Practice Spanish with These Easy Activities
Raising bilingual kids is a lot of work, but it can also be fun! These easy activities can be done with a range of ages and are a fun way to practice Spanish. Best of all, most require little to no prep time, so they are perfect for busy families.
Practice Spanish with These Easy Activities: Bilingual Kids
Disclosure: This post was created in collaboration with Spanish Safari. We received complimentary access to this app for review purposes; however, all opinions are my own.
Try these easy activities to practice Spanish!
1. Take a Picture Walk
Choose a book with a lot of colorful and realistic illustrations. Look at the pictures and talk to your child about what you see in the images in Spanish. It’s a great way to introduce new vocabulary.
2. Choose An Outfit Together!
Help your child pick out an outfit for the day (or you can work ahead and pick out tomorrow’s outfit!) Use Spanish to give your child instructions and also to describe all the choices your child makes for clothing.
3. Cook Together
Cooking is such a sweet activity to do together, and a great way to practice Spanish! It’s also a wonderful way to celebrate your heritage or learn about other cultures, like with this Cuban Mango Milkshake.
4. Play I Spy
Known as “veo veo” in Spanish, I Spy is a classic game that’s easy to play no matter what your language level.
5. Jump Around
I have one child who simply can’t sit still. So any chance I get to introduce active games like the one below, I take it! Movement can also help “activate” the vocabulary in the child’s brain. Just take two or three related words in Spanish and shout them out randomly for the kids to act them out! The faster you go, the harder it gets! You can also take a look at this jumping game we did with chalk.
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6. Play Charades
My kids love to play charades! It’s a fun way to practice new vocabulary.
7. Learn a Song
Music really speaks to the heart and can help children attend to the language in a different way than they do just from speaking. Check out these ways to incorporate Spanish language music into your day, and be sure to try some of these Spanish finger plays.
8. Have Fun with Clay
Most children love to finger paint. It’s just so much fun! But, clean up can be a hassle. Instead of supper messy paint, tear up small pieces of colorful modeling clay and spread the clay around cardboard pieces to create wonderful works of art. Talk in Spanish about the process, the colors, shapes and what they are making. You can also check out this vocabulary-building activity we did with play dough.
9. Animal Antics
Make a list in Spanish of different animals. Choose an animal and you and your child can move and make sounds like the animals. Be sure to label all of the actions you take in Spanish.
10. Create a Group Story
Sit in a circle and start a story in Spanish. After you start, go around the circle, asking each person involved to add to the story.
11. Draw a Picture
Another fun way to practice Spanish is by drawing a picture! I often describe a scene to my children using our new vocabulary and ask them to draw a picture. You can make it as simple or complicated as appropriate for your child.
12. Play Online
My kids love using the Spanish Safari app, designed for kids ages 3-9. Kids are swept away to an immersive world with adorable animals characters, including monkeys who serve as guides. I love that the app is narrative-based, so language learning happens in a very natural, intuitive way. Lessons are designed to engage those that already know some Spanish as well as those that are just getting started.
You can download it for free to try it out, though I really recommend the full version, which gives you access to large number of lessons and mini games. I also love that with the full version I can set up separate profiles for my kids, so they can have age appropriate materials.
Spanish Safari app is available in the Apple Store or on Google Play.
