Felicidades and congratulations!
You've made it to the third section of FIFTEEN of my simple Spanish learning hacks and tips for homeschoolers. These are nice and light and are sometimes are just a simple short activity to add to one school day, or lazy summer afternoon!
Read on!
Five Easy Spanish Learning Tips ~ Tricks and Hacks #11to #15:
11) Count backwards from ten in Spanish. Lots of kids can "count" in Spanish, but they don't actually know their numbers - similar to singing songs in Spanish, they simply know a string of sounds, or a chant, but it doesn't translate (excuse the pun) to actual communication. Counting backwards, saying your address, age of family members, phone number, or zip code, calling out the speed limit in the car as they see the signs (¡Ojo! - Watch out - that one can be a little annoying and backfire, but practice is practice!)
12) Lay out your favorite flash cards and describe them with GRANDE, PEQUEÑO, and the main color. Start with nouns, the word ES (is) or SON (are) and then just add two adjectives. Once you've conquered those, look up a few more adjectives! How many times can you go without a break or speaking English! try for a streak.
13) Challenge your child to make up a new game with any of your Spanish flashcards! This can be anything from guessing the right one behind your back, or finding where a flashcard is hidden in the kitchen - it can be pictionary, charades, or laying them out from smallest to biggest. Alphabetize them in Spanish and then in English, and time yourself! Maybe even play "card toss" - how far away can you be when you call out the card and toss it in a kitchen bowl!
Add in some details by deciding on points and scoring, and make it a timed game, speed game, or "slow as you go" game! Here are some other ideas too, or click on the picture for a downloadable guide.
14) GAMES GAMES GAMES and MORE GAMES! Print out our printable cards for a game of battleship - you need a wooden stand of some sort... or memory (Game play and Set up Instructions are included in the downloads).
15) LAST TIP! For this little hack, you'll want a set of regular playing cards. You choose 5 or 6 deck cards, put them in one lunch sized paper sack (or any container you can't see through), and your SiSi cards for the week in another sack - again just six or so - choose a flashcard and see if you can say the time in Spanish that many times in 5 seconds.
So, if you choose an 8 of spades from one bag or container, and "los pantalones" from the other, then the goal is to say = pantalones 8 times in 5 seconds. Give points and keep going until both bags are empty. Adjust the time as necessary, add another bag of adjectives or sentence starters, or maybe add it to a tune you sing!
I hope these 15 little hacks, tips, and tricks from the past three blogs give you a boost of fun for the summer and fall as you move forward in your Homeschooling and Spanish learning journey!