Activities On and Offline

Look for materials in a variety of media (books, videos, blogs, even recipes!) to support your family’s learning. Here are some we like. Check back as we add more, and join our community on Facebook to submit any that work at your house!
 

Colors

A simple roll-over activity online. A fun way to review colors, and give kids some very basic computer mouse-rolling practice. The images are really interesting bugs in bright colors. We were fascinated, and found that a right click allowed a zoom in. You’ll want your speakers on, but keep them low, it startled us the first time. Click!
 

Numbers

Count the stairs whenever you climb them. If you run out of numbers that you know, start again at one. For older, or more proficient kids, remember the total for stairs you frequently use, and count backwards when you descend, and forward when you ascend.
 

Shapes

A wedge of pizza is a triangulo…An orange is a circulo…A napkin is cuadrado…Cut a piece of cheese to make a rectangulo…Eat your shapes…you get the point, rif on this idea and see where else you can find shapes!
 

Get Them Talking!

Start a new game: Together with your family, pick a simple, common phrase. We use “¿Donde está _____?” (Where is______?).

If anyone uses that phrase in English, we make a siren noise…it’s proven fun to keep everyone on their toes–and who doesn’t like to make siren noises?

One more way to incorporate a little more Spanish into our days…while having fun and making noise.
 

Story time with Cody’s Cuentos

Get comfy, and let someone ELSE read for a change! This great site has podcasts (with available transcripts for sale) of classic children’s stories in Spanish. Select Beginner, Intermediate or Advance level stories. If even the beginner levels feel like a challenge, they suggest listening again, to see what you can learn.
 

Swing in Español with Spanimals

This song combines silliness and Spanish in a gorgeously produced video by The Jimmies doing their swingin’ thing. You won’t learn a ton of Spanish, but you’ll feel good, smile, and remember to make this Spanish language journey more fun, less chore.