Teaching by example is the motto of my parenting style. I have certain traits I consider fundamental that I want to pass on to my daughter, Little L. If I don’t lead with my actions, how can I expect more from her?  As parents, we also need to find support in tools like books, toys, videos, and other quality activities that can help our children develop, learn, and grow.

One of the traits that it is incredibly important to me is sharing, and this Classic Wooden Tea Set by Lakeshore Learning is just the perfect toy to help me teach Little L, in a fun and engaging way, more about what sharing means.

Since she got this sturdy and super-well-made wooden tea set, we have played every single afternoon with it. I have been able to teach her how to serve tea for her and others — en español. She has used the tray to serve “pastries” to her dad. Little L has also gotten creative, stirring her tea using the small wooden spoons and feeding her dolls with them. Most pieces come apart and can be connected by velcro, which is perfect for kids her age to pull apart and try to put the pieces together again. The set includes 25 wooden pieces from realistic teacups and saucers, to cake and biscuits, everything Little L needs to throw her own fantastic tea party. Seeing her enjoy, get creative, and share so well with her doll friends, shows me that she is ready for a real tea party and this tea set has been the inspiration for her next birthday party. I have been incredibly satisfied seeing Little L love her Lakeshore Learning tea set, being open to share and letting her mind fly away as she imagines countless ways of playing with it.

The Giveaway!

We are giving away one Classic Wooden Tea Set to one lucky winner. All you have to do is leave us a comment letting us know who you’d like to share this prize with. Then, enter the Rafflecopter below.

Giveaway ends November 5th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My family loves to play juegos de mesa: from Candyland to Monopoly to dominó, it’s a chance to have fun as a family while speaking lots of Spanish. Some games that we love can be manipulated a bit to play in Spanish, such as Pictionary, Taboo and Scattegories. But here is a list of our favorite board games to play that encourage lots of communication and reinforcement of concepts, without the need to change anything or buy a “Spanish version.”

1. Guess Who? (ages 5+): This game is perfect to practice asking questions about physical features, as you slowly eliminate characters to guess who’s card your opponent has. I have played not only with my kids, but my Spanish 1 students! It’s a great game for non-native speakers to play with their children once you have the basic vocabulary.

2. Spot It (ages 6+): This face-paced game requires players to identify objects that are the same on pairs of cards. Of the 50 plus items in the game, there were several that I didn’t know in Spanish (such as snowflake and padlock), so both the kids and I were increasing our vocabulary. It is a really easy and fun game for families, and though it says 7+, my 5 year olds loved it too. Spot It, Jr. (ages 4+) contains animals, for additional vocabulary practice.

3. Rory’s Story Cubes (ages 6+): Guided story-telling, that gets your creative juices and Spanish flowing as you try to incorporate all of the pictures on the dice in your story. The game box is the size of a deck of cards, perfect for taking it to play with your abuelitos! It’s easy, and enjoyable for all ages- and the kids also love when they get to listen to the adults’ stories. Sometimes we let the kids get together in teams to help them “warm up.”

4. Tell Me a Story (by eboo, ages 3-8): Similar to the Story Cubes concept, but for a younger audience, this adorable game consists of beautifully illustrated cards with different scenes that players use to weave a story. A simple game with endless creative possibilities, you can play this at home or on the go, and engage the whole family in Spanish story-telling.

5. Bananagrams (ages 6+, or any child that is beginning to spell): This banana full of letter tiles lends itself to multiple different games. While the idea is to quickly spell as many words as you can that connect like a crossword puzzle, we let our little kids just make words while we play. We have the English version, and have the kids spell in Spanish, but I did find a Spanish version on amazon if you’d like the additional tiles of rr, ll, and ñ. After playing a couple of times, I noticed a dramatic increase in their confidence of spelling in Spanish!

6. Richard Scary Busy Town (ages 3-8): Cooperative board games (where players work together to reach a goal) are becoming more popular for families, especially when the children are of different ages. In this game, you will work together to prevent the pigs from eating all of the picnic food by finding objects (on cards). We’ve told our kids that the game is in Spanish, and although there aren’t written words, they believe us and solve the problems in Spanish! My kids love the 6’ long board, and the little magnifying glasses you can use for the i-Spy aspect. This game is great for decreasing sibling rivalry, as everyone is on the same team.

7. Hi-Ho Cherry-O (ages 3+): This classic game, like Candyland or Chutes and Ladders, is perfect for pre-readers, who are learning to take turns and count. While the Spanish used will be quite simple (numbers, and simple phrases like “te toca a ti Viviana”), starting to play games with your children while they are young will build critical thinking skills, help kids to follow directions, play fair, and be graceful losers; and playing in Spanish will help them have fun while practicing the language!

What are your favorite board games to play in Spanish? Which ones have I missed?

{photo courtesy of Becky Morales}

Y ahora pon el gatito en el techo de la casita.
A ver, ¿son igualitos?
¡Sí! ¡Perfecto!

Bueno, it does not always work out that perfectly, but Igualitos is fun, and we always speak lots of Spanish!

Igualitos (Just the Same) is my name for this cooperative game. It is what language teachers call a barrier game; players have the same materials and exchange information without seeing what the others are doing. Playing Igualitos, you work together to make the same picture or arrangement of objects. It is an excellent way to speak Spanish with your chiquitos.

You can play Igualitos with household objects, pictures, stickers or by drawing. Everyone has the same materials and one player gives instructions to the others, or players take turns. You work together to make the sets igualitos, ¡pero sin mirar! You can make a barrier with a book or sit back to back.

A few ways to play Igualitos

You need a set of objects or pictures for each player.
- Put pictures into a scene. Click here for a printable scene and pictures. You will need to print two copies. Inexpensive stickers work well too, and packages often have several identical sheets.
- Collect small objects (plates, cups, spoons, straws, napkins, apples, etc.). Arrange the objects and give instructions to make the same arrangement.
- Put pictures or objects in a row and give instructions to put them in the same order.
- Cut out paper shapes of different colors. Make a pattern and give instructions to make the same pattern. This works well with stringing colored beads, too.
- Print simple coloring sheets (search draw the details coloring pages). Give instructions as you add details to the pictures.
- Use memory cards to play Igualitos with two players. Give one of each pair to each player. Arrange the cards and give instructions to put them in order.
- Use toys like Mr. Potato Head, the Cootie game, Legos or blocks to play. Describe the piece you are putting on and where to put it.
- For older kids, you can use maps to play Igualitos. Print two copies and draw a route giving instructions as you go.
- Make a grid (3×3 or 4×4). Use stickers or give instructions to draw simple objects in different squares: En A-4, pon un sol. Dibjua una cara feliz en C-1.

Tips for playing Igualitos with children learning Spanish

- If you are printing pictures, use cardstock to give them more weight. You can also put a tiny piece of double-sided tape on the pieces so they do not move too easily.
- Explain that you are trying to make the same picture or arrangement of objects.
- Before you begin, talk about the pictures together so that your child hears the words.
- Start with five objects or pictures. Add more when your child understands the game.
- At first, give instructions to your child so she will hear the language. This will help her when it is her turn to give instructions.
- When you have placed all the pictures, take away the barrier and compare. ¿Son igualitos? Talk about any differences.

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

DISNEY CHANNEL CORPORATE - KaBoom! Playground Build - Star of Disney Junior's "Handy Manny," Wilmer Valderrama, joins Carolina Lightcap, President, Disney Channels Worldwide ©(DISNEY CHANNEL/RICK ROWELL)

{Scroll down for video interview with Wilmer Valderrama}

Last week we were invited to interview “Handy Manny” star Wilmer Valderrama and Carolina Lightcap, President, Disney Channels Worldwide, to celebrate the “Magic of Healthy Living” as they helped build a KaBOOM! Disney Junior community-based play space in Inglewood’s Queen Park in California. Joining Valderrama and Lightcap were over 200 local volunteers and Disney VoluntEARS, who together helped make the play space a reality, ensuring that every child in the community has a place to play. The new playground’s design is based on drawings created by children who participated in a Design Day event in January.  I wished my local park was as cool as this new one in Inglewood!

Disney is contributing over $1 million in 2011 to help KaBOOM! build playgrounds and learning gardens in 12 communities across the U.S. These playgrounds are part of Disney Magic of Healthy Living, a multimedia initiative designed to partner with parents in their quest to raise healthy, happy kids by reinforcing their work and inspiring kids to make healthy lifestyles fun. Additionally, the new Disney Junior programming block incorporates themes of healthy living for kids age 2-7.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9qWkiE6Hdo

I got the chance to interview Wilmer Valderrama, who was at the park to be part of the inauguration ceremony. I could not miss my chance to find out more about his bilingual/bi-cultural upbringing and get it on video for all of you.  (Plus, it´s fun to hear that he doesn´t really change his voice for Handy Manny!)

Wilmer grew up in Venezuela and moved with his parents to Los Angeles when he was 13 years old.  By that time, he was speaking Spanish as his native tongue. He tells us that when the moved to the States his father made a point to make sure he was fluent in English, but never lost his Spanish.  Watch the short video above and you´ll find out more…

Stay tuned (make sure you subscribe to get our post sent to you via email) because later this week we´ll be sharing an interview with one of the most influential Latina women in media. If you didn´t know, the big boss over at Disney Channel Worldwide is a woman, and a proud Latina from Argentina–Carolina Lightcap.  She chatted with us about the launch of Disney Junior and how she manages to raise a bilingual 4 year-old niña and run one of the biggest media conglomerates of the world at the same time! How’s that for inspiration?

Photo by Simon Blackley

I love going back home for a lot of the obvious reasons, but also because, as an avid reader, it gives me a chance to stock up on books in Spanish. Now that I’m a mami, I’ve added children’s books to my list. The selection tends to be much more varied than back in the States–especially now that we live in Colorado! I know there’s always the option of getting books online, but there’s nothing better–for me, at least–than to spend time browsing a bookstore, just picking up whatever looks interesting.

I should clarify that by “home” I usually mean Perú because even though I left many years ago, I still feel like that’s the one place that will always pull me more than any other. Having said that, and because my extended family and mis suegros y cuñada live in other Latin American countries, my search for books in Spanish is not limited to Perú. I have the fortune to visit Puerto Rico at least once a year and Mexico every two years.

It was actually during our last trip to La Isla del Encanto this past Christmas where I found the most wonderful collection of children’s books which I immediately purchased for my daughter, Vanessa (and for myself, too!). The series is called “Colección 9 Pececitos” and it includes five books full of colorful illustrations with titles such as Grano a grano…Refranes populares, Pon, pon: A jugar con el bebé! and ¡Vamos a Jugar! All the books are supposed to be suitable for kids in their preschool years all the way to tweens. And, although my daughter might still be too young for some of them, she will eventually be able to understand and appreciate them. So, it was totally worth the buy!

Vanessa loves to sing and it warms my heart to hear her tiny voice, especially when she sings tunes that take me back to when I was a child. It is so important for us to pass on all the traditional songs, nursery rhymes and finger plays both her father and I grew up with which is one of the reasons I enjoy Pon, pon: A jugar con el bebé! so much. It’s funny, the book’s back cover describes its content as reflecting la cultura puetorriqueña, but the reality is that although the wording might be different, I bet most of us have heard a version of most of these songs. Check them out for yourselves:

Pon, pon

(Sing this while taping your index finger on the palm of your hand)
Pon, pon, nena pon
el dedito en el pilón.
–Sounds like the simplest song in the world, but babies actually love the repetitiveness!

Tortitas

(Sing this while clapping your hands softly)
Tortitas, tortitas, tortitas de manteca
a mamá que de galletas.
Tortitas, tortitas, tortitas de tostones
a papá que da calzones.
Tortitas, tortitas, tortitas de casabe
a mi hermano que no lo sabe.
Tortitas, tortitas, tortitas de pan y queso
a abuelita que me da un beso.

La Linda Manita

(Sing this while waving with your hand)
La linda manita
que tiene el bebé
qué linda, qué mona,
qué graciosa es.

My daughter’s face lit up when I opened up the book and I started singing this last song for her. She had been to Puerto Rico before and had heard her cousins, grandparents and aunts sing it to her, so it was a moment of remembrance and recognition. We hadn’t sung it in a while, maybe because she’s a little older now, but the fact that her vocabulary grows exponentially every single day, allowed her to sing along which made the whole experience even more enjoyable.

All of these songs and finger plays are part of our cultural heritage. Raising bilingual children is more than just teaching them Spanish. It’s about our music, our foods, our traditions and our holidays.

This post originally appeared in a different form and under a different title over at Latin Baby Book Club.

What are some songs and finger plays that you are teaching your children?

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