5 Advanced Spanish Games for Preschoolers (That Feel Nothing Like Schoolwork)

If you’ve ever watched your preschooler roll their eyes at yet another set of flashcards or breeze through a Spanish workbook in under five minutes, you’re not alone. When your child is already fluent in Spanish, finding engaging ways to keep them learning can be surprisingly difficult.

And let’s be honest, just because they can speak Spanish well doesn’t mean they should stop playing their way through learning.

In fact, they shouldn’t.

The Encyclopedia of Early Childhood Development argues that play-based learning improves cognitive development, supports bilingual vocabulary retention, and strengthens problem-solving skills. So, we believe that play is essential to development because it contributes to children’s cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being.

So, if your little one is reading and speaking in full Spanish sentences before kindergarten, that doesn’t mean it’s time to go full-on academic. It means it’s time to get a little creative.

Let’s explore five advanced Spanish games that stretch your child’s language skills without making it feel like school.

1. La tiendita: The Spanish Shopping Game

How it works: Set up a pretend store at home with real objects or toys—fruits, books, clothes, etc. Give each item a price tag (in Spanish), and assign roles: buyer and seller. Your child can practice vocabulary, numbers, and conversational phrases like:

• ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? — How much is this?
• Quiero comprar una manzana, por favor. — I’d like to buy an apple, please.
• Aquí tiene. Gracias. — Here you go. Thanks.

Why it works: This game naturally incorporates math, vocabulary, and role-play, plus it’s a real-world skill. Want to level it up? Add receipts or change-making tasks using play money.

2. Story Cubes (Dados de cuentos)

How it works: Create or buy dice with pictures on each face (characters, places, actions). Roll three to six dice and have your child invent a story in Spanish using all the elements shown. You can take turns adding sentences to the story to build it together.

Why it works: Storytelling in Spanish strengthens grammar, sequencing, and creativity. Without realizing it, your child practices imperfect vs. preterite, subject-verb agreement, and descriptive adjectives.

3. ¡Adivina Qué Animal Soy! (Guess the Animal)

How it works: One person thinks of an animal and gives 2–3 clues in Spanish using adjectives, habitats, or actions:

• Soy grande, tengo trompa y vivo en África.
  (I’m big, I have a trunk, and I live in Africa.)

The other person guesses. Take turns, and encourage full sentences for both clues and guesses.

Why it works: This game pushes your child to use descriptive language and categorize animals by characteristics. Plus, it develops inferencing skills, which are key to reading comprehension.

4. Mini Maestro: Spanish Song Challenge

How it works: Choose a familiar Spanish children’s song (like Los Pollitos or Un Elefante). Sing together, pause randomly, and let your child fill in the missing word. Or change a line and have them “correct” you.

For older preschoolers, challenge them to change the lyrics and create their own version using new vocabulary.

Why it works: Music reinforces language patterns, intonation, and memory. According to a study by the Louisiana State University, music-based learning increases word retention by up to 80% compared to rote memorization.

5. El juego del detective (The Spanish Detective Game)

How it works: Hide several themed objects around the room—fruit, school supplies, clothing items—and give your child Spanish clues to find them:

• Busca algo que usamos para escribir. — Find something we use to write.
• Encuentra una fruta roja. — Find a red fruit.

They search and respond in Spanish when they’ve found the object:“Encontré una manzana roja.”

Why it works: This is hands-on vocabulary reinforcement with built-in movement. It’s perfect for kinesthetic learners and helps build listening comprehension and recall.

Play Now, Excel Later

Just because your child speaks Spanish fluently doesn’t mean you have to abandon fun. In fact, play-based language development is one of the most effective tools for long-term bilingual fluency. It allows kids to experiment with sentence structures, try new vocabulary, and build confidence.

The key is choosing games that challenge them just enough; not with drills, but with storytelling, role-play, and real-life language use.

Want even more structure while keeping the fun? At Homeschool Spanish Academy, our native-speaking teachers use games, songs, and role-play in every preschool lesson, so your child learns through joy, not worksheets. You can book a free trial class today and see it in action.

Fluency is just the beginning. The real magic happens when learning is playful, purposeful, and part of everyday life.

Join one of the 40,000 classes that we teach each month and you can experience results like these

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