bilingual beginnings
  -December edition-

A Parent-Child Guide to Practicing Spanish at Home
Hola Parents!

Did you know that the toddler and preschool years are the perfect time to introduce your child to a new language? It's all about starting early! And we're thrilled to offer your little ones a ticket to the magical world of Spanish!  Our Spanish classes are filled with exciting games, catchy songs, fun dance and exercise moves, role-playing, puppet shows and more! We teach your child useful vocabulary that they can use every day. Plus, we've got you covered with our Digital Family Fiesta Guides that make it easy for you to review and practice Spanish with your child, no matter your starting level. 

Some of the themes that your child will be learning this month are: 
  • Compliments
  • Decorating a Christmas tree
  • The song; Feliz Navidad
  • Washing hands
  • Colors
  • Toys and presents
  • Winter outdoor clothing
  • ​The Calendar and numbers 1-31
  • How many days until Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hannakah?
​Get your kiddo ready for a fiesta of fun and learning in December by reviewing the vocabulary in this guide with them.

1. Complimenting each other

Who doesn't love a sweet compliment? It's even better in Spanish! Here's a tip: grab the compliments poster to your right and tune in to the audio file. Together with your little one, point to the compliments as they are taught and repeat and sing them out loud and proud! Attach the poster to your refrigerator with a magnet. It will serve as a visual reminder to compliment each other in Spanish throughout the day!

You can play an easy game to practice the compliments.  All that you need is a ball. Sit on the floor with your children. Toss the ball to each child and say one of the compliment words. They must toss the ball back to you and repeat the same compliment. See how many times you can do this without letting the ball drop to the floor!

Start complimenting each other at home whenever the opportunity arises...and compliment each other in Spanish everywhere you go, at the grocery store, at the park, when you're picking them up from school, etc.  

​Ready to dive in? Hit play on the audio track and learn how to say "fabulous," "that's great," and "awesome!" in Spanish! Let's do this!

2. Toys & Games

Kids just wanna have fun! So, let's dive into the world of toys and games, and get ready to play with the six toy-tastic words. You might already have some of these toys at home, so get ready to show off your toy knowledge! Just play the audio file, show the pictures on your screen, or print them out and let the learning begin! Check out the handy cheat sheet below that I made to help guide you. Once you and your kiddo have mastered the toy and game vocabulary, you can either leave it at that or take it up a notch by learning how to use these words in sentences. The sky's the limit!​

cheat sheet for parents :-)

3. Winter Clothing

Brrr! Winter is peeping around the corner, and depending on where you live, it may be time for your and your children to snuggle up before you step outside. Check out this slideshow of cozy winter gear. You've got all the winter vocabulary words in Spanish with a handy pronunciation guide. The best part? You don't need to be a language wizard to say them right! Read the pronunciation key like English. We keep it simple, so you can focus on more important things - like staying toasty warm!  If you need to take a break, no worries! Just hit pause in the top left corner. 

4. Check Your Pronunciation

Let's make sure you and your children are pronouncing the clothing words in Spanish correctly.  Listen up, because a funky news crew is about to teach you the right way to say all those tricky words in Spanish. Hit play and be ready to sing your heart out and get silly with a cheeky chimp who joins in on the fun! Who knew learning could be so playful? You'll be amazed at how quickly your inner child takes over!

5. Now plug winter clothes into sentences...

Mom and dad, Don't let the green and white table below overwhelm you. The table plus the audio fiile are your trusty guides, your secret weaposn to nail everyday Spanish with your little one. Just take it one step at a time, for example, start with the first phrase in the table below, "put on." Then, every time your child is getting dressed to go outside, tell them to put on their jacket, put on their hat, put on their mittens...in Spanish. "Put on" is "Pónte" (pronounced "Pon-teh").  Repeat this for a week. 

So, after you say "Pónte" follow it with whatever you want your child to put on:
  • Pónte la chaqueta. (Put on your jacket.)
  • Pónte los mitones. (Put on your mittens.)
If you are talking to more than one child or person, say "Pónganse".
  • Pónganse las chaquetas. (Put on your jackets.)
  • Pónganse los mitones. (Put on your mittens.)
You are going to sound so cool speaking so much Spanish to your child. Actually you aren't really saying a lot but, trust me, to someone listening, it will sound like you are fluent!

Picture this: You're at your friend's or grandparent's place, getting ready to head out. And right then and there, you switch to Spanish to direct your child to put on their winter gear and your child gets it! That's when the magic happens! Your heart will swell with pride and excitement, and you'll be all fired up to add even more Spanish into your daily routines and activities with your little one! Trust us, it's doable! In fact, give this one activity a whirl for seven days and you'll be thinking and talking in Spanish like a boss!

grammar...oh yeah!

Here is an easy grammar lesson for you. The numbers in the table tell you which form of the verb to use in Spanish depending on if you are talking to one person or more than one person. 
(1) means you say the sentence to one person (Singular).
(2+) means you say the sentence to more than one person (Plural).