September 7, 2020 by Michelle Margaret Fajkus Hispanic Culture, Homeschooling, Spanish for Kids 0 comments

10 Kid-Approved Labor Day Activities in Spanish for Children

Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day is a unique holiday that honors the everyday worker. It’s a great opportunity to educate your family on worker’s rights, child labor, and labor unions in US history. Labor Day also highlights the value and dignity of work and its role in American life.

New York City celebrated the first Labor Day on September 5, 1882 when the Knights of Labor held a parade to celebrate workers. Later that decade, labor organizations across the country began to lobby their state legislatures for recognition of Labor Day as an official holiday. Oregon was the first state to declare it a state holiday In 1887. On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland declared that Labor Day would be the first Monday in September of each year.

Here are 10 awesome activities in Spanish to do with your kids this Labor Day. Enjoy the last celebration of summer!

Super Fun Outdoor Labor Day Activities In Spanish

1. Have Fun in the Water

The weather is still steamy, so why not head to the pool, splash pad, or waterpark to celebrate Labor Day—not to mention rivers, lakes, and beaches? Enjoy some water fun at your favorite spot before it closes for the season. You can use these interesting facts about Labor Day as conversation starters:

The average adult in the US spends over 100 hours a year commuting to work, which is more than the standard two weeks of annual vacation.
Labor Day is also celebrated in Canada, with origins stemming from labor disputes in Toronto in the 1870s.
Older generations considered it unacceptable to wear white after Labor Day. Fortunately, most people have thrown this antiquated rule out the window.
The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates that US citizens consume 7 billion hot dogs between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Many countries, including those in Latin America, celebrate Labor Day on May 1 as May Day or International Workers Day.

You can also play around with simple Spanish conversation starters, such as:

¿Te gusta nadar? – Do you like to swim?
¿Quieres nadar? – Do you want to swim?
Me gusta tu traje de baño. – I like your swimsuit.
Vamos a jugar ___. – We are going to play ____.
Quieres una bebida? Tenemos ___. – Would you like a drink? We have ___.
Ustedes quieren comer? Trajimos ___. – Would you all like to eat? We brought ___.

2. Have a Picnic

Host a potluck picnic. Labor Day is the perfect chance to bust out the grill one last time this season. Invite your friends and relatives to a casual gathering in your backyard, or pack a picnic to share at your favorite park.

Create Spanish labels for all the foods you’re serving and practice basic Spanish conversation. Some common Labor Day picnic foods include:

Las salchichas – sausages
El perro caliente – hot dog
El pollo frito – fried chicken
La hamburguesa – hamburger
La hamburguesa vegetariana – veggie burger
El panecillo – bun
El choclo – corn on the cob
Las papas horneadas – baked potatoes
Ensalada de papas – potato salad
Ensalada de fruta – fruit salad
Ensalada de col / repollo – cole slaw
La sandía – watermelon
La limonada – lemonade
La cerveza – beer
La mostaza – mustard
La mayonesa – mayonnaise
La salsa de tomate – ketchup
La salsa picante – hot sauce
El pastelito – cupcake
El pastel / la tarta – pie

3. Go Camping

Spend a night under the stars and roast marshmallows over a campfire while the weather is still pleasant! If you’d rather stay close to home, you can even plan a camping adventure in your own backyard. With your children, make a list in Spanish of all the things you need. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

labor day activities in spanish - go camping!

La carpa – tent
Los almohadas – pillows
La manta / cobija – blanket
La bolsa de dormir – sleeping bag
El repelente – bug spray
La linterna – flashlight
La luz de cabeza – head lamp
La leña – firewood
Los malvaviscos – marshmallows

Choose a few cool activities to do together on your camping adventure. After dark, try stargazing and discussing the moon, stars, and constellations. Observe the fireflies. Tell ghost stories or read age-appropriate books. And most fun of all, sing songs around the campfire!

4. Take a Hike

Head to the parquecito (playground) down the street or take a day trip to a nearby state or national parque (park). Take a caminata (hike), gather with some other kids at the playground, montar bicicletas (ride bikes), or go kayaking on a river or lake. The possibilities are sinfín (endless)!

5. Pick Apples

What better way to kick off fall than by visiting a huerto frutal (orchard) to pick your own apples! The season for apple picking actually starts before Labor Day, in August. If there are no apple orchards in your area, look for other types of granjas (farms) or fruit orchards that you could visit to cosechar (harvest).

Rain-or-Shine Indoor Labor Day Activities In Spanish

6. Research Potential Careers

Head to the library and help your child pick out a few books on professions that interest them. Then, read the books together and discuss the career opportunities available to them. Research how to say the professions in Spanish and help your child create a mini personal dictionary. Fill it with 10-15 vocabulary words in English and Spanish related to the career they’re interested in.

Explore the Top 10 Careers of the Future—in Spanish!

7. Thank a Community Helper

Write a thank you note in Spanish to a community helper and then send them in the mail or, better yet, hand deliver them. Thank the firefighters, paramedics, librarians, grocery clerks, doctors, nurses, teachers, or others who contribute to the community. Here are a few phrases to help you get started:

¡Gracias por ayudar a nuestra comunidad! – Thank you for helping our community.
Estamos agradecidos por tus esfuerzos. – We are grateful for your efforts.
Les apreciamos. – We appreciate you all.

8. Inspiring Historical Figures

Guide your older child or teen research and create a PowerPoint or Prezi presentation in Spanish about someone who has influenced the work environment in our country. Potential figures for this mini biography project include:

Peter J. Maguire
Cesar Chavez
Sara Blackwell
Barbara Ehrenreich
Lucy Randolph Mason
Helen Keller
Eugene Victor Debs
Mother Jones
Joe Hill

9. Community Helper Coloring Pages

Celebrate Labor Day with these fun coloring pages of community helpers:

Arquitecto – Architect
Artista – Artist
Quimico – Chemist
Dentista – Dentist
Granjero – Farmer
Bombero – Firefighter
Recolector de basura – Garbage collector
Empleada doméstica – Maid
Enfermero/a – Nurse
Maestro/a – Teacher

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10. Scavenger Hunt

Learn about the history and meaning of Labor Day activities in the United States with this

Labor Day scavenger hunt online. The six questions from the PDF, translated into Spanish, are:

1. ¿A quien honramos en el Día del Trabajo?

2. ¿En cual año se declaró el Día del Trabajo como un feriado nacional?

3. ¿Dónde estuvo el primer desfile del Día del Trabajo?

4. ¿Por qué decidieron celebrar el Día del Trabajo al principio de septiembre?

5. ¿Cual presidente de los EEUU firmó la ley para hacer el Día del Trabajo un feriado nacional?

6. ¿Como vas a celebrar el Día del Trabajo?

We hope you’ll enjoy these Labor Day activities in Spanish! Remember to give thanks for all the people who support the country’s industries and businesses through their work.
If you’d like your child to start a conversation with a native Spanish-speaker today, sign up for a free class! Our certified, kid-friendly Spanish teachers can’t wait to make your child smile.

Want more amazing Spanish content for you and your family? Check out these posts:

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Michelle Margaret Fajkus

Editor & Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

Michelle Margaret Fajkus is a bilingual writer and longtime yoga teacher. A former advertising copywriter turned bilingual elementary school teacher, she is now a freelance writer, editor and translator. A native Texan, Michelle has Mexican roots and learned Spanish in middle and high school. She has become more fluent thanks to living as an expat in Guatemala. She lives with her family on beautiful Lake Atitlan.

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