I am really excited to share this set of six little story books for Spanish language learners. The set is called Childhood Adventures and includes six Spanish stories and an audio CD with native-speaker narration. These are exactly the kind of materials that teachers and parents need: easy to use in any setting and very effective. There is an English translation at the back of each book. The vocabulary and structures in these stories are [...]
One of my favorite websites is Made by Joel. Joel Henriques is an artist and designer in Portland and he shares art and handmade education projects for children on his site. He has many beautiful free printables that are excellent for language activities. Below you will find links to the paper cities, but take time to explore the whole site. It is full of wonderful art activities for kids and adults. For my classes, I [...]
This is a Spanish children’s song giving thanks. Children give thanks for their hands and all the things they can do with them. It is a religious song and often sung as a part of children’s presentations at school in Spanish-speaking countries. If it is consistent with your beliefs and appropriate to your teaching situation, it may be a song you would like to teach children learning Spanish. This is a good song for children [...]
Do you have children starting Spanish in school? If you are looking for games and activities to supplement what they are doing in class, The Everything Kids’ First Spanish Puzzle and Activity Book has lots of fun ways to practice basic Spanish. Kids who like word games and activity books will love this book. It is packed with mazes, codes, word searches, hidden pictures and other puzzles that reinforce basic Spanish vocabulary and concepts. There [...]
I love teaching with Spanish poems for children, and I am so impressed by how fun and useful Douglas Wright’s poems are with Spanish language learners. It is authentic language that really works with my students! Douglas Wright is a well-known children’s author and illustrator from Argentina. As a humorist, artist and author, his work consistently includes literature suitable for many levels. I also appreciate the content; his poems deal with the experiences of children [...]
Many children learn to say thank you in Spanish when they are little even if they are not learning more of the language. Although gracias is the basic and most common way to give thanks in Spanish, there are some simple variations that you can easily teach children. These are a few expressions and some vocabulary that you can use to express your appreciation in Spanish. Gracias – Thank you Gracias por… -Thank you for [...]
Expressions of courtesy are a part of our daily interactions. If a child is learning Spanish, these polite words should be part of her vocabulary. By learning a few basic words and phrases, children can understand and use appropriate Spanish expressions of courtesy in most situations. It is polite to greet others with one of the following phrases: Buenos días – Good morning Buenas tardes – Good afternoon Buenas noches – Good night When asking [...]
Variations of familiar games are an easy way to incorporate Spanish into the day. The game Duck,Duck,Goose is a good example. I play this game in class in Spanish with the phrases buenas noches and buenos días. One child moves around the outside of the circle saying buenas noches as she touches each child on the head. The children in the circle should be “sleeping,” keeping their heads bowed. At some point the child who [...]
This simple Spanish circle activity is great for a family, a group of friends, day cares or classes. It uses por favor, gracias and de nada and also is a way to practice Spanish animal vocabulary. Choose a snuggly stuffed animal that the children know how to say in Spanish, for example, el gato. Give the cat to a child, and model asking for the cat by saying “El gato, por favor” and when the [...]