Kids Learn Spanish and Cooking with Chop Chop

Chop Chop is a family cooking magazine published in both Spanish and English. This amazing magazine won the prestigious 2013 James Beard Foundation Award for Publication of the Year. It is full of recipes for kids in Spanish, and also has games and other activities.

Chop Chop in Spanish provides an excellent language experience for children. If you are looking for recipes for kids in Spanish Chop Chop is an excellent place to start.

Chop, Chop has delicious recipes for kids in Spanish , beautiful photos and fun activities. You can learn more about the magazine and subscribe on the Chop Chop website.

Advantages of Using Chop Chop with Children Learning Spanish

Cooking is a hands-on activity.
Moving and doing make language learning happen. When children read, for example, Pon las rebanadas en una bolsa de plástico resellable y métela en el congelador, the action of putting the slices (of banana, in this case) in the bag and the bag in the freezer help them process the words at a deeper level. Whether they are washing, stirring or eating what they make, the physical component enhances Spanish learning. The recipes for kids in Spanish in Chop Chop are designed to let kids do the cooking, so it is all hands-on.

Photos provide visual support for the language.
Chop Chop has great photographs. Many of them are labeled with specific captions, and the photos clarify the language. Other photos include several ingredients for a recipe. These make excellent pre-cooking language activities as kids identify and label the items.

There is built-in repetition.
Repeated exposure is essential to learning a language. Cooking in general, and Chop Chop specifically, provides lots of repetition. Ingredients and verbs are repeated in all these recipes for kids in Spanish.

When children choose to make a specific recipe again, they repeat the entire process – perfect language reinforcement. Finally, the layout of Chop Chop is remarkably consistent in terms of language. Headings such as ¿Lo sabías?, Consejo de seguridad and ¡Hazlo elegante! introduce interesting and important information in every issue.

Chop Chop is a multicultural magazine.
Culture and language are inseparable. Chop Chop offers recipes for kids in Spanish with roots in many world cultures and teaches kids about the associated flavors and ingredients. Many of the recipes are from the food traditions of Spanish-speaking countries and are culturally relevant for any child learning the language.

The language is real and relevant.
Often children learn Spanish in academic settings, where the use of the language is somewhat artificial. As hard as a teacher tries to make it real, it is next to impossible in a classroom. When we use language to communicate real information, kids remember it much better. These recipes for kids in Spanish are authentic language.

Children build positive associations with Spanish.
Cooking is fun! Cooking is also a life skill and part of learning to be responsible for yourself. Connecting a fun activity and a sense of accomplishment to Spanish builds positive associations that last well beyond any one recipe. When children enjoy a language, they learn much more effectively.

Chop Chop loves language.
Chop Chop is a cooking magazine, but it is also a language magazine. There is lots and lots of Spanish! From the glosario at the front of each edition, to the word search, to the conversation questions in Conversación en la mesa, the language is fun and engaging. The magazine consciously teaches the language of food and encourages family communication.

It is not easy to find quality, affordable Spanish print materials. In a day where audio and video are becoming more and more accessible, I am pleased kids, parents and teachers have the recipes for kids in Spanish from Chop Chop as source of Spanish text.

The recipes for kids in Spanish from Chop Chop are an excellent example of authentic language that can be used effectively with language learners. Of course, children learning Spanish will need support to ensure they are successful and having fun, but that is true of all activities.

One of the best ways to support kids is to prepare and cook together. Before you cook, browse the magazine and talk about the photos, choose and read through a recipe together, label the ingredients in the photos, and make a list of ingredients to buy. Then, choose a time to cook y hablar español en familia.

You may also be interested in this post: Spanish in the Kitchen