This research employs a language ideologies framework to examine the language practices and beliefs of bilingual first grade students in an ESL classroom, in which the teacher valued and encouraged Spanish and translingual talk and writing. Using ethnographic methods of data collection and analysis, the findings pointed to the influence of both hegemonic and counter-hegemonic ideologies in children's decisions about writing. These findings extend our knowledge of the process of ideological contestation to written as well as oral language, and highlights ways that teachers can provide support for bilingual writers and bilingual writing.