During Hispanic Heritage Month—and any month, really—I never miss an opportunity to share my love of Hispanic culture with my daughter. We speak Spanish in the home, and I keep many pictures from my internship in Spain displayed for her to see. She always asks about them, and especially about when she will be able to go to Spain! I always tell her someday—and I definitely mean it.

We keep a Spanish Leap Frog alphabet system on our refrigerator, which she loves to play and sing along with. Of course, she’s also a fan of Go, Diego, Go, and somewhat of Dora the Explorer, but I think the most important thing about learning Spanish is to keep it fun and interactive. She also has a pair of castanets she loves to play to the Spanish music CDs I made for her.

There are many things you can do to celebrate Hispanic heritage in your own home with your kids this month. Try one of the following.

Celebrate! Especially if you are from a Hispanic culture, be sure to celebrate your heritage this month. Help educate friends and your child’s classmates about the holidays you celebrate, your language and culture (if you do speak Spanish at home, or if you have relatives who do), and all things Hispanic. Maybe you could have a relative visit the classroom from another country, or you could teach the class a song in Spanish.

Identify Spanish-speaking countries on a map. From Chile to Spain, Puerto Rico to African areas, there are dozens of places that are home to Spanish-speaking peoples. Try learning a bit about each country per day and see where it leads you. Make a dish from that country, check out books from the library, or look up music from that area to listen to.

Learn some basic Spanish words. Most people can say hello (hola) and goodbye (adios) in Spanish, but I always say that the most important word in any language is thank you (gracias)! Find out if your son or daughter’s name has a Spanish translation and use it this month. Use an English-to-Spanish converter, such as the Google application, to learn new words. Just remember to avoid direct translations, as they usually don’t make a lot of sense.

Teach acceptance. We hear a lot of “Speak English or get out!” these days, which is completely intolerant and aggressive behavior. After all, Spanish was spoken in the Americas long before English was, and many countries have several—even dozens, or hundreds!—of languages spoken by their people. Help raise your children to be kind and nonjudgmental by explaining that everyone is different, which makes it a rich and colorful world.