Last May, I told you about the short music videos airing on Nick Jr. that featured the wonderful little characters from the book series by Canticos. I was so delighted to see Latino culture in the form of nursery rhymes and lullabies being highlighted on a children's channel. And the videos themselves were freaking adorable.
The videos are no longer available on Nick Jr., however, the Canticos website has all of these and MORE for you to watch. More wonderful melodies and words from our childhood that are paired with Susie Jaramillo's brilliant illustrations are now available online.
These videos and books are fantastic resources for those of us with children under 4, and especially for those of you with preschoolers. The themes are educational and teach important preschool concepts such as counting to 10, opposites, days of the week, and more. The new videos include Las Mañanitas, Pin Pon, Duérmete mi niño Pollito, and Muñequita. And just like the first videos, these songs are sung first in Spanish and then again in English to make them a perfect learning opportunity for bilingual babies. :)
♥ Plus, they are just so sweet to watch. ♥
Canticos Book Set
You know how much I love to champion early education. That's because the long-term benefits are so numerous!! And I especially love resources that teach important concepts alongside one's heritage. A study by researchers at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill has shown that "Latino adolescents in the U.S. who maintain ties to their culture of origin are more likely to develop healthy behaviors than their peers who do not. Latino adolescents with a strong awareness of their family’s culture reported higher self-esteem, fewer social problems and less hopelessness, aggression and substance abuse." You can see why I think that it is so important for us to teach our babies about their heritage in a proud and positive manner! And products like these are exactly what we need to help us do so.
¡Buena suerte!
