I always like reading about the experiences of parents who are teaching their children Spanish. The blog at Bilingual Fun has some great articles about the joys and challenges of raising kids speaking two languages and how the process changes as they grow older. There are also recommendations for a variety of language learning products and suggested activities to do with your child. In the blog entry The sights and sounds of Mexico, Bilingual Fun [...]
You can use El Señor Cara de Papa (or El Señor Cara de Patata, as he is known in Spain) to teach or reinforce vocabulary for the parts of the body in Spanish. This classic toy also works well for talking about colors. Try to use the words as you play without quizzing your child. Children will learn Spanish by hearing the language and seeing what you are doing as you play together. Asking ¿Qué [...]
Movement and music are valuable tools for teaching Spanish to children. Combining the two, children process the language at a deeper level and retain what they learn longer. Certain vocabulary, like parts of the body, lends itself to songs with actions. There are many Spanish versions of the classic Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, but all versions are not created equal! My favorite arrangement of this song is Cabeza, hombros from Carolina at Fun for [...]
The website OnlineFreeSpanish.com has lots of entertaining activities and games for Spanish language learners. For children learning the letters in Spanish, the Bouncing Letter Game is an effective and engaging way to master the names of the letters. The object is to maneuver a cart under a falling letter so that it does not hit the ground. Each time a letter bounces off the cart, you will hear the name of the letter pronounced in [...]
This is a free book of fun and practical activities for teaching Spanish to children. ¡Aprendo jugando! Actividades de Español para niños y niñas de 6 a 9 años (I Learn by Playing! Spanish Activities for Boys and Girls from 6 to 9) is available to download in PDF format so that you can make copies of the activities and games. Teachers in Spain, with the support of the Spanish government, created the materials to [...]
Mi mundo en palabras is part of the Centro Virtual Cervantes, a site created by the Instituto Cervantes of Spain. It is a wonderful interactive site designed to teach children Spanish. The target audience is seven to nine-year-olds, that is, children who can read and write. However, many of the activities can be used by younger children with the help of an adult. There are 10 units and each includes a short cartoon video and [...]
I have had a few email exchanges recently with readers of Spanish Playground who are learning Spanish with their children. Considering how hard it is to fit studying a language into a family schedule, I shared a few of the websites that I have found helpful in teaching adults over the years. These are sites that I have gone to for activities and have recommended to my students. Although they are not directly related to [...]
Matemáticas en todos lados is a free Sesame Street Spanish language video available on Amazon Instant Video. It is Episode 8 of the nine episodes of Aprende con Sesame Season 1 that are available to watch online and download at no cost. These videos provide exposure to authentic language with context and visual support. Spanish language learners will not understand every word, but they will be able capture some of the main ideas and can [...]
This activity involves listening to instructions that describe a location and then clicking on the object in that location. Native Spanish speakers play the game to practice the concepts of left, right, center, upper and lower. For Spanish language learners who have already mastered these concepts, it is excellent vocabulary practice. Native speaker pronunciation and the natural rate of speech also make this activity good listening practice. Click on this link to practice listening to [...]
Word problems that practice basic math skills use important Spanish verbs to express the problem that children need to solve. Problems to practice addition and subtraction use the verbs tener (to have), faltar (to be missing), quedar (to be left), and sobrar (to be left over) to ask for information. Of course, simple arithmetic problems are also a good way to review numbers in Spanish. This set of problems is meant for native Spanish speakers, [...]
For all of my classes, I have a set of short, entertaining activities to fall back on at times when I am especially busy, when students are working hard with new material or if I just want to change the pace and dynamic of a class. I think of them as “fun and fast” games. These activities take no preparation and the goal is simply to re-enter material and have fun with the language. I [...]
Teachers and parents teaching Spanish to their children should build Spanish into daily routines as much as possible. Repetition is essential to language learning, and if teachers and parents incorporate a song or a poem into daily activities, they are much more likely to be consistent and repeat the Spanish enough that children can process it and learn the words and structures at a deep level. This little song Te quiero (I love you) is [...]