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

Baseball is a summertime tradition in America and although I’m not a sports fanatic, watching movies or reading books about playing outdoors makes me relish the summer heat even more. As a T-ball player, my son is intrigued by books about baseball, and ¡Jonrón! is no exception.

Written by New York Yankees player Alex Rodríguez, this story is autobiographical and tells about Alex’s experience as a young boy learning to practice baseball so he could perform better in the games. He and his friend, J.D., wake up early in the morning to play before school, and Alex even practices tossing the ball in his room every day. Because of his dedication, he finally hits a home run and his team wins the championship.

Aside from the great storyline, this book is interesting because there are a few pages of real pictures from Alex’s childhood at the end. There’s even an inspirational note from the author about how his hard work in school and baseball took him all the way to the big leagues. ¡Jonrón! is a fun book with a real message.

      BOOK DETAILS

      Title: ¡Jonrón!

      Author: Alex Rodríguez

      Illustrator: Frank Morrison

      Ages: 4-8 years

      Publisher/Year: Harper Collins/2007

      ISBN: 978-0061151972

      Price: $13.98 on Amazon.com

One of the best ways to motivate kids’ Spanish speaking is to find a way to tie the language to their interests. My sons love soccer. My husband grew up playing soccer and loves to watch the games, which is how my sons became interested in the sport. My boys love it, whether it is watching the game, kicking around a ball, or actually playing.

Aside from being probably the most popular sport in the Spanish speaking world, there is also a significant Spanish speaking fan base for the sport here in the United States. We are fortunate to live close enough to the stadium where Major League Soccer games are played. When we attend LA Galaxy games, the announcements over the loud speakers are in both Spanish and English, the fans are a diverse mix with a lot of Spanish speakers in attendance, and of course there are the Hispanic players. My sons can’t help but hear and speak Spanish. Soccer has helped further their language skills, and enabled my sons to see the relevance of knowing another language.

It is not just the game that intrigues my boys, but the music and videos that celebrate soccer too. They really enjoy listening to music that is about soccer, and they sing along with the tunes. Here are some of their favorite songs and videos that have soccer as a theme:

Costa Rican singer Tapon’s song and video “Hasta La Muerte”

Shakira’s “Waka Waka” (in Spanish of course) which was the official song of the World Cup in 2010

Ricky Martin’s “La Copa de la Vida” which was the official song of the World Cup in 1998.

Music always makes learning fun, and when it is about a topic that interests my kids, even better.

Whenever we take a soccer ball to the park or the beach, we always have other young kids join in the game. I am happy that the game attracts a diverse mix of kids to play. We almost always meet other bilingual children too, which results in the use Spanish during their play.

While soccer is a game that my boys love, it also supports their bilingualism. Fostering my children’s interest in their favorite sport has benefited their language skills, and yet it has also been fun for them to play, watch games, and even sing about soccer. Tapping into our kids’ interests and finding ways to tie those to Spanish is one of the best ways for them to learn.

{Photo via: USAG-Humphreys}

One of our favorite animated characters, the lovable Pocoyó, is celebrating the Olympics with a suite of games, printables, videos and all-around-fun with the Pocoyó Games 2012.

When you visit the Pocoyó Games site  – available in Spanish, English, Portuguese and Italian — your child can have fun doing any and all of this:

• Pocoyize! Create your own avatar and have it flaunt a tshirt with the flag of the country you’re rooting for. Once you create your avatar, you can represent your country in the Pocoyó Games and also download a personalized video with Pocoyó and his friends!
• Enter Mundo Pocoyó — the show’s virtual land — where you will find a whole lot of Olympic-themed fun.
• Download and create your own diploma or certificate with a drawing of your favorite sport. Then upload it to the gallery for your chance to be one of the 5 winners of an original Pocoyó print from the show.
• Download Pocoyó Olympic-themed activities
• Download a fun Pocoyó Olympic Games screensaver and wallpaper
• Música! Yes, you can download for free a set of Música Pocoyó Games 2012 to get the family in the Olympic spirit!
• There’s many, many videos featuring Pocoyó y sus amigos playing Olympic sports. Check out the full collection in Spanish below.