Wanna Jugar with Migo?

Magic School Bus- All About Earth DVD GIVEAWAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:46:00 +0000

As my kids get older, I still want them to watch movies in Spanish. The problem: they aren't as interested in watching Dora and Diego dubbed in Spanish.

I love Spanish movies because I feel it gets them comfortable with different vocabulary and topics than they hear from me. But, there are only so many topics on Dora or Thomas the Train. Those are geared for preschoolers.

But, The Magic School Bus movies have been our solution. When asked to review a new DVD by Magic School Bus, I jumped on it.

My kids, ages almost 9, 7, 5 and 2 all were mesmerized when they watched The Magic School Bus: All about Earth. Learning science and Spanish at the same time is a big plus. We are starting a unit on volcanoes, so what better way to introduce some of the Spanish vocabulary for volcanoes in a fun way. It includes 3 fun episodes that can all be dubbed in Spanish. Your kids will learn about seeds, volcanoes and air pressure! I highly recommend this DVD!

We are giving away one DVD The Magic School Bus: All about Earth to one reader of this blog!

Here is your first mandatory entry:

*Tell me why you want to win this DVD by making a comment below

*Leave your e-mail if you don't check our blog regularly

Do you want a better chance of winning?

After completing the first mandatory entry above, you can make additional entries by doing the following...

*Become a follower of this blog by clicking Follow on the box to the right. Make another comment on this post. If you are already a follower, that counts!

*Blog or Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Make one comment on this post. (Just one tweet or blog post :)

*Subscribe via e-mail or subscribe via feed by clicking on the box to the right. (You may need to scroll down) Make another comment on this post. If you already do, that counts.

*Like our page on facebook by clicking here. Come back and make a comment.

This contest ends June 24th, 2013 at 10PM Central Time and one winner will be randomly chosen by random.org.

Contest Rules- You can enter only up to five times for the contest by doing each one of the instructions above. Contest ends June 24th at 10 PM Central Time. The winner will be chosen randomly. Comments must provide a name, no completely anonymous. Only USA addresses, sorry. I will announce the winner by July 6th and the winner must e-mail me within 72 hours. If you provide an e-mail, we will e-mail you.

Los Monstruos Spanish Class

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:09:00 +0000

I'm teaching a Spanish preschool class for my daughter. I have been teaching greetings, animals and body parts. She gets so excited about it. It has been a lot of fun. She helps decide what games to play, books to read and what crafts to do. This last week, we had the theme of los monstruos to review parts of the body (especially the face).

Each class starts with Buenos Dias by Jose Luis Orozco. Then, I ask each child their name and they respond with "Me llamo..." We also reviewed all the animals we have learned by playing a simple animal bingo game.

We reviewed the "Cabeza, Hombros, Rodillas y Pies"song. I had them repeat the middle part "Ojos, orejas, boca and nariz" by singing that part like 8 times! Each time we sang it differently. They had to jump for each body part as they pointed, close their eyes, whisper, go on tippy toes, etc.

Next, I cute out a simple flannel board monster that went with some lyrics I made up to the tune of "Soy una Pizza" by Charlotte Diamond. If you don't know the song, you can find it here. I love how the children repeat each phrase in the song. Here are the lyrics that I made to go along with monsters:

Soy un monstruo
Con 4 ojos
2 orejas
y una boca
2 narices
y mucho pelo
Soy un monstruo
y grito "roar"

I passed out one part of the face to each student and they put it up when we sang that part.

Then, we read "Fuera de Aqui, Horroroso monstruo verde" (Go Away, Big Green Monster). This one is an easy one to translate if you know Spanish. I found a great printable here that I printed and sorted (it took a little while to put in order) for each child to take home. You don't even need the book to use the printable. The kids love saying, "Fuera de aqui....ojos"

I also found a great video that I showed to the kids. The words are all in English, so I just muted the sound and said what it should be in Spanish. The kids again enjoyed telling the different facial features to go away
and watch that part disappear.

We finished by making monsters out of play dough. I was happy that a couple of the kids remembered and said many of the parts of the face in Spanish as they were making theirs.

This is a 10 week class and I wish I could post every class here, but I have to focus on teaching my kiddos. I hope this is useful to someone!

Friends that Speak Spanish

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 04:39:00 +0000

It has been a challenge to keep speaking Spanish with my children. As they get older, English is more accessible: more books are in English and all of their friends only speak English. In our family, each time we have had a new baby, we usually abandon Spanish days to help our family adjust. Sometimes, it has made me so sad and disappointed in myself that we have just become another family that does not speak Spanish to our children when my husband and I can and should speak to them in Spanish. I have finally decided that life always has its trade-off's. We have traded some time that could have been spent speaking Spanish with amazing field trips with friends. Also, as we homeschool, I have found it more important to learn in English most of the core subjects, instead of trying to teach them in Spanish.

As we have stopped speaking as much Spanish at home, I have not stopped looking for opportunities for my kids to practice speaking in Spanish. I was at the park and found a sweet mom with her son. I started to speak with her in Spanish and get to know her. I was really impressed with her and I told her how I hoped to find someone to speak more Spanish with my kids. She was very interested in helping me out. I pay her to come play with my kids only in Spanish for an hour a week. She brings books and games or they play with activities I have at home. In the summer, she brought her Kindergarten son with her and told him to only speak Spanish. It was amazing to see how much motivation my children had to learn and speak in Spanish since we have had these playdates.

I strongly suggest trying to find someone that your kids can play with in Spanish. It is hard to find the right situation. We have had Spanish-speaking babysitters, but when we find a great one, they move away to go to college or become too busy. It is also hard to find someone who will really only speak in Spanish. They may switch to English because it is hard for my kids to understand sometimes. But, it is totally worth the effort to find someone. It has been a blessing in our life and helped our family to continue learning Spanish.

Dance Party! OzoKidz Review

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 04:26:00 +0000

I haven't had time to review or add to this blog! Life is so busy right now.

But, I had to share this fun new CD with you! My kids and I (even my husband) think this is the best children's music around. It doesn't really sound like children's music, it feels more like a dance party.

It is by an acclaimed Latin Fusion Group, Ozomatli. They are Grammy award winners and have traveled the world with their music. But, now they are trying kid's music. They really are fantastic. Most of their songs are about playing and having fun, but they mix in some educational themes like Sun and Moon and how trees grow.

Check out the free download of their song balloon fest here!

They have some Spanish words mixed into some of the songs and many of their beats are Latin inspired like cumbia and merengue. It is way fun!

Here is a list of the songs on the CD:

Trees
Moose On the Loose
We Are the Ozokidz
Germs
Like It’s Your Birthday
Exercise
Balloon Fest
Sun and Moon
Piraña
Let’s Go to the Movies
Skateboard
Water
Spelling
Changito

www.ozomatli.com/ozokidz

List Price: $ 9.99 through Amazon.com (Can also purchase through iTunes)

Having Children Create Videos in Spanish!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:20:00 +0000

One of the most memorable projects I ever did when I was younger was creating a video presenting all the information I had researched about an aardvark. The process was so creative and fun. I still remember those facts about aardvarks.

I recently came across some cute videos in Spanish. This could be done with students in a classroom or with your own children.

It would be pretty simple to have children create their own videos (using iphones or whatever). I'm sure they would love it and remember the vocabulary. We are going to try this!

¿Dónde está el oso?

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:07:00 +0000

Dónde está el oso

View more presentations from gingerannbeck.

This was a fun photo exercise for learning prepositions of place in Spanish.

Power Point for Teaching Prepositions of Place

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:53:00 +0000

Los zapatos de jocelín

View more presentations from gingerannbeck.

I wanted to make a Presentation for using these prepositions so we took pictures around the house and made a fun exercise.

Holiday Movie Gift Sets- Angelina, Thomas & Barney GIVEAWAY

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:58:00 +0000

Have you thought of giving Christmas gifts that will help teach your children more Spanish? What a perfect way to introduce more Spanish to your children! I have some children's books in Spanish and other fun movies to give to my children.

I continue to be impressed with Lionsgate HIT entertainment movies like Angelina Ballerina, Thomas & Friends, and Barney. The Spanish soundtrack is great. I love the French ballerina (with Angelina Ballerina) that speaks Spanish with a French accent. The songs also are well-done with the lyrics in Spanish.

Each character now has their own Holiday gift set with 3 DVD's for $20 (or $12 on sale right now :)) It really is a great deal.
Angelina Gift Set includes The Nutcracker Sweet, Love to Dance and Ballet Dreams.
Barney Gift Set includes Night Before Christmas, Christmas Star and Frosty Friends.
Thomas & Friends Gift Set includes Merry Winter Wish, Ultimate Christmas and Holiday Express.

We also watched Shaun the Sheep- We Wish Ewe a Merry Christmas recently. I didn't know that this movie has no speaking in it. The kids still giggled in many of the parts. This would be a good movie to talk about in Spanish with your kids, explain and discuss what is happening in the story. Some of the humor wasn't my favorite (a little potty humor), but overall it was pretty cute.

How would you like to win a Thomas & Friends Gift Set with 3 DVD's?

Here is your first mandatory entry:

*Tell me something you do to help your children learn Spanish (it can be very simple, like listening to Spanish music).

*Leave your e-mail if you don't check our blog regularly

Do you want a better chance of winning?

After completing the first mandatory entry above, you can make additional entries by doing the following...

*Become a follower of this blog by clicking Follow on the box to the right. Make another comment on this post. If you are already a follower, that counts!

*Blog or Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Make one comment on this post. (Just one tweet or blog post :)

*Subscribe via e-mail or subscribe via feed by clicking on the box to the right. (You may need to scroll down) Make another comment on this post. If you already do, that counts.

*Like our page on facebook by clicking here. Come back and make a comment.

This contest ends December 5th at 10PM Central Time and one winner will be randomly chosen by random.org.

Contest Rules- You can enter only up to five times for the contest by doing each one of the instructions above. Contest ends Dec. 5th at 10 PM Central Time. The winner will be chosen randomly. Comments must provide a name, no completely anonymous. Only USA addresses, sorry. I will announce the winner on July 21st and the winner must e-mail me within 72 hours. If you provide an e-mail, we will e-mail you.

Thomas the Train DVD GIVEAWAY

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 09:00:00 +0000

My kids probably watch at least half of their movies in Spanish. Before I buy any DVD, I always search the back of the case for those magical audio options of Espanol! We don't watch a lot of TV/movies in our little family. With the movies we do watch, I feel good when it can give my kids a little more Spanish exposure.

Thomas and Friends has many DVD's in their series and they can be dubbed into Spanish! I have 3 girls so I didn't know how well they would like a story about trains, but when they watched Thomas & Friends: The Birthday Express, they loved it. The story always presents some kind of problem: a present that gets dirty, not knowing what to do for a talent show, etc. My kids stay so focused into the story. As the story is told, the narrator speaks very slowly. I couldn't help but thinking that this would be a good ESL DVD as well. This cute Birthday Express DVD even comes with a little train whistle as a bonus.

I also reviewed the recent movie, Thomas in Charge. Thomas & Friends movies do a great job of letting the trains show their feelings. They feel embarrassed, frustrated or sad. It is a wonderful way of letting your children understand that it is okay to have these feelings and how to deal with them.

Would you like to win a copy of Thomas & Friends: The Birthday Express or Thomas in Charge DVD's?

One winner will win The Birthday Express DVD and another winner will win Thomas in Charge DVD.

Here is your first mandatory entry:

*Click here to go to the Thomas & Friends website, come back to this post and leave a comment telling me something you like about Thomas & Friends. That's it!

*Leave your e-mail if you don't check our blog regularly

Do you want a better chance of winning?
After completing the first mandatory entry above, you can make additional entries by doing the following...
*Become a follower of this blog by clicking Follow on the box to the right. Make another comment on this post. If you are already a follower, that counts!
*Blog or Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Make one comment on this post. (Just one tweet or blog post :)
*Subscribe via e-mail or subscribe via feed by clicking on the box to the right. (You may need to scroll down) Make another comment on this post. If you already do, that counts.
*Like our page on facebook by clicking here. Come back and make a comment.

This contest ends August 26th at 10PM Central Time.

Contest Rules- You can enter only up to five times for the contest by doing each one of the instructions above. Contest ends August 26th at 10 PM Central Time. The winner will be chosen randomly. Comments must provide a name, no completely anonymous. Only USA addresses, sorry. I will announce the winner on July 21st and the winner must e-mail me within 72 hours. If you provide an e-mail, we will e-mail you.

Un Pato en Nueva York GIVEAWAY

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:03:00 +0000

"Can you put on the hipopótamo song? Please???"

This is the question I get every time we pile into our minivan.

This song and other catchy, silly tunes come with the book, Un Pato en Nueva York.

First of all, I love reading books that are completely in Spanish. Second, I LOVE it when my kids can hear it read by a native speaker. Yes, this is a book that comes with a CD with the story read aloud and it has additional fun songs to sing/dance to.

Un Pato en Nueva York is a cute little story about a duck who dreams of dancing on Broadway and he fulfills his dream. The voice 0f Inés Cánepa as the reader and singer is delightful. It is very fun and engaging for my children. The illustrations in the book are unique and fun to look at as well!

I think the biggest bonus to this book and audiobook is the additional song tracks on the CD. My children's favorite is a song about having a hippopotamus as a friend. Other songs include a pop song about washing clothes, another about loving tomatoes and a song dedicated to their ombligos (belly button!). This is definitely are current favorite CD in the car :)

We have TWO Un Pato en Nueva York books (includes CD with extra songs) to giveaway to Wanna Jugar with Migo readers!

Want to win one?

This is what you have to do:

*Click here to read more about this book and listen to one of the song. Come back to this post and make a comment telling us why you want to win this Book & CD.

*Leave your e-mail if you don't check our blog regularly

Do you want a better chance of winning?

After completing the first mandatory entry above, you can make additional entries by doing the following...

*Become a follower of this blog by clicking Follow on the box to the right. Make another comment on this post. If you are already a follower, that counts!

*Blog or Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Make one comment on this post. (Just one tweet or blog post :)

*Subscribe via e-mail or subscribe via feed by clicking on the box to the right. (You may need to scroll down) Make another comment on this post. If you already do, that counts.

*Like our page on facebook by clicking here. Come back and make a comment.

This contest ends July 9th at 10PM Central Time.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED: WINNERS ARE #22 Christy and #9 Artsy Momma

Contest Rules- You can enter only up to five times for the contest by doing each one of the instructions above. You can only win one signed book. Contest ends July 9th at 10 PM Central Time. The winner will be chosen randomly. Comments must provide a name, no completely anonymous. Only USA addresses, sorry. I will announce the winner on July 21st and the winner must e-mail me within 72 hours. If you provide an e-mail, we will e-mail you.

Countries of Central America Song

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Thu, 12 May 2011 00:42:00 +0000

This year we are studying each continent and learning about the geography and culture of specific countries. Since I lived in Honduras for many years, I want my children to know the countries in Central America. I made up a song to the tune of "Happy Birthday to You" to help them remember the names of the seven countries in Central America.

I also helped my children make their own mini puzzle of Central America. I printed a blank map of Central America (without the country names) on cardstock. Then, I printed the same map, but I had the country names printed on them (again on cardstock). I cut out each individual country with the map that had the country names. I put a little velcro on each of the countries on the blank map and velcro on the back of the individual cut-out countries with names. I would share the jpeg's of the maps, but they are copied from a book for private use only. The kids played with them a lot. We also play a little game where one person takes away a country and the kids have to say which country is missing. Here are some pictures in case it is confusing...

Well, it has worked! My children can recognize these Central American countries!

Cascarones!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Fri, 06 May 2011 03:56:00 +0000

I think we started a new family tradition this year. I want to celebrate Cinco de Mayo every year as a family! We kept it simple, but it was fun!

We started off by cracking cascarones over each others' heads! Confetti was all over the kitchen floor. This was the first time I ever have made my own cascarones. When Easter candy starts on the shelves, most Walmarts carry them (look on the bottom shelves). Next year I am going to buy them as soon as they come out on the shelf because they sell fast! Spanglish Baby has a great article on how to make your own cascarones here.

Menu-
Homemade tacos (have you tried the Tortillaland dough tortillas from Costco? YUM!)
Chips & salsa
Platanos fritos

Treat-
A little Mexican flag made out of coconut candy called Bandera de Coco (found at 99 cent only store :)

Salsa Dancing Playlist-

I love salsa music! My new favorite salsa songs are La Vida es Un Carnaval by Celia Cruz, Somos los Campeones de la Salsa by Willy Chirino and Tu Carinito by Puerto Rican Power.

I like to teach my little girls how to salsa with Oye Como Va (I think it's actually a slow chacha, but it is a great, slow song to learn the steps). I also added a Merengue and a Bachata to the mix! I love any excuse I get to dance to la musica latina!!

Las Estaciones- DVD giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Tue, 03 May 2011 03:46:00 +0000

Whistlefritz came out with their latest DVD all about seasons! I was excited to review this movie with my kids. It goes over each season of the year as a little mouse tries to figure when his birthday is! I have always been impressed with Whistlefritz and all its products. This DVD did not disappoint.

My kids' loved all the footage of children jumping in leaves, splashing in the pool, dancing in the rain and playing in the snow. The music from the CD's, A Bailar and Cha, Cha, Cha, were integrated in the movie, as well as some new songs. By far, my kids' favorite part was when the Fritzy dressed up like a ghost for Halloween. They giggled so much and wanted to watch that part again :) I love how they taught vocabulary for each season, like different Halloween costumes.

I love how in every Whistlefritz DVD there is so much repetition that even children who know very little Spanish can follow along. They pair it with fun clips of children, catchy music and then the animated Fritzy. I think I would put Whistlefritz' DVD collection as my top recommendation for young children to be introduced to Spanish.

You can find out more about Las Estaciones DVD here and see a preview here.

CONTEST CLOSED: WINNER IS #3 Randsomed/Redeemed!....Winner #3 did not reply to her e-mail in time. I entered the numbers in random.org again and the winnter is #2 Janice! Congrats!

Want to win a Las Estaciones DVD?

The only thing you need to do to enter this giveaway is visit Whistlefritz Website and then come back here and make a comment telling me why you want to win this DVD!

Good luck!

Want additional entries?

**Become a follower of this blog and make another comment below for 1 additional entry. If you are already a follower, just make a comment below :)

**Send out a tweet for this giveaway and come back to make another comment :)

**Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post and receive 2 more entries in the contest. Remember to come back to this post and make 2 more comments with a link to your blog entry. If you do not have a blog, you may e-mail the link to the giveaway to 6 friends with a cc to wannajugarwithmigo @ gmail . com (without spaces) and then come back to comment 2 times.

Giveaway ends Monday, May 9th, at 10 pm Central Time.

Contest Rules- You can enter only up to four times for the contest by doing each one of the instructions above. The winner will be chosen randomly by random.org. Comments must provide a name, no completely anonymous. Only US addresses, sorry. After I announce the winner , the winner must e-mail me within 72 hours to get the prize. If you provide an e-mail, we will e-mail you.

*If you think you will not check back when we announce winners, please e-mail me at wannajugarwithmigo [at] gmail [dot] com with your e-mail or include your e-mail with your comments so I can send you an e-mail if you win. In the past, winners have lost out on products they win because they didn't respond.

Moona Luna GIVEAWAY

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Eh, Gallina, quieres bailar conmigo?
No, vaca, no, no quiero bailar....

You will be singing this catchy tune when you listen to this fun CD by Moona Luna, Piñata Party!!

I love the Latin feel and beat in this music. It has accordian, drums and bass to give it flavor. Most songs are both in Spanish and English. I have to admit, I sometimes get bothered when music is in both Spanish and English. However, I liked the way this music put Spanish and English into the same song. Most songs in the CD start with an entire verse in Spanish and then she sings the English translation.

Check out this cute music video to one of their songs:

My daughter's favorite song is the song about a little girl that doesn't want to go to bed since there is a party going on. Seems like bedtime most nights :) My favorite is the first song, "Quieres Bailar?" I love how the chorus is fast. Once you have learned it, it's so fun to sing! When I was learning Spanish as a teenager, I memorized songs like Estoy Aqui from Shakira. I believe singing songs helped me develop part of my fluency. It just helped me get used to Spanish rolling off my tongue :) I really think listening to music and having our children sing along will help them develop fluency. It helps them gain confidence and get used to forming the sounds quickly.

I'm excited to do a giveaway, especially since we now have over 100 followers on this blog!!!

Want to win a Pinata Party CD?

The only thing you need to do to enter this giveaway is visit Moona Luna and listen to the music samples, then come back here and make a comment telling me why you want to win this CD!

Good luck!

Want additional entries?

**Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post and receive 2 more entries in the contest. Remember to come back to this post and make 2 more comments with a link to your blog entry. If you do not have a blog, you may e-mail the link to the giveaway to 6 friends with a cc to wannajugarwithmigo @ gmail . com (without spaces) and then come back to comment 2 times.

Giveaway ends Tuesday, April 19th, at 10 pm Central Time.

*****GIVEAWAY CLOSED- winner from random.org is comment #11 Adriana! Congrats!

Contest Rules- You can enter only up to three times for the contest by doing each one of the instructions above. The winner will be chosen randomly by random.org. Comments must provide a name, no completely anonymous. Only US addresses, sorry. After I announce the winner , the winner must e-mail me within 72 hours to get the prize. If you provide an e-mail, we will e-mail you.

*If you think you will not check back when we announce winners, please e-mail me at wannajugarwithmigo [at] gmail [dot] com with your e-mail or include your e-mail with your comments so I can send you an e-mail if you win. In the past, winners have lost out on products they win because they didn't respond.

Mi Guitarri Music!!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:50:00 +0000

My oldest daughter who is 6 1/2 is starting to resist speaking in Spanish! I always heard this would happen as my children got older, but it is still sad to watch! I think as children get older, they start to feel more conscious of their mistakes they make. I also have to confess we have not been as consistent as I would have liked. Having a new baby always changes life quite a bit. It is harder for my daughter to remember all the words she knew before. We are still trying hard to keep up the Spanish.

One way my daughter does not resist speaking Spanish is through music! This is why anytime I am feeling unmotivated, we put on some music in Spanish, then dance and sing together!

I am pleased to have received a copy of the music, Mi Guitarri, from Calico Spanish curriculum! They have a full curriculum that has everything you need for an immersion type program for elementary aged students! I enjoyed listening to the CD that goes with the curriculum. Click here to go to the website for the Mi Guitarri CD.

Things I love about Mi Guitarri:
-native speaker with a nice voice
-guitar accompaniment is fun to listen to (not cheesy kids' music)
-creative songs that are unlike other Spanish language learning songs
-music is catchy and easy to dance to

The version of Chocolate on the CD is the one we usually sing when we drink hot chocolate or eat any chocolate. I like how it emphasizes the words "A mi me gusta el chocolate" instead of just saying "Me gusta." This has helped my kids to not say "Yo me gusta..." because they remember the words from this song.

Another favorite is the song about rain falling down and it counts raindrops by tens (Gotas de Diez en Diez). What other song in Spanish practices counting by tens? I'm glad it will help my children remember more numbers in Spanish than the first ten or twenty!

I like putting on the A Limpiar song when we get ready to clean up. It talks about how happy is the moment when we get to clean up! It makes me smile because usually cleaning time is not the happiest moment in my house ;) But as we listen to the song, it puts everyone in a good mood.

Make sure to listen to their previews for all their songs at their website. They also have a songbook and DVD that go along with the CD.

School Vocab Game

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:00:00 +0000

I mentioned before that my mom talks with my three daughters via skype once a week. She always has prepared fun games or stories to tell them in Spanish. She homeschools two of her grandchildren and teaches Spanish lessons to most of her grandchildren! I am posting a great powerpoint she put together to play a game to review school supply vocabulary.

You can use the sentences with the different objects for the first slide. Then you can play a game with the other slides. You can't see on the preview how it works (you have to download and make it do the slide show to see). You play the "Que Desaparecio?" and the child/student has to say what's missing from the group of objects.

Review Game Escuela

Isn't Abuela great for doing this?

La Pulga y Su Familia

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:00:00 +0000

This is one of my favorite songs to sing with my kids! It's from the CD El Baile del Sombrero by Abbasubi. I just love songs that you can do movements along with it. It's a cute song!

I made a visual for my kids below. The lyrics page can found here from their site.

La Pulga y Su Familia Visuals
La Pulga y Su Family Visuals

Music Videos and More

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:01:00 +0000

One of my favorite blogs is by Profesora Sarita called Mis Musicuentos She just wrote about her proposal to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages on problems with foreign language teaching. I found it fascinating to read and full of so many true statements! Click here to read it.

Profesora Sarita always has great ideas for how making language learning authentic and fun for teenagers. My daughters and I have loved watching some music videos she posts that she shows to her students. I'll post my favorite one, "Te Mando Flores" by Fonseca. Let me know if you want the lyrics and translation.

She recently posted her entire collection of lyrics (189 pages full!) she uses in class. Here is her post. She teaches at a Christian school, so all of the songs are appropriate (which is a huge thing for me!).

I just had to share all her ideas :) Thank you, Profesora Sarita!

Using the Webcam!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:35:00 +0000

I am sorry that I have not posted more! Our little baby boy is now 2 months old! Having 3 little girls and a little baby makes life busy!

Although this is a busy time, my husband and I have re-committed to speaking Spanish 3 days a week! It's amazing after a short time not being consistent with speaking Spanish how much they lose. The girls' old babysitter came back to visit from college. It had been a year since she had come over. She told me, "Wow, they have really lost some Spanish!" It was a good reminder to me to get back going.

Image from: http://www.experientia.com/

As I have written before, we have struggled to find opportunities for my kids to practice their Spanish. We have started using the webcam once a week with Abuela!!! My daughter reads her a short picture book in Spanish and shows her the pictures, then Grandma usually has a game or song to do with my girls. They love it! It motivates them to speak in Spanish more and it doesn't cost anything :)

Do you know of a friend or relative you can skype with in Spanish? What a great authentic way to practice the language!!

I want to write about my thoughts on a local immersion program and teaching my daughter to read in Spanish. I hope to share more games and activities as well that Abuela does with her nietas and other activities we are doing at home :) Now if only had a little more time...

CSN Stores!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:04:00 +0000

While Christmas shopping, I ran into CSN stores. Wow! They have a huge selection. They have everything from a suitcase to a sofa or children's toys and educational materials!

I found this little leapfrog drum that sings in Spanish or English on the site. One of my girls' babysitters gave this to us. It is the perfect little bilingual toy for toddlers. They love patting the drum and dancing to the fun music

Now for something on my wishlist. Wouldn't this be the perfect set-up to pretend "restaurante" with your kids? Anything to set the mood and get them to only speak in Spanish!

Some of the products can't really be found on other sites. Also, most items have free shipping! Definitely check out all the different CSN store websites!

Papel Picado- Halloween Decorations!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 04:09:00 +0000

We don't have very many Halloween decorations. I saw this cute paper banner for Halloween from toymaker. It was a fun activity to do with your kids and an easy activity to do in Spanish. I highly recommend the exacto knife for all the inside parts and then letting the kids cut the outside and scallops along the bottom. Enjoy!

Here are direct links from toymaker to PDF's of each template:

Owl (buho)
Cat (gato)
Pumpkin (calabaza)
skull (calavera)

Cha! Cha! Cha!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 12:00:00 +0000

I love music that makes me want to dance. Isn't that part of the fun of learning Spanish?!? We enjoy listening to Whistlefritz' newest CD "Cha, Cha, Cha" in the car. I was so excited to review this CD since we love the A Bailar CD they already had out! Jorge Anaya does a wonderful job of putting traditional songs (and original songs) to different Latin styles and beats.

My personal favorite is the version of La Cucaracha. The additional verses talk about a girl parakeet trying to get a boy parakeet to go to the movies with her. Such fun, silly additions to the song! El Frutero is another song that is very catchy. I hope to make visuals for this song, so my kids will relate the words with the actual fruit.

I have always been impressed with all the products Whistlefritz has put out. They have received numerous awards recently for this CD. Dr. Toy named Cha, Cha, Cha one of the "Best 100 Products" of 2010 and the "Top 10 Audio/Visual Products" of 2010.

**Whistlefritz recently added a great lesson plan section to their site. They have great activities to use with children that reinforce vocabulary from the video "Adentro y Afuera". I really like the dice you can create that lets the children practice positional words (al lado, encima) and then put the mouse beside or on top of the cheese. There are adorable flash cards and other fun activities and enrichment ideas.

Calabazas, Brujas y Disfraces!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:59:00 +0000

It is fun to get into the seasons and holidays with the kids! I'm hoping to incorporate some fun activities in Spanish as well! Here are a few books, songs and activities that are related to Halloween/pumpkin time!

CALABAZAS!
I realized there is a cute song about Calabazas from 123 Spanish Together that I had received. It talks about 5 little pumpkins and they each have different feelings/emotions. There is an adorable activity to make pumpkin outlines and have the children act out the emotions with their faces in the pumpkins. Check out how to do it by looking at their blog post here. I'm sure my girls will love doing this!

BRUJAS

In the storytime, they shared this cute little story about a little girl that dresses up like a witch.

Also, in the storytime, the librarian shared a funny little story about a witch making her own house. You use an orange paper to tell the story and cut it out. Then, at the end, the house looks like a jack 'o' lantern. My kids really enjoyed this story. I found the story in English here but you have to scroll down to "The Witch and The Little Orange House Story." Sorry you would have to translate.

FAMILIA DE VAMPIROS
My mom showed my girls (via webcam) this fun site of Mi Mundo en Palabras. There is a fun activity that a girl introduces her Adams-type family. It's a great listening activity. My girls got a big kick out of it!

If you go to the picture that says, "Esta es mi Familia" then "El Mundo de Carlos" and then "Foto de Mi Familia" as you click on the arrows it takes you to an Adams-type family with vampiros and brujas. It's really cute.

DISFRACES

On the same site above of Mi Mundo en Palabras. They have fun activities that teach vocabulary related to costumes! Click on "Fiesta de Disfraces," then "El Mundo de Carlos" and then "De que me disfrazo?"

Dedication?

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:40:00 +0000

We went to a wonderful hour long storytime at a downtown library. There was traffic, it was rainy, all three kids were upset in the car and it ended up taking us an hour to get there. The big library is also in a bad part of town, so it was quite the adventure. My husband met up with us and we had to laugh about the effort we were putting into just to attend a Spanish storytime. He said "Either this is dedication or an obsession!" I like to think of it just as dedication, but I have to admit I'm a little obsessed :)

All the books were about Halloween, mostly about brujas. They had a little craft to make a mini bag and then each child got to pick a Halloween toy to put in their bags. After the storytime, I noticed the HUGE Spanish section. There were 4 aisles with both sides of the bookcases stacked full of children's Spanish fiction and nonfiction books. It was so dreamy!!! They had so many great books and resources! Too bad I won't be able to hang out at this library very often.

How do you search for local events where they speak Spanish?
Where have you found good places to go?

GIVEAWAYS!

noreply@blogger.com (Tati) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I like to get new materials to use with my children as they learn Spanish. It keeps me motivated :) Here is a list of all the giveaways going on right now!!

Easy Translator by Ingenio Toys ends 10/14/10

Foreign Language Friends Year Subscription ends 10/17/10

Linea Descubriendo DVD ends 10/17/10