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I am absolutely delighted to be kicking off Multicultural Kid Blogs’ annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration! This year, we’re doing things a little bit differently; every day, one of our blog members will publish a post on their site celebrating culture from Spain or Latin America. From crafts to books to recipes, you’ll find a wonderful collection of activities and resources to explore with your family.
Hispanic Heritage Month is a vitally important observance for the United States, perhaps now more than ever. According to the U.S. Census, there are 53 million Hispanics in the country. And yet every day media reports show an increasing hostility toward Hispanic immigrants and Spanish-speaking families as they are used for political platforms, promoting stereotypes and ignorant backlash.
Too many Americans seem to have forgotten (or never learned) the significant impact that Hispanics have had on our history. Food, architecture, music, state and city names, art, technology… the list of Hispanic influence is endless and can be seen from the beginning of our nation.
In fact, just last week, Florida remembered when 450 years ago, on September 8th, 1565, Spanish admiral and Florida’s first governor Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded the city of Saint Augustine in Florida. It is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the continental United States.
(I heard about it on my color television, which, by the way, was invented by Guillermo González Camarena, a Mexican electrical engineer.)
Oh, and that reminds me of a Latina – perhaps the most influential Latina in television history – who decided to retire this year. Sonia Manzano, better known as María on the ubiquitously known Sesame Street, has spent the last 44 years not only acting, but writing for the popular children’s show. In fact, she’s won 15 Emmy Awards as part of their writing team. She’s touched the lives of thousands (perhaps millions) of American children in her time with the show.
Of course, we cannot talk about influential Hispanics without mentioning the almost iconic duo Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, the two activists and labor leaders who fought tirelessly for the rights of farm workers in the U.S.
Politically, Latinos are making waves, too. Recently, our Supreme Court has made landmark (albeit controversial) decisions affecting this country and one of the judges – Sonia Sotomayor – happens to be the first Hispanic on the court. Also, this year, for the first time ever, we have TWO Latinos running for president of the U.S. in one party and rumors running wild that the other party ticket could end up with two minorities – a woman for president and a Latino for VP.
As an American, I know how incredibly important it is for my children to learn about ALL the people who have shaped our nation. We can’t just study the “Founding Fathers,” who though great men, are only part of the story. We must know the influence of all peoples; Native-Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, men, women…the list is long. In doing so, we destroy little-by-little the wall of ignorance and fear that leads to the racism which tears our country apart.
But perhaps one of the most important reasons we need Hispanic Heritage Month is because it provides an opportunity for our Hispanic children to learn about people that were just like them who weren’t afraid to speak up and realize their dreams. By seeing themselves reflected in our nation’s history, our children are empowered to write their own stories and to contribute their own gifts to our society.
I’m excited about this month’s lineup of crafts, books, music and lessons created by MKB bloggers to helps us all teach our children. And I’m also thrilled at the amazing collection of giveaways. I hope you’ll follow along this month and enter to win these fabulous tools to teach children.
We are so excited for our FOURTH annual Hispanic Heritage Month series and giveaway! Through the month (September 15 – October 15), you’ll find great resources to share Hispanic Heritage with kids, plus you can enter to win in our great giveaway and link up your own posts on Hispanic Heritage!
September 14
Mommy Maestra on Multicultural Kid Blogs: Why We Need Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15
Spanish Playground: Peru Facts and Puzzles
September 16
The Art Curator for Kids
September 17
Pragmatic Mom
September 18
Indie Jen Fischer on Multicultural Kid Blogs
September 21
Inspired by Familia
September 22
All Done Monkey
September 23
Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes
September 24
Mundo de Pepita
September 25
Global Table Adventure on Multicultural Kid Blogs
September 28
Crafty Moms Share
September 29
All Done Monkey
September 30
Mommy Maestra
October 1
Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes
October 2
Spanglish House
October 5
Mundo de Pepita on Multicultural Kid Blogs
October 6
LadydeeLG
October 7
Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
October 8
Kid World Citizen
October 9
Spanish Mama on Multicultural Kid Blogs
October 12
Bilingual Avenue
October 13
Spanish Playground
October 14
Spanish Mama
October 15
Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes
Hispanic Heritage Month Giveaway!
Giveaway begins Monday, September 14 and goes through October 15, 2015.
Enter below for a chance to win one of these amazing prize packages! Some prizes have shipping restrictions. In the event that a winner lives outside the designated shipping area, that prize will then become part of the following prize package. For more information, read our full giveaway rules.
Grand Prize
Home Learning Series Level A Curriculum from Calico Spanish US Shipping Only
Puzzle and app from Mundo Lanugo US Shipping Only
Sheet of Mexico themed nail wraps from Jamberry US & Canada Shipping Only
Complete set of If You Were Me and Lived In… books (15 countries) from Carole P. Roman US Shipping Only
Large Latin American prize basket (scarves, purse, bracelets, books, map) from Spanish Playground US Shipping Only
Growing Up Pedro & Mango, Abuela, and Me (in English or Spanish) from Candlewick Press US & Canada Shipping Only
The Giraffe That Ate the Moon and Caroline’s Color Dreams (bilingual books in English and Spanish) from Bab’l Books US, UK, & Europe Shipping Only
Bienvenidas las raras (bilingual book in English and Spanish) from Delia Berlin
Los Animales CD from Mister G US Shipping Only
Hola Hello CD from Mariana Iranzi US Shipping Only
Bananagrams game in Spanish from Bananagrams US Shipping Only
Kids’ T-shirt from Ellie Elote US Shipping Only
First Prize
Perú, México and Portugal books from the If You Were Me and Lived In… series from Carole P. Roman US Shipping Only
Smaller Latin American prize basket (scarves, purse, bracelets) from Spanish Playground US Shipping Only
Bienvenidas las raras (bilingual book in English and Spanish) from Delia Berlin
Los Animales CD from Mister G US Shipping Only
Hola Hello CD from Mariana Iranzi US Shipping Only
Bananagrams game in Spanish from Bananagrams US Shipping Only
3 picture books: Finding the Music/En pos de la música by Jennifer Torres
Water Rolls, Water Rises/El agua rueda, el agua sube by Pat Mora
The Upside Down Boy/ El niño de cabeza by Juan Felipe Herrera (in honor of his recently being named the Poet Laureate) from Lee and Low Books US Shipping Only
3 board books: 3 Board Books – Loteria, Zapata, Lucha Libre from Lil’ libros US Shipping Only
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage – Musical Craft and Coloring E-Book from Daria Marmaluk Hajioannou
Kid’s foreign language T-Shirt (available in Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Swahili, Hawaiian, Italian, in infant onesies, toddler and youth sizes tees and tanks; women’s tees and tanks SM-XL) from Mixed Up Clothing US Shipping Only
Second Prize
Perú, México and Portugal books from the If You Were Me and Lived In… series from Carole P. Roman US Shipping Only
Smaller Latin American prize basket (scarves, purse) from Spanish Playground US Shipping Only
2 picture books: Maya’s Blanket/La manta de Maya by Monica Brown
Call Me Tree/Llámame Árbol by Maya Christina Gonzalez from Lee & Low books US Shipping Only
Bienvenidas las raras (bilingual book in English and Spanish) from Delia Berlin
Los Animales CD from Mister G US Shipping Only
Bananagrams game in Spanish from Bananagrams US Shipping Only
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage – Musical Craft and Coloring E-Book from Daria Marmaluk Hajioannou
Bonus Prize!
Mexican luchador piñata from Las Piñatas de Laly EU Shipping Only
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Frances says
September 14, 2015 at 1:41 pmWonderful post Monica, and I’m sooooooo excited for this upcoming month of celebrations! 🙂
Silia says
September 15, 2015 at 10:43 amThis is a great opportunity to talk to my kids about their heritage, share stories and make them feel proud.
Joanna Irizarry says
September 15, 2015 at 11:25 amOur daughter has recently turned 4, so last year was really the first year that we celebrated the month specifically. Last year I really focused on introducing her to some great salseros bc she loves salsa music. Since she was a baby she’s seen her father and me dancing salsa at home and she now “dances” salsa as well, which is just about the cutest thing ever. The books we read that month have given her an enduring love, most especially for Celia Cruz (a.k.a. “Celia Cwuz”) and Tito Puente. This year we can hopefully add some local celebrations.
Jodi M says
September 15, 2015 at 12:02 pmWe will be hosting several events at our school celebrating the different countries in Latin America this month!
Marileyn Ramirez says
September 15, 2015 at 12:20 pmWe are celebrating with yummy latin food. We are having variety since we have a multicultural family from arepas to tacos! Go figure it. We are also reading in Spanish and playing traditional games like Piedra, Papel o Tijera. Vivan los Latinos!!!
Linda says
September 15, 2015 at 9:59 pmYay! I am so excited for this month of celebrations, learning and joy! I will be reading more books to my kids, eating yummy treats and playing some Ecuadorian games for kids, I am also doing a bilingual storytime in the library about our hispanic heritage!!
LauraHS says
September 16, 2015 at 10:19 amMonica, love your posts as always! Well we kicked off the month with a Frida Kahlo art event at a local library last weekend, have a Loteria event this weekend and upcoming art, food and music to look forward to this month!
Sarah says
September 21, 2015 at 4:29 pmWe just had a big meal with lots of delicious Bolivian food!