After a long holiday break, I am offering another mini-lesson for all my Spanish faithfuls!

mini-Lesson 17

Every good map centers Texas.

Your child should already know {in theory} “Yo soy” from “Yo soy ______,” or I am ______.  This week, let’s change it up a bit and do where we’re from.

• ¿De dónde eres (tú)?= Where are (you) from?
• {Yo} soy de _________. = (I) am from __________.
• los estados unidos= The United States

Notes: The “tú” and ”yo” part are optional as the verbs tell you all you need to know.  Most native speakers will omit them.  However, as a former teacher, I tend to use them for reinforcement.  Furthermore, just so you know, unlike “I,” “yo” is only capitalized if it’s the first word in a sentence.  Lastly, when you abbreviate the US, it’s EEUU because they’re plural.  So, there ya go.

Tip: Don’t forget to randomly review your kid(s) as you think of it.  Count cars in Spanish, discuss what they just heard on Dora, play I spy {Yo espio} with colors, ask them how they are, how old they are, and what their name is, etc….not all at once, and not in a stressful way.  Just one thing at a time and as it excites the child.  There is no reason to plague them with memorizing just yet!  Make it fun and brief.

{Don’t forget to check my Spanish page for more lessons and mini-lessons!}

Better late than never, right??  Here’s a little Christmas Spanish lesson- forgive me if you already know this!

• Feliz Navidad- Merry/Happy Christmas
• La Nochebuena- Christmas Eve
• regalos- gifts
• árbol de Navidad- Christmas tree
• Papá Noel- Santa Claus

There is a great little Dora episode: Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure.  My kids have really enjoyed the songs and themes.

el 14 de diciembre

{don’t forget to check my Spanish page}

Sorry for the online Spanish silence last week…I could make something up, but I’ll be honest- I plain old forgot to write it.  Bummer.  So, for this week, I thought I’d throw out there what Beks and I talked about today- family members!  Since it’s Christmas and we’re spending time with our families, why not learn a few of their Spanish names?  Just pick a few that are relevant to your situation.

• madre- mother {mami- mommy}
• padre- father (papi- daddy}
• hermano- brother {hermanito- little brother…hermano mayor- big brother}
• hermana- sister {hermanita- little sister…hermana mayor- big sister}
• abuelo- grandfather
• abuela- grandmother
• tío- uncle
• tía- aunt
• primo- cousin {boy}
• prima- cousin {girl}

I found that Rebekah remembered the ones that we have around us, and she would say things like, “I love you, Abuela!”  So, in that case, you need to know that “I love you” is “Te amo.”

Here’s another little lesson I’m offering for our Spanish class while we’re on holiday in Texas!

el 30 de noviembre

Well, we’re in south Texas…at least half the city we’re in speaks Spanish fluently, and those who don’t typically know enough to get around.  Rebekah has been loving speaking Spanish to people and actually getting Spanish back!  {She does not understand that most Scots just don’t know Spanish.}  So, as I’ve been listening to her an gently prompting appropriate questions and answers, I have noticed a few things.  One of them is that she didn’t know “¿y tú?”  Bless her, she’s smart as a whip, so she informed me that she “assumed as much” when I explained that someone will often answer that they’re doing well and then ask “And you?” instead  of asking “How are you” word for word.  Since she answered appropriately, I guess she did.  ;)

So, explain to your little ones that a common conversation might go like this:

• Person 1: ¡Hola!  ¿Cómo estás?
• Person 2: Bien/Muy bien/Así así.  ¿Y tú?
• Person 1: Muy bien, gracias.

Then, practice it where they can hear and use ¿Y tú? and recognize it just means “and you?” as in “And how are you?”  This would be a great time to tie ina  little review for the other 2 questions we’ve learned:

• “¿Cuántos años tienes?”  ”Tengo ___ años…¿Y tú?”
• “¿Cómo te llamas?”  ”Me llamo _______…¿Y tú?”

Remember, most of these words mean very little to small kids- it’s common to get them confused even thought they are so different or seem so obvious to an adult who has heard them many more times.  Just keep trying and wait for good moods so you don’t force it.

We’re in the States, so we’re not meeting for our weekly Spanish lesson. However, I am still offering some mini-lessons for those interested in keeping up the routine.  ;)  Don’t forget to check out my Spanish page for the previous 12 lessons.

el 23 de noviembre

This is Thanksgiving week, so I thought we would learn how to give thanks to God for our blessings.  Thanksgiving is “el día de dar gracias.”  However, to actually thank God, we have a complicated little grammatical structure.

(Yo) le doy gracias a Dios por _________.= (I) give thanks to God for_________.

Here are some go-to’s for giving thanks:

• mi familia= my family
• mi hermano/a= my brother/sister
• mis juegos= my games
• mis juguetes= my toys
• mi casa= my house/home

Thankful Hands Wreath

I also thought we could do a little craft to hold it all together.  All you need to do is trace around your little one’s hands a couple times.  Cut out a circle (the bigger you make it the more hands you’ll need to fill it) that can serve as the form for the wreath.  Ask your child what (s)he is thankful for, modeling Spanish by reinforcing what we just learned: “Le doy gracias a Dios por ___”.  That’s a mouthful so maybe you can say everything but the blank and have them fill in the blank, or at least say it all first so they can repeat.  It’s up to you.  You can also write the things they’re thankful for in English and Spanish so you’ll remember throughout the week and be able to review it at breakfast.

Here’s another variation where you trace little one’s feet and use them as the body.  Then trace his/her hands for feathers and just add facial details to your turkey.  You can still write what you’re thankful for on the feathers.

{The plus side to both crafts is that they’re hands-on (literally), easy to do, holiday-themed, and will serve as sweet reminders of the size of their hands (and feet!)}

Hand & Foot Turkeys