1. There are 51 million Latinos in the US today, and I want my children to be able to talk to any of them. 2. I want my kids to get the job interview that someone else doesn’t. 3. I want them to understand and appreciate other cultures and their own. 4. I want them to have another perspective on history. 5. I want them to test out of the language requirement in college. 6. [...]
I love using story sticks with kids learning Spanish. The pictures reinforce what they hear, and the movement helps them process the language. Children use the stick to order pictures of a story as they listen. These printable templates are free, the sticks are simple to make, and they are based on great books. Also, kids really like using them. On the site Making Learning Fun, you will find printable templates to make story sticks [...]
In this video, two children are describing a common word in Spanish. The video is just one minute long, but they give lots of clues so that you can guess the word. At the end of the video, the Spanish word appears on the screen. This is one of a series of videos called Adivina la palabra de hoy (Guess Today’s Word). The series is produced by the Fundación de la Lengua Española, a private [...]
What a fun way to review basic vocabulary in Spanish! This video is by a speech and language therapist in Spain. Children see a scene and then hear the sound of something in the picture. They identify what makes that noise. After a moment, a picture of the object and the Spanish word come on the screen. I love how clear these sounds are and the combination of the scene and the sound create a [...]
The blog, Pequeños Artistas, Grandes Obras (Little Artists, Great Works), is the collaborative work of preschool and elementary teachers in Spain and Argentina. The site is a wonderful record of the art education they are doing in their classes, and it is also a great Spanish language resource. Several of the posts include comments from the students about paintings. The comments are funny and imaginative and hearing what Spanish-speaking children say about the pictures is [...]
This is a popular Spanish language song and game based on opposites. Kids play it in lots of Latin American countries and is a great way to learn and practice Spanish vocabulary. The language is simple, but getting the patterns right is not that easy! In my experience, kids are better at this game than adults. The game begins by singing a verse that names a pair of opposites. Then the leader says a three-word [...]
Help your child learn Spanish by talking about this wonderful photograph. The questions that follow, like all the Learn Spanish with Pictures activities, are ordered to help children master the vocabulary and gain confidence with the language. Start with Describe the photo (1), and be sure to point to the objects in the picture as you talk about them. Use gestures, facial expressions and actions to help your child understand what the words mean. When [...]
When my kids were younger, we always headed to Mexico about this time of year. This summer we will be going later, but warm weather has me missing the tastes of Mexico and thinking about how important food is when we are there. For children learning Spanish, an introduction to some of the snack foods popular in Mexico is a great way to spice up snack time in class or at home and learn some [...]
Are you learning Spanish with your child? Have you studied Spanish, but would appreciate a chance to review? Rocket Spanish Premium is an online course from Rocket Languages and it loaded with material and resources to help you learn Spanish. Rocket Spanish Premium is an interactive online course for adults. It is divided into ten units, each with several lessons and many components. Each lesson has audio with instructions and Spanish language dialogs, vocabulary, cultural [...]
Kokone Mínimo is a website from Mexico designed to introduce children to basic vocabulary and concepts in their native Spanish language. Kokone means children in Náhuatl, one of the original languages of Mexico. Kokone Mínimo is a great site for Spanish language learners because it focuses on common objects and verbs and the language is presented with clear images, audio and written words. Parts of the body, vowels, shapes, colors, opposites – these are just [...]
The songs from two of my favorite CDs for teaching Spanish to children are now available on iTunes. We Love Spanish and Sing, Move and Dance in Spanish, both from Spanish Together, are wonderful collections that teach Spanish to kids through great music. You can read a detailed review of another Spanish Together CD Hands on Spanish here and about why I like the the song El Cuerpo (also called Cabeza, hombro) so much. You can [...]
This is one of a series of videos called Adivina la palabra de hoy (Guess Today’s Word). The series is produced by Fundación de la Lengua Española, a private non-profit from Spain that promotes the teaching of Spanish. In the videos, children describe a common word for viewers to guess. At the end of the video, the word appears on the screen. All of the videos are short, about one minute long, and the kids [...]