Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at Home

Hispanic Heritage month is September 15 to October 15 every year. It’s a time for us to celebrate the famous Hispanic Americans and their achievements. It’s also a time to celebrate our families, remember our heritage, and teach others.

Half Hispanic, growing up I always enjoyed trips to my grandparents’ house in San Antonio. My favorite memory with them is making homemade tamales. They would pack a cooler full to send back with us to Oklahoma. After a trip to Mexico with my parents, I knew that someday I wanted to adopt a Hispanic baby.

Well, almost 25 years later, I have a 7-year-old adopted daughter who is Hispanic! It’s important to me that she know about her heritage and where she comes from.

Hispanic Heritage Month is a wonderful time to teach her about her heritage and the great Hispanic Americans. Here are seven fun ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month this year with your kids!

1. Cook your favorite Hispanic dish, try a new recipe, or go out to your favorite Mexican restaurant. Whether it be enchiladas or a dish from Guatemala, food has a way of connecting your soul to the Hispanic Heritage!

2. Teach your kids a few Spanish words! Label things in your home with the Spanish word. Label bathroom as baño, stove as estufa, bedroom as dormitorio, and other often-used things in your home. Your kids will love using the Spanish words and will quickly pick up on them.

3. Throughout your day, play some Latin music. Whether you like salsa, tango, modern Latin, samba, or mariachi; this music is sure to brighten your day and make you want to dance!

4. Buy (or make!) a homemade piñata to fill with candy or small toys. Hang it in the backyard and let the kids take a whack at it.

5. Throughout the month, pick several crafts for your children to try. You can try making something from several different countries, or just pick your favorite! I found lots of themed crafts on this website.

6. Watch some Hispanic movies. Disney has two of the greatest: Coco and Encanto. They both just speak to my Hispanic heart! My daughter and I could watch those two repeatedly. It is so important for her (and all children!) to see herself depicted in the characters on TV and in movies.

7. Pick one or two countries to focus on. My daughter is half Guatemalan and I am half Mexican, so this year, we will focus on learning about Guatemalan and Mexican food, crafts, and heritage.

If you plan to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, spread these out. No need to do them all in one weekend. Try one or two each week or weekend. What ideas do you have to clebrate the month? I would love to add to my list!

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Carissa South
Carissa is a loving wife, mother, and educator holding a masters of reading from the University of Central Oklahoma. She loves helping around their farm by taking care of the goats, chickens, and dogs. Her newly-adopted daughter brings lots of new challenges to her life as she is learning to balance work, family, and parenting.

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