Happy Birthday, MLK, Jr! ...and a fb fan freebie: mulitlingual coloring pages

Today Martin Luther King, Jr should have been celebrating his 86th birthday. In his honor, I have posted a FREE coloring page in four languages, remembering his famous "I have a dream" speech. Also included is an open-ended writing sheet, which you can use in any language.

To access, head to my facebook page, and look in the left sidebar for the "free downloads" button.

For more great ideas on honoring MLK, Jr with kids, check out Multicultural Kid Blogs' series, here.

Apple Season is Here! ... a product and a FREEBIE!

For yet another year, the Midwestern summer weather has been a bit strange, having felt like fall for much of the summer... which might be why I feel extra ready for: APPLE SEASON!

This year we missed opening weekend at our favorite local apple orchard. But we did arrive by their 8th day open, so we got all the excitement of the beginning of the season, with a bonus of employees who know how to work the registers! (Last year's note to self: if you head to any seasonal attraction in the first hours of their openness for that season, be prepared for just about everyone working there to have to call for someone else to help them with their job. Be it ringing up your order, knowing how to make the hot chocolate, how much things cost, or where the restrooms are... you name it, they're still training for it!)

Anyway, so yes, we did make it to the orchard and had tons of fun... and tons of apple cider donuts! And thus, upon arriving home, I couldn't help but create a few apple-related products.

This first product is a FREEBIE! And a fun one, at that: a 4-page "Life Cycle of the Apple" pop-up book... in four languages! You can find it here, in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

I've also been rounding out my Spanish Dual Language/Immersion Kindergarten series of products, which just didn't seem complete without an apple packet! With this apple packet, I am one step closer to having a complete kindergarten series. Yay! You can check it out here. (Designed to support Common Core targets!)

In Kürze (German="coming soon"): more apple fun from around the world!

My Clip Art Addiction... and a FREEBIE!!!

I don't know if I have ever mentioned this before, but I am an absolute clip art-aholic! April Fools jokes aside, it is true, I am addicted! Whenever I see a new set of clip art, I instantly begin dreaming of what I could create with it. And so I have stockpiles of phenomenal graphics, just waiting for their turn to be featured in a packet (like the packets you see at my Teachers Pay Teachers store).

So when one of my fave clip artists, Educlips, recently released an irresistible set of superhero graphics, I just couldn't escape. Sadly, it will be a while before I can create a whole packet around this set, so I thought it would be fun for now to use it to create a new FREEBIE: a multilingual "If I were a superhero..." coloring & drawing page.

To grab this FREEBIE, just head to my facebook page, and look for the "like to download" button. Liking my page unlocks the free download.

You'll notice that this freebie includes some new languages I don't usually create in. That's thanks to the Olga at European Mama (Polish),  Rita at Multilingual Parenting (Finnish & Swedish), Amanda at Expat Life with a Double Buggy (Dutch), and Galina at Raising a Trilingual Child (Russian), just a few of the awesome bloggers from the Multicultural Kid Blogs network. Thanks, gals!

Watch for more fan FREEBIES, coming soon...!

Facebook Fan FREEBIE!

Open Wide the World is finally on facebook! To kick things off on my new fan page, I'm offering a cute and quick color-matching activity, FREE to all new fans. Just like my new fan page, and the activity is free to download. Enjoy!

Facebook sidebar icon coming soon...

la Semaine Sainte à Paris, and a FREEBIE!

We are furiously getting ready for an upcoming trip to Europe, which will include both a stay in Paris during Holy Week, and spending Easter week in Germany. Being abroad during the pinnacle of Church year will be an exciting opportunity to experience the mingling of foreign culture and religion.

Because of the timing of our trip over Holy Week and Easter, and because of the true purpose for our trip - my sister's wedding! - we are certain to attend at least two church services in each country. To prepare to participate, albeit minimally, in services in a foreign language, I have created some "cheat sheets" of the Lord's Prayer in French and German. (I have also included Spanish, in the hopes of future travels. Kam has long dreamed of visiting Spain, and I anxiously look forward to returning there, as some of my best times living in France were actually spent visiting Spain. But those are stories for another time...)

If a trip abroad is in your near future, perhaps you can make use of these multilingual prayer sheets. No need to wait for a trip abroad, though. Any time is a good time to learn a new language. And to pray!

The Lord's Prayer in French, Spanish, and German!

To download this FREE resource, head to my store at TpT.

What is TpT? How much do I love it? Why should you join? 

Read all about TpT and its 80,000+ free resources here!

Happy praying!

Glossary:

la Semaine Sainte à Paris (French) = Holy Week in Paris

Multi-Lingual Shamrock Coloring Sheet FREEBIE!

I love FREEBIES, don't you?! If you are looking for a quick St. Paddy's Day themed activity for your dual language immersion kiddos (or any kids!), then here is a little FREEBIE you might enjoy:

Shamrock Coloring Sheets in FRENCH, SPANISH, and GERMAN

Kids love to color! 

Get them practicing their second language while doing something they enjoy!

To download these FREE coloring pages, head to my store at TpT.

What is TpT? How much do I love it? Why should you join? 

Read all about TpT and its 80,000+ free resources here!

Profitez-en!

Did you enjoy this activity? These coloring pages are part of my larger foreign language practice packets in a St. Patrick's Day theme, available at TpT. These 15-page packets include practice in the basic vocabulary of: colors, numbers (0-10), sizes, and parts of the body. Available in French, Spanish, and German.

Glossary:

Profitez-en! (French) = Enjoy!

The Hidden German Alphabet Game

Mag loves to play Hotter/Colder. You know, the game where you give clues as to how close a child is to a hidden object by saying "hotter" or "colder" or "on fire," etc? Mag loves it! She could play that all day long... if only I would.

Well, now thanks to inspiration from a blogging teacher, I can easily eek out a few more rounds of Hotter/Colder, just by adding in one element that I love: foreign language learning.

How to Play

Hide something. The child looks for it.
While the child is looking, sing the ABC song... but in German! (or any language)
As the child gets closer to the object, sing louder and faster.
As he/she moves away, sing more slowly and quietly.
Next round, switch up and let the child do the hiding and singing.

Now while Mag is searching, she's absorbing the German alphabet pronunciation. And while I'm searching, she's practicing reciting the German alphabet. WUNDERBAR!

To hear the German alphabet recited, click here below. 

(Public Domain, Courtesy of"Timwi")

Et vous? Any game adaptations for injecting foreign language into play?

Glossary:

Wunderbar! (German) = Wonderful!
Et vous? (French) = And you?

Je vous présente: Language Stars

When Mag was about a year and a half old, we enrolled her in an program called Language Stars. For an hour a week, she and I (or she and Kam) would meet with a few other parents and toddlers, and under the guidance of some very gifted teachers, we would play, sing, and learn, entirely in French.

The Parents and Tots program was phenomenal; the teachers unparalleled. More than 2 years since our last session, Mag still sings some of the songs and spontaneously uses numerous French phrases. I can only imagine where her French would be if life hadn't sent us in a different direction after our first year in the program.

Recently, we were thrilled to receive an invitation to return to Language Stars. (Okay, you don't actually have to be invited to attend the program. But an invitation has a way of making you feel special, doesn't it?) Because Mag is now significantly older this time around, she now participates in the Kids Only program. After our very positive experience with the Parents and Tots program, I had high expectation for the Kids Only program. It does not disappoint!

(I should mention that because we are weeks away from attending a wedding in Germany - and having a German brother-in-law! - Mag is taking a hiatus from French, as we all focus on learning some German.)

Check out how awesome Language Stars is!

After just 3 sessions of 85 minutes a week, Mag is already singing and counting in German, as well as using a few phrases on her own. With minimal support, she can respond to questions regarding name, age, colors, the weather, food preferences, and a few more, all thanks to Language Stars. (And a little back-up at home from me, because I LOVE creating language learning products!)

A few words from Language Stars' Founder Leslie Lancry, 

who is one of the few people who loves language more than I do:

 
If you are lucky enough to live near a Language Stars location (metro DC and greater Chicago), I encourage you to take full advantage of the Language Stars Free Trial Program. I all but guarantee you will love it!

Have you been to Language Stars? 

Do you know of another phenomenal language school? 

Tell us about it!

 

Je vous présente: TpT! And a FREEBIE!

Almost everyone has had some exposure to a foreign language. At the very least, most of us took a second language for a year or two in high school. Have you ever thought it would be fun to get back into it a little bit? Or maybe to give your kids a glimpse at a language you once enjoyed?

Assuming you answered "mais, oui!" to these questions, today I have a fun download for you. How about introducing your family to the months of the year in another language? I have created calendar toppers in both French and German, to inject a little language into our own daily routine, and wanted to share the fun.

Here is a quick peak at the German set:

And a look at the French set:

But how do you access these? That's where my next introduction comes in...

Je vous présente: TpT, or Teachers Pay Teachers

What is Teachers Pay Teachers? Just about the funnest site ever! (If you love teaching and learning, that is.)

TpT calls themselves "an open marketplace for teachers." In essence, it's a collaborative group of teachers who create fabulous teaching units to share and sell, for one-another, and any interested lay people. TpT is just full of unlimited amazing resources, more that 80,000 of which are FREE!!!

To access those 80,000 freebies, head here and create an account. Yes, I know... I was reluctant, too, to create yet another account with yet another site when I first joined a year ago, but have never regretted it since! If you have a student/child who needs additional practice in any given area, and you'd like a fun way to practice, it's all but guaranteed you can find it on TpT... and very possibly for free! Mag actually enjoys looking through my searches with me and telling me which activities she'd like to try. They're cute, they're fun, they're educational, and often free, so I never have to say no. When else would you find a child asking for school work?

So if you'd like to download my FREE calendar toppers, head over to my little corner of TpT. And if you do download, TpT'ers always appreciate feedback! Thank you for leaving a comment at my store!!!

Profitez-en!

Glossary

Je vous présente (French) = Introducing

Mais oui! (French) = an informal "of course!"
Profitez-en! (French) = Make the most of it!/Enjoy it!