Mi Escuelita Preschool, the only bilingual preschool in Carmel, is expanding its hours and now it will stay open full-days to students. This preschool is currently run by Giovina Cecili and Vicky Rodriguez who opened the preschool in 2010 based on their shared interest in teaching Spanish. “We decided to open the preschool because it had never been explored before,” Cecili said. “Many parents wanted their kids immersed in a different language and liked the idea of it being bilingual.” Cecili and Rodriguez met at a swim meet for two of their children. There, they overheard one another speaking Spanish and an immediate connection was formed. Rodriguez said, “We saw with our own children how they can speak up to three languages just because they were immersed. We started thinking why not give this experience to other children?” Rodriguez is originallyfrom Mexico and Cecili is originally from Venezuela, and both said they enjoy using their experiences and language abilities to teach their students during their most formative years. Their students are between the ages of 2-5. The currently small-sized school allows for more one-on-one attention. “We will keep being a home day-care school keeping our ratio 1:6 and will just have 12 kids at a time to make sure they are learning and enjoying being in a family-oriented environment all with the great benefit of becoming bilingual at an early age,” Rodriguez said. Both teachers find it is important to remind parents that this is the best age to be learning a second language. They assist in this learning through language immersion, vocabulary study, reading books in Spanish and exploring Spanish music. Speaking fluently is not expected, but they do believe the kids are able to understand all that is said. “The kids learn really fast because they are receiving constant interaction,”Rodriguez said. Mi Escuelita Preschool is in downtown Carmel at 120 3rd St NW and its new hours will be from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information call 575-9379. Share