¡Es hora de ir al colegio! (It’s Time to Go to School!) is a printable mini-book in Spanish. It is a free download from DLTK’s Growing Together. ¡Es hora de ir al colegio! is very short, with basic Spanish words and common Spanish structures. The illustrations are simple pictures of the vocabulary on each page. This little book in Spanish teaches the common structure Es hora de + infinitive (base form of the verb) to [...]
Talking to your dog or cat in Spanish when your children are listening is a good way to expose children to more of the language. We tend to use a limited vocabulary with animals, so children will hear the same phrases repeated in a context that makes their meaning clear. Of course, the idea is not to confuse your pets! Dogs often respond to our tone of voice and visual clues, so in some circumstances [...]
These activities are made by the Asociación de Educadores Infantiles to teach colors to native Spanish speakers. The activities have instructions to color parts of the pictures certain colors. Some children really enjoy following instructions to complete an activity, and doing these with a child, or a class, you can say the colors in Spanish over and over. This repetition, combined with the action of using the color, teaches children the words for the colors [...]
Children need to hear the past tenses in Spanish over and over before they can use them. There are two past tenses in Spanish and context will determine which one is correct in any given situation. Listening to narration in the past a child begins to understand the difference in the two tenses, but it takes extended exposure to both Spanish past tenses in context to be able to produce them accurately. Reading stories, watching [...]
This bilingual edition of My Friends/Mis amigos by Taro Gomi has Spanish and English on facing pages. It is an enchanting book, and a wonderful way to expose children to lots of Spanish. In terms of vocabulary, the book teaches animals in Spanish, and also the infinitives for many common Spanish verbs. I love the concept of this book– a child recounts learning essential skills from her friends, tracing the accomplishments of learning to walk, [...]
Escoge una mascota (choose a pet) is an interactive online activity that exposes children to lots of Spanish vocabulary and grammar. This activity teaches the structure of gustar, animals in Spanish, and also uses four very common Spanish verbs: correr (to run), nadar (to swim), buscar (to look for) and jugar (to play). The game consists of the question ¿A cuál mascota le gusta…? (Which pet likes to). Then, it asks about an activity that [...]
Children naturally play with language as they learn, experimenting with Spanish rhyme and rhythm. In English, they say “See ya later, alligator” and “After a while, crocodile”. They also make up rhymes and sayings with their friends. The expressions are often nonsense. Children say them for the sound of the language. There are lots of Spanish rhymes like this, and children enjoy learning them because they are fun to say. These are some of the [...]
These activities for learning body parts are part of the website created by the Instituto de Tecnologías Educativas which is part of the Ministry of Education in Spain. They are intended for native Spanish speakers, but work well with Spanish language learners too. The Spanish audio is excellent and each game uses small sets of vocabulary. There are four activities focusing on different sets of Spanish words for body parts. Two activities limit the vocabulary [...]
Counting is one of the first things that many children learn in Spanish. It is logical that they learn the question ¿Cuántos? (how many) at the same time. This is a question that even very young children can understand and answer if there is a context that makes it clear. Use the verb hay, there is/ there are, to form a simple question. You can practice this question in many situations. You can ask “how [...]
Highlights has many printable hidden picture activities on their website. Kids like looking for the hidden pictures, and these can be good Spanish language-learning activities. As you repeat the word and point to the small clue picture, your child sees the object, hears the word, and has the concept present as she searches for the object in the bigger scene. She associates the image and the language, and she understands and learns the Spanish word. [...]
Do you know that feeling of wanting something different for your class? Sometimes I know that I need a high-interest activity, something that will break the routine, engage the children, and at the same time provide real content in Spanish. The songs by Victor Hugo Santos are a resource that I turn to again and again when I feel that need for something fun, yet substantial. Kids love to sing these songs, and there is [...]
This is a game that involves odd and even numbers, guessing, and counting in Spanish. It is called Pares o nones (evens or odds) or Par o impar. The phrase pares o nones is most often used in gambling. I teach número impar for odd number. To play, give each child about 12 small objects in a bag or cup. Beans work well, but you can use anything that a child can easily hold in [...]