One of the questions I get asked most often is how I use Lelu with my own kids. For starters, I can honestly share that my kids love Lelu and look forward to our programming each month– it’s not something that I need to force on them! I’m tickled by their excitement for each unit and also pleasantly surprised that they regularly suggest themes for future units, and always want to know what is coming up in our pipeline. I try to shield them from our upcoming programming as much as possible to keep the surprise element alive for them, but sometimes they inadvertently catch glimpses of upcoming themes and mascots! Even when we do successfully keep things under-wraps, they try to squeeze sneak peeks out of me, or to discover upcoming unit themes themselves from clues in our office.
In this blog post, I’m excited to share with you how my kids and I use our Spanish + STEAM program with the hopes that what I share will help you get the most out of it for your family, too. We offer so much variety in our programming that it definitely feels like there are countless ways families can use Lelu to meet their specific needs, so this is just ONE example of how ONE family uses Lelu.
Let me start by sharing an overview of what enrolled families have access to each month and then I’ll share specific details about how my own family engages our content each month.
Each month all Lelu families receive:
✅ 3 STEAM Mega Proyectos + Materials
✅ A Timeless Family Game
✅ Digital App / Web Content
✅ Vocabulary List with Pronunciations
✅ Personalized Item for each child
✅ Monthly Themed Mascot
✅ Monthly Calendar
✅ Additional Proyectos
✅ Access to Special Live Community Events (Sing-Along and Expert Calls)
And they have the option of adding-on:
- Access to Community Builder Sessions
- Live 1–1 Classes over Zoom
- Extra Materials (ie. Sibling packs)
So what does a typical Lelu month look like for my family?
We do our very best to attend the community events.
There are two types of community events with Lelu: 1) Bonus events like our monthly Sing-Along and Expert call and 2) Weekly Community Builder sessions. Our family has come to enjoy both types of community events and we join them whenever possible.
1) Bonus events like our Sing-Along and Expert Call
Our Sing-Along is a fun, low-key way for kids to sing and dance together, and take turns sharing their favorite lyrics from our monthly song. In some Sing-Alongs we breakdown the lyrics to encourage a deeper understanding of what the song is saying. In our most recent sing-along for our Clima Extremo unit we had everyone share the weather conditions from where they live. We had Lelu friends from all over the country (California to Minnesota to Florida) on the call, so there was a nice variety in reported weather conditions! These Sing-Alongs allow kids to connect with other bilingual kids and share on the theme of the month in a relaxed setting. They’re a blast and my kids enjoy them every time!
Our Expert Calls are high on my list of favorite things about Lelu! These Expert Calls expose our kids to many different professions as they learn about STEAM fields and I have found them to be priceless.
For example, in our current month about El Clima Extremo, we will be hosting a call with meteorologist Maria Molina to hear all about a day in her life, how she became a meteorologist, what her bilingualism means to her and more! I can’t wait!
During our Sonidos de Latinoamerica theme we hosted a call with the amazing 123 Andrés.
During our Es Magia theme we hosted a magic show with a Magician from Peru!
During our Seamos Veterinarios theme we hosted a call with 3 veterinarian students.
During our La Feria Lelu theme we hosted a call with two Toy Inventors.
During our Juegos olímpicos theme we hosted a call with the most decorated Athlete in women’s Water Polo Brenda Villa.
During our Exploración espacial theme we hosted a call with a friend from NASA.
And on and on! We use a good amount of time during these calls for questions from the kids and I’m always blown away by the questions they ask. We’ve had such a great time hearing from these experts and we’ve learned so much from their first-hand experiences. These calls always inspire ME and I’m so proud to be able to provide this type of exposure to my kids and to our Lelu community.
2) Builder sessions
The other type of community event we offer is our builder sessions. These are opportunities to do the Mega Proyectos with a Lelu Builder and other kids en vivo. In all honesty, when we first started offering these in September 2021, I didn’t expect for my kids to attend them. I thought we would continue to do the Mega Proyectos on our own because they were getting enough community in the Sing-Along and Expert calls. But you know what I discovered? There is no such thing as too much of a bilingual community! My kids love attending the builder sessions and I love how this extra community stimulation seems to encourage more creativity from them. It’s been awesome to witness! My favorite part of these builder sessions is how they give my kids the opportunity to hear other kids reading aloud in Spanish as during the builder sessions kids take turns reading the instructions aloud. In this way, children become great examples for one another and motivate one another. We love the builder sessions and we try to join one each week!
My kids are enrolled in Lelu 1–1 classes and these are a weekly highlight.
I honestly can’t imagine doing Lelu without our weekly 1–1 classes. The class is 30 minutes long each week and it’s called a 1–1 class because it’s one Maestra to one family. My kids LOVE their Lelu Maestra who is a teacher based in Mexico. She is amazing and makes the theme come alive for them. The classes are engaging and build on the content we’re learning through the Mega Proyectos and STEAM corners. Here are just a few examples of the amazing content covered in the classes this month with our Clima Extremo unit:
We play the game throughout the month.
Each month, Lelu families receive a fun family game related to that unit. In fact, the games that are available in our store were all once included in a monthly box. These are quality games that families say “are worth the cost of the box alone!” My kids always jump into the game first. It’s a joy to see them dive into the month’s theme through play. Per usual, this month with our Clima Extremo theme, the very first thing they did was build the puzzle! My 6 year old did it independently, in one sitting. The puzzle is 100 pieces and has all the main extreme weather events illustrated on it. It was the perfect entry point for our family into this amazing theme.
These games are truly timeless– we will play them again and again for years to come. Just like we’ve continued to play games like Elástico, Si/Entonces, Lotería Cuerpo Humano and Viaje Familiar. These games are so special, they are not to be missed!
We listen to the songs.
The Lelu monthly songs that accompany our themes have become special tools to memorialize all the learnings from that month. On longer drives with my kids, we listen through all the songs and discuss which is our favorite. On shorter drives throughout the month, I play the monthly song to reinforce the theme that we’re learning about. Our very first song from the Seamos Arquitectos unit always reminds me of the amazing proyectos we did in that month and the song helps me recall all the new vocabulary we gained that month.
We focus on the Mega Proyectos and the STEAM Corners.
I love that the Mega Proyectos come ready-to-do right out of the box– it makes them so easy to approach! I wish I could say we do all the extra proyectos from our app, but we only do those extra proyectos occasionally. My kids and I focus on doing one Mega Proyecto per week (now usually done in a builder session) and then together we enjoy the accompanying videos for the STEAM corners to learn about the Science, Tech, Engineering, Art and Math behind each proyecto. These STEAM corners are great conversation starters and always lead to more questions and discovery. Each month, Lelu provides a list of curated videos and additional resources related to the theme and we usually watch these after we’ve reviewed the STEAM corners.
Opportunities
I’m so inspired by the ways I see other Lelu families engaging with the programming each month. I know I could do a better job of using the monthly vocab sheets and calendars– being more consistent about hanging these up every month and then eventually putting them in a binder for my kids to commemorate all that we’ve learned. I’d also love to challenge myself to do all of the extra proyectos one month (probably in the summer when we have more flexibility in our schedules!).
Conclusion
It may sound trite coming from me, but I honestly can’t imagine not having Lelu for my kids. We get so much out of the program each month, and it’s amazing to witness the many ways Spanish + STEAM is boosting up their bilingualism. I’ve said this elsewhere, but our mission is to inspire each child to LOVE their bilingualism and know that there is no limit to where their bilingualism can take them. I see that happening in my own kids’ lives and I’m so excited to keep cheering them forward on the journey with our Lelu community! Pa’lante!
How do you Lelu each month? Let us know in the comments!
