Humans have been using stories to share knowledge since the beginning of time. Whether oral, visual, or written, storytelling has the ability to engage the audience’s thoughts, emotions, and imagination to leave a lasting impression. 

This Indian proverb brilliantly captures the power of storytelling:

“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. 

Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. 

But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.”

Storytelling is at the heart of Encantos’ pedagogy: storyteaching. Our teaching methodology leverages the strength of storytelling to help kids learn. There is nothing that cannot be shared or taught through a story. And because stories engage us in ways that activate our mind and bodies as we immersive ourselves in the narrative, there is no more powerful tool to teach.  Stories help kids learn because they help:

1. Capture the attention of beginners: Stories help students focus their attention at the beginning of instruction, priming them to retain the information. They help reduce a child’s resistance and anxiety to learning.
   
   
2. Make the subject accessible: Stories bring facts to life and make the abstract concrete by walking the listener through an experience. Kids can more easily understand complex concepts if they are presented in a story. 
   
   
3. Build stronger schema and memory: Stories make knowledge easier to recover by making complex information coherent and connected. They help assimilate new ideas and build paths to understanding. Kids can more easily remember a new fact if it’s part of a memorable story. 

Encantos incorporates stories across a variety of teaching products including the: 

• Skeletitos books that encourage children to drive the story through interactive elements like a clock with movable hands. 
  
  
• Tiny Travelers games like matching games featuring modes of transportation from around the world, and the passport activity book that inspires both constructive play and pretend play. 

Explore the storyteaching tools from Canticos and the other Encantos brands including Tiny Travelers and Skeletitos to help your little one learn through stories. 

For generations, children across Latin America have sung along to “Pin Pon,” the “cardboard doll” that helps kids learn about manners. The popular song describes how Pin Pon washes his face with soap and water, brushes his hair without making a fuss, and goes on to describe the actions of this well-behaved boy throughout his day. From this catchy and charming song you might have learned the behavior your Latina mom expected of you from personal hygiene, to table manners, to completing schoolwork. But did you ever learn the origin of this peculiar “muñeco de cartón”?

Although the song is considered universal heritage, Pin Pon, the character, was modernized and popularized as an iteration adapted by Jorge Guerra, a Chilean actor, director, and academic. Guerra developed the character and acted as Pin Pon in the children’s television show by the same name. Launched in 1968, the show initially aired on the Chilean TV station Canal 13. In 1971, the show moved to the government-owned TVN.  

In the TV show, Guerra dressed up as the character Pin Pon, donning a color outfit and face make-up reminiscent of a clown. He interacted with the show’s famous pianist Valentín Trujillo, as he sang original songs that helped kids learn about manners, habits, and values. The show aired until 1974 when Guerra was exiled during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.  

Nevertheless, exile was not enough to end the era of Pin Pon; the beloved character that was born in Chile traveled across Latin America to delight, entertain and educate kids across the continent through the iconic song.  

The character has become such a cultural phenomenon that we even find a reference in Dreamworks’ blockbuster movie ‘Shrek’. When discussing children’s characters, the Spanish language version of the movie replaces the Gingerbread Man’s question to Lord Farquad: “Do you know the Muffin Man?” to the question in Spanish: “¿Conoces a Pin Pon?”

Given the importance of Pin Pon, Encantos has developed its own version of the beloved character, bringing it to life through animated YouTube videos and bilingual board books. Check out these learning resources and more in both English and Spanish to introduce your bilingual babies to Pin Pon in two languages.

Parents often ask us when the best time is to start bilingual education. Research suggests the earlier, the better. That being said, it can feel like a daunting task to plan language enrichment activities for your child. At Encantos, we know that parents are children’s first teachers, so we’re here to help! 

General Recommendations

For children of any age and proficiency level, it’s important to be exposed to a second language as much and as often as possible. There is no secret formula, no minimum amount of time required to make them fluent. The important things to keep in mind are:

• What activities does your child genuinely enjoy doing and how can you incorporate their second language into them?
• What is sustainable for your family?

Each family’s time and resources are different. Do the best you can and know that’s enough! If you feel you want to do more, try making small incremental changes that suit your family. 

Here are some ideas from a number of  developmental and language learning standards to help you find simple ways to  expose your pollito to Spanish at any age.

Children Ages 0-1

At this age, simple auditory exposure to another language is helpful. It’s as easy as listening! Try playing Spanish music or Spanish language television to your little one. (Our Canticos songs and videos are perfect for this, because they repeat in English and Spanish.) 

If you have a Spanish speaker in the household, encourage them to speak to the child in Spanish. Consistency is key, so try to create a ritual, like always playing Spanish language music during playtime or meals. Here are more ideas for fun activities: 

• Caregiver interaction is key for children in this age group, so do everything you can to teach them Spanish in an interactive way! Active Spanish engagement is better than simple passive listening, so try to do more activities in Spanish. 
• Play your child music with lyrics in Spanish. Canticos playlists on Spotify, Amazon, and Apple music are great for open-ended play times, meals, car rides, or anytime
• Use the Spanish names for common objects while they interact with that object; for example, when you hand them juice, say jugo.
• Read bedtime stories in Spanish.

Children Ages 1-2

At this age, you’ll see the benefits of early exposure, because children will start to speak in Spanish. Keep exposure to Spanish high and try the following activities and suggestions to build their vocabulary and confidence: 

• Continue reading to them, and at this age, try to do so on a daily basis.
• Use activities like sorting and counting to practice basic, everyday vocabulary on topics like numbers, colors, common objects, etc.
• Model correct words as your child is developing the ability to say words completely, If your child grabs a red toy and says “ro” you should reply, “Si! Rojo!”  
• Use positive reinforcement with this age group. If a child says something incorrectly, correct them in a kind way like in the example above. 
• Allow them limited screen time, and stick to high-quality experiences as recommended by the American Psychological Association and other organizations. 

Children Ages 3-5

At this age, your child will speak in short to extended sentences. You may notice that they will start to mix up English and Spanish words in a sentence, which is normal and totally fine. Again, gentle, immediate feedback will reducerrors over time, but they are nothing to worry about at all – children will naturally learn which languages go together. Below are tips and activities perfect for this age group:

• Build a love of reading by surrounding them with books. Any book can become a Spanish book if you have them simply name the pictures in Spanish to the best of their ability.  
• Play Simon Says in Spanish to practice body part and verb vocabulary while building fine and gross motor skills. 
• Model “grown-up words” as often as possible and discontinue the use of any “baby language”; though they are little, their foundation for their language skills is being built now. 
• Continue to allow high-quality screen time. 

Please don’t forget, our biggest recommendation is to keep things fun! For more recommendations for activities please see our other posts on the Canticos blog!

The fifth book in our Canticos Classics series, Little Sunny Sunshine/Sol Solecito is inspired by a classic Latino song and will help you and your chickies welcome the day on the brightest, most positive note. 

And best of all, you and your little ones can enjoy Canticos books over and over again! There’s always something new to explore in this vibrant read, whether it’s discussing plans for the day or simply describing the objects that accompany the days of the week.  

Below, check out some fun ways you can incorporate Little Sunny Sunshine into your little one’s day, and maximize their learning opportunities:

Talk

Wake up and chat about the day to come! In Little Sunny Sunshine, the sun is up and we must seize the day, which makes it a great morning conversation starter! Try asking: What day is it? What will you do today? Make sure every day begins with a big smile and a little learning!

Sing

Sing along and make it super fun! 

Head to our Youtube channel to watch our bilingual sing-along video and read the lyrics — there’s endless hours of fun available to your and your chickies through our collection of videos. 

Our Little Sunny Sunshine video shows our adorable cast of characters waking up to a beautiful sun and  playing outdoors. Kiki gets busy building a sandcastle and Ricky gleefully navigates the ocean in his red boat. 

Dance

While you’re watching the video, it’s fun to make up simple dance moves to coordinate with the action on screen. When the sun is out, try spreading your arms wide to welcome it, and when Ricky is navigating the ocean waters, you can mimic the motion of the waves with your arms. There’s tons of fun moves you and your little one can make up together, and dancing is a great, healthy way to move our bodies joyfully.

Read

Don’t hesitate to read Little Sunny Sunshine both day and night!

If you read in the morning, it’s easy to discuss your plans for the upcoming but at night you can  go over all the activities that took place earlier in the day. Talk about what you accomplished, the friends your little one saw, and how great it will feel to get some rest after all that fun. 

Board book tip: Pick one language to read the story through to the end, and lift the flaps to see what each chickie is up to on any given day. Start again in the second language! 

Write

Sunday — or any day! —  is a great day to have your little one write out a specific activity that they remember from each day of the week. Perhaps on Monday you guys went for a swim, and Tuesday they ate a big sandwich, or Wednesday you guys played with your pet. There’s always a good memory to revisit and write about! 

Got ideas for fun activities to suggest? Don’t hesitate! With this new book, there’s so much fun to be had in so many ways — we can’t wait to hear what you do!