CC Image courtesy of Municipalidad de Talcahuano

1. Describir la foto – Describe the photo
Estas personas están en una feria para celebrar el Día de San Valentín. Hay globos rojos y las mesas son rojas y blancas. También hay muchos corazones.
Una mujer vende dulces, galletas y otros regalos. Ella tiene una silla blanca, pero no está sentada. Ella está de pie. Un hombre y una mujer miran los regalos.

[These people are at a fair to celebrate Valentine’s Day. There are red balloons and the tables are red and white. There are also lots of hearts.
A woman is selling candy, cookies and other presents. She has a white chair, but she is not sitting down. She is standing up. A man and a woman are looking at the presents.]

2. Seleccionar la respuesta – Choose the answer
¿Los globos son rojos o blancos?
¿La persona que vende los regalos es un hombre o una mujer?
¿La silla es roja o blanca?
¿La mujer que vende regalos está sentada o está de pie?

3. Señalar con el dedo – Pointing and counting
¿Dónde están las mesas?
¿Dónde está la silla?
¿Dónde están los regalos?
¿Cuántas personas miran los regalos?
¿Dónde están los globos rojos?

4. Sí o no – Yes or No
¿La fería es para celebrar el Día de San Valentín?
¿Un hombre vende los regalos?
¿Hay globos blancos?
¿La mujer está sentada?
¿Hay muchos corazónes?

5. Decir un poco más – Say a little more (respuestas/answers)
¿Qué día se celebra en la feria? (Se celebra El día de San Valentín / Valentine’s day is being celebrated.)
¿De qué color son los globos? (Los globos son rojos. / The balloons are red.)
¿Cuántas personas miran los regalos? (Dos personas miran los regalos. / Two people are looking at the presents.)
¿Qué hacen el hombre y la mujer? (Miran los regalos. / They are looking at presents).

6. ¿Y tú? –  What about you?
¿Celebras el Día de San Valentín? ( Sí, celebro….No, no celebro…)
¿Les das tarjetas a tus amigos? (Sí, les doy, No, no les doy…)
¿Te gustan los dulces?
¿Te gustan los regalos?
¿Puedes ver unos corazones en la foto? ¿Dónde están?

7. Vocabulario – Vocabulary
las personas – people
la feria – fair
celebrar – celebrate
el Día de San Valentín – Valentine’s Day
hay – there are
los globos – balloons
rojos/rojas – red
las mesas – tables
blancas – white
también – also, too
muchos – many
los corazones – hearts
una mujer – a woman
vende – is selling
los dulces – candy
las galletas – cookies
otros – other
los regalos – presents, gifts
tiene – has
la silla – chair
pero – but
(no) está sentada –  is (not) sitting
está de pie – is standing
el hombre – man
miran – are looking at

CC Image courtesy of Jeremy Tarling

1. Describir la foto – Describe the photo
Hay dos personas en esta foto. Una mamá y su hija juegan en la nieve. Están en la acera. Hay nieve en la acera, en la calle y en los carros. La mamá tiene una bola de nieve en la mano. Se la va a tirar a su hija. La niña también tiene una bola de nieve en la mano. Las dos llevan abrigos y botas. El abrigo de la mamá es negro y sus botas son de muchos colores. El abrigo de la niña es rojo y sus botas también son rojas. La niña se está riendo. Ella se está divirtiendo.

[There are two people in this picture. A mom and her daughter are playing in the snow. They are on the sidewalk. There is snow on the sidewalk, on the street and on the cars. The mom has a snowball in her hand. She is going to throw it at her daughter. The little girl also has a snowball in her hand. Both of them are wearing coats and boots. The mom’s coat is black and her boots are many different colors. The little girl’s coat is red and her boots are red too. The little girl is laughing. She is having fun.]

2. Seleccionar la respuesta – Choose the answer
¿La mamá juega con su hijo o con su hija?
¿La mamá y su hija están en la acera o en la calle?
¿La mamá tiene una bola de nieve o dos bolas de nieve?
¿La niña tiene un abrigo negro o un abrigo rojo? ¿Sus botas son negras o rojas?

3. Señalar con el dedo – Pointing and counting
¿Cuántas personas hay en la foto?
¿Dónde está la mamá?
¿Dónde está la niña?
¿Dónde está la bola de nieve que tiene la mamá?
¿Dónde están las botas de la niña?
¿Dónde está la calle?
¿Cuántos carros hay en la foto?

4. Sí o no – Yes or No
¿Hay tres personas en la foto?
¿Hay nieve en la calle?
¿La mamá va a tirar la bola de nieve?
¿La niña tiene una bola de nieve?
¿Las botas de la mamá son rojas?
¿El abrigo de la mamá es negro?
¿La niña se está divirtiendo?

5. Decir un poco más – Say a little more (respuestas/answers)
¿Cuántas personas hay en la foto? (Hay dos. / There are two.)
¿Dónde están las personas? (Están en la acera. / They are on the sidewalk.)
¿Dónde están los carros? (Están en la calle. / They are in the street.)
¿Qué tiene la niña en la mano? (Tiene una bola de nieve. / She has a snowball.)
¿Quién va a tirar una bola de nieve? (La mamá va a tirar una bola de nieve. / The mom is going to throw a snowball.)
¿De qué color es el abrigo de la niña? (El abrigo de la niña es rojo. / The little girl’s coat is red.)
¿Quién se está riendo? (La niña se está riendo. / The little girl is laughing.)

6. ¿Y tú? –  What about you? (verb forms for answers)
¿Hay nieve donde vives? (Hay…)
¿Te gusta jugar en la nieve? (Me gusta… No me gusta…)
¿Tienes botas? ¿De qué color son? (Tengo… Son…)
¿Tienes un abrigo? ¿De qué color es? (Tengo… Es…)
¿Te diviertes jugando afuera? ¿Tiras bolas de nieve? ¿Corres? (Si, me divierto…No, no me divierto…Tiro…Corro…)
¿Con quién juegas? ¿Con tu mamá? ¿Con tu papá? ¿Con tus hermanos? ¿Con tus amigos? (Juego…)

7. Vocabulario – Vocabulary
hay – there are, there is
personas – people
la foto – photograph
una mamá – a mom
su hija – her daughter
juegan – are playing
la nieve – the snow
están – are
la acera – sidewalk
la calle – the street
los carros – the cars
tiene – has
una bola de nieve – a snowball
la mano – hand
Se la va a tirar a su hija. – She is going to throw it at her daughter.
la niña – the little girl
también – also
las dos – both of them
llevan – are wearing
botas – boots
abrigos – coats
negro – black
muchos – many
colores – colors
rojo – red
se está riendo – is laughing
Ella se está divirtiendo. – She is having fun.

You may also be interested in this activity – Kids learn Spanish with pictures – Happy Pigs

This slideshare presentation has nine short Spanish poems about winter. They were compiled by a teacher in Alicante, Spain. One of the poems is a traditional song that I wrote about here: Spanish song – Winter. Unfortunately, I do not know the authors or sources of the other poems. You will find a Spanish transcript below the slide presentation. If you recognize any of the other poems, I would love to know if they are traditional, or who wrote them.

Spanish poems – Winter

All of these poems are short and can be used with Spanish language learners. The simplest poem is just four lines. It does not rhyme in English, but has assonant rhyme in Spanish.

La nieve cae. / Snow is falling.
El frío llegó. / The cold arrived.
Gorro y bufanda / Hat and scarf
me pongo yo. / I put on.

The others are a little longer, but all of them have common winter vocabulary. These poems are an excellent length to read with young Spanish learners. Kids love the rhythm and rhyme, and you could easily add actions, illustrate the poems together, or sing them to a simple tune.  ¡Que se disfruten del invierno!

Spanish Together has a wonderful free video about a snowman that is perfect for using with beginning Spanish learners this time of year. Un muñeco de nieve begins by asking ¿Qué es? and then adds the parts to the snowman one by one using tiene (he has): tiene dos ojos, tiene una nariz, tiene una boca, etc. When the snowman is complete with buttons, hat, and scarf, kids get the answer ¡es un muñeco de nieve! (It’s a snowman!).

In addition to the video on YouTube, the audio is available to download from the Spanish Together CD We love Spanish on cdbaby or itunes. This CD has lots of fun music that teaches children Spanish, and Un muñeco de nieve makes a great listening activity for beginning learners. You can use it in combination with the video to provide lots of repetition and exposure to native-speaker Spanish.

Just watching the video and listening kids are learning Spanish. If  you want to give engage your child more actively with the language, try the following steps. You do not have to do them all at once. A little at a time is great!  If your child gets tired or is distracted, do more on another day. Just begin by watching the video together each time. The entire video/audio is 30 seconds long.

1. View the video together just listening and watching. Spanish video – Un muñeco de nieve

2. Draw a picture of a snowman with your child. You should each draw one. Use the sentences from the video (like Tiene dos ojos.) and point at the picture you are drawing. Point to your child’s picture too, and use the sentences from the video. It does not matter in what order you draw the snowmen, but include all the parts in the video (dos ojos, una nariz, una boca, dos manos, tres botones, una bufanda, un sombrero). Your child does not have to repeat the words, she is learning by listening.

3. Watch the video again. Point to the parts of the snowman that you drew when you hear them and see them. Pause the video to give your child time to point.

4. Download the audio for Un muñeco de nieve from iTunes or cdbaby. Listen to the audio once through together.

5. Listen again and as you hear each word point to that part on the snowman you made. Pause the audio to give your child time to point.

6. Use construction paper (or other materials) to assemble a snowman as you listen to the audio again. Listen to the first step and then pause it as you put on the eyes. Start the audio over and listen to ¿Qué es? Tiene dos ojos, tiene una nariz. Pause the video again. Each time, start the audio over from the beginning so that your child hears what she has done and can listen for what comes next.

7. Reinforce the sentences from the video in other situations. Use them by:
- building a real snowman.
- pointing to pictures of snowmen in picture books and ornaments and decorations.
- pointing to pictures of people dressed for winter in books and catalogs.
- talking about people you see outside (pointing is not polite)

8. With almost all these steps, you can also point to your child and use the verb tienes (you have): Tienes dos ojos. Tienes una nariz. Do this starting with step 2, when you are drawing the snowmen together.

Learning Spanish takes lots of repetition of natural language in contexts that reinforce the meaning of the words. This video and audio are exactly the kind of materials that you can use to help kids learn. You can find another snowman activity here: Learn Spanish with Pictures – A snowman.

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

CC Image courtesy of Heather Sunderland

1. Describir la foto – Describe the photo
El muñeco de nieve es blanco y alto. Tiene un sombrero negro, dos ojos negros y una nariz anaranjada. El muñeco de nieve tiene una bufanda roja y cuatro botones negros. Tiene una boca sonriente, pero no es fácil verla. Detrás del muñeco de nieve, hay un árbol con luces.

[The snowman is white and tall. He has a black hat, two black eyes and an orange nose. The snowman has a red scarf and four black buttons. He has a smiling mouth, but it’s not easy to see it. Behind the snowman, there is a tree with lights.]

2. Seleccionar la respuesta – Choose the answer
¿El muñeco de nieve es bajo o es alto?
¿Tiene un sombrero negro o un sombrero rojo?
¿Tiene cuatro botones o tiene cinco botones?

3. Señalar con el dedo – Pointing and counting
¿Dónde está el sombrero del muñeco de nieve?
¿Dónde están los ojos?
¿Dónde está la boca sonriente del muñeco de nieve? ¡No es fácil verla!
¿Cuántos botones tiene?
¿Dónde está la bufanda?
¿Dónde está el árbol con luces?

4. Sí o no – Yes or No
¿El muñeco de nieve es alto?
¿El muñeco de nieve tiene cuatro ojos?
¿Tiene una bufanda negra?
¿El árbol está detrás del muñeco de nieve?

5. Decir un poco más – Say a little more (respuestas/answers)
¿De qué color es el muñeco de nieve? (Es blanco. / He is white.)
¿De qué color son los ojos? (Son negros. / They are black.)
¿Qué prendas de vestir tiene el muñeco de nieve? (Tiene un sombrero y una bufanda. / He has a hat and a scarf.)
¿Qué hay en el árbol? (Hay luces / There are lights.)

6. ¿Y tú? –  What about you?
¿Hay nieve donde vives?
¿Te gusta hacer un muñeco de nieve?
¿Tienes una bufanda? ¿De qué color es?
Los ojos del muñeco de nieve son negros. ¿De qué color son tus ojos?

7. Vocabulario – Vocabulary
el muñeco de nieve – snowman
blanco – white
alto – tall
tiene – has
el sombrero – hat
negro – black
ojos – eyes
la nariz – nose
anaranjada – orange
la bufanda – scraf
roja – red
los botones – buttons
la boca – mouth
sonriente – smiling
pero – but
fácil – easy
ver – to see
detrás de – behind
hay – there is
el árbol – tree
las luces – lights

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.

This is a game I play with kids to practice the verbs ver, querer and tener in the first person and also review a bunch of vocabulary. I like it because I say almost nothing and the kids are using Spanish that makes perfect sense and exactly describes what they are doing.

Overview of the Spanish game to practice verbs and vocabulary:
- Students are divided into teams of about 5.
- A set of objects and pictures, labeled with different point values, is displayed where everyone can see them. The point values are hidden from view.
- When it is their turn, a team confers to choose the object they will go and get.
- The team sends a representative to get an object (someone different each time). The player first identifies the object she will get by saying Veo (la manzana). Then she says she wants the object Quiero (la manzana). She goes, gets the object and when she is holding it she says Tengo (la manzana). The team is awarded the number of points on the object.
- When everyone has had a certain number of turns, the team with the most points wins.

A few details:
- Because I work with small groups, I can usually play with two teams of about five students, but you can certainly play with more teams. This Spanish game works with all ages.
- I often do a quick review of the verbs or new vocabulary before we play.
- I like this game because the kids usually produce the Spanish correctly and fairly easily and who wins is determined by luck. I let the teams confer on the vocabulary, so they choose the words they are sure of early in the game. You can give only partial credit if a word is mispronounced.
- Pictures or objects work, as long as they are big enough for everyone to see. I use some pictures and things like plastic animals, a plastic fork, spoon, knife, plate, cup, a paper napkin, a ball, a key, an apple, a banana, a small bottle of milk, chocolate, a small box of cereal, clothing (baby clothes work well), a phone, a clock, etc.
- The number of items depends on how long you want the game to take and how many turns you want each student to have. The last time I played I had a group of 10 students (two teams of 5) and they all had two turns so I had about 25 items. I always have more objects and pictures than students so that as the game ends there is still some choice.
- Label each of the objects or pictures with a point value. I use masking tape and a permanent marker for this. If I have 25 objects, I label 4 objects – 1pt., 4 objects – 2 pts., 6 objects – 3 pts., 6 objects – 4 pts., 5 objects – 5 pts. You could probably spread the points evenly, but having a few more objects worth a certain number of points makes it very unlikely that the teams will tie (something that has never happened). Also, with a point spread like this the team scores tend to stay fairly close.
- I spread the objects out on the floor where everyone can see them. You could also spread them on a table or around the room.
- When it is their turn, the team confers to choose which object they are going to get. Because the objects are worth different points, the kids will try to guess which are worth more. I tend to make the easiest words (ones I know they all know) worth a smaller number of points, but it is pretty random.
- The player from the team whose turn it is to get the object, identifies what she is going to get saying Veo el/la (object). Then she says that she wants the object saying Quiero el/la .. The player goes to get the object and then, once she is holding it, says Tengo el/la …  I ask ¿Cuántos puntos vale? and the points are added to the team’s score. The player puts the object in a box and it is the next team’s turn. The teams get a rhythm going and can quickly run through the sequence of verbs and deliver the object to the box.

I have been having a great time with the Whistlefritz CD, Cha, Cha, Cha -Spanish Learning Songs. This award-winning collection of songs for children has a combination of original works and traditional music in Spanish. Visit the website to learn more about the Whistlefritz Spanish CDs and Spanish DVDs for kids.

The CD Cha, Cha, Cha is designed for children learning Spanish, but this is music that native speakers will enjoy just as much. The original songs teach basic concepts like the vowels, the days of the week, the months, and the seasons. Jorge Anaya’s arrangements of the traditional songs are so well done that they feel “right” to native speakers. This is excellent music for learning Spanish, but it is also just excellent music.

The original songs will teach Spanish vocabulary, verbs, and pronunciation to children learning Spanish. These songs are carefully designed language-learning tools. Many can be combined with actions, and they all create a context that gives the language meaning. I will mention a few of my favorites to give you an idea of how carefully crafted this music is.

Las estaciones (The Seasons) is about the weather in each season and the clothes children put on to go out to play. The weather vocabulary reinforces the meaning of the clothes words and vice versa. The language – season, weather, clothes – comes together to make a logical whole so that kids understand and remember it. This song can easily be combined with actions – one of the best ways for kids to learn Spanish. Like lots of the songs on this CD, it is very visual. It would be a great song for kids to illustrate. I also love the message of this song – that you can always be outside. No matter the weather, you dress for it and go out to play. Living in Wisconsin, this is the attitude you have to have!

Me gusta viajar (I like to travel) is a song that lends itself to really fun actions and also to being illustrated. It teaches lots of vocabulary, but so logically that kids will learn it without realizing it. The song begins Me gusta viajar….por cielo, por tierra o…por el mar (I like to travel… through the sky, over the land or… by sea). The verses that follow are about how we travel in those places, and carefully incorporate the vehicles carro, tren, bote de vela and avión (car, train, boat, plane), the opposites abajo – arriba and rápido – lento (above – below and fast – slow) and words we use with geography like cerro, puente, ciudad, campo, and bahía (hill, bridge, city, countryside and bay). There is plenty of repetition and an overall symmetry that makes the song very easy to learn.

Los días de la semana teaches the days of the week and a lot more Spanish. As vocabulary, the days of the week are very abstract. The words only have meaning in association with something concrete (you can get a sense of this if you try to describe the essence of Monday and distinguish it from Tuesday). The song Los días de la semana provides that association by pairing the days of the week with different actions and body parts. Lunes, levanto los dos brazos. Martes, yo salto en un pie. (Monday, I lift my two arms. Tuesday, I jump on one foot). This is a cumulative song, so each time you add a day and action, you go back and sing the other days too. It is active, fun and a wonderful way to learn Spanish.

Los días de la semana is a great example of a children’s song that could, and should, be used at other levels. Middle school and high school classes would learn the days of the week in no time, and also learn body parts and verbs in a natural, entertaining way.

This CD also has an well-chosen selection of traditional songs. These are some of the best known children’s songs throughout the Spanish-speaking world. They include Que llueva, La cucaracha, Los elefantes and El barco chiquito. They are songs that children learning Spanish will love and also a part of the cultural knowledge that is so important in learning a language.

Use these links for more information about Whistlefritz  and to hear clips of the wonderful Spanish songs on Cha, Cha, Cha.

This free online game is the perfect first game for children starting to learn Spanish. Kids do not have to know any Spanish to play, and the Spanish audio makes it a wonderful introduction to the language. Playing Las llaves del tesoro (Keys to the Treasure) children hear introductions, colors and other common vocabulary in a context that makes the language completely clear. They absorb the sounds of Spanish and soon understand the basic phrases and words used in the game. The vocabulary in this game corresponds to the words on the En mi casa CD by Singalingo, but it is basic Spanish and great for any child learning the language.

Use this link to Las llaves del tesoro – Online game with Spanish audio.

To begin the game, players choose a character. There are six options, and five of those are people who will introduce themselves in Spanish. The sixth is a monkey who introduces himself in monkey (something my son and husband thought was hilarious). There is Spanish audio and the text of the introductions also appears on the screen. Encourage children to click on the different characters and listen to all the introductions before they choose one. The more they listen, the more they learn.

Players also pick a color for the clothes of the character. The Spanish words are beside the colors and there is Spanish audio that pronounces each color word. Again, encourage kids to click on all the colors and listen before they choose what color the character will wear.

Choosing the character and the color, the context and images makes the Spanish perfectly clear. You do not have to translate anything for children playing this game. In fact, avoid relating the Spanish to English. Just let kids listen to the words and phrases and absorb the language. They do not have to repeat what they hear. At this point, they learn by listening.

To play the game, kids click just before the treasure chest to open it as it goes by. If the key reaches the chest it opens and an object comes out. The object is labeled with the Spanish word and the word is pronounced several times.

The game always lasts 1:30 and kids see how many times they can open the trunk in that time. Children will associate the Spanish audio with the objects, so there is no need to translate to English. Again, it is best to avoid translation when it is not necessary, and the images make the meaning of the Spanish words clear.

Kids learn by listening to the Spanish words as they play this game. Once they are familiar with the vocabulary, you can encourage them to repeat the words or to guess at what is in the chest. The vocabulary in the game is basic Spanish. Children will learn words like el sol (the sun), la luna (the moon), las estrellas (the stars), el plato(the plate), el tenedor (the fork), la cuchara (the spoon), el vaso ( the glass), el queso (the cheese), el pastel (the pie), los pantalones (the pants), and la camisa (the shirt). The words included in the this game reinforce the vocabulary on the En mi casa CD by Singalingo, but the game is excellent for any beginning Spanish learner.