Teaching a child another language is not only about teaching every day vocabulary or even vocabulary kids watch on television. A great way to teach our culture to our kids is through sayings in Spanish, called dichos o refranes.
The ability for us to pass along the cultural knowledge of our heritage to our kids is what will make them grow up to be culturally aware, culturally sensitive and culturally savvy and proud of their heritage.
It’s important to teach our kids culture along with the language! And refranes, or sayings in Spanish, are a great way to do so. That is what makes our children unique: that they are bicultural (or multicultural in many cases!).
Mundo Lanugo created short animated videos to teach kids these sayings! I’m excited to be able to use these short videos to help my son learn more about his culture. The characters are a great way to help kids learn about their heritage in a fun way — remember it’s the best way to get them to learn, not by forcing them, but by making it fun!
“El que Mucho da, mucho recibe.” Great one to practice and talk about gratitude, giving and charity!
“Al que madruga, Dios lo ayuda.” This one is helpful when having a discussion about getting up early and going to sleep early.
“Lo cortes no quita lo valiente.” This one is a great one to talk about manners and the importance of being polite.
“Querer es poder.” A good one to discuss why it’s important to keep trying and never give up!
“Con el tiempo y la paciencia, se adquiere la ciencia.” Great one to teach kids about how it is good to be patient, and wait for good things to come, and to learn as well.
“Una cosa es ser sincero y otro es ser grosero.” This one is great to teach kids about hurting people’s feelings and being careful with the words you use.
