Un dragón, un par de zapatos rojos, una manzana.  We pulled these words from our story jar the other day and I ended up telling the story del dragón al que le encantaba el color rojo over and over.

Not every story is the hit that el dragón was, but a story jar adds a bit of randomness and fun to storytelling. It is a jar with words on small pieces of paper, folded so you cannot see the word. Someone draws two or three words and the storyteller incorporates those elements into a story. I have lots of colored scrap paper from preschool Spanish projects, so our story jar is pretty bright. The unrelated words you draw give a little inspiration, and challenge, to the storyteller and add an element of anticipation for the listeners.

In our jar, we put in words like these: lluvia, un dentista, un elefante, un gatito, el color azul, una isla, un teléfono, una princesa, nieve, el número 15, monedas de oro, un avión, una ballena, un circo and lots of other characters and objects.

When we pulled out un dragón, un par de zapatos rojos, and una manzana, the story was of a dragon that loved the color red. He only had red clothes, red toys, red food, red crayons and red paint. That is, until he met a neighbor who loved yellow…

 Telling these stories is a creative activity. If you are the storyteller, you can add patterns and sequences. The same characters can reappear in the stories, so that the storytelling jar starts to take on a life of its own. As always, if the little ones like a certain story, be prepared to tell it over and over!

Listening to stories and telling their own, children learn to structure a narrative. They also practice important language skills like describing, sequencing and cause and effect. We have a wonderful time with this simple activity. It is fun to tell the stories, very entertaining to listen to them and an excellent way to build Spanish language skills.

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

To make the collage you need a piece of cardboard or poster board, contact paper, pictures cut from magazines and any other lightweight material your child would like to put in her collage. Tape the contact paper to the cardboard with the removable backing facing up. Peel off the backing to expose the sticky surface. Then, make a collage by putting pictures onto the sticky paper.

Before you begin to put on the pictures, it is a good idea to let kids touch the surface to see how sticky it is. ¡Es muy pegajoso! I also warn them that the pictures are going to stay where they put them. They are not going to be able to move them at all: Las fotos se pegan. No las podemos mover después.

If your niños are learning Spanish, you may want to focus the collage around a theme like los Juegos Olímpicos, los animales, los colores, or los vehículos. Kids can also collect leaves, twigs, grasses, flowers, seeds, and feathers to add to the collage. They may want to fill the empty spaces with glitter or confetti.

As you can see, we were using pictures of animals.

Here are a few suggestions for making the most of the collage as a language activity.

First, as you find and cut out pictures, talk about them with your child. If some of the words are new, this will give her a chance to hear them and start to learn them.

Regardless of your child’s level of Spanish, use language that expands her vocabulary. This is a simple activity, but the language you use does not have to be simple. For example, if you are making an animal collage with beginners, you can focus on the names of the animals as you cut them out. If your child speaks more Spanish, you can describe the animals and talk about where they live and what they eat. This is a perfect opportunity to introduce words like mamífero, reptil, anfibio, carnívoro, herbívoro, omnívoro, nocturno, and diurno.

As your child makes the collage, repeat new words and talk about key concepts again. If she is beginning to learn Spanish, you can do this by describing what she is doing: Pusiste el caballo al lado de la vaca. ¿Qué vas a poner ahora?

When your child has finished her collage, hang it at her eye level in a place where you can talk about it together. You can comment on pictures you like, ask her questions or take turns describing a picture and guessing which one it is.

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

¡Feliz como un lombriz! That is how we all want our children to feel todo el tiempo. Of course, no one is happy all the time, and it is important for children to learn to understand and express different emotions. This simple craft activity is a sign to hang on a door. A child uses it to show how she is feeling. I call it a midemociones (emotion measure) and it helps children identify and express emotions in Spanish.

This activity can be adapted to different ages and language levels. The instructions below are for a midemociones with four emotions. Older children can make a whole circle and divide it into eight or more sections.

To make a midemociones:
- Trace a semicircle onto light cardboard.
- Cut pie-shaped pieces out of colored construction paper or card stock. You can make a pattern to trace by folding a paper semicircle in half and in half again.
- Write an emotion on each pie-shaped piece.
- Add a drawing or a picture from a magazine to help identify the emotion and clarify the language.
- Glue the colored pie-shaped pieces onto the cardboard.
- Cut a pointer shape out of card stock and attach it to the base with a paper fastener.

Your child should put the language that best helps her communicate on her midemociones. Spanish language learners might include the verb estar or sentirse: Estoy enojada. Estoy contenta. Me siento sola. This activity is also good practice with agreement for children learning Spanish; the adjectives are feminine for niñas and masculine for niños.

These are some of the emotions your child could include:
arrepentido/a – sorry
avergonzado/a – embarrassed
celoso/a – jealous
confundido/a – confused
contento/a – happy
decepcionado/a – disappointed
emocionado/a – excited
enojado/a – angry
estresado/a – stressed
frustrado/a – frustrated
nervioso/a – nervous
preocupado/a – worried
solo/a sentirse – lonely
triste – sad

This simple activity encourages children to use Spanish to talk about their feelings. You can use the words on the midemociones to help your child identify her emotions and to talk about how others are feeling. You can also identify the feelings of characters in books to practice naming emotions. Understanding emotions is an crucial part of child development. As you use these words, your child will not only be developing her Spanish language skills, she will be acquiring the important ability to identify and express her feelings.

Special thanks to Spanish Playground for providing this activity. Visit their site for more ideas for teaching Spanish to kids.