We Give Books is a free online library of children’s books and they now have a few Spanish stories and dual language books available. If you are not familiar with We Give Books, do take a look at this amazing program. It is a collaboration of the Pearson Foundation and Penguin Group and designed so that kids help other children around the world while they are reading. Penguin works with its authors to provide an [...]
Talk about this photograph of a little girl and her dog to help your child learn Spanish. 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 [...]
Kids have fun solving analogies because they are mental puzzles. In this printable Spanish activity, they figure out the relationship between a pair of words and then choose another pair that is related in the same way. Analogies are a great language activity because the words are commonly associated with each other, for example sol-día, vaca-leche, zapato-pie. Thinking through the relationship reinforces the meaning of the vocabulary. Talking about analogies is also a good way [...]
This online game in Spanish, Un día en el circo, is from a set of activities called Diverland. The activities are part of Proyecto Ludos, online educational resources sponsored by the Spanish government. The game has seven different activities to practice positional words. The activities use the words in these pairs: abajo-arriba (up-down) dentro-fuera (in-out) encima-abajo (on top of-under) delante-detrás (in front of-behind) cerca-lejos (close-far) a la izquierda-a la derecha (to the left-to the right) [...]
Una preguntita is a continually growing collection of questions in Spanish that encourage kids to draw on information they know to understand what they hear. Although some words in the questions will be new, kids use their knowledge as context to understand and answer. You can find a more complete explanation of using knowledge as context here, along with suggestions for using the questions. The category Spanish Questions for Kids has additional question sets. Be [...]
This Spanish card game is an fun way for kids to learn vocabulary and practice comparisons. It is based on the traditional game “War,” in which players each have a stack of cards and turn one over at the same time. In the traditional game, the higher number wins and takes the other card. In this version, one of the cards wins based on the size of whatever is in the picture on the card. [...]
Stress Free Kids publishes audio and picture books that help children reduce stress and lower anxiety. These stories are available in Spanish and are fabulous language-learning tools. The stories teach relaxation techniques, but their structure and objective also create an excellent Spanish learning experience. As children listen to these stories, they relax, but they are never passive. Children participate, both physically and by actively using their imaginations. The CD Sueños del océano índigo has four [...]
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winners, entries 11 and 18, Melissa and Katie. Winners were chosen using random.org. Thank you to everyone who entered and shared how they teach culture. It is fun and inspiring to read about what others are doing with their children and classes. We all learn from each other. ¡Muchas gracias! Award-winning author Carole Roman has written a lovely picture book to introduce young children to the country [...]
Update – Storybird has made some changes so the stories cannot be embedded here. The links in the post below work though, so you can read them on the Storybird site. Enjoy! The last ebook I made, La primavera llegó, was a big hit with my students, so I thought I would share these two stories in Spanish, too. Like the last book, these were made using the beautiful art on Storybird. In this post [...]
These questions in Spanish are useful for all kinds of activities, including board games, classroom games or just asking each other for fun. Children learn many of these words and structures in elementary school. They also are familiar with the content. Of course, what kids understand will depend on their level and age. You can always reword the questions to make them easier for your students or children to understand. Una preguntita is a continually [...]
Award-winning author Carole Roman has written a lovely picture book to introduce young children to the country and culture of Mexico. If You Were mM and Lived in… Mexico: A Child’s Introduction to Cultures Around the World is intended for ages pre-K through eight. It combines carefully selected information with images crafted to be typical, but never stereotypical. The book is available from Amazon and on the author’s website. In my experience, it is hard [...]
Mother’s Day is El Día de la Madre or El Día de las Madres in Spanish. In the U.S. this year we will celebrate on May 12th. This printable Spanish subway art is a good coloring project for language learners. You can find more information about how Mother’s Day is celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries and other printables for El Día de la Madre in these posts. Subway art, a pretty collection of words related to [...]