I am participating in http://latinaish.com/’s Spanish Friday, so this post is in Spanish. An English translation is included in parenthesis.

Cuando eran chiquitos mis hijos, estaba obsesionada con meterles tanto español como posible a la cabeza. Traía de México y España música, libros y juguetes, cosas que hoy se pueden comprar fácilmente en linea. También buscaba siempre, y normalmente sin mucha suerte, ropa para niños con palabras en español. Es un detalle, pero creo que cada letra y cada palabra se suman a una consciencia más profunda del idioma, incluso platicar de las palabras en un pijama o de una frase en una camiseta.

[When my kids were little, I was obsessed with putting as much Spanish as possible into their heads. I brought music, books and toys from Mexico and Spain; things that you can easily buy online now. I also looked for clothes for kids with words in Spanish, normally without much luck. It is a detail, but I think that every letter and every word contribute to a deeper awareness of the language, even talking about words on pajamas or a phrase on a T-shirt.]

Pueden imaginar entonces la emoción que sentí ayer a encontrar esta camiseta para niños de Dos Borreguitos. ¡Preciosa! ¡Chistosa! ¡Me encanta! Mis nietos son todavía hipotéticos, pero esta camiseta estará aquí esperándolos. ¡Qué Dos Borreguitos siga así con otros productos igual de bonitos e ingeniosos!

[So, you can imagine how thrilled I was yesterday to find this T-shirt for kids from Dos Borreguitos. Darling! Funny! I love it! My grandchildren are still hypothetical, but this T-shirt will be here waiting for them. I hope Dos Borreguitos keeps making products just this pretty and clever!]

You may also be interested in this Spanish Friday post: La canción más poderosa de los últimos 25 años/ The most powerful song of the last 25 years

These two games with Spanish audio teach children pronunciation, animal vocabulary and letter sounds. They are from the site Leo lo que veo (I read what I see). The games were designed for native Spanish speakers, but work well with children learning Spanish. These games can be played by children of any age and any level.

Both games are structured as board games. Players roll a dice and move around the board. Each space has a shape that changes to show an animal and the word for that animal. When the player clicks the space there is Spanish audio that says the word. Players then find the other space with the same shape, click it to hear another animal, and identify the sound that is the same in both words.

Adapting the online games with Spanish audio to your child’s age and level

Children who do not read yet can move around the board listening to the Spanish audio to hear the words for the animals. They can also match the shapes and hear the Spanish audio for both animals. Reinforce the vocabulary by repeating the words in simple sentences: Es una rana. (It’s a frog.) Veo el caballo. (I see the horse.) El conejo es bonito. (The rabbit is pretty.). Kids can also practice numbers in Spanish as they roll the dice and move around the board.

Children who are beginning to read can use this game to practice hearing and reading these common syllables. They can use the words under the pictures and match the sounds to the letters. They will also practice correct pronunciation by repeating the Spanish audio they hear.

Instructions for the online games with Spanish audio

These are the rules of the games and a translation. Adapt the game for the level and age of your child. Just listening and associating the word with the picture of the animal will introduce her to new vocabulary and the sounds of the Spanish.

1.-Tira el dado y cuenta hasta la casilla. / Roll the dice and count the number of spaces.
2.- Haz clic en la figura y escucha el sonido. Repítelo y léelo tú. / Click on the shape and listen to the sound. Repeat it and read it yourself.
3.- Busca en el tablero la otra casilla con el mismo dibujo. / Look around the board for the other space that has the same shape.
4.- Haz clic en la figura y escucha el sonido. Repítelo y léelo tú. / Click on the shape and listen to the sound.
¿Cuál es la sílaba y el sonido que se repiten? Compara y lee. / Which syllable and sound are repeated?
5.- Vuelve a tirar el dado y sigue jugando. / Roll again and keep playing.

Links to online games with Spanish audio

Online game with Spanish audio – The syllables ca, bra, lo, mo, pa
Online game with Spanish audio – The syllables bu, jo, ra, ca, rro, ga

You may also be interested in this post: Spanish audio makes great online game for kids

Caballito blanco (Little White Horse) is one of the first songs my children learned in Spanish. We happen to have a white horse, so my kids loved it. Children all over the Spanish-speaking world sing this traditional song. I have also seen Caballito blanco identified as a jump rope rhyme, but my family learned the song and that is how I have used it in teaching Spanish to children.

There are several versions of Caballito blanco. The longest version has three distinct parts. The first asks the white horse to take the singer home, the second is about three sheep, and the third part tells Juana to get up and light a candle to investigate a noise. Often, children learn only the first two, and many recordings are done with just those two parts. I use a version with just the first two parts for teaching.

I like to sing this song with children learning Spanish for several reasons. First, it has very concrete, common vocabulary. It also has several verb forms that children learn right away: tengo (I have), tienes (you have), da (gives). Finally, the clear rhyme scheme reinforces the correct prononciation of the Spanish vowels.

You will find the lyrics for all three parts below. I have included common variations in parenthesis and a translation.

Caballito blanco – Spanish song – listen online

You can listen to several different versions of this song online.

Spanish song – Caballito Blanco. This is the longest version and it has the words on the screen.
Spanish song - Caballito Blanco. This is another version with all three parts.
Spanish song – Caballito Blanco. This video uses the first two parts of the song. I like the photographs of horses and sheep! The video supports the words to the song well.

Caballito blanco – Spanish song lyrics

Caballito blanco,
llévame de aquí, (sácame de aquí,)
llévame a mi pueblo
donde yo nací.

Tengo, tengo, tengo,
tú no tienes nada,
tengo tres ovejas
en una cabaña. (en una manada.)

Una me da leche,
otra me da lana,
y otra, mantequilla
para la semana.

Levántate Juana
y prende la vela (a prender la vela)
para ver quien anda
por la cabecera.
Son los angelitos
que andan de carrera
despertando al niño
para ir a la escuela.

Caballito blanco – Spanish song translation

Little white horse,
Take me away.
Take me to the town,
Where I was born.

I have, I have, I have,
You have nothing.
I have three sheep,
In a cabin. (herd)

One gives me milk,
Another gives me wool,
And another, butter,
for the week.

Get up Juana
and light the candle (to light the candle)
to see who is walking
on the headboard.

It is the little angels,
hurrying along,
waking the child
to go to school.

Caballito blanco – Spanish song downloads from Amazon

There are many versions of this song available to download on Amazon and iTunes. If I am using a song with children learning Spanish, I look for a version that is clear and not too fast.

Here are a few versions of Caballito blanco that work well with Spanish language learners:

Spanish song Caballito blanco – José Luis Orozco. This is the slowest and clearest version of this song that you will find. It is wonderful for beginning learners and little children. I love the sound of the horses hooves!

Spanish song Caballito blanco – Jorge Lan. This is from the CD Rondas infantiles 3. It is a little faster than the version by José Luis Orozco and it has a slightly different tune that the most traditional version.

Spanish song Caballito blanco – This is a version from the CD Canciones infantiles y cuentos. Again, it is a little faster. It has the traditional tune.

You may also be interested in this traditional song for children: Spanish songs for children – Debajo de un botón
 
 
 
 

Grande y pequeño is a Spanish ebook for parents and teachers to read with young language learners. The repetition helps children absorb the sound and structure of the language. The text exactly describes the photos and teaches common nouns, the adjectives grande (big) and pequeño (small) and the verb hay (there is/there are). Scroll down for a parent/teacher guide and a translation. Just click for full screen and audio. The free PDF is available to download from issuu.

Guide for Parents and Educators

Grande y pequeño
- Uses vibrant photographs to make the meaning of Spanish words clear.

As you read
- Point to the pictures that correspond to what you are saying.
- Use gestures to reinforce the meaning of the words grande and pequeño.
- Once your child is familiar with the words grande and pequeño, ask ¿Dónde está el carro grande? ¿Dónde está el  carro pequeño? (Where is the big car? Where is the small car?)
- Use phrases like these:

¡Qué perro tan grande (pequeño)! / What a big (small) dog!
¡Ese árbol es muy pequeño (grande)! / That tree is very small (big)!
¿Cuántos caballos hay? / How many horses are there?
Vamos a contarlos. / Let’s count them.
Uno, dos – Hay dos caballos. / One, two –There are two
horses.

Language notes
- The word hay is a verb that means both there is and there are.
- The words grande and pequeño are adjectives. In Spanish, adjectives commonly follow the word they describe: un barco pequeño / a small boat.
- Adjectives agree with the object they describe in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).

una vaca pequeña / a small cow (pequeña is feminine and singular to  agree with vaca)

- Adjectives that end in –e, like grande, do not show gender. These words do show number. They will always end in –e (singular) or –es (plural).

un caballo grande / a big horse
una vaca grande / a big cow
dos vacas grandes / two big cows

- The word mano is a feminine noun. It is an exception to the rule that feminine nouns end in –a: una mano pequeña / a small hand.

Translation

Grande y pequeño / Big and small

Hay un perro grande. Hay un perro pequeño.
Hay dos perros. / There is a big dog. There is a small dog. There are two dogs.

Hay un barco grande. Hay un barco pequeño.
Hay dos barcos. / There is a big boat. There is a small boat. There are two boats.

Hay un elefante grande. Hay un elefante pequeño.
Hay dos elefantes. / There is a big elephant. There is a small elephant. There are two elephants.

Hay una flor grande. Hay una flor pequeña.
Hay dos flores. / There is a big flower. There is a small flower. There are two flowers.

Hay un caballo grande. Hay un caballo pequeño.
Hay dos caballos. / There is a big horse. There is a small horse. There are two horses.

Hay un árbol grande. Hay un árbol pequeño.
Hay dos árboles. / There is a big tree. There is a small tree. There are two trees.

Hay un tigre grande. Hay un tigre pequeño.
Hay dos tigres. / There is a big tiger. There is a small tiger. There are two tigers.

Hay un carro grande. Hay un carro pequeño.
Hay dos carros. / There is a big car. There is a small car. There are two cars.

Hay una vaca grande. Hay una vaca pequeña.
Hay dos vacas. / There is a big cow. There is a small cow. There are two cows.

Hay una mano grande. Hay una mano pequeña.
Hay dos manos. / There is a big hand. There is a small hand. There are two hands.

Hay caballos, vacas, carros y barcos, / There are horses, cows, cars and boats,
elefantes, tigres, árboles y manos. / elephants, tigers, trees and hands.
Hay flores también y perros buenos. / There are flowers too and good dogs.

Todos son grandes y todos pequeños. / All of them are big and all of them small.

If you liked this post, you might be interested in:
Spanish ebook – ¿Uno? ¿Dos? ¿Tal vez tres?
Spanish ebook – Busca los colores

This one-minute Spanish video is good listening and language practice for children. You can just watch together, or you can do activities like the ones that follow the video to help children understand more. You will find a transcript and a translation below the video.

This public service announcement was made in Uruguay. Spanish accents vary from region to region. Children are flexible listeners and exposing them to different accents helps them become comfortable with the variation that they will inevitably hear as they interact with Spanish speakers. They will not understand every word of this Spanish video, but you can structure an activity that helps them understand the main idea and also practice listening for specific words. See the activity suggestions below.

Transcript: (The verb form querés, in the first line, is used in parts of South America. It is equivalent to quieres.)
Ya sé Popi, querés (quieres) salir a pasear.
Tener una mascota es muy lindo. Ellas te dan afecto, compañía y son muy divertidas. Pero también son una gran responsabilidad. Popi depende de mí para comer, para bañarse, y hasta para salir a hacer pichí. ¿Saben una cosa? El tiene sus propios juguetes. Cuando llego de la escuela, él siempre me espera con su pelotita para jugar. ¿Verdad, Popi? ¡Popi!

Translation:
I know Popi, you want to go out.
Having a pet is really nice. They give you affection, company, and they are fun. But they are also a big responsibility. Popi depends on me to eat, take a bath, and even to go out to go potty. Do you know something? He has his own toys. When I get home from school he is always waiting with his ball to play. Right, Popi? Popi!

Activities. These are the steps I use with a video like this. The activities are just examples. Modify them to fit your child’s vocabulary.

1. Tell your child that the Spanish video is about having a pet and that the title is Tu responsabilidad. Together, predict what you might hear and see in the video. List some of the words you might hear.

2. Turn down the volume and watch the video with no sound. Pause to name the objects you see and talk about what is happening in simple sentences. You can use simple sentences like these.

Hay un perro. / There is a dog.
El perro tiene una correa. / The dog has a leash.
El perro quiere salir. / The dog wants to go out.
Hay una niña. / There is a girl.
El perro corre. / The dog is running.
La niña le da de comer al perro. / The girl is feeding the dog.
El perro come. / The dog is eating.
La niña sale con el perro. / The girl takes the dog out.
El perro juega con la muñeca. / The dog is playing with a doll.
El perro tiene una pelota. / The dog has ball.

These are some of the objects in the video and in the background of the video that you can point to and name. Use simple verbs like Veo (I see) or Hay (there is).

el perro – dog
la correa – leash
la puerta – door
la cocina – kitchen
la niña – girl
el plato para comida – food dish
comida para perros – dog food
la escoba – broom
el recogedor – dustpan
la esponja – sponge
el agua – water
el árbol – tree
la pelota – ball
la muñeca – doll

3. Turn up the volume. Watch and listen to the Spanish video all the way through together before doing any of the following activities.

4. Listen for specific words.
With children who read in Spanish, give them a list of words in the order they appear in the video. Choose words that are pronounced clearly. Read through the list together first. Then, watch the video. Kids check off the words they can hear. You may want to pause the video and back it up so that children have time to check off a word.

Your list might look like this:
____ mascota
____ lindo
____ compañia
____ divertidas
____ también
____ responsabilidad
____ comer
____ bañarse
____ salir
____ cosa
____ juguetes
____ escuela
____ jugar
____ verdad

For children who do not read, do the activity one word at a time, telling your child what word you are listening for. Say, for example, Vamos a ver si escuchamos la palabra “lindo.” (Let’s listen for the word lindo). Then play the Spanish video until it is past the word by a second or two. Rewind if you need to so your child can listen again. To do the activity this way, choose a few words that are well spaced. For example, you could listen for these words:
lindo
responsabilidad
bañarse
cosa
jugar

5. Comprehension activity. A comprehension activity does not have to be complicated. The real purpose of an activity with a video like this is to repeat the vocabulary and the structures.

Simple questions with choices are one option. With children who do not read, you can do these questions orally.

1. ¿Es la mascota de Catalina un gato o un perro?
2. En el video, ¿Popi quiere salir o quiere dormir?
3. ¿Popi depende de Catalina para comer o para cantar?
4. ¿Catalina usa agua para bañar a Popi o para salir con Popi?
5. ¿Popi tiene sus propios zapatos o sus propios juguetes?
6. ¿Popi tiene una pelota para jugar o una muñeca para jugar?

If you prefer a different format, kids can write the correct word in the blank:

1. La mascota de Catalina es un ____________________.         perro      gato

2. En el video, Popi quiere ____________________.          dormir       salir

3. Popi depende de Catalina para ____________________.         comer     cantar

4. Catalina usa agua para ____________________.          bañar a Popi       salir con Popi

5. Popi tiene sus propios ____________________.          zapatos     juguetes

6. Popi tiene una ____________________ para jugar.      pelota     muñeca

6. Matching. You can make an activity where kids match words to a related object. With children who do not read, you can do this by reading the words aloud.

   comer        jugar       bañarse      salir

7. Personal questions. Ask simple questions related to the Spanish video so that kids can talk about themselves in Spanish. You can ask questions like these.

Questions about pets:
¿Te gustan los perros? / Do you like dogs?
¿Tú tienes una mascota? / Do you have a pet?
¿Cómo se llama tu mascota? / What is your pet’s name?
¿Es grande o es pequeño tu mascota? / Is your pet big or small?
¿Bañas a tu perro ( a tu mascota)? / Do you give your dog (pet) a bath?
¿Sales a pasear con tu perro? / Do you take you dog for walks?
¿Tu mascota come mucho? / Does your pet eat a lot?
¿Tu mascota tiene juguetes? ¿Tiene una pelota? / Does your pet have toys? Does he (she) have a ball?
En tu family, ¿quién cuida a tu mascota? / In your family, who takes care of your pet?

Other questions (not all kids have pets):
Popi come comida para perros. ¿Cuál es tu comida favorita? / Popi eats dog food. What is your favorite food?
¿Te gusta bañarte? / Do you like to take a bath?
¿Tienes juguetes? ¿Tienes una muñeca como Catalina? ¿Tienes una pelota como Popi? / Do you have toys? Do you have a doll like Catalina? Do you have a ball like Popi?
Todos tenemos responsabilidades. En tu casa, ¿ayudas a guardar los juguetes?
¿Ayudas a tu mamá o a tu papá con otras cosas? / We all have responsibilities. At your house, you do help put away toys? Do you help your mom or dad with other things?

You may also be interested in this post about another Spanish video for kids.

The traditional Spanish game, Debajo del puente (Under the Bridge), has several versions. It is a hand-clapping game and is also used as a jump-rope rhyme. The hand-clapping game ends with the kids freezing in place and trying not to laugh or move. As the words indicate, the first one who moves gets a pinch. Kids love this game, but be sure they know that the pinch should not be hard!

Rhymes like this are wonderful for pronunciation and also for absorbing the structures of Spanish. Because children memorize rhymes, they can produce quantities of Spanish with correct sounds and grammar. This helps them learn the rhythm and the deep structure of the Spanish language.

Of course, it is important that children understand what the rhyme means. One simple way to do this is by drawing a picture of a snake under a bridge brushing his teeth. You can also teach the rhyme with gestures. Use your hands to make a bridge, a slithering snake, and brush your teeth. Nod your head yes for verdad que sí and shake your head no for verdad que no.

This is one common version of the Spanish game Debajo del puente. Any simple hand-clapping pattern will do, such as: clap, right to right, clap, left to left, clap, both hands. You can hear this Spanish game by clicking on the audio link.

The translation is word-for word, with no attempt to keep the rhythm or rhyme. I include it here for adults learning Spanish with their children.

Audio of Spanish game - Debajo del puente (hand-clapping)

Debajo del puente / Under the  bridge
había una serpiente, / there was a snake
lavándose los dientes / brushing his teeth
con agua caliente. / with hot water.

¿Verdad que sí?/ Isn’t that right?
Tilín, tilín, / Tilín, tilín
¿Verdad que no? / Isn’t that wrong?
Tolón tolón, / Tolón, tolón
Si te mueves o te ríes, / If you move or you laugh,
te daré un pellizcón. / I will give you a pinch.

This is another version of this Spanish hand-clapping game.

Debajo de un puente,
había una serpiente
Lavándose los dientes
con agua caliente
Si dice que sí,
chi qui, chi qui chi,
Si dice que no,
do bo, do bo do
Si te ríes o te mueves,
te daré un pellizcón.

The words are slightly different when the rhyme is used as a jump rope rhyme. This is one common version and a translation. If the child jumping rope answers no, she keeps jumping. If she answers yes, she runs out.

Audio of Spanish game - Debajo de un puente (jump-rope game)

Debajo de un puente / Under a bridge
había una serpiente / there was a snake
con ojos de cristal / with glass eyes
para ir al hospital. / to go to the hospital
¿Quiere usted salir? / Do you want to go?

The last line can also be:
¿Quieres salir de aquí, sí o no? / Do you want to leave here, yes or no?

In Spanish, this game is a comecocos or a sacapiojos. In English, it is called a cootie-catcher, a chatterbox or a fortune teller. This is an excellent language activity and it can be adapted in lots of different ways to use with Spanish language learners. It involves folding paper to make a toy that fits over your fingers and opens and closes. A friend chooses a series of pictures or words to arrive at the answer to a question. Comecocos is also the Spanish name for the 80s video game Pac-man, so if you want to search for this paper game, search comecocos de papel.

If you are not familiar with this game, you can get an idea of how it works from this video: Spanish game

Traditionally, a comecocos is a kind of fortune-teller, with the final answer being a prediction. For Spanish language learners, you can make the comecocos so kids arrive at a question to answer, an action to do, an adjective that describes them, their favorite food, or other vocabulary that you want to practice.

When I use a comecocos with Spanish language learners, instead of having kids spell words, I have them say the words in syllables and usually as part of a phrase. For example, if the first choice is of a color, and the friend chooses rojo, the child with the comecocos opens and closes it twice, as she says aloud ro-jo, or for each syllable as she says the phrase El color es rojo. Kids like the phrases because they get to open and close the comecocos more. You can use phrases like El número es… and El animal es…, depending on the comecocos.

With any comecocos, you will want to be sure the player with the toy knows how to ask the other player which color,  number or animal she chooses. Teach the question ¿Cuál quieres? or ¿Cuál escojes? if the kids do not know it. They can also say Escoje uno (Choose one.).

Printable Spanish game – Comecocos

Here are a few of my comecocos to print and use with Spanish language learners. You can easily make your own by writing in words, adding drawings and using stickers. I have included a blank comecocos. There are instructions for folding these below the PDFs, but you can also just fold them without a pattern. Links to useful sites with more instructions and ideas follow my materials.

Spanish game – Los animales: A comecocos with numbers and animals. The final choice reveals a question about what sound an animal makes: ¿Cómo hace un perro?  This is a simple way for kids to practice animal vocabulary.

Spanish game – Preguntas: A comecocos with colors and numbers. The final choice reveals a personal information question to answer, such as ¿Cuántos hermanos tienes?

Spanish game – ¿Cómo eres?: A comecocos with colors and numbers. The final choice reveals an adjective that describes the player such as paciente, fuerte, amable.

Spanish game – La Navidad: A comecocos with Christmas vocabulary and numbers. The final choice reveals a picture of what the player will get for Christmas.

A blank comecocos. Write or draw whatever you like. Stickers work well too.

Printable instructions for the Spanish game, comecocos.

Instructions for folding the Spanish game – Comecocos

1. Cut out the comecocos.

2. With the printed side up, fold in half to get a rectangle. Fold that rectangle in half to get a square.

3. Open the comecocos completely, place the printed side down on the table, and fold each corner into the center (the point of the corner will touch the middle). You will have a square.

4. Flip over the comecocos (the corners you just folded in will be against the table). Again fold in each corner so the point touches the center.

5. Flip over again and fold in half to crease, unfold and then fold in half the other way to crease. Unfold. You should end up with a square with little pockets at each corner.

6. Fold in half with the pockets on the outside. Hold the comecocos so the openings of the pockets are down. Put the thumb and index finger from one hand into the pockets on one side. Put the other thumb and index finger into the other two pockets. Pinch your index fingers and thumbs together.

Useful links for using this Spanish game:

- Instructions for folding a comecocos.

- Another set of instructions to make this Spanish game.

- Another set of instructions from PBS.

- An online form for making your own Spanish folded paper game. The outside squares are characters from the PBS show Arthur, but they are each associated with a color. The second level has numbers. You type in the final phrases. You may have to write in accent marks. I couldn’t get them to work on my Mac.

- Spanish instructions for making this game.

- A pretty printable Spanish comecocos with the planets on the inside. There is information (in Spanish) about how the students use this Spanish game to choose which planet to study.

- Instructions and additional game ideas. There are a few printable patterns, one with only shapes and colors that would work in Spanish.

- Spanish video showing how to fold this game. There are lots of videos in English on YouTube if you search “cootie-catcher”.

¿Uno? ¿Dos? ¿Tal vez tres? is a Spanish ebook for parents and teachers to read with young language learners. The repetition and rhyme help children absorb the sound of the language and the text encourages children to count the animals, engaging them with the language. Scroll down for a parent/teacher guide and a translation. Just click for full screen and audio. The free PDF is available to download from issuu.

A Guide for Parents and Teachers

¿Uno? ¿Dos? ¿Tal vez tres?
- Uses vibrant photographs to make the meaning of Spanish words clear.
- Helps children actively engage with Spanish to process the language at a deeper level.

As you read
- Point to the pictures.
- Count the animals in Spanish with your child, pointing to each one.
- If you are using the audio, pause (click on the speaker in issuu) to let your child count.
- Use phrases like these:

Hay unos caballos. ¿Cuántos ves? / There are some horses. How many do you see?

Veo muchos caballos. /  I see a lot of horses.

Vamos a contarlos. / Let’s count them.

Unos, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis – Veo seis caballos. / One, two, three, four, five, six – I see six horses.

Language notes
- The words ¿cuántos? and ¿cuántas? mean “how many.”  They are adjectives and agree with the noun that follows.

¿Cuántos perros ves? / How many dogs do you see?

¿Cuántas tortugas ves? / How many turtles do you see?

- The book uses the verb form ves. It is the verb ver (to see) in the tú form meaning ”Do you see?”  To answer, use the verb form veo (I see).

Veo tres vacas. / I see three cows.

Veo diez patos. / I see ten ducks.

Translation
¿Uno? ¿Dos? ¿Tal vez tres? / One, two, maybe three?

¿Uno? ¿Dos? ¿Tal vez tres? / One, two, maybe three?
Dime cuántos gatos ves. / Tell me how many cats you see.

¿Uno? ¿Dos? ¿Tal vez tres? / One, two, maybe three?
Dime cuántos osos ves. / Tell me how many bears you see.

¿Uno? ¿Dos? ¿Tal vez tres? / One, two, maybe three?
Dime cuántas vacas ves. / Tell me how many cows you see.

¿Cuatro? ¿Cinco? ¿Tal vez seis? / Four, five, maybe six?
Dime cuántos cerdos ves. / Tell me how many pigs you see.

¿Cuatro? ¿Cinco? ¿Tal vez seis? / Four, five, maybe six?
Dime cuántas tortugas ves. / Tell me how many turtles you see.

¿Cuatro? ¿Cinco? ¿Tal vez seis? / Four, five, maybe six?
Dime cuántos caballos ves. / Tell me how many horses you see.

¿Siete? ¿Ocho? ¿Nueve? ¿Diez? / Seven, eight, nine, ten?
Dime cuántos perros ves. / Tell me how many dogs you see.

¿Siete? ¿Ocho? ¿Nueve? ¿Diez? / Seven, eight, nine, ten?
Dime cuántos elefantes ves. / Tell me how many elephants you see.

¿Siete? ¿Ocho? ¿Nueve? ¿Diez? / Seven, eight, nine, ten?
Dime cuántos pájaros ves. / Tell me how many birds you see.

¿Siete? ¿Ocho? ¿Nueve? ¿Diez? / Seven, eight, nine, ten?
Dime cuántos patos ves. / Tell me how many ducks you see.

Contaste animales / You counted animals
de uno a diez. / from one to ten.
Aquí están todos –  / Here they all are -
cuéntalos otra vez. / count them again.

This extensive set of free printable materials has lots of wonderful activities for Spanish language learners. It is offered by Udicom on the educational portal Educarm of the Department of Education in Murcia, Spain.

These printable PDFs are designed for native Spanish speakers with a focus on language in context. The set includes a variety of activities that can be used with Spanish language learners at different levels. These materials are divided into 11 units. Each unit is divided into 6 sections with many different activities. Each unit also includes sets of activities for several letters.

The first section in each unit, Bloque 1, begins with a vocabulary list and picture cards with the image, the word in print and the word in cursive. These are followed by vocabulary exercises like crossing out the picture that does not belong, cutting and pasting into categories and ordering a series of pictures.

All the sections in a unit have exercises for beginning readers like matching the picture to the word, categorizing, completing the word, ordering syllables, and puzzles like crosswords and wordsearches. In addition, there is practice with basic grammar points like gender and articles (el or la) and forming plurals. There are also activities with basic concepts like shapes, colors, and size.

The exercises are from Spain, so some of the words, nouns in particular, differ from what is used in Latin America. However, the vast majority of the vocabulary is standard. There is a lot of material in these units and much of it will be useful to teachers and parents working with Spanish language learners.

These materials are offered free of charge for educational purposes. You can accept the terms of use here and you will be taken to the index of Printable Spanish Activities.

You can go directly to the index to look over the activities, but do go back and accept the terms of use (to not modify the work and leave the copyright intact) if you find materials  you can use.

These are the 11 units:

1. El colegio y mi aula.  - School and my classroom
2. El cuerpo y los sentidos. – The body and the senses
3. Los alimentos. – Food
4. Las prendas de vestir. – Clothing
5. La casa. – The house
6. La calle. – The street
7. Los oficios. – Jobs
8. Los animales. – Animals
9. Las plantas. – Plants
10. Los medios de transporte. – Transportation
11. Los medios de comunicación. – Communication

Let’s Learn to Speak Spanish: Conversational Workbook and CD is a set of worksheets and activities by Susana Murphy, published by the non-profit One World Foundation. Susana sent me a copy of this book because she realized it would be helpful to many Spanish Playground readers. These activities are an excellent supplement to an elementary Spanish program. The book is also a great choice for parents who want to reinforce a school program or introduce their child to Spanish at home. The exercises cover the most common introductory topics and the pages can be photocopied. It takes tons of material to give kids enough exposure to these basics. This workbook gives teachers and parents an easy way to reinforce what kids are learning.

Most of these Spanish activities are based on translation and there is a glossary in the back of the book. This format makes the book is a good choice for parents who do not have much knowledge of Spanish but want to introduce school-age children to Spanish at home. The workbook comes with an audio CD of native speakers from Costa Rica, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. With this support, parents and kids can hear the correct pronunciation and practice the sounds of Spanish. These are written activities, but I really like how consistently this book reminds kids to use the spoken language. They need lots encouragement to speak Spanish!

Let’s Learn to Speak Spanish includes activities on topics like the alphabet, greetings, numbers, the days of the week, the months of the year, and the weather. There are also worksheets for units like colors, food, animals, clothing, body parts and places. The grammar practice is basic and appropriate for many elementary programs and even middle school programs. In addition to the singular forms of regular -ar verbs in the present, the book has exercises on ir, tener, querer and gustar.

For each of the topics covered, there are several different Spanish activities. You will find word searches, scrambled words, and pictures to color. Kids will choose which word does not belong, match words to pictures, copy Spanish sentences and complete sentences by filling in the blank. The book includes flash cards of common phrases and vocabulary and also mini-books to practice the verbs quiero, voy and tengo. All of the worksheets provide sufficient practice, but are not so long that they become boring.  Also, I love the choice of vocabulary in this book. It is truly representative of a standard Spanish that will be understood worldwide.

Many of these topics include a section called ¿Sabes? on one of the worksheets. These sections are a wonderful collection of cultural and linguistic information. The explanations are short with clear examples and include all kinds of fun, useful and very accurate information.

There is no doubt that this book will save teachers time and provide students with an opportunity to practice the basics. I think that Let’s Learn to Speak Spanish is also a great model of the kinds of Spanish activities that teachers can make. For parents who want to introduce kids to Spanish at home or reinforce a school program, there are a variety of activities that will keep kids entertained while giving them some of the essential practice that it takes to learn Spanish.

Disclosure: The company sent me a copy of the book to write this article. All of the ideas and opinions are my own.