National Hispanic Heritage Month provides an opportunity to teach children about the contributions, histories and cultures of people whose ancestors come from Spain, Mexico, and Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
At Connecticut Children’s, we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month and other culture months as part of our journey to make our organization more welcoming and inclusive. We honor the month with our team members, patients and their families by displaying signage in our hospital, providing educational resources, sharing team member profiles, and much more. We also encourage families to try new activities to better understand and appreciate the contributions of people in our country who identify as Hispanic or Latino.
Here are some ideas to consider during National Hispanic Heritage Month and all year long:
- Cook with your kids. Together, you can research, plan and prepare a traditional Hispanic or Latino dish – from guacamole to vegetable paella to Puerto Rican tembleque. Find some recipes here.
- Make arts and crafts projects based on Hispanic or Latino traditions. There are so many possibilities! Make paper fiesta flowers, Mexican folk art, or a creative piñata. Find these and other fun ideas here.
- Read children’s books written by authors or illustrated by artists who identify as Hispanic or Latino. To get you started, the School Library Journal offers recommendations that kids, tweens and teens will enjoy to honor National Hispanic Heritage Month.
- For additional ideas, Connecticut Children’s Growing Healthy Blog offers additional ideas for how you can honor National Hispanic Heritage Month with kids and shares lesser-known facts about the month.
Here’s some background information on National Hispanic Heritage Month. The celebration initially started as a weeklong designation in 1968 and expanded to a full month recognition with approval from Congress in 1988. There are numerous dates of significance during National Hispanic Heritage Month. For example:
- September 15 honors the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, which is why the celebration starts on September 15 each year.
- September 16 honors the independence of Mexico.
- September 18 honors the independence of Chile.
You may be wondering about the difference between Hispanic and Latino. Hispanic refers to people whose ancestors come from Spanish-speaking countries. Latino refers to people of Latin American descent who can be of any background or language.