These five easy-to-do activities center around telling the Christmas story in Spanish.
Language and culture are inseparable. The Catholic church has a strong presence in Spanish-speaking countries, and many traditions center around religious holidays. Through Christmas traditions, children learning Spanish learn language, history, and the values and views that influence Spanish-speaking societies. Talking about the Christmas story in Spanish is an excellent way of exposing children to the language.
Activities to talk about the Christmas Story in Spanish
1. Use pictures as you tell the Christmas story in Spanish. These printable nativity picture cards are labled. The set includes one card you may want to remove. It is a picture of el caganer, a character traditionally included in nativity scenes in Cataluña. Read about the tradition of el caganer here.
One of my favorite activities for telling the Christmas story in Spanish is cutting out coloring a nativity scene, a pesebre or nacimiento. There are many online, but my favorites are these wonderful printable nativity scenes from Made by Joel: Travel-size Nativity Scene and Large Nativity Scene
2. You may want a text of the Christmas story in Spanish. A simple version makes a good reading for kids, or you may want to read it to get a feeling for simplified language you can use. These is nice version with pages to color from freekidstories. You can click through to view it on scrib, although you may have to have an account to download it.
Dltk has a version of the Christmas story in Spanish that makes a good resource and Encuentos has a Christmas play. Both of these are excellent resources and can be used or adapted as readings for kids.
3. Dltk also has a mini-book with single words and pictures that works well to talk about the first Christmas in Spanish. The page has two Christmas books and the image is of the more general one. Click on Primera Navidad for the book to help tell the story of the first Christmas.
4. These printable gift boxes are a good way to focus on giving, as well as talk about the Christmas story in Spanish. They have lines from traditional Christmas carols about the first Christmas. Listening to the carols and talking about the pictures as you make the boxes is an excellent language activity. The boxes are perfect for a few cookies or another Christmas treat.
5. Coloring pages and color by number are also good activities for talking about the Christmas story in Spanish.
Use this vocabulary to talk about this color-by number nativity scene or this one.
el nacimiento – nativity scene
el pesebre – manger or nativity scene
María – Mary
José – Joseph
el Niño Jesús – Baby Jesus
el establo – stable
el pesebre – manger
la vaca – cow
el burro – donkey
el ángel – angel
la estrella – star
