In this post: A review of Celebrate Cultures: a Waldorf inspired bilingual, Hispanic heritage box for kids aged 8-14.
Learning Spanish at home is becoming increasingly popular amongst families in the USA as more and more Spanish resources are becoming available. However, there still remains a huge gap and need for Spanish educational materials for older kids aged 8+.
That is why I was delighted to discover Celebrate Cultures, an innovative small business that provides authentic bilingual educational boxes for ages 8-14. Their boxes celebrate the diversity and beauty of Hispanic heritage and Spanish speaking territories.
We received El Mundo Maya: a box dedicated to exploring the ancient Maya civilization and the extraordinary heritage that they brought to today’s Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Although my oldest is only 5, he was able to access many materials in the box, and I personally really enjoyed learning alongside him!
It was such a joy to write up this honest review. Let’s dive in!
This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Table of Contents
About Celebrate Cultures
Celebrate Cultures is a bilingual (Spanish and English) educational box designed for kids aged 8-14.
There are many Spanish subscription boxes on the market, but what I love about the Celebrate Cultures box is their commitment to authentic, culturally rich content to support foreign language learning. Each box focuses on a Spanish speaking country or community.
The hispanic community is so incredibly diverse and I am so happy to see a service finally addressing this need to educate and explore this with our children.
The Celebrate Cultures founder, Marta Mascaró, is an exceptionally talented multi-lingual mom, a passionate historian and art lover. She is originally from Barcelona, Spain which we bonded over, since I spent a year in Sevilla teaching English and was able to visit the beautiful city of Barcelona while there.
Marta is trained in the Waldorf pedagogy, which is becoming increasingly popular amongst homeschooling communities. She shared how the focus on storytelling and handcrafts are at the heart of the Celebrate Cultures box:
I started developing projects that became fun, bonding memories for the whole family and that helped instill an appreciation for other cultures, and Celebrate Cultures came as a natural evolution of these projects that included different kinds of Arts with Stories, and exposure to other cultures, particularly to Spanish and Spanish heritage.
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What’s Included in Each Box?
Each box includes a variety of different handcrafts that use natural materials. No plastic toys or products here! The quality of the materials chosen really wowed me. From the beautiful felt and sensory based modeling clay, to a beautiful palette of watercolor paints and patterns, this box is every craft-loving mama’s dream!
The many high quality handcrafts included in each box provide the perfect invitation to engage in learning through hands-on, creative projects.
We received four art projects in our box including:
~ La Leyenda del Colibrà en Acuarela (The Hummingbird Legend in Watercolor Painting). This was our favorite craft! My children learnt how to use carbon copy paper with patterns and they really enjoyed using watercolor paints. We had not yet ventured into watercoloring and now they are absolutely obsessed.
~ Colibrà de Fieltro (Felted Hummingbird). I really enjoyed this project, although the fine motor skills required for sowing were too advanced for my 5 year old. It would be the perfect craft for the target age of 8+. They enjoyed playing with the hummingbird after I had sown it together!
~ Un Glifo Maya en Arcilla (A Maya Glyph in Clay)Â This was great fun! The kids loved the sensory play with the modeling clay and using a long tooth pick to create designs. They also enjoyed learning about glyphs and how to decipher them!
~ El MaÃz y El Calendario Maya (Corn and the Maya Calendar)Â Another fun watercoloring activity here, that my kids really enjoyed. We also learnt about the Haab calendar and solar cycles!
I really appreciated that the handout for each craft included a short summary of the history behind the meaning of the project and the ancient Mayan legends.
The boxes also include a booklet with maps, STEAM activities and writing activities. This is where I feel that the age does matter: My children were too young for this but it would be perfect for 8+. I actually really enjoyed completing the activities as an adult. I learnt a lot and found it absolutely fascinating~ my inner nerdy historian came out!
Some examples include drawing Maya pyramids, learning about the ancient maya civilization number and writing system. There was a beautiful, traditional song called Konex Konex that we could listen to on YouTube by scanning a QR code, as well as a recommended book: The Chocolate Tree, from the ‘On My Own Folklore’ series. My son loved reading this with me and we both learnt so much about the Mayan folktale of where chocolate came from. Spoiler alert: the Mayan king Kulkulkán may have had something to do with it!
Also included in the Celebrate Cultures box were authentic recipes from the Mayan culture including Atole and Antiguo Guacamole. Soooo good! We gobbled up the guacamole watching the football one Sunday afternoon, and oh my goodness I think it may now be a family favorite recipe.
Finally, although we have not had the chance to participate yet, Live online craft gatherings will also be available. These are an awesome opportunity for sharing your work, speak the target language and get to connect with Celebrate Cultures community.
What Makes Celebrate Cultures so Unique?
There are many reasons why we love this bilingual box but above all, I believe it has fulfilled two huge niches that were needed in our bilingual parenting community:
1. It is targeted at older kids (8-14). As I mentioned before, my 5 year old was able to enjoy many of the handcrafts with me, but to enjoy the full box then this age range is ideal.
There are so many homeschool Spanish curriculums aimed at younger kids (ages 2-6) but then the amount of options dramatically plummets post 6 years old. I am so relieved that the next time a parent emails me to ask for Spanish materials for upper elementary to middle school, I now have an excellent company to point them to.
2. Secondly, Celebrate Cultures focuses on hispanic heritage. There are no other educational bilingual subscription boxes that achieve this. Celebrate Cultures has really provided a wonderful resource for families that want to raise global citizens and expand their child’s horizons by learning about the extremely diverse hispanic community.
As Marta explains:
Celebrate Cultures is an invitation to engage the heads, hands and hearts of Spanish learners while fostering creativity.
Related Post: Hispanic Heritage Children’s Books
Who Would Benefit from this Box?
Celebrate Cultures is an excellent resource for any family learning Spanish with a heart for hispanic heritage, history and art.
With the focus on Waldorf pedagogy through exploring many art mediums and storytelling, I believe this box would also be the perfect fit for many homeschooling families that enjoy this type of hands-on learning using natural materials.
Finally, in terms of language level, the materials are fully bilingual (English and Spanish). So both native speaking families as well as Spanish beginners can access and enjoy this resource. Every set of instructions, whether for a recipe card, handcraft or activity book, are written in both languages.
For Spanish learners, there are also worksheets for vocabulary. This is a great way for the child to consolidate their learning and practice spelling. I really think it’s these thoughtful details that makes this box so special. It is clear that Marta has really considered the needs of every learner in creating the program.
How to Get your First Celebrate Cultures Box
If this resource seems like a good fit for your family and you want to try a box, Marta is kindly offering Mama Llama Linguist readers 10% OFF their first box with code MAMALLAMA.
You can purchase your first box by heading over to Celebrate Cultures (www.celebrate-cultures.com) and choose the subscription that works for you.
Shipping of your first box happens within 3 business days and you can order just one box to try it out, or if you know this is totally your jam, then opt into the bi-monthly or annual subscription.
You can also connect with Celebrate Cultures on Instagram and Facebook.
This is a Sponsored Post but all opinions are my own.
I only share products that I have used with my children and that I believe will enrich your family’s Spanish language learning at home.
Related Posts:
Best Spanish Subscription Boxes for Kids
Hispanic Heritage Month Children’s Books
Best Homeschool Spanish Curriculums
Founder of the Llamitas Spanish® Curriculum and former Spanish teacher. Corrie holds a Masters in Spanish and Education and is raising bilingual children in San Diego, CA.