What a great discovery we have made! Cricket Publishers have just launched their Ladybug Magazine in Spanish! Ladybug en español is designed for children ages 3 to 6, perfect for my two oldest sons, who are beginning to or are already reading in Spanish. Our boys still need guidance when reading in their second language, and we found that Ladybug is perfect for us to continue to read aloud en español.

While reading Ladybug to my oldest, the illustrations caught my eye and reminded me of the old books my mom had of cuentitos when I was a child. The short stories are sweet and the ones with more text are rich and engaging. My oldest read the “easier” ones aloud and I read the others to both boys. Then, as I was scrolling down on my laptop, we also discovered poems, games and music sheets! My little piano player wanted to give it a try but the music was a bit advanced (so he set a goal for himself!).

I look for children’s literary magazines that have all the components I need for ideal reading instruction. It hasn’t been easy to find something like this in Spanish, for this specific age group, until now.  The magazine is well-rounded, giving me an opportunity to point out vocabulary, comprehension, spelling and most importantly, to motivate my boys to continue their practice of a second language. Bonus points to Ladybug en español for offering a digital version of the magazine for kids, like my boys, who LOVE the iPad.

Visit CricketMag.com to order your subscription of Ladybug en español. The  yearly subscription for the digital version is $17.99 and the printed version is $33.95.  You can also download individual issues via the iPad app. I believe that if Spanish is something you are working on hard in your home or classroom, this is totally worth it!  I’m so thankful to my mother for providing Spanish literature to me when I was a child. Because I have the resources available to me, I hope one day my sons will be able to do the same with their children.

The Giveaway!

We are giving away a one year subscription of both the digital AND print publication of Ladybug en español to THREE lucky winners! Just leave us a comment telling us why you would love to read Ladybug en Español with your kids. Then enter the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Since I’m in the midst of teaching my preschooler to read Spanish, I was happy to come across a new app from AbiTalk called Spanish Sentence Builder. It goes beyond basic vocabulary and helps young learners piece together grammatically correct sentences in Spanish. This app bridges the gap between more toddler-centered apps and those that are for more advanced or older children.

Spanish Sentence Builder offers two levels, plus the option to self-create lessons. Kids have to drag the mixed-up words into a coherent sentence based on the picture. In each level, the sentences get progressively longer and more complex. From the basic subject + verb, they move to subject+verb+adverb, subject+verb+noun, etc. The app even emphasizes punctuation, because no sentence is marked complete until you drag the period or question mark to the end.

I especially appreciate the fact that the app automatically moves forward once a sentence is completed and doesn’t include confusing instructions. In other words, my son can easily do the whole thing on his own and won’t accidentally click an external link while he’s playing.

This app has both a free version (with one section of sentences available per level) and a paid version, so you can try it out and see if your child likes it as much as mine!

Find Spanish Sentence Builder in iTunes

Available for iPad

Recommended for ages 4-7

Price: FREE (introductory lessons); $3.99 for full version

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