GrupoPLAY™ is a bilingual playgroup that hosts regular playdates for Spanish-speaking / bilingual families in different communities around the country. Our PLAYdates are scheduled out in advance by season. We use these playdates as a way to show our children Spanish in a wider context; outside the home and outside the classroom. For this reason, we encourage participants to use as much Spanish during our play time as possible. Kids typically see English as the language of play (due to peer influence, school, etc.) so we can’t necessarily force them to use Spanish in these contexts but we can model to them Spanish conversation. This will just put them one step closer to fully understanding the social value of being bilingual.
After a pause due to COVID-19, we started our regular GrupoPLAY meet ups back up again starting June 2021. Now as of summer 2023, we have over FORTY locations around the U.S. meeting regularly! Check out the details below, and the sign up using the registration at the bottom! Get in touch with us via Instagram to inquire about GrupoPLAY. For a more in-depth look at how GrupoPLAYs are run, check out our guide here. (There you will find a link to request a new area for GrupoPLAY)
Check out the current GrupoPLAY™ schedules below. To see play dates listed by date, click “Drop-ins” or toggle to the calendar view (on right hand side). You can also filter by location.
Important: You may need to click over to “Camps/Events” to find certain locations.
Also important: Once you sign up for your area’s group, make sure to check the confirmation email to join your area-specific WhatsApp group to get access to the exact meeting location!
Qué es GrupoPLAY? Una de las misiones más grandes de Bilingüitos es que los niños de familias de habla hispana mantengan su hermosa lengua materna. No tienen por qué dejar el español por el inglés…pueden mantener los dos idiomas!
Nuestra visión especial para GrupoPLAY es que las familias hispanohablantes de nuestra comunidad que comparten la misma pasión por el español puedan hacer conexiones, formar amistades, y desarrollar un sistema de apoyo para la aventura que es el bilingüismo. Hay varios obstáculos que se presentan cuando uno quiere que su hijo aprenda una lengua minoritaria (i.e. el español), pero cuando los niños pueden ver que dicha lengua tiene importancia y valor social, ya empezarán a darle apreciación y considerarla una forma necesaria de comunicación. Este grupo ayudará en eso. Cuando su hijo ve que los otros niños también usan el español para comunicarse, desarrollará una apreciación más amplia por la lengua.
What is GrupoPLAY? GrupoPLAY is a bilingual playgroup that hosts regular playdates for Spanish-speaking / bilingual families in different areas around the country. We use these playdates as a way to show our children Spanish in a wider context; outside the home and outside the classroom. Children are able to see that Spanish isn’t just “mom and dad’s language” or something they learn at school, but rather it is a beautiful communication system that is used by entire communities of speakers, including other kids their age!
During these playdates, adults model peer-to-peer Spanish conversation, children bond over finding language commonalities, and overall, bilingualism is normalized and ultimately celebrated. Kids’ perspectives will shift as they begin to see the incredible value of being bilingual — when they see it as a superpower. At the end of the day, the true mission of GrupoPLAY is to unify the bilingual community and to equip families to cultivate and celebrate bilingualism in their own circles of influence.
These meet-ups are not classes. They are social community-building opportunities. 🙂 Families must be already bilingual or actively learning Spanish willing to use as much Spanish as they can during the meet ups. GrupoPLAY is free and open to all bilingual families in the area who want to join our Bilingüitos community.
Qué es GrupoWILD? Some of our locations have added secondary group called GrupoWILD which is a nature playgroup that meets outdoors, rain or shine, all year long. These meet at non-playground parks where kids play with whatever nature offers them that day! We choose parks that offer unique landscapes like creeks, rivers, or forests.
As with GrupoPLAY, during these nature playdates, adults model peer-to-peer Spanish conversation, children bond over finding language commonalities, and overall, bilingualism is normalized and ultimately celebrated. Kids’ perspectives will shift as they begin to see the incredible value of being bilingual — when they see it as a superpower. At the end of the day, the true mission of GrupoPLAY is to unify the bilingual community and to equip families to cultivate and celebrate bilingualism in their own circles of influence.
These meet-ups are not classes. They are social community-building opportunities for nature loving bilingual families. 🙂 Families must be already bilingual or actively learning Spanish willing to use as much Spanish as they can during the meet ups. GrupoWILD meet-ups are free, but some locations have a one-time join fee to cover administrative costs.
Currently GrupoWILD is available in Northern VA and Richmond VA.
GrupoPLAY bilingual family playgroups are currently available in FORTY locations! We’d love to expand our community by having more GrupoPLAY groups available in other areas too, so if you’re interested in leading one in your area, fill out this form! All of our locations meet at least once monthly (typically the second Saturday of each month), but in the summer we meet even more regularly. See information below about our locations, and then scroll down further for current schedule & sign ups!
AL: Huntsville
AZ: Phoenix
CA: Bakersfield, Monterey, Paso Robles, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San José
CO: Colorado Springs, South Denver
CT: North Haven, Stamford
GA: Atlanta, Savannah
FL: Miami, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tampa, West Palm
IL: Chicago
IN: Indianpolis
MD: Baltimore, Rockville
NE: Norfolk
NJ: Camden County
OK: Oklahoma City
TN: Nashville
TX: East Dallas, Forth Worth, Katy, Midland, San Antonio
UT: Salt Lake City
VA: Loudoun County, Richmond
WA: Kitsap County, Seattle
WI: Milwaukee
WV: Fairmont
Interested in leading a GrupoPLAY in your area? We would LOVE to have you join the team! Fill out the request form here and indicate that you’d like to lead! If your area is chosen, we’ll send you the leader application along with info about what the position would entail.
Bilingüitos Spanish Immersion LLC and its staff and volunteers are in no way responsible for you nor your children during your participation in these programs. In participating in any in-person event affiliated with Bilingüitos (including but not limited to GrupoPLAY), you assume all risk of injury or harm to yourself or dependents associated with participation in this activity and agree to release BSI LLC from all liability for any loss or injury.
Photographs/videos may be taken at any public event affiliated with Bilingüitos (i.e. GrupoPLAY) but to ensure the privacy of individuals and children, no images shared on our public media platforms nor those of our volunteer leaders will disclose names or personal identifying information.