This blog post is sponsored by HITN Learning. All expressed opinions are my own.
One of my favorite things about having kids is getting to see them experience so many firsts. Ji gets so excited about doing “big girl” things like homework and I love seeing their faces light up with excitement. It’s almost as if it’s my first time too. During the Summer evenings, after she swam and ate all the watermelon she could, she would ask if we could do homework. I’m not much of a teacher but I took this as an opportunity to show her how to write her name and to practice her Spanish. It’s really important that my girls learn Spanish so that they are able to communicate with their grandparents in a conversational manner, stay in touch with their Mexican roots and for an opportunity at a better future.
I wanted to offer Ji age-appropriate lessons and did a few online searches for printable sheets but couldn’t find anything as a set. I needed some sort of structure and couldn’t find it. As far as her Spanish went, I kept it simple and spoke to her in English and repeated my sentences in Spanish and asked her to do the same. We also watched some bilingual nursery rhymes that we do love but were more age-appropriate for Dahlia who is two. After a few minutes, the videos became boring for Ji.
I must have not looked well enough because a few weeks ago through an email about an event to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I learned about HITN Learning. They are the creators of the charming Cleo and Cuquin Family Fun! Math Kits, these three kits and apps offer a uniquely entertaining world of highly engaging, child-centered bilingual print and digital material plus hands-on activities. We were invited to attend an event at Barnes and Noble in Chula Vista and had the opportunity to learn more about the brand plus hear from Mariana Diaz-Wionczek, PhD. who is an expert in bilingual parenting. She shared really great tips on raising bilingual children. These are the ones that resonated with me the most:
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A child who is learning two languages will have a smaller vocabulary in each language at first than a child who is learning only one.
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Introducing your child to literacy in Spanish will strengthen his or her skills later on. Besides talking to them, try teaching them how to read and write in Spanish.
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Correcting your child will improve her skills, but don’t overdo it. It is more important to praise her for her efforts in both languages, which will raise her confidence.
We also received Cleo & Cuquin Family Fun! 3D Shapes Math Kit and App in the mail and put it to use that very day!
Each Family Fun! Math kit contains:
Read and Learn Book: Cleo & Cuquin math story
Explore and Learn App – with fun activities, games, and digital learning
Family Time Learning Guide – information and learning activities for parents
Draw and Learn Journal – drawing, letter writing, and independent learning activities for preschoolers
Move and Learn Poster – kids will love to sing, play, and move to learn!
Touch and Learn Toys – appropriately sized for hands-on learning
Play and Learn Board Game – for the whole family!
Apps – a separate component of each kit for an even richer integrated experience.
This is what I was looking for all Summer long. It’s been great to put the kit into use because Ji won’t be receiving homework for a few more weeks and it’s been great to use the draw and learn journals as tools to strengthen what she’s learning in school during the day.
I love the Family Time Learning Guide as well because it helps me structure the activities for her rather than just giving her stuff to do. My two-year-old Dahlia likes to join in as well. Her favorite is singing time. The Move and Learn Poster includes fun Spanish songs that we can sing together as a family. Ji of course, loves that app. She said, “ I like it because I know Spanish.” I know that she means that she can understand Cleo and Cuquin and that everything I am doing for the girls to become fluent in Spanish is working. They may not be able to hold Spanish conversations yet but I’m confident that one day they will be.
Visit your local Barnes and Noble to purchase your own kits. Choose from the counting kit, sorting kit and/or 3D Shapes Kit.
ABOUT HITN Learning
HITN Learning is committed to the social, emotional, and academic success of
Hispanic/Latino children ages 0-14. Their mission is to provide parents, caregivers, and teachers with original learning media
products, in English and Spanish, which engage Hispanic families on their education journey.
They serve learners from all cultural backgrounds who value the bilingual English-Spanish
experience. HITN is the leading non-commercial Spanish-language network that offers educational and
entertainment content to more than 44 million households across the United States.
