May 132013
 
Spanish Stories from Stress Free Kids

Stress Free Kids publishes audio and picture books that help children reduce stress and lower anxiety. These stories are available in Spanish and are fabulous language-learning tools. The stories teach relaxation techniques, but their structure and objective also create an excellent Spanish learning experience. As children listen to these stories, they relax, but they are never passive. Children participate, both physically and by actively using their imaginations. The CD Sueños del océano índigo has four [...]

May 052013
 
Picture Book Giveaway - If You Were Me and Lived in Mexico...

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winners, entries 11 and 18, Melissa and Katie. Winners were chosen using random.org. Thank you to everyone who entered and shared how they teach culture. It is fun and inspiring to read about what others are doing with their children and classes. We all learn from each other. ¡Muchas gracias! Award-winning author Carole Roman has written a lovely picture book to introduce young children to the country [...]

May 032013
 
Two Spanish Ebooks from Storybird

The last ebook I made, La primavera llegó, was a big hit with my students, so I thought I would share these two stories in Spanish, too. Like the last book, these were made using the beautiful art on Storybird. In this post about Storybird in 2011, I talked about some ways to use the website with Spanish language learners. You can share the stories you write by emailing or embedding them. However, stories in [...]

May 012013
 
Picture Book Introduces Children to Mexico

Award-winning author Carole Roman has written a lovely picture book to introduce young children to the country and culture of Mexico. If You Were mM and Lived in… Mexico: A Child’s Introduction to Cultures Around the World is intended for ages pre-K through eight. It combines carefully selected information with images crafted to be typical, but never stereotypical. The book is available from Amazon and on the author’s website. In my experience, it is hard [...]

Apr 292013
 
Spanish Songs for Kids - Free Downloads from Cantoalegre

Cantoalegre is an amazing resource. This fabulous organization from Colombia offers free downloads of their Spanish songs for kids. They explain their generosity saying Porque la música es de todos, te traemos canciones para descargar gratis. Because music belongs to everyone, we bring you songs to download free. Cantoalegre is a non-profit cultural organization in Colombia dedicated to the creation, study and performance of children’s music. The group performs, produces CDs, and has founded numerous [...]

Apr 182013
 
Spanish Ebook - La primavera llegó

I made this ebook in Spanish using Storybird. In this post about Storybird in 2011, I discussed different ways of using the website with Spanish language learners. You can share the stories you write by emailing or embedding them. Do be aware that any stories you write in Spanish will not be a part of the public library on the Storybird website. The public stories are moderated and there are only enough moderators for English. [...]

Mar 312013
 
Spanish Online Stories with Activities

These Spanish online stories were created by a group of teachers in Montville, Connecticut. Each story is followed by a set of vocabulary and comprehension activities. There are three simple stories that kids can read online: Pepa y su cesta, El viejo y su paraguas and El pájaro y el pan. They all have illustrations to help students understand what they are reading. On each page, several words in the text are in red and [...]

Mar 072013
 
Printable Spanish Story and Coloring Book with Activities - Los Pollitos

Los pollitos is a printable story and coloring book of a traditional children’s song. In addition to the story-coloring pages, it has figures for stick puppets, picture cards for games and a teacher and parent guide with ideas for using the material and additional activities. The song is available to download from Music with Sara, and there is a YouTube video of the song with the illustrations. I had a wonderful time collaborating with illustrator [...]

Feb 262013
 
Spanish Story – Book from Kids Yoga Stories Teaches Language and Yoga

        I am so excited to be able to share this book with Spanish Playground readers. Sofía en una aventura por la selva (Sophia’s Jungle Adventure) is published by Kids Yoga Stories. The book integrates yoga for children into a story in Spanish and creates an amazing language-learning experience. Yoga poses were inspired by the natural world. Kids Yoga Stories weaves those poses into a picture book. Children do the poses, imitating [...]

Feb 242013
 
Spanish Stories for Kids – What We Are Reading

I recently asked readers to share the title of a book they enjoyed reading with their children or classes. These are the books that were mentioned. Froggy se viste and Buenas noches, luna were favorites with a number of people. The books by Bill Martin and Eric Carle and the “Oso” Barefoot Books also came up several times. Most of the books are translations. I am sure this is largely due to what is available [...]

Feb 062013
 
Spanish Books for Kids – Pocoyó Giveaway

This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to the winner Jodi Monroy! Thanks to everyone for entering, for the great book list (I’ll compile it) and for saying nice things about Spanish Playground. No saben cuanto les agradezco el apoyo! Pocoyó is an animated television series in Spanish. There are also Spanish books for kids based on the show and I am happy to be able to give two of them to one of my readers. The [...]

Dec 072012
 
Spanish Books for Children - Fun Series Teaches Basic Language to Preschoolers

With Christmas coming, I know that lots of us are looking for gifts for Spanish language learners. Parents of my preschool students often ask me to recommend Spanish books to read to their children at home. I always mention this series of board books published by Macmillan Infantil y Juvenil. All of them are available to purchase on Amazon.                                                            These are a few reasons I recommend these books to parents and preschool [...]