Travel Mom Ronit, also the founder of Feppy, the award-winning bilingual subscription box designed to immerse kids and families in Spanish and English language learning, joins us on this episode to talk about language learning, raising global citizens, travel, and how you don’t have to be bilingual to raise bilingual kids.
Learn more about Feppy below and use code KEEKEE20 to get 20% off your first order.
For family vacation inspiration, check out all the podcast episodes. Adventure Awaits!
Tell Us About Yourself & Feppy
I’m originally from Venezuela, South America. I grew up in a house where we spoke three languages. When I moved to the United States 21 years ago, I realized that knowing another language opened many opportunities for me.
I started to work in edutainment, which is education and entertainment for kids and saw a market for bilingual products. While you can find books and music in Spanish, you rarely find products that are bilingual in both languages.
So, I realized that if I make the product bilingual, I’m not only talking to bilingual families, I’m also talking to monolingual families who want to expose their kids to a second language but don’t have the resources or tools to do it as you don’t have to be bilingual to raise bilingual kids.
I decided to create a bilingual subscription box to immerse kids ages 3-6 in Spanish and English language learning and make it easier for parents to raise their children bilingually in a fun way that feels more like playing than learning.
The name Feppy comes from ‘Feliz’ and ‘happy’ to showcase the importance of bilingualism and raising happy kids, which is, at the end of the day, we all want to have happy children.
Why is knowing another language so important?
In today’s world, there are fewer borders, and with the internet and globalization, language is increasingly important. You live in an open world, so giving our kids the tools to learn another language is essential. While we have google translate on our phones and computers, knowing and understanding another language goes beyond the words. It’s to know the culture.
And when you travel to another place and show that you try to speak their language, they feel good about it. They’re more welcoming.
Our mission is to raise the next generation of open-minded global citizens because language opens your mind and gives you a broader perspective of the world.
Tell us more about Feppy’s unique approach to language learning.
Something I learned, not only as a mom raising my kids but also watching other kids interact, is that when you learn while having fun, the learning is easier. You don’t feel it’s like work. You get to absorb information in a fun way.
So, for us, it was essential to develop all the content so kids will learn while they have fun, from the stories to the activities. We took traditional games, memory dominoes, and bingo and converted everything into bilingual.
And we didn’t want to create more work for parents. It’s easy and a vehicle to connect.
The products being bilingual helps in learning. The spark of bilingualism happens when a kid connects the content in both languages.
Why do you think it’s important to travel with the kids?
We were talking the other day as a family and trying to remember what we gave one of my kids for their birthday. And we couldn’t remember. They don’t remember the material things, but they will never forget a trip and the experiences.
Their best memories are from traveling and not only because it’s vacation, but also as a family dynamic, to share time together, to learn together because when you go, and you visit a new place, it’s new for the whole family.
That uncomfortable situations in visiting new places make you grow.
Next trip you’re planning or dreaming about?
Japan is on our wish list. But we are happy to go anywhere new, to visit new places even inside the United States. I always encourage my family…let’s go somewhere we haven’t been.
How can I learn more and get a Feppy Subscription?
You can visit our website, where you’ll find month-to-month subscriptions for three, six, or twelve months. You can subscribe without a contract and cancel at any time. There are also single and prepaid packages.
Each monthly FeppyBox contains a Feppy Book (an original story in English and Spanish and exclusive access to its Audio Video Book), Feppy Play hands-on activity, Feppy Music, and Feppy Parents Guide.
On social media, you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook, where we always share tips and ideas.
KeeKee Friends can get 20% off their first order with the code KEEKEE20! Thank you, Feppy!
For family vacation inspiration, tune in to all the podcast episodes. Adventure Awaits!