Puerto Rican Spanish: the Influence of Andalucía

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"Todo sobre los Pingüinos" and my New Zealand penguin regret

You know what they say: Youth is wasted on the young. I don't know about you, but in retrospecting my own life, I see a degree of merit in that somewhat pessimistic catchphrase. Case in point: penguins!

During a short part of my teenage years, I lived in New Zealand. Those many years ago, I had no idea that there were just 17 species of penguins in the world, that they all lived in the Southern Hemisphere, and that 3 of those 17 species can be seen in New Zealand. Thus, I had no idea what a big deal it was to actually be seeing penguins. Live. In their natural habitat. Not on a tour. Not in the zoo. Just experiencing them naturally. I took nary a picture (well, maybe one or two), and let their sighting simply be a passing moment on my travels around The South Island.

Agh!!! If only I could go back and relive my youth; I would appreciate so many things more fully than I did at the time. Penguins included!

Well, recently I have been able to revisit my penguin encounter, in a sort of virtual sense, in the creation of my new favorite packet:

"Todo sobre los Pingüinos"

(Click image to view this packet in my TpT store.)

"Todo sobre los Pingüinos" is a 6-page, customizable fold-out penguin craftivity booklet, entirely in SPANISH. Customizable means it's perfect for classroom differentiation, or for homeschooling families who have children at different levels completing projects together. And of course, Spanish means it's perfect for Dual Language, Immersion, or Second Language programs, and multilingual homeschoolers.

By the time my daughter completes this packet with her class, she will know better than I did to appreciate the wonder of seeing a penguin in the wild... with the added benefit of an increased Spanish repertoire, too. What more could one wish for?!

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.

Día de los Muertos: los altares

When Becky of Kid World Citizen recently reminded me that Chicago is home to the National Museum of Mexican Art, I mentally filed that under "check it out someday soon!" So when the NMMA's "Rito y Recuerdo" exhibit topped Aimee's (Raising World Citizens) list of Chicago's "must-do's" for Día de los Muertos, we were ready to go!

Wow!... or "¡Guau!" What an impressive display! More than 60 artists participated in the creation of this exhibit, which includes "altares y ofrendas," installations, and popular art. We maximized the exhibit by joining a guided tour, and learned so much more than the "altares" basics we knew upon arrival.  

Here are the highlights, for other Día de los Muertos neophytes like us:

An altar would traditionally be constructed in 3 tiers, each tier making an important representation: the underworld, earth, and heaven. Of course, in all things Día de los Muertos, the underworld is not depicted as a horrible place full of misery, and on Día itself, its residents are always seen celebrating!

Along with photos, personal mementos and trinkets, each of the 4 elements - earth, air, fire, and water - are commonly represented in the items chosen for the ofrenda. Fire and water are easy to spot in the candles and drink offerings. Fruits and grains, and even clay pots, can represent the earth. Air can be a bit of a stretch, at least in the "altares" we saw, where altar shawls and "papel picado" that blow in the wind symbolized air.

I imagine there was plenty more to learn, but 6 year olds don't necessarily enjoy the lengthy nature of guided museum tours, so that is the extent of our "altares de muertos" knowledge acquisition for this year.  Never mind, though: we have already decided on a return visit to the NMMA for Día de los Muertos 2015! (And next year, I have a feeling the then-7-year-old will bring enough money to buy a bigger sugar skull!)

*     *     *     *     *     *

If you've enjoyed this peak into "altares y ofrendas" and are ready to try your own, MommyMaestra is running an Ofrenda Photo Contest. To make it more fun, one of my favorite books is included in the prize pack!

Excited to teach your kids or students more about Día de los Muertos? Be sure to check out my Día de los Muertos Bilingual Activity Pack, with a book, mini-books, and activity sheets, all in English and Spanish!

3 Tips for Dealing with Fire Safety Week in a Second Language

Fire Safety Week - La Semana de Seguridad Contra Incendios

Anyone who ever was in grade school probably remembers Fire Safety Week. Field trips to the local fire station. Rolling around on the classroom floor to practice "Stop, Drop, and Roll!" Mimeographed Sparky the Fire Dog coloring sheets. (You remember mimeographs, right? Purple ink. Damp paper. A certain intoxicating smell.)

As a child, it is a fun and memorable week at school. Now as adults, we also understand what an important week it is for our children and their safety and well-being. And we realize that to reap the full benefits of this fun week at school, our children most certainly need to understand all of the information coming at them.

So what, then, about children in Dual Language and Language Immersion programs? Can our children absorb all of this critical information if it's coming at them in a non-native language? How can we ensure their comprehension of this potentially life-and-death topic?

First: Talk with your children at home (in your home language) about fire safety.

Don't remember all the basics yourself?
Jennifer at The Good Long Road shares 10 tips directly from a fire fighter here.
I must admit, a couple on the list were new to me (or new-again to me). Very interesting, the benefits of keeping doors closed! (#10 on Jennifer's list)

Second: Help your children attain a good grasp on fire-related vocabulary in the language of their schooling. 

In this way, their energies won't go toward new-vocabulary-acquisition during Fire Safety events at school; rather, their minds will be ready to absorb the critical safety information.

Need some help in this area? Check out my a mini-pack of printables in Spanish, to give our younger elementary students a firm grasp of the vocabulary and concepts they'll encounter throughout Fire Safety Week. (Click image for the full listing in my TpT store.)

Jennifer from Spanish Playground also has links to various free Fire Safety printables in Spanish here, including a great document from The Hartford here.

Finally: Reach out to an area fire station for more activities and resources.

If you feel the language barrier, or any other challenge, has prevented your child from fully grasping the important safety messages of the week, contact your local fire station. (Don't call 9-1-1 for this! Check the phone book or online for a station house number.) Depending on your area, materials may be available in multiple languages. And if you get the right person on the phone, you might even be invited by the station to visit (or at least to pick up the materials, which is still exciting for the kiddos)!


And now, to paraphrase an old saying, left-over from my lifeguarding years:

"Okay, Parents, let get out there and save some lives!" 

Any other great tips to help multilingual kids maximize the lessons of Fire Safety Week? Share your experience in the comments!

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!

Multilingual Coloring Sheets FREEBIE! ... apple-picking theme

Oh my goodness, has it really been over a month since I posted a freebie? Well, then I guess it's time for a new one!

My latest freebie is a "facebook fan freebie." To access these multilingual apple-picking coloring sheets, head to my facebook page, and look for the "free downloads" button on the left sidebar.

Credits: Super cute graphics by Educlips. Frame by Creative Clips.

Spanish & French Back-to-School FREEBIE!

It's my favorite time again: FREEBIE time!
Somehow, I love offering freebies as much as I love finding freebies. Here's my latest:

Click  image to find this freebie in my TpT store.

You guessed it: this freebie features graphics from two of my fave clip artists: Educlips and Creative Clips. Thanks, Sarah & Krista!

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...!

Mardi Gras FREEBIE in French & Spanish!

In my mind, I have always associated Mardi Gras with the beginning of spring. So this year, when the Midwest has been struck by a never-ending winter, Mardi Gras has kind of snuck up on me. I can't believe it's just a few days away. Yikes!

If you're feeling a little ill-prepared for the big event, like I am, swing on over to my facebook page and grab a quick Mardi Gras coloring sheet, plus word searches in French and Spanish. Just "like" my page to unlock this free mini packet.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

El Mes de la Historia Afroamericana

With all the snow days we've had in the Midwest, January has just flown by. Somehow February is a mere 60 hours away. With February comes many fun and important events, not the least of which is:

Black History Month!

For those honoring Black History Month for the first time, it can be a little overwhelming to get started. The recent Multicultural Children's Book Day is a great place to go for books for the month. (You can see my MCCBD review of Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker here.) Multicultural Kid Blogs is getting a nice list of resources going on Pinterest, as well as a good link-up on their website.

Myself? I hoped to fill in the gap of missing resources for Spanish dual language programs, and created an introductory-level unit in Spanish for el mes de la historia afroamericana.

Students will meet 10 African Americans of historic significance in this packet, at an introductory level. The biography of each figure is 3-4 sentences long, highlighting the most salient aspects of each one's life, at a manageable level for elementary students.

This set introduces: Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Jesse Owens, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Booker T. Washington.

Included in this packet are: bulletin board display pieces (name plate, image, photograph, and bio) and timeline cards, a 3-in-a-row bingo game, writing journal pages, and a matching worksheet. It's all here and ready to go!

Of note: all writing on student pages is in Spanish; there is no English on student pages.

This packet is available in my shop at Teachers Pay Teachers. 

Come check it out!

Et vous? Have you found any great resources for Black History Month in other languages? I would love to see them!

Kindergarten Spanish Sight Word FREEBIE! Snowman Edition

If you have been working on sight words with your Spanish-speaking or Spanish-learning kinders, and have enjoyed having some seasonal flashcards (like this Christmas set and this fall set), you might enjoy this final installment of the series, available at my store on Teachers Pay Teachers: Kindergarten Spanish Sight Words, Snowman Edition.

Click the image to access the January flashcards and a corresponding "Yo tengo/¿Quién tiene?" game.

Enjoy!

New! A Progressive Purchase: Spanish Daily Writing Journal for Elementary Age

Hey, Spanish teachers and homeschoolers!

By teacher request, I have created a set of elementary level, winter-themed Spanish daily writing journal pages for January.

While a writing journal is fun enough on its own (heehee!), I thought I'd try something even more fun to kick off this product: make it a Progressive Product!

What is a "progressive product"? A super fun deal, that's what!!! Or, more specifically, it is a product that you can purchase at a now at a base rate, then download FREE additions each month as they are released.

Here's how that works: once you purchase a file through Teachers Pay Teachers, you are able to access all its future updates through your "My Purchases" page. So purchase now, then at the end of each month, head to your "My Purchases" page and re-download the file to access the addition for the following month. For FREE! But with each addition comes a $1 increase in price to new buyers, so the best deal comes to those who buy early!

Spanish Daily Writing Journal, PROGRESSIVE PURCHASE!

Thanks, teachers, for your continued suggestions and ideas for products! It is always an honor and a pleasure to work with those who shape the future of our children. ¡Mil gracias!

Kindergarten Spanish Sight Word FREEBIE! Gingerbread Edition

Remember my favorite childhood flashcard practice game that has been resurrected for Mag's Spanish endeavor? The December word list and the corresponding "Yo tengo/¿Quién tiene?" game have been added to the November set.

Grab the FREEBIE here:

Shared at:

French & Spanish Thanksgiving FREEBIE!

I am mid-project with a super fun Christmat TpT Spanish/French set these days, but just needed to get back into the present season for an afternoon. So it seemed a perfect time to whip up another FREEBIE! (That last one served us well when little Mag was home sick today. So nice to have some Spanish resources at hand to make up for all the hours missed at school.)

If have some kiddos who would like a little seasonal practice with parts of the body in FRENCH or SPANISH, head on over to my little corner of Teachers Pay Teachers for this freebie:

Kitchen Floor Woes, and a FREEBIE!

When we moved to the Midwest a few years ago, we were so fortunate to find the perfect house. (Well, perfect for us. Maybe a tad small for the average Midwesterner, but we have different expectations.) I love almost everything about our home, with two exceptions, one of which is: the kitchen floor. Agh! I despise that hideous (and poorly laid!) dreary linoleum. It is so affreux that I didn't even mind when Kam dropped a knife on it and gouged a hole in it... or did I do that?.. It is just that horrid.

But like many unpleasant things in this world, there is often a bright side. The bright side of this hideous piece of flooring is: flashcard races!

Let me back up a moment...

We recently had our first quarter conference with Mag's wonderful Dual Language kindergarten teacher, Sra. C. She mentioned that reading groups will be starting up in December, and that we might like to practice sight words at home in the meantime. So I did what any TpT addict would do: I raced home to make some flashcards... oh, and bought a bag of M&M's, too!

Click to download!

As soon as the ink was dry on the flashcards and the M&Ms were open,  Mag took her place on one square of the aforementioned hideous flooring. From there, we began one the regular routines of my own childhood: read a flashcard correctly, advance a square on the linoleum. Reach the flashcard holder and get an M&M! (And the flashcard holder, that's me!, gets and M&M, too, of course.)

Right now, we're targeting 10 words, and soon we'll add another 10. If you'd like to join in with some flashcard fun, zip on over to my little store on Teachers Pay Teachers, and grab these flashcards for FREE. The current download also includes a game of "Yo tengo/¿Quién tiene?"... with directions, if you're not familiar with the game.

I'll post an update when we add the next 10 words. Hope you'll join us in some flashcard fun... you're welcome to play along, even if your flooring isn't hideous!

Día de los Muertos, chez nous

"Day of the Dead, at our place" 

(affiliate links included, for convenience)

We always enjoy learning about different traditions and holidays from around the world (like this one). So, given that we spent years living just a stone's throw distance from Mexico, and that Kam's culture shares the same holiday, I don't know how Día de los Muertos, or "Day of the Dead," hasn't made our radar screen until now.


This year, thanks to a quirky looking book on prominent display at the local library, Día de los Muertos has made it to our house. Mag inherited Kam's inclination toward the cutsied-up macabre (think Jack Skellington and the like), and thus was captivated by The Dead Family Diaz, by P.J. Bracegirdle. This book instantly rocketed to the top of our short list of family faves, primarily for the visuals, but the story is equally amusing.

The Dead Family Diaz inspired us to delve deeper into the traditions of the día. We spent some time learning the vocabulary of the holiday, and even created and completed a few related worksheets, incorporating the fun theme into math and early literacy practice for Mag's dual language endeavor. (This kindergarten-level Spanish packet is available at my TpT store, here.)

Once familiar with the new vocab, Mag was also enthralled by Calavera Abecedario, by Jeanette Winter, although The Diaz storybook still tops my list.

Of course, the highlight of any event is the food, right? When frosting cookies for Halloween, we kept a few "calavera" (skull) cookies aside, which we frosted, Muertos-style, tonight, getting ready for the big day. We'll also head to a nearby Mexican grocer to pick up some "pan de muerto" (which we will eat, rather than leave at a cemetery), as well as indulging in horchata - recipe. Okay, I have no reason to believe horchata is part of the tradition of the day... or that it isn't, for that matter. We just like to include it in any Mexican-related event at our house. (We also love agua fresca -recipe-, but the MidWest fall weather puts one in more of an horchata mood.)

For a first Día de los Muertos celebration, I could almost leave it at books, food, and worksheets... but somehow crafts just seem to be calling out to be included.

I love the calavera sun catcher from Mari (remember her fab tooth fairy certificates from this post), and of course we'll be making some papel picado (seen at right). Photo released by Guillerminargp

el Próximo Año

We're having such a good time with Día de los Muertos this week that I can't fit it all in... so here's what I've already got in the line-up for next year:

• this pan de muerto recipe from Gabriela's Kitchen, found at Spanglish Baby
• this recipe for strawberry almond horchata, thanks to Sasha at Global Table Adventures
• Rostia y Conchito, the cutest looking storybook app ever
• and finally these super fab-o calavera cookie cutters that I can't spend another November One without!!!

I guess it's time to get a 2014 calendar, because I see a party taking shape already, 367 days in advance!

Spanish Halloween FREEBIE!

With Mag getting full-day language immersion in school now, I have to admit that I appreciate no longer carrying the full burden of foreign language instruction. I do, however, enjoy supporting and supplementing her school exposure.

To get Mag (and myself!) ready for her first Halloween in her new second language, I created a fun new FREEBIE, complete with word wall cards, an "I have/Who has?" game, and word search with answer key.

This freebie is available at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Clicking the image will take you right there.

Be sure to grab this now, because when Halloween is over, this freebie will disappear faster than a plastic pumpkin full of Kit Kats!

We Won the Lottery!

Yes, you read that right: we won the lottery!

Unfortunately, it wasn't the state lottery that brings in millions (probably have to play it to win it)... but it was almost as good: we won the school district lottery to get Mag into our district's dual language immersion program! We are so thrilled to be able to offer her all the benefits of bilingualism, without having to take on the full burden of language instruction and immersion ourselves.

Of course, the funny part is that the program is Spanish immersion. After 3 years of sneaking French into our daily routine, and a short focus on German, Mag will now be surrounded by Spanish for 8 hours a day.

I have a feeling Mag will be exhausted for a few weeks. So I am slowly trying to give her more and more Spanish exposure now, in the hopes that the cognitive overload won't become emotionally overwhelming at the advent of the school year.

Here is our newest activity, which would work well for any family introducing basic Spanish to kids ages 3 and up. (Also great for classroom use, too, of course!)

Spanish Numbers Ice Cream Cones

click image to see these activities in my TpT store

This pack includes activities and a game for learning numbers 0-10. 

Use ice cream scoops and cones to practice matching numerals to written numbers, numbers to 10-frames, and numbers to scattered configurations. 

Make even/odd cones, and sort cherries onto even/odd sundaes.

Try these activities at the tabletop, or with magnets at a magnet board, or with velcro on paint stirrers (which is our favorite).

This pack also includes an 11-card set of the super fun "Yo Tengo... ¿Quién Tiene?" ("I Have... Who Has?") game, with game play directions in Spanish. (If you don't read Spanish, see English directions below.)

This pack is also available here in FRENCH!

"I Have... Who Has?" Game Directions

• Hand out a card to each player. Players will get more than 1 card if fewer than 11 people are playing. It is important to use all the cards in the set. 
• Choose a person to go first, and have him read his card aloud. E.g., "I have 10. Who has 6?"
• The person who has the card with the answer reads that answer aloud: “I have 6”. This person will then read the question at the bottom of his card, "Who has 3?"
• Then the person with the card that answers that question responds. 
• Every card in the set is connected to a card before it and a card after it. 
• Play continues in this fashion until all of the cards have been played. The game will end with the same person who started play.

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...