I’ve written on the subject of raising bilingual kids twice before. And now for Part 3 as I review two Spanish DVDs we recently received...

The boys are both speaking too much quite a lot these days and are beginning to distinguish between English and Spanish. For example, if they say something in English about a picture in a book and I ask a follow-up question in Spanish, they’ll answer me in Spanish. And especially with Benjamin, you can see him thinking about this – sometimes he’ll nod and answer “Ye – [pause] - Si!”

As planned, I started a Spanish-language playgroup that – along with regular visits from Abuela – has been the best way to keep the boys regularly hearing, thinking, and speaking Spanish.

And for the last month they’ve been watching two fantastic videos from Whistlefritz: “Los Animales / The Animals” and “Vamos a Jugar / Let’s Play.” Maria, the friendly and engaging host is a native speaker (THANK YOU!) and sings and talks with children and puppets exclusively in Spanish (THANK YOU!) throughout the video.

The boys were already familiar with some of the music - including folksongs “Los Pollitos” and “Vengan a Ver Mi Granja” - from their Jose-Luis Orozco CD. And though it would be better to show live farm animals and real backgrounds instead of puppets and computer-generated graphics, I understand that those sorts of features raise production costs. And besides, toddlers aren’t terribly discerning about these types of aesthetics, are they? I mean, they’ll snuggle every night with a stuffed dog whose nose is split open and has stuffing falling out.

Regardless, these two Spanish-language videos are the best I've seen for toddlers and preschoolers. And now when I sing “Buenos dias, amiguitos! Como estan?” like Maria, there’s a chorus of “MUY BIEN!” and Jonah pretends to shake maracas.

Check out the Whistlefritz site for more detailed info on the DVDs – or just to see their adorable logo. When the colorful logo with whistling mouse appears at the beginning of the videos I am as excited as my boys! You can also read what other parents have to say about the Whistlefritz DVDs at Parent Bloggers Network.

I have added “Los Animales” to my list of resources for introducing children to Spanish and I hope Whistlefritz continues to publish many more videos! We’ll be customers, both for our own use and for gifts!