August 13, 2026

Introducing ¡Vamos!: A Joyful English-Spanish Immersion Experience at Doodle Bugs!

Eden Stafstrom, MA PhD ABD, Spanish Immersion Curriculum & Program Manager

At Doodle Bugs!, we believe that the best learning happens when children are engaged, curious, and having fun. That’s why we’re excited to pilot ¡Vamos!, our new English-Spanish immersion program, at our Oviedo Doodle Bugs! location.

“¡Vamos!” means “Let’s go!” in Spanish—and that’s exactly what this program is all about. Together, we’ll sing, move, imagine, create, laugh, explore, and discover the world through the Spanish language.

More Than Learning Words

Each day at Doodle Bugs!, children explore fun themes like dinosaurs, outer space, and fairy tales while building skills across all areas of development. To complement these experiences, our Spanish curriculum, ¡Vamos! , is intentionally aligned with what children are learning throughout the rest of their day. If their classroom is discovering dinosaurs, we’ll roar, stomp, sing, read stories, and play dinosaur games in Spanish. If they’re exploring outer space, we’ll blast off through Spanish songs, books, and imaginative adventures. ¡Vamos! reinforces what children are already learning through authentic Spanish stories, music, movement, games, and hands-on activities.

Every book, song, game, and activity in the ¡Vamos! Curriculum is carefully selected with two goals in mind:

It has to be something children genuinely enjoy. We use authentic children’s literature, traditional songs, contemporary music, imaginative games, movement activities, puppet shows, and stories from across the Spanish-speaking world because children learn best when they are engaged, laughing, and eager to participate.
It must be accessible. While our materials are authentic—not simplified textbook Spanish—they are intentionally chosen so that children who are completely new to Spanish can quickly begin recognizing familiar words, joining repeated phrases, anticipating songs, and participating alongside classmates who may already hear Spanish at home. Every child has a place in the experience!

Rather than memorizing vocabulary lists, children experience Spanish as it is meant to be experienced: as a living language used to tell stories, explore ideas, solve problems, express emotions, and share joyful moments together.

Built Around Joy

One of the guiding principles behind ¡Vamos! is simple:

Children learn best when they’re having fun.

When children feel excited, relaxed, and connected, their brains are better able to absorb new information. Every lesson is intentionally designed to create positive emotional experiences with the Spanish language.

Rather than asking children to sit through drills or memorize translations, our teachers invite them to participate through movement, music, storytelling, imaginative play, puppets, games, crafts, and collaborative activities. Children aren’t pressured to speak before they’re ready. Instead, they are encouraged to participate in whatever way feels natural—whether that’s pointing to a picture, joining a dance, singing along to a familiar chorus, acting out a story, or eventually using new Spanish words on their own.

The goal is much bigger than teaching children a few Spanish words.

Our hope is that every child leaves ¡Vamos! with positive memories of learning another language—memories that inspire confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong love of learning. By surrounding children with meaningful Spanish during the years when their brains are especially receptive to language, we’re helping build skills that support future academic success, flexible thinking, problem-solving, attention, and communication.

At the same time, Spanish becomes a vehicle for exploring the world around them. As children sing, read, create, experiment, and play, they naturally encounter foundational concepts like colors, numbers, shapes, letters, patterns, animals, emotions, weather, seasons, and early science and math. They discover traditions, music, stories, and celebrations from across the Spanish-speaking world, building cultural appreciation alongside the language.

Designed for Every Child

Every child arrives at Doodle Bugs! with a unique combination of experiences, interests, developmental milestones, and language backgrounds. That’s why ¡Vamos! is thoughtfully designed to meet children exactly where they are—whether they’re six months old or five years old, whether Spanish is spoken every day at home or they’re hearing it for the very first time.

Our youngest learners experience Spanish through warm, responsive interactions filled with songs, smiles, playful sounds, movement, and simple picture books that nurture early communication, listening, and social connection. Toddlers continue that journey through interactive games, music, sensory exploration, movement, and hands-on activities that encourage participation, curiosity, and joyful discovery. As children grow into preschoolers, their experiences become even richer. They explore authentic children’s literature from across the Spanish-speaking world, participate in dramatic play and puppet shows, collaborate on creative projects, investigate science and math concepts, solve problems together, and engage in playful conversations—all while continuing to build their understanding of Spanish in meaningful, developmentally appropriate ways.

Most importantly, ¡Vamos! is a place where every child belongs. Children do not need any previous knowledge of Spanish to participate and thrive. Some may enthusiastically sing along from the very first week, while others may spend weeks or months quietly listening, observing, dancing, pointing, or joining in through actions before they begin using Spanish words themselves. Every one of these responses is a valuable part of the language-learning process.

By surrounding children with joyful, meaningful Spanish every day, we create an environment where all learners can build confidence, curiosity, listening skills, and a positive relationship with language—no matter where they begin.

Building Skills That Last a Lifetime

Learning another language during early childhood offers benefits that extend far beyond learning new words. Multilingual students score higher on standardized tests than their monolingual peers. These benefits extend throughout life, but they start early; even 6 month olds with access to multiple languages score higher on cognitive tests!

Researchers have consistently found that early bilingual experiences can support the development of executive functioning skills—the mental abilities that help children focus attention, remember information, solve problems, adapt to new situations, and manage their impulses. As children learn to recognize patterns in two languages, switch between different ways of expressing ideas, and make connections between words and meaning, they are exercising the same cognitive skills that support learning across many areas of life.

Early language exposure has also been associated with stronger communication skills, increased cognitive flexibility, greater perspective-taking, and an appreciation for different cultures and communities. While every child develops differently, introducing another language during the preschool years gives children access to experiences that can broaden the way they think about language, people, and the world around them.

Perhaps just as importantly, the early childhood years represent a remarkable window for language learning. Young children’s brains are especially responsive to language input, allowing them to absorb the sounds, rhythms, pronunciation, and grammatical patterns of a new language with a natural ease that becomes more difficult later in life. Daily exposure during these formative years helps build a strong foundation that children can continue developing as they grow.

At ¡Vamos!, we strive to make the most of this unique stage of development. Through songs, stories, movement, imaginative play, conversation, and authentic children’s literature, children receive consistent, meaningful exposure to Spanish in ways that are joyful, engaging, and developmentally appropriate.

Whether a child eventually becomes bilingual, continues studying Spanish throughout school, or simply develops an appreciation for languages and cultures beyond their own, these early experiences can help foster curiosity, confidence, flexible thinking, and a lifelong love of learning.

After all, our greatest goal isn’t simply to teach Spanish—it’s to help children discover that learning itself is an exciting adventure.

Let’s Go!

Our new name reflects our vision.

¡Vamos! is an invitation to explore, imagine, create, sing, laugh, and learn together.

Every day, our children will hear authentic Spanish, experience meaningful interactions, and discover that learning another language isn’t about memorizing words—it’s about connecting with people, stories, music, and the world around them.

We can’t wait to begin this adventure together.

¡Vamos!