Make a Paper Plate List to Speak Spanish with Kids {Printable Activity}

Grocery shopping with los chiquitos is not always easy, but the store is an excellent place to speak Spanish with children. They are close to you, often right at eye-level if they are small enough to ride in the cart. Also, the language tends to be focused, la comida, and kids can see and touch the things you talk about.

This paper plate shopping list is a great way to take advantage of the setting and the time you spend with your child in the grocery store. Children associate the words they hear with the pictures and with the things you put in your basket or cart. A paper plate is light and easy to hold, even for small children. They fold down the pictures as they find each item on the list.

Making the list is facilísimo! Around the edge of a paper plate, glue pictures of things you need to buy. Click here for printable pictures of common grocery items. Cutting and gluing is a good language activity; talk about the pictures together as you do this step with your child. Cut between the pictures, so that your child can fold them down y listo!

Of course, you can put other pictures, letters or symbols around the edge of the plate for kids to look for when you are running errands.

Here are a few ideas:

- Use markers and put colors around the plate. Kids find an object for each color.
- Write the alphabet around the edge and look for words that start with each letter. With a few letters, like la ñ, it is easier to find a word that contains the letter.
- Draw shapes. Kids find an object for each shape.
- Use clip art to make a list of things you might see: un carro, una bici, un perro, una flor, una casa, un autobus, unas escaleras, un bebé, una persona con lentes.

Special thanks to Spanish Playground for providing this activity. Visit their site for more activities to teach Spanish to kids.