Editor’s note: We continue with our 31 Days of Reading in Spanish. Check out the book review below and don’t forget to enter our weekly GIVEAWAY of $100 worth of books in Spanish!

BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW

Have you ever found yourself wanting to teach your child that one game you loved as a child and played over and over again, but you just can’t get yourself to remember the words to the song, the rhyme or the exact details that made it so fun? Juegos Tradicionales would be the book to reach out to spark your childhood memory of all those traditional games your mom taught you that her mom taught her, and her abuela and on and on.

The author María Angélica Ovalle is Chilean and she interviewed several people from different parts of her country to find out which were the childhood games they remembered and treasured the most. The thought is that if several generations are fond of the same games, then these are the ones that tie them together and must continue being passed on to the future generations.

The 34 games in Juegos Tradicionales are definitely part of the Chilean fabric, but sifting through the book I found that most of them are the same in many other parts of Latin America or just have different names. Divided into “Los Primeros Juegos,” “Juegos con Canciones y Rimas,” Juegos con la Cuerda y de Manos,” “Juegos para Echar a Suertes,” and “Juegos Sin Rimas” you are sure to find much nostalgia that will get you more than eager to share these games with your kids.

The juegos I got excited about reliving?

• Mandandirun (which I knew as Matatero Tero Lá)
• El Vendedor de Huevos (which I knew as ¿Compra Huevos?
• Arroz con Leche

     BOOK DETAILS

    Title:  Juegos Tradicionales

    Author: María Angélica Ovalle

    Illustrator: Paloma Valdivia

    Publisher:  Editorial Amanuta

    ISBN: 978-956-8209-67-4

    Price:  $12.00

    Website:  www.la-libreria.net (Online store coming in August. For immediate orders, send an email to info@la-libreria.net) and Like them on Facebook.

Would you like to win this book? Head on over to this week’s giveaway to win a copy of Juegos Tradicionales and other unique books in Spanish from LA libreria.

¿Puedes contar de 20 a 1 y escribir tu nombre a la vez? ¡Inténtalo!

With the days getting colder in parts of the country, some of us are having to spend more time indoors. Inténtalo is a silly indoor game to keep kids laughing, moving and thinking in Spanish.

The activity uses a homemade spinner with actions. Spin the spinner twice and then try to do the two actions at the same time. You can adapt the actions for younger children and add harder ones for older kids. The game is simple y muy divertido!

Click here for a printable spinner and instructions on putting it together.

These are the actions on the spinner:
Frotarte la panza – Rub your tummy
Escribir tu nombre – Write your name (Little ones can just color.)
Tocar tus pies – Touch your toes
Hacer rebotar una pelota – Bounce a ball (Little ones can throw a ball.)
Brincar en tu lugar en un solo pie – Hop on one foot (Little ones can jump with both feet.)
Contar de 20 hasta 1 – Count backwards from 20 to 1 (Little ones can count up.)
Darte palmaditas en la cabeza – Pat your head
Dar vueltas – Spin around

Like most games, Inténtalo can be a good language activity. Just be sure to reinforce the actions your child is doing with lots of Spanish: Estás tocando los pies. Ahora escribe tu nombre. ¡Lo hiciste!
Describe what you are doing when it is your turn: Me estoy frotando la panza. Ahora voy a dar vueltas. ¡Fácil!
Also, use normal game vocabulary in Spanish as you play:
Te toca. - It’s your turn.
Me toca. - It’s my turn.
Dale vuelta a la ruleta. – Spin (the spinner).

Simple, fun activities like this one make speaking Spanish fun and help the winter fly by. ¡Te toca a ti!

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

Hispanic Heritage Month is all abuzz with celebrations happening all over the country to recognize the richness of the Latino cultural heritage in the United States. From Sep. 15 through October 15 we have so many opportunities to immerse our children in the beauty of one of their cultures and teach others about it as well.

Disney Junior is joining the celebration with four beautiful :30 second spots featuring Latino children and parents talking about elements of their heritage that they embrace.

The four spots feature:

• A game of lotería
• A piñata party
• Children singing De Colores
• A boy learning to make a banana helado from Colombia

And, guess what? My girl, Camila and I, were invited to be featured in one of the spots! Since we love to play lotería, and it’s a perfect game to practice words in Spanish, that’s the spot we’re on!

Want to take a sneak peak before it starts airing tomorrow (Thursday)? Then press play on the video below!

My girl and I had so much fun shooting these together and now we even have a beautiful keepsake to treasure as much as we do our game of lotería. Camila’s reaction when I showed her the spot was hilarious because she saw the entire thing quietly and with a critical look on her face. When the spot was over, I asked her in Spanish, “Did you love it?” She said, “I did, but that’s not how it is, they got it wrong because I told everyone that after you win, you get a sticker.” Yes, she did say that many times to camera, so I had to give her a quick lesson in how TV is made. Not sure she totally got it, but at least now she’s not critical when she watches the spot! Now, she can’t wait for all her amigos y amigas to see it as well!

Catch all the fours spots airing during Hispanic Heritage Month on the Disney Junior programming block on Disney Channel and on the 24-hour Disney Junior channel.

And remember, your child can enjoy all their favorite Disney Junior shows, like Doc McStuffins and Jake and the Neverland Pirates, in Spanish! How? Just find the SAP option on your cable/satellite provider’s remote and select the Spanish option.

Can’t thank Disney Junior and Disney Channel enough for providing the Spanish-language option and for creating these Hispanic Heritage spots to celebrate our culture. ¡Gracias!