Valentine's Day Ideas for Spanish Class

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El Día de San Valentin can be called by many different names depending on which country you are in. It's El Día de los Enamorados (Argentina and Chile), El Día del Amor y La Amistad (Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador) or El Día del Cariño (Guatemala). Regardless of its name, it's a great time to do some activities surrounding the ideas of love and friendship.

Need some ideas for Valentine's Day to use in your lessons in February? Here's a list of books, games, and ideas!

Books

Adivina Cuánto Te Quiero-A sweet book between a father and son and their love for each other.

El Primer Beso de Froggy-My students love Froggy books! This one is about the gifts and the kiss he receives from Froguilina.

Mi Amor Por Ti-Cute book that uses numbers 1-10 and comparisons like "taller than" and "bigger than".

Oso Cariñoso y La Tarjeta del Día de San Valentin-Story of a bear that has a hard time expressing his feelings.

El Primer San Valentin De Clifford

Activities

El Cupido

Have your students been learning prepositions? This ¿Dónde está el Cupido? drawing activity will help them review. I even modify this and make it into a listening activity instead of a reading one.

Roll and Write

These charts allow your students to practice creating whole sentences with guidance. You will need some dice for the activity. The vocabulary is related to the holiday.

Media Naranja Sentences

I am planning on using this silly sentence game this year with my students. It is based on the idea of "media naranja", the Spanish phrase for "soulmate".

Conversation Hearts Printable

A printable and ideas to go with it.

Valentine Questions and Answers

Using the photo given in this post you can have a question and answer session with your students. I like the fact that the photo is from a Valentine's Day fair in Chile.

Bingo
You could play bingo using Spanish vocabulary instead of English.

Valentine's Day Glyphs
I love these glyphs! Students answer the questions in Spanish by coloring each section of the picture with the color assigned to their answer. These would be great to do and then hang up to display!

Valentine Podcast Activities
These activities are for upper level students (Third year of Spanish in high school and above). All of it is in Spanish!

Extras

Terms of Endearment

I love these lists that Spanish Mama has come up with...terms of endearment for kids and for couples. A great way to add more vocabulary and culture into your lesson!

Conversation Hearts in Spanish

Spanish Camp for Kids {Day 5}

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The final day of camp! Time for review and fun and games! We will review all previous vocabulary through different activities. We may even go back to some of the earlier activities in the week. {To see all the posts for my Spanish camps, click here.} We will finish off the week with making personal piñatas. You can find the instructions here.

We will also play some extra games today...

Minute-To-Win-It games- We will do several of these games...especially the ones with pompoms.

Mano Nerviosa- A simple game that uses regular decks of cards to review numbers. My students LOVE this game!

Cerdos- We will have played this earlier in the week, but for today I have set up this game to review more of the vocabulary we have learned.



To finish off, I will read La Piñata Vacía to my students and hand out these little packages of bilingual cookies to them as they go! They are available here.

To see all the ideas for each day of my Spanish camps, click HERE! And I would love to hear from you! If you have done Spanish camps before, what activities have you done? What has worked well?

Spanish Camp for Kids {Day 4}

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I had the privilege of living in Buenos Aires, Argentina for awhile to improve my Spanish. One of the interesting places I visited was the neighborhood of La Boca with its brightly painted houses. So for the fourth day of my Spanish camp we are going to focus on houses and the vocabulary surrounding them (door, window, up, down, outside, inside) and then recreate some of the typical houses in La Boca.

Today I have decided to rely heavily on die cuts. I made six houses each in a different color. I also made die cuts of different weather symbols. So to review weather, house, and color vocabulary I will give students instructions in Spanish and see if they can create the scene I describe. For example...

Llueve sobre la casa roja.

Nieva sobre la casa verde.

I am also going to take this opportunity to review animals with the die cut houses. I found some animals that were smaller than the houses. I will lay out all the different colored houses and then hide one of the animals underneath one of the houses. Students will need to ask me in the target language if the animal is behind the blue house or the yellow house, etc. 

Another activity we will do is to draw in the details of houses following my instructions in Spanish. See this post for more information. And this post for the printable of houses you can use.

One of our active games today will be using the colored cups I bought for the week. With them we will play "Arriba/Abajo". Take several cups (maybe twice as many cups as you have students) and place half of them right side up (arriba) and half of them upside down (abajo) on the lawn or large play area. Divide your group into two teams one that is "arriba" and one that is "abajo". Tell them to start...the object of the game is to change the cups to fit what team you are on. If you are on the "arriba" team then you need to run around putting all the cups right side up. If you are on the "abajo" team then you want them all upside down. Give them one minute to play. The team with the most cups in their position wins.

Our craft will be to re-create the houses of La Boca, Argentina. Here are the instructions for the project with a little background information on La Boca. 

You will need a paper crimper for this project to give the right look to the sides of the buildings. Here is a link to get an idea of what to look for...

Paper Crimper

For our reading today we will dive into the following books:

Harold y el Lapiz Color Morado
Ruidos en la Casa- Cute book of a puppy who is scared being home alone
La Casa Adormecida
El Pastel Esta Tan Arriba
Oso en Casa

To see the rest of my plans for the other days of camp, click HERE!!

Spanish Camp for Kids {Day 3}

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If you have been following along, you know that I am hosting Spanish camps this summer. You can read about the other days by clicking this link. For day three, we will be focusing on animals. Here's a look at our activities...

I selected a list of about ten animals to focus on for the day and made flashcards in order to teach the vocabulary. You can find some great animal flashcards in Spanish HERE.

We will do several games today like Color, Colorcito. Here are the instructions.

We will do an animal hunt game. I have several die cuts of animals that I have laminated that I can hide in the lawn. I will call out an animal and the students will race to find it. Whoever does can then call out an animal. Just a simple way to review the vocabulary.

I made an Animal Tally Game by taking scrapbook paper of animal skins or pictures (see below) and punching out squares. Each student will receive a page (I made about five different pages so that not every single one is the same combinations of animals, but it is still the same number of animals to find.) Then I have a set of cards with the same scrapbook paper punched out, backed with cardstock and laminated. These will be laid face down. Students take turns picking up a card and telling us in the target language the name of the animal represented. If they need that animal they place it over the square on their sheet. If not, they return it to the pile. The first student to get all the cards on his or her sheet wins.

For our craft for the day, we will be making paper molas (See the top photo in the post). Molas come from the Kuna tribe in Panama. They are normally made out of cloth and worn by the women.  Here are some examples. And here are the instructions for making paper molas.

And finally, here are the books I will be sharing with the students:




Yo Tenia un Hipopotamo
De La Cabeza a Los Pies
Sali de Paseo- A good way to review colors also.

Spanish Camp for Kids {Day 1}

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For the first time ever, I am going to be doing summer camps for Spanish! I am really excited about it as I will have time to do some of the extras (like crafts) that I can never seem to get to. So here's a look at what I have plan for Day One (two to three hours worth of activities)...

Today we will be doing introductions and then really focusing on learning the vocabulary for colors and some clothes. I tend to teach vocabulary to young kids with flashcards and then ask them questions/give commands about the flashcards in the target language like "Where is yellow?" or "Touch the pink card." After we have worked with the words a bit we are going to do the following activities:

Discuss where Guatemala is and the idea behind Worry Dolls. We will create our own worry dolls. I bought embroidery floss and these round doll pins for us to use. You can find the instructions for making these dolls here. This is a great time to reinforce the vocabulary you taught your students by talking to them about the colors and clothes their dolls are wearing.

We will do this color wheel activity and speak in the target language to talk about how the primary colors make the secondary colors (Rojo y amarillo hacen anaranjado.).

We will play Camino de Colores from Spanish Playground...a quick and active game.

I have purchased this set of plastic cups to play different games with during the week. Today we are going to play the color cup game. I will divide my students into two teams. One team will be azul and the verde. On the lawn there will be stacks of cups (two cups each). Some of the stacks have the blue cup on top; others have the green one on top. Each team runs around for one minute trying to change the stacks so that their color of cup is on top. Time the game. At the end of one minute, the team with the most stacks for their color wins. Try to use the target language for instructions as much as possible. 

For my older group, we will do battleship with colors and clothes at the end of the day.

Interspersed throughout the few hours today we will read stories. Here is our list for Day One:

Froggy Se Viste

Demasiados Globos

Colores (Very cool book with some clear pages in it that change what is happening on the paper pages. See this English example.)

Pintaratones

You can go to this link as I add more days and ideas for camp! Day two will be posted soon!

Spanish Camp Ideas

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This summer I am branching out and doing mini-camps to teach kids Spanish. The camps will be for elementary-age kids relatively new to the language and last one week. Mine will be two hours a day (although my ideas could totally be stretched to three hours a day).  Over the next week or so I will share with you my ideas...what I will teach each day, the games we will play, and the cultural crafts we will do. I have to admit that I have relied heavily on Pinterest for great ideas for games and crafts. The bulk of the work has been setting up the structure of what I am going to teach. So join me over the next week or so as I give you details of what you can do if you decide to teach a Spanish camp yourself. We'll talk supplies, activities, games, culture, and crafts. {Like these great bilingual cookies to hand out during the week.}

So join me! And I would love to hear your ideas, too! You can eventually find all the posts HERE.

How Parents Can Help with Language Learning

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Being bilingual is a valuable skill for our kids. It gives them an understanding of the world around them, improves their knowledge of their native tongue, and makes them more of an asset in the workforce in the future. I have taught Spanish for over twenty years and have found that parents play a key role in language acquisition for their kids whether it is a first or second language. Parents can add a second language into daily family life to encourage learning. Many times parents are at a loss on how to do this. The task seems overwhelming. So here are some ways you can promote a second language in your home. There are activities for all language level abilities of parents and for all ages of kids.

Common Commands- Using simple everyday commands when appropriate can build a child's vocabulary. Whether a child is getting dressed, helping in the kitchen, or getting ready to leave the house parents can add a few simple commands to their routines in the target language.

Here is a set of commands in Spanish.
And another list in Spanish

Or how about your child giving commands to a pet?  Here are some simple commands for dogs in Spanish...The graphic is pretty small, but if you copy it, enlarge, and then print it, it should work.

Spanish Dog Commands

Reading Books-If your kids are young enough and you feel reasonably confident in reading to them in the target language, there are tons of books out there for kids in other languages. Reading stories to kids helps improve their vocabulary and allows them more opportunities to hear the flow of the language. If you are uncomfortable reading the target language, check online resources where the stories are already read aloud for you.

31 Spanish Books for Kids
Learning Through Spanish Books for Kids
Spanish Children's Books Online
French Children's Books
Italian Children's Books
German Children's Books

Games and Fun- Games are a great way to add some fun to language learning. It's my sneaking way of getting kids to learn without them realizing it. Here are some games that work well in a family environment...

Bananagrams and More...-I love pulling out Bananagrams and playing "Beat the Teacher" with my students, but you can play "Beat the Parents". Basically, you set a timer for a couple of minutes and with all the tiles face up your child(ren) try to create more words in the target language than you can. Sometimes it helps to have a list of vocabulary words to work off of (like clothing or body parts).
Spanish Bananagrams
French Bananagrams
German Bananagrams

KLOO- This game, which comes in Spanish, French, or Italian, is great for older kids or high schoolers. Your kids should have a basic understanding of the sound system so they can read the cards outloud. Also, some basic vocabulary under their belt helps, too. These games are awesome as they are self-teaching...everyone learns vocabulary the more you play! You can check out these games here.

Post it-If your children are at the age where they can read then using Sticky Notes to label the things in your house in the target language may be a fun way to increase their exposure to vocabulary. You can label furniture, rooms, even the food in your fridge or cupboards! Sure it might look a little strange when company comes over, but it sure will be a topic of conversation. When the stickies are up you can call out items and see if your child can find them in the house. Also, just the fact that they are seeing the words day in and day out will help them internalize them.

Picture Dictionaries-Language picture dictionaries have lots of opportunity for language learning. Here is a post with tons of ideas on how to use them with kids.

Hang up the Humor-I put up comics for my students to see in Spanish. They normally are motivated to figure out the punch line or source of humor even though it is in another language. If you are doing Spanish in your home, here is my Pinterest board with tons of easy humor for language learners. Having some of these up around the house and changing them from time to time adds to more learning.

Finally, I found this graphic from Spanish Playground with helpful ideas to support your child as he/she learns the language.

Teaching Ideas for Spanish in the Spring

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Here are several resources you can use during the Spring months as you teach Spanish...books, learning activities, and so much more! Happy Spring!

Spring Books in Spanish- Here's a list of great books to read during the spring months.

El Nabo Gigante spans not only the spring, but into the fall harvest time. This post has learning activities to go along with the book.

Arriba, Abajo, y Alrededor is a great gardening book in which you can focus on prepositions and words for vegetables.

Y De Pronto es Primavera- A sweet story of how spring can surprise us!

Plant Unit- I have created a plant unit that you could use during the spring months. Lots of vocabulary related to plant parts and types of veggies in this post!

Easter Resources- Here you can find some books, "emotion eggs", and other activities to do close to Easter.

Compound Words with Eggs- Last year my younger students worked with compound words in Spanish. We used Easter eggs to review their vocabulary!

I would love to hear what activities you do with your Spanish students during the spring months!

All Things Winter for Spanish Teachers

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Winter is fast approaching so now is the time to get ready with some learning activities that go with the season.

Froggy book and activities- Froggy Se Viste is a great book to share with your younger students during the winter months. There is a ton of clothing vocabulary related to the cold.

Winter books- a list of great books in Spanish to read during December, January, and February.

Of Ice Blocks and Penguins- A cute way to review prepositions.


Polar animals unit- A full unit with books to read, activities to do, and a free printable.

Christmas teaching-Ideas for December!

Christmas gifts for bilingual kids-Ideas for those kids in your life that are learning more than one language. {NOTE: This post also contains ideas for kids that speak languages other than Spanish.}

Teaching the Sounds of "C" and "G" in Spanish

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Lately, I have been noticing that my students struggle with knowing which sounds to use when they see words that contain "C" and/or "G". Both of these letters are "vowel dependent" meaning the vowel that comes after them dictates their sound. To learn more about how "C" and "G" behave there are two great videos online:

The Letter G
The Letter C

I used these following units from Teachers Pay Teachers to create decks of cards. One deck has "C" words, and the other contains "G" words. I made two cards for each word so that I could play Memory, Go Fish, and the slapping game with my students. (With the slapping game, I lay out the cards on a hard surface and call out a word and they have to put their hand on the card before other students in order to capture the card. The student with the most cards at the end wins.)  These cards also double as flashcards in which your students can practice reading the words. These cards are great for early elementary kids. Here are the units I used:

GE and GI Words
GA, GO, GU Words
CE and CI Words
CA, CO, and CU Words

Another great tool is the story El Nabo Gigante, which contains a plethora of "C" and "G" words. Here is my post on how to use this book to work with these words. Here are a few other books that have a higher frequency of "C" and "G" words:

Carros, Camiones, y Aviones
El Ratoncito, La Fresa Roja Y Madura Y El Gran Oso Hambriento

Llevé a La Luna a Pasear

There is also a Crazy Eights game available here that specifically focuses on these words! This would be for slightly older students who are reading Spanish for the most part, but struggling with the sounds of these two letter.

By taking a little extra time to focus on these words, it is my hope that my students will gain a better understanding of their sounds as they read the language.

Activities for Teaching Food Vocabulary

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Here is a collection of ideas to teach your students vocabulary related to foods: games, books, and more!!

Books and Activities

El Nabo Gigante is a cute story about a turnip that is almost too big to harvest!

Arriba, Abajo, y Alrededor is great for teaching vegetables and prepositions!

How about having your students make "food people"? The instructions are here.

I recently purchased these two books by Adam Rubin in Spanish. They are cute and hilarious!! Must reads for a food unit! 

Dragones y Tacos

Fiesta Secreta de Pizza

I always have on hand play food when I am teaching. There are tons of sets on Amazon...check them out here!

How about having your students build their food?!

I use these baskets of fruit and veggies to work on colors, food words, and categories (veggie vs. fruit).

Games

KLOO Game in Spanish- This post has several games mentioned in it, but the KLOO game has a whole deck related to foods. This sentence-building game is really well done and helps students with the structure of the language. It also teaches them new vocabulary as they play.

Fast Flip is a game I recently picked up at the store. You can also find it here. It is fast-paced and helps students learn some of the names for different fruits. It is also a good review for younger kids on the numbers 1-5. I make my students call out the fruits and numbers in Spanish.

Slamwich is another fast game in which you play with cards that have pictures of different ingredients that go in sandwiches like lettuce, peanut butter, tomatoes, cheese, etc. I make my students call out the items in Spanish as they lay down cards.

Have fun teaching foods to your students!!!