Color Bingo!

Color Bingo!

About This Activity

Play bingo with a Canticos twist and learn color vocabulary in English and Spanish. Complete with chips and sheets, this activity is a great way to bring family and friends together to learn through play.

Ages: 3+
Level:
Medium
Materials: Printed activity sheets; pencils; crayons or colored pencils
Instructions

1. Print out activity sheet.
2. Learn all the different colors in English and Spanish with our Color Bingo Game, following the instructions written on the sheet.
3. Try your superpower! See if you can find those same colors on your own in a scavenger hunt at the grocery store.

How Your Kid Benefits

This activity gives kids the opportunity for oral vocabulary practice, in addition to word recognition and association.

Bonus Benefit!

Evidence from a number of studies suggests that bilingualism improves the brain’s executive function — a command system that directs the processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks.

Note to Grown-Ups

This activity encourage children to say new vocabulary words in a fun, low-pressure way. Have them say the color words out loud as often as possible, especially while playing the bingo game. Check out the De Colores / All the Colors in the Book section of the Canticos App for more practice.

Activity Sheet

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Number 2 with Sol Solecito

Number 2 with Sol Solecito

About This Activity

Let’s write the number two! ¡Número dos! This activity helps kids practice numbers in English and Spanish while making real world learning connections to further expand and interpret their knowledge.

Ages: 2-5
Level:
Easy
Materials: Printed activity sheets; pencils; crayons or colored pencils
Instructions

1. Print activity sheet.
2. Follow the arrow with your pencil. Then practice writing the number by tracing along the dotted lines before trying the last few by yourself.
3. Finally, count two suns and two moons and shade them in.
4. Try your superpower! Make your own hopscotch with sidewalk chalk and practice writing numbers and counting in English and Spanish.

How Your Kid Benefits

By learning numbers your child forms a strong early math foundation in English and Spanish. Combine this activity with the Piñata game in the Learn section and the Beat music game in the Play section to deepen bilingual counting experiences.

Bonus Benefit!

Children who are raised bilingual learn to follow social cues to determine which language to use, which person to use it with, and what setting to use it in. For this reason, they often have a heightened sense of empathy than monolingual children.

Note to Grown-Ups

Make counting a regular part of your interactions with your child, which is a great way to stimulate learning through play. Look for easy ways to sneak in counting whether cooking in the kitchen, outside, running errands, walking the dog; there are always fun things to count.

Activity Sheet

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Learn the Days of the Week

Learn the Days of the Week

About This Activity

What day is it today? ¿Que día es hoy? One of the best ways to commit something to memory is by writing it down. This activity helps kids learn the days of the week with the help of Sol Solecito.

Ages: 3+
Level:
Medium
Materials: Printed activity sheets; pencils; crayons or colored pencils
Instructions

1. Print out activity sheet.
2. Using our classic “Sol Solecito”, trace the seven days of the week in English and Spanish.
3. Try your superpower! Use a calendar to learn name of each month and count how many weeks are in a year.

How Your Kid Benefits

This activity is great for early handwriting practice, exposing kids to new vocabulary and calendar organization.

Bonus Benefit!

Many people hold the common misconception that learning a language is difficult, or that you need to have a special “gift” for language. This is not true, and by setting goals and committing to consistent practice, bilingualism is completely attainable for your child.

Note to Grown-Ups

Writing and speaking in a new language can be challenging, especially for the littlest learners! Make sure to acknowledge and praise your child consistently for their hard work on practicing bilingual vocabulary. For further vocabulary practice, watch the video

Activity Sheet

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Pin Pon: Learn proper handwashing!

Pin Pon: Learn proper handwashing!

  • English
  • Español
  • cardboard paper towel
  • crayons or colored pencils

Let’s take a look at the steps needed for good hand washing to keep our bodies safe and healthy. First, color in the sheet while you read the steps. Then, practice doing hand washing step by step with a grown up or family member. Teach a younger sibling too! Think about all the times that you might need to wash your hands.
Included in this lesson:
Pin Pon hand washing coloring sheets and poster
Put the sheets up near a sink that you use regularly for handwashing. Make multiple posters for different parts of the house as needed.
  • hoja de actividades impresa
  • crayones o lápices de colores
Vamos a ver los pasos necesarios para una buena lavada de manos y así mantener nuestros cuerpos sanos y salvos. Primero, colorea en la hoja de dibujos mientras lees los pasos. Luego practica lavándote las manos paso a paso con un adulto o algún miembro de tu familia. ¡Si tienes un hermano menor, enséñale también! Piensa en todas las ocasiones en las cuales puedas necesitar lavarte las manos.
Incluído en esta lección:
Hojas de colorear de Pin Pon y póster de lavarse las manos 
Coloca las hojas en la parte superior del lavamanos que tus hijo o hija use regularmente para lavarse las manos. Hagan varios afiches para colocar en diferentes partes de la casa, tantos como sea necesario.

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Canticos Learning with The Birthday Book/Las Mañanitas

ENGLISH | SPANISH

Canticos Learning with The Birthday Book/Las Mañanitas
By Nuria Santamaría Wolfe

Canticos books are too much fun to reach just once!  Read them with your little one again and again and find something new to learn each time, while helping them become bilingual in Spanish and English. 

Here are some tips to help you maximize the learning and fun with the fourth book in the Canticos Classics series: The Birthday Book/Las Mañanitas – inspired by the classic Mexican birthday song “Las Mañanitas” (The Mornings). This song is sung to wake up a child on the morning of his/her birthday, it’s a fixture at every birthday party.  

  1. Talk

Use the book to talk about your child’s birthday. How did you celebrate his/her last birthday? Talk about the cake, the games, the friends that were part of it. Ask him/her what they would like to do for the next one? How would they like to celebrate? What theme would they like? Who do they want to be there?

  1. Sing

Sing the song and do it twice to double the fun! 

Check out our bilingual sing-along video to see the lyrics and to hear the pronunciation in Spanish, check out our collection of bilingual songs while you’re at it.

The Youtube cartoon video features Sammy the bunny and a traditional Mexican birthday celebration with cake, candy, and of course – a piñata!

  1. Read

Read the book twice to double the birthday fun! 

Novelty book: Interject your own sounds and commentary as you lift the flaps. For example, start by opening the first flap with a rooster crow. On the second flap you can say «Wake up snuggle bunny!» to the birthday bunny who doesn’t want to wake up. Play peek-a-boo with the next characters who pop up to surprise the birthday bunny. Read the story once in English. Flip the book and read it in Spanish. Open the book across to see all spreads and: 1. Lay it flat on the floor to see the whole story or 2. Stand it up and connect the ends into a circle to sit inside and be surrounded by the story.

Board book: Pick one language to read the story through to the end. Start again in the second language. 

  1. Write

Take out your arts & crafts box and make a birthday card for a friend or family member’s upcoming birthday. Sing Las Mañanitas and personalize it for each birthday you’ll be celebrating. 

  1. Play

Pretend it’s your child’s birthday and wake him/her up with the song. Act out a birthday party complete with cake eating and piñata breaking. Open an imaginary gift and eat imaginary cake with all their stuffed animals. Have fun with it, and know that your child is gaining tons of bilingual benefits!

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Make an Emotions Wheel

Make an Emotions Wheel

About This Activity

How are you feeling today? Get crafty and express your feelings with this creative exercise that helps kids identify emotions in two languages.

Ages: 3+
Level: Medium
Materials: Printed activity sheets; pencils; crayons or colored pencils
Instructions

1. Print out activity sheet.
2. Name and identify your emotions in English and Spanish by creating an emotions wheel.
3. Try your superpower! Retell a time when you felt happy, sad, anxious, sleepy and hungry, draw a face for each emotion you learn.

How Your Kid Benefits

This activity stimulates empathy while helping kids creatively identify emotions in two languages.

Bonus Benefit!

Bilinguals are better able to adapt social flexibility, suggesting that alternating between languages allows for them to more successfully alternate between social situations.

Note to Grown-Ups

Asking children to name their emotions is an important first step to regulating their emotions. Encourage them to voice how they are feeling by asking them directly, and have them explain their feelings. “I am feeling ___ because…” For more practice with emotion words, have your child engage with the Feelings game in the Learn section of the Canticos App.

Activity Sheet

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Color with Benji and Pin Pon

Color with Benji and Pin Pon

About This Activity

Fun for all ages, this activity encourages kids to get creative while coloring their favorite bilingual buddies.

Ages: 3+
Level:
Easy
Materials: Printed activity sheets; pencils; crayons or colored pencils

Instructions

1. Print out activity sheet.
2. Get creative coloring in Benji and Pin Pon, see how many different colors you can use!
3. Try your superpower! Think of someone you know who would like to receive a letter from you and send them your drawing, try writing out your address on the letter.

How Your Kid Benefits

This activity engages hand eye coordination through imaginative coloring with your favorite bilingual buddies.

Bonus Benefit!

Bilingual children were found to have a higher aptitude for standardized tests and found in a study that followed children throughout their acquisition of a second language.

Note to Grown-Ups

Art time is a great opportunity to practice mindfulness. If your child is working on an art project independently, encourage them to do so mindfully by working in a quiet, calm, focused way. This activity works well as a supplement to the Art section of the Canticos app.

Activity Sheet

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The Teeny Tiny Boat/El Barquito Chiquitito: Read, Sing, and Color!

The Teeny Tiny Boat/El Barquito Chiquitito: Read, Sing, and Color!

The Teeny Tiny Boat/El Barquito Chiquitito: Read, Sing, and Color!

About This Activity

Look on with the lyrics and sing along to this classic nursery rhyme in English and Spanish.

Ages: 2+
Level:
Easy
Materials: Printed activity sheets; pencils; crayons or colored pencils
Instructions

1. Print out activity sheet. If you don’t have a printer, you can look at the lyrics on your computer.
2. Read and sing along to “The Teeny Tiny Boat / El Barquito Chiquitito” in English and Spanish.
3. Try your superpower! Get creative and make paper boats, experiment with different kinds of materials to see which ones float and which sink.

How Your Kid Benefits

This activity stimulates right brain activity, helping to commit new words to memory through movement, singing and dance.

Bonus Benefit!

Research has found that bilingual people literally see the world differently. Those who regularly speak a second language perceive differences in color variations that are not recognized by monolinguals.

Note to Grown-Ups

Help your child out with the lyrics as you sing this song, for help with pronunciation, have them listen listen to song in Music section of the Canticos App.

Activity Sheet

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A is for Amor

A is for Amor

About This Activity

Let’s write the letter A! ¡Letra A! This activity helps kids practice letter writing in English and Spanish while making real world learning connections to further expand and interpret their knowledge.

Ages:2-5
Level:
Easy
Materials: Printed activity sheets; pencils; crayons or colored pencils
Instructions

1. Print activity sheet, if you don’t have a printer look at the activity on your computer and practice on a lined sheet of paper.
2. Follow the arrow with your pencil, then practice writing the letter A in upper case and lower case by tracing along the dotted line.
3. Try your superpower! Look around for words that start with the letter A while driving and say the letter in English and Spanish.

How Your Kid Benefits

This activity helps create a foundation in early bilingual literacy by introducing letters in creative and interactive settings.

Bonus Benefit!

It’s a common misconception that your child can only learn a new language in a formal classroom setting, the best results come when the child learns at their own pace and in a style that best suits them

Note to Grown-Ups

Kids learn a lot from their parents, which is why it’s important to engage their learning even in every day settings. Letters form the foundation for early bilingual literacy, which is also strengthened through the bubble game in the Canticos App.

Activity Sheet

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Little Chickies Memory Game

Little Chickies Memory Game

About This Activity

Test you memory with the Little Chickies! Fun for the whole family, this game helps kids learn essential household vocabulary in English and Spanish with beautifully illustrated memory cards.

Ages: 3+
Level: Medium
Materials: Printed activity sheets; pencils; crayons or colored pencils
Instructions

1. Print out activity sheet.
2. Play our memory game with household objects and learn vocabulary in English and Spanish.
3. Try your superpower! Play I Spy / Yo Veo around the house by describing what you see. Be sure to use color, number and shape words in Spanish to help you play.

How Your Kid Benefits

This activity helps kids utilize their short term memory to retain bilingual vocabulary, expanding their foundation in early bilingual literacy.

Bonus Benefit!

A study determined that bilingual people were more resistant than others to the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: the higher the degree of bilingualism, the later the age of onset.

Note to Grown-Ups

See if your children can apply their new household vocabulary during cleanup time! Watch and sing along with the Canticos video Choppity Chop / ¡Pícalo ya! in the Canticos App to help with household words.

Activity Sheet

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