Fun with Piñatas!

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15- October 15. The culture and language can be taught and celebrated in a variety of ways. One fun children’s activity is to make an authentic piñata. As an integrated activity, you can play the Pinata Concentration game to teach children Spanish. Also be sure to read the beautiful children's book El Piñatero/ The Piñata Maker by George Acona.





Piñatas are found at almost every Mexican celebration. Traditionally they were in the shape of a six-pointed star and were filled with fruit, candy, and small toys. Today you can find them in all shapes, including animals, flowers, and popular characters. At fiestas, the piñata are hung in the air and children are blindfolded and take turns swinging at the pinatas. Kids often sing “ dale, dale, dale no pierdas el tino, mira la pinata que hay en el camino. No quiero oro ni quiero plata, lo que yo quiero es romper la piñata.” Eventually, the piñata is hit hard enough and it breaks releasing the candy and toys that it contained.
Making an authentic piñata is a fun, interactive lesson you can do either at home or in a school setting. Bilingual Fun incorporates this cultural activity in our summer camps, as it takes a few days for each layer to dry. The kids love participating in the creation of the piñata and of course the culminating fiesta is worth all of the hard work.
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups flour
• 1 balloon
• Newspaper cut into long strips
• Colored tissue papaer
• String
1. Blow up a large balloon and tie the end
2. Mix the flour and water together until it makes a smooth paste
3. Cut the newspaper into long 1 inch thick strips and dip into the flour/water mixture
4. Carefully place the strips on the balloon until it is covered, leaving a hole at the top
5. Set aside and let the balloon dry
6. Place another layer of newspaper dipped in the mixture over the balloon and let dry
7. Repeat with one or two more layers, making sure you leave the hole at the top
8. When dry, pop the balloon with scissors point and remove the balloon
9. Cut small pieces of colored tissue
10. Scrunch the papers into little pieces and glue all over the piñata.
11. If desired, hang colored crepe paper from the sides and bottom
12. Punch 2 small holes in the top near the opening and string a large piece of string through the two holes
13. Fill your pinata (through the hole you left at the top) with candy, toys, or any other fun surprises.
14. Get ready for your FIESTA!

GoGo Lingo

Have you heard of GoGo Lingo? It is a fun, innovative new site that offers kids' games that teach over 200 words and phrases in Spanish. I especially like the customized progress reports for your individual children. I am very particular about what my children play online and I was very impressed with the safe, ad free environment. The activities were fun, interactive, and age appropriate for both my 4 year old and 7 year old. The audio component is excellent in that it enables children to hear and encourages repetition of the language. I am always an advocate for activities that stimulate the natural learning of a child, and Gogo Lingo is a superb resource! Not only are the games educational and worthwhile, the resources, parent forum, and printable flashcards are a great asset to families and educators focused on bilingual development. Another great resource for teaching children Spanish! Check it out as they have limited time offer now that you can sign up for free. www.goglingo.com

From the mouths of babes

I love to hear the funny musings and mispronuciations from my sweet 4 year old. As a bilingual child, he had a longer silent period and but when he did speak, he was proficient in both languages. I am happy to say that all is developing as it should be and we were never concerned about delays or confusion in regards to his language skills. He is still our "tremendo", wearing SuperHero costumes daily and harassing our sweet puppy. But my husband and I are constantly amused by some of the funny things that come out of his mouth! Here are some of our bilingual favorites:

* When talking about his excitment, he told me " i have have cerditos in my tummy". He knew that his sister has butterflies in her tummy and he has cerditos. Sounds logical. :)

*We conduct our family meals in Spanish, so he frequently tell us ' listo para helado'. One of the incentives we give for conversing in Spanish is dessert, so he starts the conversation by telling us he is ready for ice cream.

*The letter 'F'still alludes my son both in English and Spanish. When using his best manners, he tell us ' por savor' in place of 'por favor'. It is hard to understand, but we know he is trying to be polite.

* After a recent visit with Abuelita, he picked up on her favorite expression of " Ay Chihuahua". My son adds his own twist to the expression by frequently saying " Ay Chihuahua Captain Underpants'. Apparently this is to show extreme surprise. :)

*A big fan of Tom and Jerry, my son was thrilled to hear the phrase " toro, toro, ven aqui'. He uses this phrase for just about anyone. Recently when my brother in law was over, my son wanted to show him a new toy, so he summoned his tio by calling ' toro, toro, ven aqui".

Teaching Spanish to our children is a joy and at times a challenge. We are dedicated to keeping the language alive for them and offering them opportunities to foster their bilingual skills. Although my 4 year old son is ' contra la corriente", he keeps us smiling and laughing, as we know he is absorbing and retaining his bilingual skills.

Feel free to share some funny quotes! i love hearing what our sweet kids have to say!

Another Great Bilingual Product!

Introducing..... Lorito Books! I have really enjoyed using these beautifully written and illustrated bilingual audiobooks with my children. My kids love listening to audio stories and these magical books bring the Spanish language alive. The illustrations are gorgeous and the stories are Latin inspired and showcase the culture we love. The books are bilingual, so parents with limited experience with the language can easily use these fantastic books as teaching tools. We will be incorporating the audio books in our Bilingual Fun language classes as well. Teaching Spanish to children through audio books will enhance their listening comprehension, fluency, and pronunciation. Audio books are a superb tool for listening comprehension and identifying words and images, which enhances a young child's language development. I am always on the lookout for worthwhile and superb teaching tools that I may use as I teach Spanish to children. Lorito Books have hit the mark! I would like to share some great information from Pam at Lorito Books. Don't miss out on the great special they are offering!

What is Lorito Books?
Lorito Books is a publisher dedicated to producing audio materials that help children learn a second language as well as improve their reading abilities. �Our books are used by English as a second language and Spanish as a second language learners. We publish titles that are written and illustrated in Spanish or Spanish/English by Latin American or U.S. Latino authors. We look for titles that are culturally relevant and promote positive values. We DO NOT produce translations of general market books such as Goodnight Moon. Our mission is to promoting the Latin voice in North America because we feel that it is often under-represented or misunderstood. We use the audio format because it is a powerful learning tool and can bring books to life.


How did you get interested in bilingual learning?
I started studying Spanish when I was in 7th grade. It was my Jr. High rebellion because at that time, in my home state of Michigan, everyone was studying French. I studied Spanish through High School and college and have spoken it all of my adult life. I have found it to be extremely useful here in the West in social situations, travel and work.

When my youngest daughter was 10 years old we started traveling annually to Chihuahua, Mexico to work with an orphanage. We went with other families at our church and I observed the children trying really hard to connect with the kids at the orphanage. They often resorted to the universal language of hand signals, which was surprisingly effective but it struck me how motivated and receptive kids areat that age to learn a second language.


My professional experience with audiobooks was as a Sales Manager for an audiobooks distributor based in Colorado. We sold to public, school and military libraries all over the U.S. We often had requests from librarians for Spanish language books yet there was very little material available. �Librarians try to provide materials that serve all segments of their community and in many parts of the U.S. the Spanish speaking population is over 40%. Community outreach to the Spanish speaking community is especially important because libraries are a valuable resource for immigrants assimilating into U.S. culture. The challenge is that they usually don't have a frame of reference because the concept of a Public Library providing free access to materials is unique.


Do you have any specials that you are offering?
Our books are available on loritobooks.com. We are offering special holiday pricing of $15 for the paperback sets and $20 for the hardback sets. Shipping is free on orders over $30. To get the Bilingual Fun discount, call 800-420-6936. We will bill customers through our PayPal account, which takes all major credit cards.


We also have limited stock of our Spanish titles, which are very sweet values-oriented stories and are perfect for more advanced Spanish listeners/readers. Audio clips for all of the books can be found on our website.

*Pam just returned from La Feria Internacional de Libros in Guadalajara, Mexico. This is some of the information that she presented which supports the use of audio books as beneficial teaching tools:

"The title was not intended to diminish the importance of reading. On the contrary, we recognize that reading is more important that ever in our complex world.�Without a doubt, children who have success with reading are more likely to have success in life.

Reading experts all agree that reading aloud is the most important way to establish strong reading skills. By listening to a book children hear a story can come to life. They are exposed to languages, dialect and sounds.� It also exposes children to reading fluency: they hear what it sounds like to read without difficulty.

In spite of the importance of reading aloud, the reality is that it just isn't possible for parents or teachers to do it as often as necessary. Like my family when my children were young, parents have many other responsibilities. In the classroom, teachers are often overwhelmed with large classes and limited staff.

Audiobooks are a solution to these issues. Not only are they are a read-aloud substitute for parents and teachers, I believe they can enhance the read-aloud experience.

Children are able to listen and comprehend at least three years above their grade level in reading. Audiobooks can help students with reading disabilities by giving them access to information they are able to understand but are unable to read. This is very important in keeping children at grade level."

Easy Tips to Teach Your Kids Spanish and FREE Giveaway!

We all know that young children need to learn in a realistic, fun, and interactive environment. Many parents from our Bilingual Fun language program ask me how they may continue their language development at home.

Even with limited language skills, there are many ways that families can continue their child's development and exposure to the language. We recommend Bilingual Fun Spanish for Children DVD series which introduces the language through music, movement, and fun activities. Children are able to remain engaged and sing, chant, and repeat along with the children in the DVDs. Active learning while keeping things relevant to their lives, is a key factor of language learning success. Reading, playing, and listening to music are fantastic ways to allow children to continue to hear the language and enhance their comprehension skills.

Music is an intergral part of the Bilingual Fun approach to teaching Spanish to children. Children and parents alike respond to catchy music, rhythmic beats as their pronunciation and fluency are enhanced. We use a wide variety of music to teach Spanish to children, and recently we have discovered a fabulous artist named Lilia Mareski. She shares my passion for teaching children Spanish, as well as her dedication to raising her own young children in a bilingual household. She has created a superb teaching tool with her CDs titled "Ms. Lily's Spanish Sing Alongs". They are full of bilingual songs in Spanish/English that teach so many different vocabulary topics ( colors, numbers, family, actions, telling time, weather, and much much more). I have been so pleased hear the fantastic feedback from my own students who have listened to her music and love the fun, sing along songs! You can purchase them from our Fun Shop as well.

Read more about Lilia and her story. Please leave a comment and we will choose one winner by November 15, 2009. The lucky winner will receive a MS. LILY'S SPANISH SING ALONG CD FREE!!! Don't miss your chance to give your child a fantastic, educational gift! Share your thoughts on teaching Spanish to children. Gracias!

Interview with Lilia Mareski from Ms. Lily's Spanish Sing Alongs:

1. Why did you choose to teach Spanish to young children?

My father is from Cuba and my mother is from Mexico, so I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to be exposed to Spanish in the home while living in the USA. I felt that it was my responsibility to teach my children Spanish and to continue the language and culture, but realized that it would be more challenging for me than it was for my parents because my husband does not speak Spanish and is not a Latino.

I created Ms. Lily's Spanish Sing-Along I and II to involve my four children in the process of learning Spanish as their second language and to also help other Spanish teachers and parents (Spanish speaking and non-Spanish speaking) to teach Spanish.

2. How do you incorporate your family in the language learning process? I incorporated my family in the language learning process by having them help me create our wonderful bilingual teaching resources, Ms. Lily's Spanish Sing-Along I and II. I also develop their learning process by having them inrolled in my Spanish program, Ms. Lily's Spanish. The Birmingham School District has a Spanish program already implemented which starts in second grade, but my classes start children as early as 3 years of age. Lastly, I further develop their learning process by playing music by Latin artists and listening to movies in Spanish in addition to doing may other activities.

3. What is your background and experience? I was born in Mexico City but only lived there for the first three months of my life. I grew up in Texas City, Texas and received my degree in Education with a specialty in Bilingual Education from Stephen F. Austin in Texas.

4. Do you have any tips or suggestions for parents who want to raise their children in a bilingual household? My suggestion is to encourage parents to continue the process of exposing their children to Spanish. Any amount of exposure is an investment, but the biggest battle is to encourage the children to speak back. It is challenging to speak Spanish in my house because I am so Americanized and because the television and friends all speak in English, but I make it my priority to expose them to Spanish daily. It is not enough for them to understand Spanish; it is critical to have them speak Spanish. If they cannot recall what to say, tell them what they should say and have them repeat it. Then, I will take it a step further and after they repeat what I said, they have to say it once more without my help.



Suggestions from Ms. Lily on how to teach Spanish to your kids:

Read a book in Spanish
Read them a book in Spanish
Write their English spelling words in Spanish and to put those words in sentences
Watch movies in Spanish while traveling in the car.
Have one of my children read a story while in the car while the others listen.
Repeat everything I say in Spanish
Challenge them to say in Spanish what they just said in English.
Have challenging games at breakfast, lunch, or dinner or even in the car to recall vocabulary words from theamatic units we had studies in the past or to translate my English sentence correctly. Giving points points to the teams always makes it fun and more challenging.
Make a weekly assignment that is consistent every week. On example might be to use a Spanish/English dictionary and look up 10-20 words you do not know how to say in Spanish. Write those words in sentences in the days that follow.
Video any readings, songs, or have them recite their weekly homework to bring a sense of pride to their hard work.
Read recipes or directions on the back of products.
Cook a recipe and prepare a recipe in Spanish

Bilingual Fun in the Community

Bilingual Fun had a fantastic experience at a local International Festival! More than 20 different countries were represented with booths filled with cultural items, food, performances, and of course music and dancing. Our Spanish for children program represented Latin America as well as did an interactive performance on stage.

The Bilingual Fun instructors, along with their own bilingual children led the crowd in response chants, colors songs, freeze dancing, and Merengue dance lessons! A great time was had by everyone! At the Bilingual Fun booth, we shared with the community artesania, books, posters, Spanish for children DVDs and books, and music that represented Latin America. This was an excellent time to be sharing the culture as the country is also recognizing National Hispanic Heritage Month right now.

The community members were very interested in our language program and our curriculum that teaches parent/child Spanish classes. The Bilingual Fun team enjoyed promoting our passion for language education as well as our love for the Spanish speaking culture!

Putting the FUN in Bilingual Fun

By nature, I just love to have fun. As a child I was always dancing around and loved being goofy and creative. I really enjoy playing with my own children and it is proven that playtime enriched with stimulating and educational themes is very beneficial for children.

While living in Mexico, I worked with young children in a Casa Hogar. My Spanish was decent, but certainly needed stimulating and opportunities to practice. By playing and having fun with the children, the interaction was natural and I learned so much Spanish! Using music and playing games was a large part of my own language learning experience, and I am intentional about incorporating these aspects in the our Bilingual Fun language program. My students and my own children love to sing, dance, and play hands on activities in the target language. One of my favorite activities to do with my students is to sing our ¿Cómo estás? song. We make a big deal out of using the gestures with our 'manos' and the expressions with our 'caras'. It is so funny to see the kids mimic my expressions!

Movement is an excellent way to not only stimulate young children, but by teaching to the multiple intelligences, the children are picking up the language through various methods. Our final goodbye song includes shaking our maracas ' arriba y abajo'. Parents often tell me that they children now say arriba or abajo now when they go up or down stairs.

Whether it is games, singing, creative crafts, hands on activities, or just dancing,I strive to put fun in our bilingual fun learning each day.

Feel free to share your thoughts or tips on how to keep the fun in the language learning experience.

Ay Caramba!

Our Bilingual Fun classes are always great fun and we love to see our students so engaged and having fun while learning!

Yesterday, however, was a bit chaotic for the Bilingual Fun program. We currently teach parent/child Spanish classes in 3 different locations. We have one main classroom, that we use as our 'base' and then we travel to the other communities. At one of our travel destinations, we were instructed to hold class outside due to scheduling conflict with the room we normally use. Being the flexible and creative instructors that we are, we thought 'no hay problema'.

Except of course it was 92 degrees yesterday. Si hay problema! Luckily we met under a shady area, so we didn't melt like queso. As we are singing, dancing, and playing the hands on activities planned for the day, the lawn service arrived! Yes, they decided to start their services regardless of the group of preschoolers, parents, and dancing Spanish teacher under the trees. Ay caramba! In order to keep the children engaged and learning, we always use creative techniques, such as movement and games. This was a great opportunity to swap the original plans and incorporate some activies such as :

*The Freeze Dance: kids danced to music, when music stopped I shouted a body part and they had to touch their nose, etc.
*Caliente/Frio: we hid a small toy and I child was chosen to close eyes. They tried to find it by the class shouting commands caliente/frio ( hot/ cold).
*Las Maracas: so many uses for our trusty maracas. We counted backwards from 20-1 while shaking our instruments louder than the lawn mowers.

Then, on to a different location that evening for another round of parent/child classes. Guess what? The road was under construction at each major crossroad surrounding the building we meet at! Si, tenemos otro problema! Ay caramba! We had to creatively cut through neighborhoods to arrive at our location. I had many stressed out, hot and bothered parents arrive with their little ones in tow that evening. Many spent much more time in the car than planned and arrived late. Ay caramba! It all turned out good. We extended our classes to compensate for everyone's late arrival. I cranked up the air condition for the parents and quickly began engaging their children in a game of Dress Rosita ( our stuffed bear that we use for clothing review). We put silly clothing combinations on Rosita such as : los lentes del sol, la gorra del invierno, los pantalones cortos, la bufanda, y las sandalias. The kids got a kick out of telling me " esta bien or esta mal la ropa". The parents were able to relax a bit as well. We even gave some fun directions in espanol to the parents on their way so that they could take the secret short cut home.

Although we said Ay Caramba more than once yesterday, we had fun as usual interacting with our students and families. Everyone left our classes with new songs running through their heads, expressions and words to practice for the week, and
'tarea' to focus on for the next class.

Today is a new day.... no more construction and lawn services for Bilingual Fun, I hope.

Spanish Fun for February

As I clean glitter glue, small tin hearts,and many, many sequins off my kitchen table this week, I thought about how we incorporated some bilingual fun Spanish into our Valentines. My 2 young children don't have too many expectations for Valentine's day, but the marketing and colors we see in the stores certainly lead them to believe it has a lot to do with candy and the color red! The class set of Valentines that we are taking to both my daughter's kindergarten and my son's preschool have all been decorated and sealed. Now we are in the midst of making handmade cards for various family members.

My children's abuelita speaks Spanish, so it is customary for them to make her cards in Spanish. However this year, as we made our other Valentine crafts, we did all commands and conversation in Spanish. Common words that we used are : cortar el papel, las tijeras, los corazones, las tarjetas, escribir palabras, dibujar con marcadores, chocolate, te quiero mucho, etc. Earlier this week, we counted and sorted candy hearts by color and number in Spanish. Since chocolate is a favorite of my children and also one of their favorite Spanish songs, we sang "Chocolate" as we mixed the batter for our heart cupcakes. Lastly, my daughter and I took turn drawing ' corazones' on a piece of construction paper. Then we counted together and we had 76 corazones!

Any practice you can do at home to reinforce your child's language development is beneficial to their learning. Although my children are constantly exposed to Spanish, often times we need to take the time to make things fun!

Valentines are fun way introduce some Spanish Fun in your February! Here are some additional ideas/links to do with your children.
Crafts/Cards in Spanish.
Hear words of Love in Spanish:

If you live where there is snow ( like we do), building a snowman can be a fabulous reinforcing activity. Body parts, descriptions, and clothing offer the perfect opportunity for practicing Spanish while you freeze outside en la nieve! We made one this week on a snow day. Every day when we pull into our driveway, I ask " como esta el muñeco de nieve?' Usually they answer ' esta contento or esta bien". Fortunately for us, but unfortunate for the snowman, it started to warm up today. So, today my daughter told me ' esta muy triste y esta mal".

Any other ideas? I am always looking for additional ways to keep the language alive for my own kids in fun, creative ways.

Bilingual Storytime

One of my favorite things I do with my company Bilingual Fun, is to host free bilingual story times. We host these events in various places throughout the community; coffee shops, libraries, play centers, and bookstores. Like most parents, I love to find fun, educational activities to do with my children. Therefore, we offer an opportunity to expose your children to the Spanish language, with interactive and communicative activities. We really enjoy having new families join our story times, so that we may share our passion for teaching Spanish to children. Music, stories, puppets, dancing, and more always accompany our story time events, so that the language comes alive for the children. We offer a free bilingual story time at least once a month, and many communities offer similar programs. Check your local newspapers, libraries and community education for opportunities and events. Likewise, if you want to continue your child's exposure to the Spanish language, I have found a great interactive story time online, called StoryPlace: The Children's Digital Library. Literacy in all forms is an effective and essential part of a child's bilingual development. Allowing children to actively participate is also a beneficial way to keep their language development growing. Our most recent story time was hosted during the Grand Opening Festivities of a brand new Borders Store in Canton, MI. Kids and parents alike had a fabulous time, as we read numerous books, sang songs, and danced together!

Fiesta!

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage month, Bilingual Fun hosted a Family Fiesta where guests enjoyed an afternoon of culture and fun. Families enjoyed group Spanish lessons, sampling of authenitic Mexican food, live cooking demos, and professional Latin dance presentations. We ended the afternoon with a dance party, with everyone dancing merengue and salsa! A lively atmosphere, with upbeat music, delicious burritos, quesadillas, and salsa and families learning Spanish together allowed community members to learn more about our country's Spanish speaking population. As a bilingual educator, teaching Spanish to children, I was proud that our event was able to showcase our unique program and to raise an awareness of early language instruction. With close to 200 hundred people attending our Fiesta, we were happy to benefit the Vistas Nuevas Head Start program, which serves the primarily Spanish speaking populuation of SW Detroit. Check out our fabulous participants! Mariachi Mexico Restaurant http://www.mariachimexican.com/, Dancers Amy and Ray http://www.themotorcitymilongueros.com/, Chef Brian Ramirez http://www.dininginpcs.com/, Matrix Human Services http://www.matrixhumanservices.com/.

My Favorite Bilingual Musician

As a mom raising bilingual children and an educator teaching Spanish to children, I have a person that I look up to. His name is Jose Luis Orozco. Mr. Orozco is a very successful bilingual educator, author, and musician. He has created wonderful resources for reinforcing the Spanish language for young children. My own children have all of his songs memorized and I incorporate his educational materials in my language classes. In the world of early language instruction, Mr. Orozco is a true champion. He performs and travels all over the country, bringing his gift for singing and teaching to schools, libraries, and communities everywhere.

My family and I had the fabulous opportunity of meeting and visiting with Mr. Orozco recently. Charismatic and sweet are just a few words I would used to describe him, as he serenaded our children with their favorite songs, and we visited with him about his life and work. What a joy for my kids to actually see their favorite music come to life right before their eyes!

It was such a great experience for us to meet him and to see him peform. I highly recommend his music and books for early language instruction. You will not be disappointed! You can learn more about his wondeful CD's at http://www.joseluisorozco.com/. Also check out his site for his performance schedule. I hope you have the chance to meet him and see him perform as well!

¿Cómo se dice?

The curious minds of children are a wonderful thing! If you have experienced the stages of " why, or what's that", you understand the questions can be relentless, but so important for the development and understanding of children. It is similar process as a child is learning a new language. As they begin to understand that words have other meanings, their curiosity grows.... and grows... and grows. In our language classes we introduce a wide variety of thematic lessons, exposing children to many new words and phrases. Parents frequently tell me that at home or at the store, their children ask " how do you say this in Spanish"?

Traditional Spanish/English dictionaries are valuable resources, but in today's society of technology and immediate information, I have 2 great sites that I recommend for parents of curious minded children. www.wordreference.com is a quick Spanish/English dictionary that can help you when kids try to stump you with vocabulary questions. An interactive site called www.spanicity.com is a great site for hearing and practicing the pronunciation. Simply find the vocabulary theme you are looking for, click on the word, and hear the pronunciation. Encourage kids to repeat along with the audio.

So next time your little one attacks you with a round of "¿Cómo se dice en español?" you will be armed with some great resources to satisfy curious minds!