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!

Dad is Brazilian, mom is Venezuelan, and we live in the U.S. So, how do we make sure our children get the best of both of our cultures? The answer is language. It is through language that our preschool-aged children now speak and enjoy speaking Portuguese, Spanish and soon enough, English. 

Here are some tips that I’ve learned along the way that help support our language learning:

Cultivating a reading habit

It is never too early to start reading to your kids in your native language. By hearing language sounds and pronunciations over and over again, children’s brains, already in the process of rapidly forming, absorb so much more than imaginable. Read to your children every day, let them touch the books, use your finger to show them each word and its meaning, and make these moments a special time full of love and learning. 

Sing to them in your native language

Music connects us to our cultural roots, especially when it comes to songs from our own childhoods. Canticos Books are excellent for achieving this goal. With beautiful illustrations and adorable characters, your small children will feel the love and nostalgia that mom and dad bring to the songs that our own mothers and grandmothers sang to us. Additionally, these songs are translated in English so kids can be introduced to what will be their primary language in a fun educational way. 

Using technology

There are many technological resources that help to stimulate language learning in a fun and engaging way. We like to adjust the language settings on our TV to Spanish or Portuguese for all of the shows we put on, which helps to elevate the level of exposure to the languages you want your kids to learn. Another wonderful tool is the Canticos Youtube channel, which features educational videos and songs in Spanish and English.

Everyone speak their native language in the home

It is worth it to make the effort. Children grow up relating each language with mom and dad and learn to communicate following these family practices. If our four-year-old sees me speaking portuguese or English, he will always say “Mami, habla Español”. And with his dad, he will do the same, asking that he only speak Portuguese. He is already accustomed to us speaking our respective languages and he likes it. It is incredible the capacity he has to flip the language “switch”, even though we are all speaking together. The mix is fantastic and he has learned to speak both of our languages, pronouncing each one perfectly and conjugating the different verbs. He is 100% fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese. 

Make use of teaching resources

There is an unlimited amount of resources created specially to help kids learn various languages. In our home Canticos has been our ally to achieve this, and I can tell that we are on the right track as our little ones already speak and understand our native languages and are now ready to start school and learn their third language, English. 

About the author Valerie is a Venezuelan-American writer. She lives in Miami with her Brazilian husband and two little ones. She created Relatos de Familia, a multicultural parenting blog that reflects her trilingual family and their faith at the center of their lives. Valerie is passionate about encouraging and guiding families going through difficult times and celebrating parenthood moments and learnings to inspire others. Follow Valerie on Instagram @relatosdefamilia. 

For generations, mothers have sung the Spanish lullaby “Los Pollitos Dicen” to their newborns.  The simple, yet powerful lyrics of this lullaby tell the tale of newborn chicks ( “pollitos”) calling for their mother when they are cold or hungry.  The song has permeated culture so deeply that today it is common for Latina moms to refer to their babies as “pollitos” as an homage to the song. 

Perhaps it’s the thought of fluffy yellow chicks with eyes half closed, stumbling about, peeping for help that makes the song so endearing. Or perhaps it’s the image of the mother hen kneeling down to envelop her chicks under her wing to keep them warm, that makes the song so sweet.  Whatever the reason, this story of newborn love will always be the perfect song to lull a baby to sleep. 

Many lullabies and nursery rhymes have been around for so many generations that we no longer know who wrote the original. For years, the author of “Los Pollitos Dicen” was also unknown. It was writer Rienaldo Marchant who stumbled upon the identity of the songwriter during his time teaching language and literature workshops in Pichidegua, Chile. It was there that a local farmer pointed out to Marchant the home of Ismael Parraguez, the author of this now classic song.  

After some research, Marchant was able to confirm that Ismael Parraguez, born in 1883 in the Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins region of Chile, was indeed the original author. Mr. Parraguez first published the song in his book “Poesías Infantiles” or “Nursery Poems” in 1907.

The song quickly became popular not only in Chile but across all of Latin America.  Generations later, it’s been translated into English, French, Portuguese, and many other languages. 

And just like a mother’s love for her “pollitos” is ever-lasting, so “Los Pollitos Dicen” lives on for generations to come.    

You can find these and other children’s songs on our YouTube children’s channel, which includes many videos to foster bilingualism. Los Pollitos is also available in book form, to read to children any time of day.