In a life long, long ago, before marriage and children, Jason and I were fluent in Spanish. And then life changed. Both of us moved away from opportunities to use our skills, and we stopped speaking Spanish (unless we were trying to carry on a conversation in front of our children that we didn't want them to understand).
That is, until our kiddos started begging us to learn a foreign language. This year, per their request, we've included Spanish in our curriculum.
We're starting with the basics. Our current lessons include Spanish activities about letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. The kiddos are enjoying Spanish as they learn it in a variety of ways.
I always like to introduce Spanish learning concepts using music videos on youtube, if possible. They help the kiddos learn pronunciation and remember vocabulary concepts, while providing visuals. Songs also provide opportunities to practice phrasing in a melodic way, which helps with overall fluency.
The kiddos have loved listening and singing to the videos below. We started with the Spanish Alphabet Song.And then added the Numbers Song in Spanish.
The kiddos love their Spanish song about colors. It's their absolute favorite.
And last, we introduced a song about shapes in Spanish. This one has been a bit more challenging for them, but it's growing on them.
Once each of the concepts were introduced through song, activities were placed on our shelves to encourage further exploration. All lessons for the activities were presented in Spanish only. At first this was bit confusing for the kiddos, but after a few minutes they started catching on and were excited about it.
I did not create an alphabet activity, because every activity that we work through, includes aspects of the Spanish alphabet and pronunciation. However, I did create activities for all other concepts with my husband's help.
We hope you enjoy.
The kiddos have learned their numbers using the Montessori Method, so it only seemed right to learn Spanish numbers the same way. In this activity they will create a book of numbers in Spanish, using the Montessori beads and number cards as controls. Each kiddo will put the book together themselves creating a cover and using the stapler.
Source: Jason and I created the Spanish numbers printable for this activity as part of our Spanish Activities Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of the post.
We also created the "My Book of Numbers" printable for this activity, as part of our Montessori-inspired Math Bead Bar Activities Printable Pack 1. Click HERE for your free copy.
Las tarjetas con nomenclatura de colores/Color Nomenclature Cards
There's no better way to practice new vocabulary than using nomenclature cards. The kiddos have really enjoyed matching up the words and pictures.
Source: Jason and I created the printable for this activity as part of our Spanish Activities Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of the post.
La c lasificación por color/Color Sort
The kiddos love learning colors in Spanish, so much that we introduced more related vocabulary. In this activity the kiddos will sort the noun cards by color, As they sort, they will practice pronouncing each noun and color together, in the correct order.
We have also taught the kiddos the difference between masculine and feminine nouns. They are all perfectionists now about making sure they choose the correct color word ending to describe each masculine and feminine noun. I love it!
Source: Jaosn and I created the cards for this activity as part of our Spanish Activities Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of the post.
Dibujar las formas/Drawing Shapes
Learning the names of shapes has proved to be a little bit more difficult for the kiddos. I'm guessing it's because these words were introduced last, but also because the words are a little bit more difficult to say.
For this activity, the kiddos will practice drawing shapes on their white board, using the crayons provided. They will then label the shapes in Spanish.
Source: Jason and I created the printable for this activity as part of our Spanish Activities Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of the post.
We are so excited that our first Spanish lessons and activities have gone so well and can't wait to do more!
