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 and culture of Mexico. If You Were Me and Lived in… Mexico: A Child’s Introduction to Cultures Around the World is intended for ages pre-K through eight. The author has generously provided me with two copies of her book to give away to Spanish Playground readers.
I recently wrote about the book in this post: Picture Book Introduces Children to Mexico
To enter the giveaway:
In the comments, mention one way you share culture, from any Spanish-speaking country including the U.S., with your kids or students. Be sure to leave a valid email address (this will not be published) so that I can contact you if you win. The giveaway will run through midnight (central), Sunday, May 12th, 2013. The two winners will be chosen using random.org and I will announce them on Monday, May 13th.
Read the Official Giveaway Rules.
¡Buena suerte!
You may also be interested in this post: Spanish Books for Children – Eric and Julieta Series by Isabel Muñoz
Justin
May 5, 2013
During our food unit, we talk about traditional food and meals eaten in different countries. The students learn about Mexican tortas, tacos, papayas, and find cuy (guinea pig) from Peru quite interesting!
Christi Johnson
May 5, 2013
We love Mexico and travel there at least once a year. We also love Spain. Currently we are studying Spanish and sharing our desire to hike the Camino de Santiago with our family. Our grandchildren practice Spanish with us and our home and its decor reflect our love for both cultures. Also in my job as a high school college and career counselor I work with many families from Mexico. I work to help them realize their educational dreams whether they are documented or not.
María de Jesús Robledo
May 5, 2013
I reinforce the positives of our culture, their accomplishments, their innovations in all the possible fields. We’re much more than what the media keeps feeding us. My kid and my students know that migration is as natural as butterflies crossing our borders. I always ask my students to question how many of our parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts were actually born in these lands; it’s always a great start to a great discussion.
Laura S.
May 5, 2013
We share Mexican culture with our kids through music, We teach them traditional nursery rhymes, listen to different children’s music CD’s and when possible attend live concerts at the zoo or library.
Selena
May 5, 2013
I am Mexican-American and have a daughter that I am raising bilingually and I also teach high school Spanish. I teach my child and students culture most of the time through music. Whether it be music from Colombia with artists like Juanes or Shakira or mariachi music from Mexico.
Barbara
May 5, 2013
I am from Puerto Rico. Kindergarten recently covered frogs and the cycle of life with their homeroom teacher. I took that as an opportunity to share my knowledge of coqui frogs and how unique they are.
Tricia
May 5, 2013
Today I took my kids to the 5 de mayo parade in Puebla, Mexico–where the original battle of 5 de mayo took place! It was a very interesting, very fun day, filled with cultural experiences (only half of which came from the parade itself!).
Lucij
May 5, 2013
I teach Spanish for 15 minutes a week at my son’s preschool in California. I try never to use English language books translated into Spanish. I always scour Spanish Playground and the various links to find ideas for songs, books, poems that are native to Spanish speaking countries. No “Go Dog, Go” in Spanish! I have found the most amazing stories about the origins of these stories and traditions, and it’s fun to give the kids some background in ANOTHER culture, not just a translated-into-Spanish American idea!
Maggie
May 5, 2013
I tend to emphasize the fact that the US is a place where lots of people speak Spanish, so Spanish isn’t something just for people who live “over there” in some other place. But, we love to learn about other cultures, particularly through traditional dance and music. My kids love to watch videos of flamenco, for example, then try out the rhythms on drums and dress up and dance.
Melissa
May 5, 2013
This looks like a great book! I love sharing and learning about different cultures with my children through stories, but hands on is always better! We’re fortunate to live in an area where cultural festivals abound, so we love to go to those and explore and learn. A couple of weeks ago was a big Japanese festival 🙂
Melissa
May 5, 2013
One of my favorite lessons that I do with my kindergarteners happens around Cinco de Mayo. We speak briefly about the significance of the holiday, but I really use it as a chance to introduce certain aspects of Mexican culture. We make (and break) a beautiful five pointed star pinata, make guacamole and sing traditional Mexican songs. It’s a lot of fun!
Sam
May 6, 2013
We have friends in Mexico so we are learning about what it is like for them to live there.
Cindy
May 6, 2013
My favorite cultural unit is Semana Santa! As I teach at a Catholic school where the kids participate in Stations of the Cross, they can really relate to the traditions of the processions and pasos. In 6th grade the kids watch videos of processions, compare and contrast what they see with some of our Easter/ Holy week traditions, and then we listen to recordings of music from the processions while the kids write down emotions and instruments in Spanish and try to figure out what day of Holy Week each song might be played.
In 7th grade the kids do a webquest and a presentation on an imaginary trip to Sevilla for Semana Santa. They pick a hotel, restaurant, talk about food they might eat there, as well as other area tourist atractions they would like to see. I also bring in my own pictures and share memories with them. Although they may read online that they need to book a hotel room early for Semana Santa, hearing that their Spanish teacher had to sleep in the bus station in Sevilla during her first Semana Santa really drives home the point!
Margaret Elkins
May 6, 2013
I teach 3 year old through second grade Spanish. I am also looking for good books that accurately portray a country. Studies of other countries are among the favorite activities in my classes.
Jodi Monroy
May 7, 2013
We celebrate Mexican holidays (dia de los reyes, dia de independencia, etc) with our non-spanish speaking friends!
Beatriz
May 7, 2013
I am a Spanish teacher in a elementary school and I would love to have access to materials like this. So useful! Gracias
Maricela Duron
May 7, 2013
We incorporate culture, celebrations and holidays in our daily curriculum. I teach first grade in a immersion Spanish school. My entire day(curriculum is in Spanish) This school has Spanish and Japanese languages. We celebrate 15 & 16 de Septiembre, día de los muertos, chilldrens day, cinco de mayo etc….
Katie Bushmaker
May 7, 2013
We study culture through music, books and online “virtual field trips”. We also invited some exchange students form Peru to our elementary Spanish classes to share experiences. Next year we will be attending a professional theatrical performance of the book “Dream Carver” which has a lot of Mexican Culture. I can’t wait!
Katie
Val
May 7, 2013
I teach Spanish k-5 as an enhancement at my local elementary school. Culture is weaved into our lessons on a daily basis. From teaching the students about Cinco de Mayo, Dia de los Muertos to my encouraging my students from different parts of Latin America, Mexico and Central America to share their stories about life in their native countries. I just taught a until to our 4th graders about the Comida Mexicana and the importance of corn to the culture. We are making our Tamales this week! Our 5th graders are researching a Latin American country and will be putting together a travel brochure. For me teaching the language and culture of our diversity is important and exciting!
Dani
May 8, 2013
I teach PreK – 6th, and I embed culture into my lessons on a weekly, if not daily, basis. My sixth graders just finished their chapter on foods, and food is always a fantastic way to incorporate culture! After comparing “churros con chocolate” with our “coffee and donuts,” we discussed where churros con chocolate come from and at what meal they are traditionally eaten. Then, in groups of two, students were responsible for finding and getting approved an authentic recipe for churros con chocolate. On a designated day, they brought in their recipes, we warmed them up/melted them down in the kitchen, and students were able to taste-test churros con chocolate from “around the world”!
Olivia
May 8, 2013
We lived in Mexico for a year and want to go back so we try to immerse our kids in as much spanish as we can. I plan on taking them to a spanish church to help learn.
Lana
May 9, 2013
I lived with my now 6-yr old daughter in Costa Rica until she was 3-1/2. We still speak with our friends there via Skype, and use Spanish at home as much as possible. We dance salsa and bachata together, and she even knows the Macarena. Now she assists me as I teach Spanish through fun to pre-schoolers.
Carrie
May 9, 2013
We talk about culture daily, as we study different vocabulary themes. I introduce Spanish literature, food, music, and other observations into each class. We also highlight a different Spanish speaking country each month. After studying about it, I bring in a speaker who is from or who has visited the country to answer questions and talk about his experiences.
Lynne
May 10, 2013
I’m an English Mama who studied Art History at La Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico. I have been both learning, living, and teaching Spanish for years. I have brought up my 2 year old son with lots of Español and together we share our Spanish at Lingo Chicos, a workshop I run for kids in Brighton, Uk. We learn about food and culture though art, cookery, traditional poems and live music.
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