This online Spanish game with native-speaker audio is a good way for children to practice vocabulary and listening comprehension while they are sorting, grouping and matching. Listening to native-speaker Spanish is also important for pronunciation. The set of activities is called Un poquito de orden and there are three temas (topics), each with several activities. Click on the link below to reach the online Spanish game. The site sometimes takes a little while to load. [...]
The Bilingual Baby DVD is a wonderful collection of images to support a voice-over narration of basic Spanish words and phrases. There is no story, but this DVD is surprisingly engaging and entertaining. The live action video of people and animals has wonderful colors and the pacing is just right. It holds a child’s attention and yet it is never too busy or overwhelming.
Debajo de un botón (Under A Button) is a traditional Spanish song for children. Children love this song because it is tells a little story, and it is short and fun. It has great rhythm, as it repeats the last syllable of the last word of each line. It is one of the most common children’s songs in Spanish. Although there are a couple of different versions of Debajo de un botón, there is less [...]
With these free printable pictures, kids find the differences and practice common Spanish words. These Spanish activities, Encuentra las diferencias, are from Minihogar Kids, the children’s section of El Minihogar. The puzzles are designed for native-speakers, so the solutions are in Spanish. Kids can use the words as they look for differences and then see the written Spanish words when they check their answers. There are three Hello Kitty scenes and two scenes with the [...]
Este dedito compró un huevito (this little finger, or toe, bought an egg) is a Spanish rhyme that you say as you play with a child’s fingers or toes. It is a traditional rhyme and one of the most common games to play with little children. It is perfect for preschoolers and older kids too because it has lots of rhythm and great verbs. Older kids can do it as a finger play. This rhyme [...]
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 use this Spanish song for kids with preschoolers and beginning language learners. I suggested it on Spanish Playground about a year and a half ago, but I wanted to share a couple of variations and a great video from a preschool in Spain. La luna y el sol teaches basic concepts about the sun and the moon: the moon is small and the sun is bigger; the moon comes out at night and the [...]
Don’t these pigs looks happy? Talk about this great photograph to help your kids learn Spanish. The questions that follow, like all the Learn Spanish with Pictures activities, are ordered to help children master the vocabulary and gain confidence with the language. Start with Describe the photo (1), and be sure to point to the pigs as you talk about them. Use gestures, facial expressions and actions to help your child understand what the words [...]
Kids can learn lots of Spanish by measuring. I use measuring as an at-home activity with my students to practice vocabulary and numbers. In addition to the names of the objects they measure and the tools they use, kids learn words like ancho (width), largo (length), alto (height) and the verb medir (to measure). There are lots of online activities in Spanish to teach measuring that work well with children learning Spanish. This is a [...]
This make-your-own online puppet show is a great way to get kids speaking Spanish or any language. Start by choosing scenery and characters. Then you can move the characters around and have them talk to each other. They automatically turn toward each other, and you can move them below the level of the stage. There are four scenes to choose from and four pairs of characters. This activity is on UpToTen – one of the [...]
Spanish in a Basket was such a treat to get in the mail! It is a lovely wicker picnic basket filled with bright, beautiful toys to help introduce children to Spanish. When I opened the basket, I found colorful wooden fruits and vegetables, hand-knit finger puppets, soft animal friends, and a bright table-setting. There were also 4 CDs and a DVD with 20 audio Spanish lessons for kids ages 3 to 8. Beth Manners, creator [...]
Bingo in Spanish is a good way to review vocabulary with kids of any age and it is good listening practice, too. There are lots of printable bingo games online, but this version with pictures of common words is great for children learning Spanish. The game is made available by the Asociación Mundial de Educadores Infantiles. There are only eight pictures on each card and you play until the whole card is covered. The cards [...]