How to Support Your Kid’s Spanish Learning at Home
Teaching Spanish to kids it’s a task that needs reinforcement at home from time to time.
It’s great that they have a space for language learning, but the best way for kids to learn Spanish is to integrate it into their daily routines.
This will create a more immersive environment, and they’ll be able to learn from many different methods throughout the day without even knowing.
In this article, you will find ideas on how to create a Spanish-speaking environment at home to help kids practice the language.
These suggestions are meant to keep children motivated and interested in learning Spanish. Of course, motivation is key to learning any new skill. But when it comes to teaching kids to speak Spanish, it’s a must!
All of the recommendations here follow the line of interaction, integration, engagement, fun, and memorable quality time.
You must remember the importance of tailoring activities to each kid, learning pace, interests, and learning goals.
Teaching Spanish to kids has never been this fun!
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Spanish Kid Movies
Exposing kids to Spanish words and phrases from movies will help them train their ears and grow their vocabulary and grammar knowledge.
Spanish grammar is tricky for some people, but the secret is listening to it constantly to learn how to build correct sentences.
This activity helps you to have some nice quality time with your family.
Also, some Spanish kid movies like Coco, Encanto, El Dorado, and The Book of Life, have cultural and historical content from Spanish-speaking countries.
You can start teaching Spanish to kids with movies by turning on the English or Spanish subtitles so it isn’t as hard at the beginning.
Get more ideas and select content from these curated lists:
- 10 Spanish Movies for 12-Year-Olds
- 15 Incredible Mexican Movies for Kids
- List of Disney Movies to Watch in Spanish
- 10 Original Spanish Cartoons for Young Children
- 15 Good Family Movies to Watch in Spanish on Netflix
Plan Cultural Activities
Teach Spanish to children by exposing them to cultural activities that will help them with language learning as much as getting to know other background stories.
Letting them know people from many different places and showing them what they do, eat, and how they speak is very important if you’re looking for an integral, diverse education.
Here are some ideas:
1. Make traditional dishes together like tacos from Mexico, arepas from Venezuela, empanadas from Argentina, or Spanish tapas.
Depending on your children’s ages, choose something easy to make and help them learn the names of the ingredients, dishes, and kitchen tools in Spanish.
You can reinforce this knowledge continuously every time they sit at the dinner table.
2. Learning about Hispanic celebrations and holidays is fun! For example, in Mexico, we don’t celebrate 5 de Mayo, but we do celebrate Independence Day on September 16th.
Nevertheless, you can use this opportunity to show your children everything about the festivity.
Day of the Dead is also particularly fun for kids.
You can watch the Disney movie Coco together to learn about the symbolisms, altars, traditions, and more. Here’s a list of Hispanic celebrations.
3. Take a virtual field trip to Spanish-speaking countries to see their natural landscapes or historical architecture firsthand.
Get a fast pass to the ancient Peruvian ruins of Machu Picchu or watch the God Quetzalcoatl descend from the clouds in Chichen-Itzá.
Visit the Galapagos islands like Charles Darwin did and be amazed by the Iguazú Falls.
Teaching Spanish to kids can be an adventure!
See next: 20 Ways to Homeschool Spanish when You’re a Non-Native Speaker
Games, Songs, Reading, and Other Activities
Teaching Spanish to kids can be enjoyable and engaging, not a task or activity for academic credit.
Playing games and singing songs will help your children develop a positive attitude toward this new language and motivate them to continue learning and maybe even continue learning by themselves.
For example, they’ll be more willing to make a habit of reading, which is an excellent tool for learning new skills, and languages, and lighting up their innate curiosity.
By singing, they’ll be able to exercise the parts of the brain that control memory, and by playing games, they’ll naturally look for interactive fun ways of obtaining new information.
Teaching Spanish to children through fun and memorable moments is key to helping them relate games and happiness with Spanish learning.
Use these ideas:
1. Songs: As a first step, you can try these bilingual songs or YouTube kids’ playlists to let them practice. If you need something more advanced, try music from various Spanish-speaking artists like Juanes, Alejandro Sanz, Morat, Matisse, and Reik.
Consider downloading the soundtrack of the movies you’ve watched together. This will be a great way of working their memory not only of the lyrics but also the dialogues, characters, and messages in the movies.
2. Games: Flashcards, puzzles, and memory games are great options regardless of your child’s age and level. You can find many materials on the internet as print-outs or table games.
3. Reading: Here are 7 Spanish Reading Games for Kids to boost their literacy skills and keep them entertained.
4. Apps: Duolingo is a free app that offers exercises, games, and quizzes. Gus on the Go includes short stories and songs.
Fun Spanish has interactive activities and videos and covers a wide range of topics.
Rosetta Stone Kids uses immersive learning techniques to teach vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Find the one that suits your kid better here.
Read also: Equipping Your Child for Spanish Fluency: 8 Key Tips for Parents
Speaking Spanish Day
Some people choose to make a completely immersive experience by speaking only Spanish at home. And it may be a good idea, but it can be discouraging for some.
All children are different and need a specific learning pace, so we suggest baby steps: Speaking Spanish Day.
Choose one day of the week to reinforce Spanish grammar and vocabulary in your kids’ routines. First, name some things around you and then add more descriptive words so they can communicate with the basics.
For example:
1. Teach the word “soup”
2. Teach them adjectives that can pair with “soup,” like “cold,” “hot,” and “spicy”
3. Go for phrases: “The soup is cold.”
Another thing you can do is to label some of the things around the house with their names in Spanish such as chairs, tables, doors, sinks, mats, lamps, cutlery, toys, house areas, and nature.
Encourage your children to refer to them in Spanish before diving deep into verbs and adjectives.
Teaching Spanish to Kids Has Never Been This Easy!
As you can see, there are plenty of options for teaching Spanish to Kids that aren’t the traditional, rigorous ways.
Whatever you choose, remember a couple of things:
1. Make it fun. Incorporating games, songs, cultural activities, virtual field trips, movies, etc., is supposed to be fun and not just another class lesson.
The more interactive, the more engaging.
Remember, it’s supposed to be fun for you too. So get ready for a good time!
2. Use real-life examples. Teaching Spanish to kids needs to be a practical, useful task.
If you want to reinforce some grammar and phrases, you can take them from the movies you watch together or the songs from the playlist you chose.
Try to pick those that will help them communicate better and easier in a Spanish-speaking country or with a native Spanish speaker.
3. Encourage interaction. Children need to put their skills to practice, so the best you can do is to encourage them to speak.
Start with short basic phrases and motivate them to give further explanations, narrations, or descriptions of the topic.
You can make this a family activity while cooking, getting homework done, or playing.
4. If you need expert help, choose a resource that offers native, authentic Spanish instruction and real human connection.
This is the most engaging and effective way of teaching Spanish to kids.
At Homeschool Spanish Academy, we offer an expert-certified curriculum, innovative, human-centered learning strategies, and flexible scheduling to suit your interests and needs.
Let your kids achieve their learner-specific language goals, and let us celebrate their progress.
This will give them a sense of accomplishment and motivate them to continue collecting milestones.
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