Spanish songs for children teach much more than basic vocabulary. Singing is a wonderful way to learn the sounds and structure of the language. These songs about colors, for example, have lots of adjective-noun agreement. As kids learn and sing these songs, they absorb this essential structure. Spanish songs for children are one of the most effective ways to use to authentic language with beginners. These three songs in Spanish for children teach colors by [...]
These online activities are provided by the Spanish publisher Editorial Teide as support for their textbooks. They are designed for children in Spain, but many of the activities are also appropriate for Spanish language learners. These activities for Primer Ciclo (6-8 years old) deal with basic concepts, vocabulary and language structures. Some of the games are very simple, for example, categorizing objects as duro or blando. Others, like Viviendas diferentes use more language and would [...]
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 [...]
I am participating in http://latinaish.com/’s Spanish Friday, so this post is in Spanish. An English translation is included in parenthesis. Acabo de leer el post de Latinaish de cuidarse más este año. Nos recuerda que la vida en muchos lugares no es tan fácil y que con la riqueza y seguridad de EE.UU. es fácil perder la perspectiva. Ayer yo pensaba exactamente eso mientras esperaba con cientas de personas a pasar por inmigración en el [...]
A find-it jar (or scavenger hunt in a bottle) is a great toy for kids who are learning Spanish. I have played with these in stores and love them. Searching for the tiny boat, discovering the dinosaur – it is captivating! Find-it jars can be a good language learning activity, so I was happy to discover that making your own is not complicated at all. A find-it jar is a plastic or glass jar [...]
Try speaking Spanish with your child by playing with the I Spy cards. The bright cards with their assortment of objects have a magical appeal. They are powerful language learning tools because the images are memorable and serve as a visual reference for vocabulary. When children associate a Spanish word with a striking image that they can recall in detail, they are much more likely to remember the word and its meaning. The I Spy [...]
The game Veo, Veo in Spanish is I Spy in English. In addition to the guessing game that children play, there are I Spy cards, books and games by Brairpatch in association with Scholastic. These wonderful visual materials are fascinating to kids and adults, and can be used in lots of Spanish language activities. There is also an online Veo veo activity where kids play online and learn letter sounds and vocabulary. You can read [...]
The game I Spy is Veo, veo in Spanish, and it begins with a simple rhyme – a question-answer exchange. This game and its many variations are wonderful activities for children learning Spanish. In addition to the traditional game of guessing an object, there are card games, online activities and books based on I Spy in English. This information is about the original guessing game, but I will write a post later this week about [...]
Since I wrote this post, I am sorry to say Fundación Telefónica has stopped funding La biblio de los chicos. The poem is also on the author’s blog, and the links below have been updated. Spanish poems for children to use in a language classroom can be hard to find. You can imagine how much I love La biblio de los chicos! There are websites that make me marvel at the vision and initiative [...]
Veo, veo is I spy in Spanish. This online game is for designed to teach native Spanish speakers the letter sounds and is modeled on Veo, veo, a game that almost all Spanish-speaking children learn to play when they are small. For Spanish language learners, learning the letter sounds in Spanish is essential to good pronunciation and is also the first step in learning to read. In this game, you choose the word that has [...]
It’s summer! As the evenings are longer and the weather is better, we are spending more time outside. Make Spanish a part of your outdoor activities. Children learn best when they hear Spanish in context, that is, related to the situation and what they are doing. These are Spanish words and phrases you can use as you spend time outside with your child. bird – el pájaro butterfly – la mariposa flower – la flor [...]