Spanish–English Routine for Kids: Colours, Numbers & Mammals

Spanish English flashcards for kids are one of the easiest ways to build bilingual vocabulary at home—especially when you keep it playful and consistent. In this post, you’ll learn a simple 10-minute routine using Bilinbee’s bilingual books and mammal flashcards to practise colours, numbers and animal words in Spanish and English.

At Bilinbee, we design bilingual resources to help families build Spanish and English naturally through play — from sturdy toddler-friendly books to themed flashcards you can use in games, bedtime, and everyday routines. (And yes, it’s normal if your child mixes languages at first — that’s part of how bilingual development works.)

First, a quick reassurance: bilingual kids aren’t “confused”

A common myth is that learning two languages causes speech delays or confusion. Research and clinical guidance don’t support that. Bilingual children are not more likely than monolingual children to have language difficulties or delays, and “monolingual-only” is not a cure for speech challenges.

So if your family speaks Spanish and English (or you’re introducing Spanish at home), you can feel confident continuing with both — especially when it’s warm, consistent, and interactive.

The 10-minute bilingual routine you can repeat daily

This routine works beautifully for toddlers and preschoolers because it’s short, playful, and built around repetition.

1) Choose ONE theme (1 minute)

Pick a theme for the day:

Colours
Numbers
Mammals
(or rotate them across the week)

2) Do “3 cards, 3 rounds” with Mammals (4 minutes)

Using Mammals Bilingual Flashcards, choose just 3 animals.

Why these are easy to use: the set includes 20 double-sided flashcards, in five vibrant colours, with each mammal shown in Spanish and English plus a unique characteristic phrase. They also have rounded corners and are designed for children 18 months+.

Try this mini-game:

Round A (say it): “Bear… oso.”
Round B (find it): “Where is oso?”
Round C (use it): “Big bear / oso grande.”

Keep it light. If your child says a mix like “oso bear,” you can simply model it back: “Yes! Oso. Bear.”

3) Add a 1-page book moment (3 minutes)

Now pair flashcards with a board book page (this is where vocabulary really “sticks”).

My Book of Colours is a sturdy 15cm x 15cm bilingual board book made from sturdy cardboard, designed to build colour vocabulary through interactive learning and bright illustrations.
Use one page and talk about what you see:

“Red apple — manzana roja.”
“Blue sky — cielo azul.”

My Book of Numbers follows the same toddler-friendly format — 15cm x 15cm, durable cardboard, with “interactive learning” that supports early numeracy and bilingual vocabulary.
Try: “One… uno. Two… dos.” Then count real objects nearby (toys, grapes, steps).

Shared reading strategies like dialogic reading (interactive “back-and-forth” reading) have evidence showing improvements in children’s language — especially expressive vocabulary.

4) Finish with a real-life “spot it” challenge (2 minutes)

Before you move on with your day, do a quick challenge:

“Can you find something rojo?”
“Can you find two blocks?”
“Can you find an animal that lives in water?”

These tiny “carryover” moments are powerful because they connect words to real meaning, not just memorisation.

Easy games to keep it fun (and boost repetition)

Flashcard hide-and-seek: hide 3 mammal cards around the room; find and name them in both languages.
Colour hunt: after one page of My Book of Colours, hunt for that colour around the house.
Number snack count: read one page of My Book of Numbers then count blueberries: “three / tres.”

FAQ: quick answers parents actually need

Will bilingualism confuse my child?
Mixing languages can be a normal part of bilingual development. Overall, bilingual children are not more likely to have language delays than monolingual children.

What if my child knows fewer words in each language?
That can happen — but when you look at their total “conceptual vocabulary” across both languages, it often matches monolingual children over time.

What matters most?
Consistency and quality interaction: short routines, lots of everyday language, and shared reading that invites your child to respond.

Ready to build your Spanish–English routine?

If you’d like a simple “starter set” for daily bilingual play:

Pair Mammals Bilingual Flashcards with My Book of Colours for easy everyday vocabulary.
Add My Book of Numbers to layer in early numeracy + language together.

Sources

Byers-Heinlein & Lew-Williams, Bilingualism in the Early Years: What the Science Says (peer-reviewed, open access). PMC
Stanford Medicine Children’s Health (speech-language pathology guidance on multilingual children). Healthier, Happy Lives Blog
Morgan et al., Dialogic Reading’s Potential to Improve Children’s Oral Language Skills (summary). PMC
Early Language & Literacy Australia, evidence review noting dialogic reading supports expressive vocabulary and emergent literacy (PDF). Early Language and Literacy
Bilinbee product information for My Book of Colours, My Book of Numbers, and Mammals Bilingual Flashcards. bilinbee.com.au