Let's Count in Spanish

Here is an easy, fun song for learning the Spanish numbers. It is a great practice for counting 1-20, than a bit more challenging for counting 20-1. Sing it faster each time for fluency practice!

Imagination and Language Learning

Teaching Spanish to children is something I am passionate about and this summer, I am looking forward to fun, interactive ways to keep the language alive. Through our Bilingual Fun Summer camps and with my own young children, we will be using lots of imagination and interactive games to keep their language development fresh.

Summertime is a great time to spark the interest of your bilingual child by trying new activities, getting outside, having some hands on fun, and taking field trips to realistic settings. Fun, easy activities that focus on teaching children Spanish allow kids to hear and to produce the language in a natural environment.

My children love to use their imagination, so I am going to tap into that this summer with these fun Spanish speaking activities. As I tell my students and children, not only is it important to speak multiple languages, it is FUN to be bilingual!

Animal Rescuers:
With the momentum that Diego has created, you and your children can become animal rescuers too! Make a list of 10 animals that you are going to look for outside, at the park, in your backyard, or anywhere at all. Have children illustrate the list so they have a visual. Be sure to pack your backpack with necessary items: flashlight, notebook, pencil, water bottle, rope, band aids. Paint the picture with the children that you are going to use your imagination and find the animals that need help. The adventure begins! Reinforce your animal words and phrases, so that the kids can repeat and produce the language too. When you find the pretend animal, ask kids what kind of help do you think they need?.... stuck in a tree, has a cut on it’s paw, needs water, is stuck in a dark cave, etc, etc. For example, my son is trying to rescue el jaguar that is stuck in the tree pictured above. Check off the animals as you find them. Keep reminding kids to use their imagination. Kids will love the anticipation of looking for the next animal and creating the scenario. This is easily adapted to any language, but here are some key phrases for teaching Spanish to kids with this activity:
La mochila- backpack
El aqua- water
La linterna- flashlight
El papel- paper
El lápiz- pencil
Los animales- animals
¿Dónde está?…..- where is? ….
Busca- look for
Aqui está- here it is
Vámonos!- let’s go
Ayuda- help

Bug Hunt:

This is another great outdoor activity that incorporates lots of vocabulary and stimulates the language production. I am a big fan of the The Dollar Tree, especially for easy activities like this. Get a large bag of plastic bugs and some brown paper bags. Have children decorate bags any way they chose (a perfect opportunity for color, object reinforcement!). Scatter bugs around your backyard or park. Then let the kids search for and gather as many as they can. When you get together at the end of the hunt to share your bugs, this is the chance to be very imaginative. Tell kids to count and sort bugs by color, shape or size. Then ask kids to be silly and name their bugs and give them ages. This allows the children to practice communicative activities with question/answer and descriptive phrases. Here are some easy words/phrases to reinforce:
Busca- look for
Los insectos- insects
¿Dónde está …?- where is…?
¿Cuántos tienes?- how many do you have?
Yo tengo….- I have…
¿Cómo se llama el insecto- what is the bug’s name
¿Cuántos años tiene el insecto?- how old is the bug
¿De qué colores son los insectos?- what colors are the bugs?
¿Cúal es tu favorito? – which is your favorite?

I am going on a picnic:
There are many variations of this game and you can plug in whatever vocabulary theme you want to practice and imagine. Place plastic or real food items on a table or in the center of a circle. Be creative and set out a picnic blanket, or sit outside under a tree or at a picnic table to make the activity authentic. Introduce and practice the vocabulary that you will be talking about. Start the game by saying: I am going on a picnic and I am going to bring an apple, or I am going to the beach and I am going to bring a towel, etc etc. The child has to chose the item from the center of the circle and hold it. When it is their turn, each child has to repeat all of the items chosen and then add another for themselves. Ex: I am going on a picnic and I am bringing an apple, a sandwich, lemonade, and a cookie. Etc etc. You don’t need a large group for this game, you can even play it with 2 people! This is a fun way to work on fluency and comprehension, as children have to repetitively produces the phrases each turn. Spanish food vocabulary here.
Reinforcement words and phrases:
Yo voy al picnic- I am going to the picnic
Yo traigo- I am bringing
La manzana- apple
La naranja- orange
El sandwich- sandwich
El agua- water
La limonada- lemonade
Las galletas- cookies
Las servilletas- napkins
Las uvas- grapes
El queso- cheese
La sandia- watermelon

CINCO DE MAYO CRAFTS FOR KIDS

It's cinco de mayo and the American marketing is encouraging everyone to have a margarita today and celebrate. :)

I have many students and parents asking what exactly is cinco de mayo? No, it is not Mexican's Independance ( Sept 16), rather it is the victory of the
Battle of Puebla. Nonetheless, any chance we can celebrate this wonderful culture and give our kids another chance to learn Spanish, I think is a great reason to celebrate!

If you are like me with little ones at home, there will be no margaritas here, however some fun cinco de mayo crafts can always be a festive activity and can add bilingual fun to your day!

Here are some fun easy crafts to enjoy with your children or students.

Mini Sombrero

God's Eye

Beaded Chili Peppers

Tacos y Tostadas

Being Bilingual

This is such a beautiful poem about the gift of being bilingual. It is on the wall in my daughter's room.

Yo x 2

por Jane Medina

Leo por dos
Escribo por dos
Pienso y sueño
y lloro por dos

Yo río por dos
Yo grito por dos
Canto, pregunto,
Intento por dos

Hago mucho más
que hacen todo ellos
Porque yo hablo por dos,
Lo doble que aquellos

Me x 2

I read times two
I write times two
I think, I dream
I cry times two.

I laugh times two
I shout times two
I sing, I ask,
I try times two

I do twice as much
As most people do,
'Cause most speak one,
But I speak two!

Unique Mom Invented Products featuring Bilingual Fun

 

I had a great time on FOX News showcasing some fabulous Mom invented products! Bilingual Fun was honored to be featured!

How To Make Language Learning Come Alive

I love teaching Spanish to children and making the language come alive is an important part of their development. Through my experiences as an educator and a mom, I have found one of the most successful keys to language teaching and learning is to keep things relevant to the child’s life.

Play based immersion allows the parent to weave the language into everyday activities and tasks, thus enabling the child to make easy connections. For example, when my children were very little, we sang all of the time, did finger plays, and played with their baby toys in the target language. Now that they are ages 5 and 7, their interests have changed. My husband and I focus on keeping their language development alive with activities that are interesting and relevant to them. We play lots of board games, guessing games, Pictionary, and charades in Spanish. My daughter loves her American Girl dolls and accessories; therefore we often have fashion shows and make believe parties with her dolls where she has to describe them, their outfits, where they are going, etc. My son is a Superhero fanatic. We use lots of action words when we play with his ‘guys’. We have so many of them and their outfits are so colorful, that we easily practice color and number reinforcement with them. All the while we are playing, my children are hearing the language, as we ask questions, make up stories, etc. Their comprehension and fluency is enhanced through these simple activities that are fun and important to them.

Here are some fun, easy ideas that you can do at home to help your child learn Spanish:

*Write their English spelling words in Spanish and put them in sentences.

• Watch movies in Spanish.

• Listen to Spanish language music while in the car.

• Play online games together that allow the children to hear and read Spanish.

• Play I Spy while waiting at a restaurant, doctor’s office, etc.

• Read together in Spanish. Ask comprehension questions after the story.

• Play Caliente/Frio by hiding an item and have kids give you commands to find it.

• Look at family photos and talk about descriptions of relatives, what their names are, where they live.

• Read recipes or directions on the back of products.

• Cook a recipe and prepare a dish in Spanish. Have children help you find items in kitchen while giving commands in Spanish.

• Participate in imaginary play with your children. This is a great opportunity for vocabulary rich conversation practice. Play House, Doctor, Police, etc.

The ideas are endless, but as long as you keep things fun, simple, and relevant to your child's life, the language learning will come alive!

February is Discover Languages Month!

The American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages has a fantastic campaign going on this month... Discover Languages! Visit the ACFL site for more information about the campaign and about learning languages.

There are SO many reasons to learn a language! Here are a few of our reasons we think it is important. Please feel free to tell us your reasons too!

1. To enhance your cognitive skills.
2. To enrich your life and learn about other cultures.
3. To give yourself a leading edge in the academic world.
4. To give yourself a leading edge in the professional world.
5. To improve your problem solving skills and mental flexibility.
6. To make travelling easier.
7. To communicate with neighbors and members of your community.
8. To have fun and to open your world to new ways of communication.

Why do you think it is important to learn other languages?