Happy Holidays!

Welcome December!!!

There is a magic flare that surrounds our homes and brings joy to many in different parts of the world. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanza, St. Lucia Day, Three Kings Day, Las Posadas or any of your beloved traditions rejoice at spending precious moments with your loved ones and together create new experiences for the whole family that will become cherished memories.

This time of the year is very special for children at schools. As a teacher you may have a multicultural class with families that celebrate more than one of those events. In our classes and right before the Holidays’ break we always had a special celebration.

With children from different parts of the world, I suggest you dedicate a complete theme to their Holidays’ traditions. Some children will spend the Holidays at home but some others will travel to their countries of origin to celebrate and spend time with their relatives and friends.

You may plan for parents to come to the class and speak to the children about their families’ traditions. Parents are always very receptive and will prepare a short talk about their countries with pictures with their families celebrating the Holidays, and typical snack bites they use to prepare for the occasion. (Use Guide included in the Happy Holidays Booklet below).

Children always love to see their parents participating in their classes and will enjoy the different talks and the food! Children will also learn a little bit more about their classmates and the way they celebrate their traditions.

This is a great opportunity to nurture and strengthen the relationship between parents and their children and to promote respect and appreciation for other peoples’ culture and traditions. Cherish your family traditions, and don’t be afraid to create new traditions this Holiday Season.

Here are some ideas to celebrate!

  1. Invite children to help you wrap up presents.Presents can also help us develop lifelong habits in our children. Let’s use this Holiday Season as an opportunity to prioritize giving above receiving and encouraging children to donate toys and clothes to other children in need. Make the preparations fun so children find joy in celebrating with you the act of giving to others.

Child with present by Graciela Castellanos

Regalos illustration  

 

2. Create a special place at school or at home where young children can recreate a nativity scene, light a menorah or kinara candles.

   

3. Encourage children to write a letter to Baby Jesus, the Thre Kings or Santa Claus (Included in the Happy Holidays Booklet below).

This activity can help children improve their language skills and keep them engaged. If children are still not writing paste a white piece of paper on top so they can instead draw and color what they would write.

                          
 

 

4. Play some music, sing and dance together! Here are some of our favorites: L4K Villancicos and Christmas Children’s songs.

Navidad, villancicos y canciones de Latinoamerica en Spotify.

Canciones de Navidad de Little Baby Boom.

Super Simple Songs for the Holidays.

Instrumental holiday songs for kids.  

 

5. Why not let kids learn some useful cooking skills while having fun? Following are some samples of easy and fun recipes for this Season.

Foodbites on Instagram has many fun and easy recipes for kids.

Check out our Pinterest Board on Easy Recipes for kids.  

 

6. Have kids go on a scavenger hunt Hide a bunch of Holiday items and give children a list. Have them find the most items within a time limit. This is a fun way to get them moving and exploring around the house or in your classes.  

 

7. Read books together Holiday-themed books are a great way to learn new things about the holidays while spending some quality time with your kids. Grab your child’s favorite book, even if it’s not a Holiday themed book, and cuddle up with him/her for creating cherished memories.  

 

8. Using household items, basic craft supplies, or kid-friendly playsets, children can create some decorations and hands-on crafts for placing around the house or on a christmas tree.

You can finf lots of creative ideas on our Pinterest Board, Christmas Crafts for Kids or on the internet.  

 

Last but not least here is our Happy Holidays Mini-Booklet in English and Spanish with activities for keeping the little ones  engaged. HAPPY HOLIDAYS BOOKLET 2022

7 tips for keeping the kids speaking English this summer!!!

Summer will soon be here and with it the end of the school year. For many families, that means their kids’ interaction with the English language slows down. So what can parents do to keep the English learning going this summer?

As an English teacher you may be asking yourself what can parents do to keep the English learning going this summer in ways that are fun and can actually  enhance chidren’s natural language abilities.

With a little English spread throughout the summer, kids will retain what they have learned and go back to their English classes more confident of their abilities.

The key to keeping up English during the summer is finding activities that fit  families’ schedules and are not too complicated.

Here are some tips for you to share with parents on spending the Summer creating precious memories with their little ones while practicing and expanding their English abilities.

These recommendations are for ALL families whether they travel or stay at home:

  1. Enjoy Summer with our Picture Books.

Provide a list of books for summer reading. Languages4kidz Bundles are a great place to start.

Invite parents to:

Cuddle up with their children and read books together under a tree, at the park, at the pool, before bedtime or at any time during the day. Reading is one of the best ways to strengthen children’s language skills. Books allow children to review vocabulary and learn new words and expressions. They can talk about the book and do fun activities related to the theme in the book, such as drawing, puzzles, matching cards, art projects. They can find these and more interactive activities for our books on Languages4kidz website. These activities are FREE.

2. Listen to songs and sing along is another way to add English to their summer. They can listen to songs in the car, on a trip, on their way to their grandparent’s house or while making dinner. Songs are always appealing to young learners and are an excellent way to reinforce what they are learning in their classes. There are plenty of apps and channels in YouTube with kids’ songs in English.

Check out or downloadable songs for kids HERE.

Listen to some samples:

Skinnamarinky

Head and shoulders

Eeency, weensy spider

5 little monkeys

3. Play “I Spy” in the car, at the park, at the supermarket or at home. “I spy with my little eye, something red.”  (A red car.)

4. Open the back door and go camping.

Grab their best camping tent from the garage and pop it open, or get crafty and create a teepee with the kids.

Have kids play some outdoor games while engaging in English:

  • Look at the clouds and find similarities to shapes or objects.  (That cloud looks like a bear. That one looks like a heart.)
  • Engage in a scavenger hunt to keep basic vocabulary fresh
  • Prepare some s’mores together following a recipe in English

5. Watch some movies together.

Kids movies, TV shows and short online videos can be useful to expose kids to the English language.

Disney films have the advantage of being familiar to many kids. They entertain the whole family, are good exposure for younger kids and provide lots of new language.

Short videos for engaging kids in art projects are excellent for vocabulary and for following instructions. With a few simple steps, kids will be on their way to a super fun learning activity.

We recommend the following:

Make a kite by Lets Family Spain and then enjoy flying it with your children

Make play dough with flour, water and salt by Play Doh Kitchen.

Make silly putty by Emmymade extras.

Make a fishing game with magnets, sticks, rings, cotton, floss, wiggly eyes and different colors of felt. When the pieces are ready “Go Fishing” and have fun.

6. Take children on a nature walk and help them collect summer flowers, sticks, rocks and leaves to then use in art and crafts projects. Give them a magnifying glass and encourage them to look for bugs. Review the vocabulary related.


7. Prepare some healthy snacks after reading “Recipes for a healthy snack”.  Pack them in a picnic basket with the Go Fish game you made together and enjoy a fabulous day at the park.


HAVE A GREAT SUMMER VACATION!!!

Celebrate March!!!

March is on its way! Let’s celebrate!

 

Throughout March and all year long:

Music in our schools month -The National Association for Music Education has chosen the month of March to be the time of year to focus on music education in schools all across the United States. Music, poetry, and the spoken word are very powerful tools for helping students learn and retain information. Much like language, the two share the superpower of building connections while uniting and bringing us together. Click for a few samples of songs for little ones.

 

 

National Women’s History Month – is a month-long event and each year a new theme is chosen. This year’s theme is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope” – A tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.

 

March 01 – Carnival or Mardi Gras – Is an annual festival celebrated mostly in American and European communities with colorful parades, dancing in the street, costumes and masked balls.

 

March 02 – Read Across America Is the nation’s largest celebration of reading. It was launched in 1998 by the National Education Association (NEA). This year-round program’s theme calls for motivating every child and teen in every community to celebrate reading through different events, partnerships, and providing reading resources that are about everyone, for everyone. Check out our collection of books for Spring and enjoy reading with your little ones in English or Spanish.

 

March 08 – International Women’s Day – A celebration of women’s rights and their contributions to the history, culture and society in the world. I congratulate all my fellow colleagues who continuously preach by example. Those who create a myriad of activities to teach our little ones, ways to contribute and be kind and caring to others. May God bless them all!

 

March 14th – Albert Einstein’s Birthday – Born on March 14, 1879 and regarded as one of the greatest minds of all time. There is so much to learn about and from him.

 

March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day – Let’s celebrate by wearing green so as not to risk getting pinched! 

Check out our Pinterest Boards.

March 18 – Global recycling Day – A day for the world to come together and recognize the importance of recycling, preserving our primary resources and securing the future of our planet. Let’s take care of Mother Earth.

 

March 20th – The Arrival of Spring!!! Hopefully with lots of sun, nice weather and good things for all!!! Check out “La Primavera” a sweet poem in Spanish by Languages4kidz.

 

 

March 21st – World Poetry Day – A UNESCO day to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world. Poems can be magical for children. There is a world of poetry out there to explore. You can choose between a clever, funny, or get inspired and write your own with the children. Here are 2 short poems, one in Spanish and the other in English that you can share with the kids.

Los zapatitos me aprietan,
Las medias me dan calor,
El beso que me dio mi madre,
Lo llevo en el corazón.

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet
And so are you!

 

May your March be wonderful!!!!

Preparing your kids for the holidays

Pixabay image

Are you preparing for family holidays?

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah or any of your beloved traditions during this time of the year, it will eventually be different this 2021 because we will be reconnecting once again safely with family and friends.  Now that traveling is again permitted in most countries we all need to prepare ourselves and our little ones to celebrate with family members who will be able to join us again. 

Keep in mind that it’s important to keep celebrating and enjoying holidays and gatherings while keeping the people you care about safe and happy.

For families with children who have moved to other countries and have left behind their immediate family members (parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and cousins) they will rejoice at spending again precious moments together with their loved ones, but we must keep practising the safety habits acquired: washing hands, wearing maks if needed, gathering outdoors and in small groups.  Talk to your children about this Holiday Season and together create new experiences for the whole family that will become cherished memories. 

 


 

 

Image by Pixabay

Presents – Regalos

Presents – Regalos

The Holiday Season is filled with traditions. They teach important lessons and help us communicate and pass on shared history and values to our little ones.

During the Holidays children receive presents from their families and friends during the Christmas Celebration, for Hannukah or for Kwanzaa around the world. In some countries children also receive presents from “El Niño Jesus”, St. Nicholas or Santa Claus, and from the Three Kings.

Presents can also help us develop lifelong habits in our children. Let’s use this Holiday Season as an opportunity to prioritize giving above receiving and encouraging children to donate toys and clothes to other children in need.

Make the preparations fun so children find joy in celebrating with you the act of giving to others. 

Cherish your family traditions, and don’t be afraid to create new traditions this Holiday Season.

Here are some ideas to celebrate!

  1. Invite children to help you wrap up presents. 

Child with present by Graciela Castellanos

Regalos illustration

 

2. Create a nativity scene with decorations and hands-on crafts. Using household items, basic craft supplies, or kid-friendly playsets, younger children can recreate the nativity scene and place various characters in their rightful places.

 

Belen by Carmen Castellanos

 

3. Plan a time to light your menorah or kinara candles together, or set up a time to simultaneously decorate or light up your Christmas trees.   

Kwanza celebration  

 

4. Encourage children to write a letter to Baby Jesus, the Thre Kings or Santa Claus.

Carta al Nino Jesus
Santa reading to children illustration by Graciela Castellanos

 

4. Sing together some Villancicos or Christmas Children’s songs.

 

Illustrations by Graciela Castellanos and Images by Pixabay

Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

The month of February is often known as the month of love. Love to our family, love to our friends, love to our planet and love to all the things we have and all the things we do.

Celebrating our love to our families and the strong and wonderful bonds we create and share with our precious little ones lays a lifelong foundation for growing and having success in life.

As your children grow there are many wonderful activities that help you stretch bonds with them.

For Valentine’s Day we have put together some activities you can do with your little ones to celebrate the love you both feel for each other.


A Sweet and Lovely Song

Skinnamarinky and in Spanish A la Bim Bam Bum is one of our favorite songs. It is a sweet song that can be performed for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Grandparents’ Day.

If you are singing the song to your baby you can follow the exercises as in the video that follows. For toddlers and older children you can stand in front of your children and teach them some gestures to go with the song. Following is the lyrics with the gestures they can do as they sing along.

Put your right elbow in your left hand and wiggle your fingers

SINNAMARINKY-DINKY-DINK

A LA BIM BAM BUM

A LA BIM BAM BUM

A LA BIM BAM BUM BIM BIM

Switch arms and do the same on the opposite side

SINNAMARINKY -DOO

Point at yourself

I

TE

Cross your arms over your heart

LOVE

QUIE-

Point at your partner

YOU

RO

Move your arms above your head to form a circle, as if you were drawing a sun.

I LOVEYOU IN THE MORNING

TE QUIERO EN LA MAÑANAS

Move your circle in front of your chest.

AND IN THE AFTERNOON

TE QUIERO POR LAS TARDES

Place the circle in front of your legs as symbolizing the sun going down.

I LOVE YOU IN THE EVENING

TE QUIERO POR LA NOCHES

Open your arms and bring them down to your sides moving your hands side to side.

AND UNDERNEATH THE MOON

TE QUIERO MUCHO MÁS

https://youtu.be/5m11_ayqV9M

Reading books about love and friendships

Snuggling up with your child can create such a wonderful bonding experience!

Suggestions from our Languages4kidz Team for Valentine’s Day are these Bilingual Books:

Peek-a-Boo, I love you!!Cucú, te quiero!

We are good friendsSomos buenos amigos

Beary makes new friendsOsi hace nuevos amigos

You shine!!Brillaras!

My friendsMis amigos

Adventures with my friendAventuras con mi amigo



Valentine’s Day Arts and Crafts

heart-shaped-valentines-day-animal-crafts

Children love arts and crafts. Why not make some animals with hearts in different sizes and colors? Here is a great idea from Crafty Morning that children will love.

A Valentine’s Day Sandwich

While searching the internet I found a great cooking activity that I would love to share with you!

Monti Kids video on how to create a heart-shaped sandwich is an incredible activity to foster following multiple steps and giving your children a sense of belonging as they create something to share with someone they love.

https://youtu.be/BhyrH69vF7A

Have a Lovely Valentine’s Day!!!

Thanksgiving is almost here!

Let’s start celebrating!

There is a magic flare that surrounds our homes and brings joy to many in different parts of the world. Everyone seems focused on family traditions and “fiestas”. In only a week many of us will celebrate “Thanksgiving Day.”

In the International Schools I used to work for, we celebrated Thanksgiving with a fabulous lunch with parents and children together at the table. We all held hands before the meal and each child had the opportunity to give thanks. For this special celebration I prepared a mini unit with Thanksgiving vocabulary, arts and crafts activities, reading and writing exercises and songs. The children made beautiful decorations and dressed up as Indians and pilgrims. Children loved to see their parents sharing with their friends parents and gathering all together at the table. They enjoyed the delicious food contributed by their parents! And they learned a little bit more about this beautiful tradition and the way it is celebrated.

It was a great opportunity to bring families together and be thankful for who we are and the precious things we have. Check out these Thanksgiving songs in English and Spanish that you can sing with your children. And if you want more visit our YouTube Channel.

 

  Here are some activities that you may also use to engage your children.

 

Download here

 

 

Download here

 

 

Download here

 

 

Download here

 

 

Download here

 

 

“Giving” fills our hearts immensely

Giving fills our hearts immensely!

It’s that time of the year again when we all stop for a moment and think about the things we are grateful for, our families, our friends, jobs, our food, our home and all the little things that make us happy and be joyful. But then, we also want to make others happy because this is what fills our hearts. And what a better way to accomplish this but to “give”. Give time, goods, money or just a simple card with a thought of gratitude.

We can “give time”, precious time that can mean so much to others. Spend a few minutes with your elderly listening to their stories. They will be so grateful! Spend some time at a children’s hospital or an orphanage and read aloud to them. Go for a special walk with your little ones and enjoy a conversation full of laughs and giggles.

We can “give goods”. Clothing, cookies, books, anything that comes to your mind that can help in some way other people.

Set a family tradition of collecting money in jar for donating it to a cause you believe in, to a charity, to an orphanage, to an old people house or to an ONG.

There are many more ways of “giving” but remember that the most important one is to “give love”. and you can demonstrate it with a simple card of gratitude, a big hug, a kiss or with the magical words “I love you”.

 

 

Holidays in October

During the month of October we celebrate various holidays around the world.

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the most important holiday of the Jewish,

Oktoberfest celebrated by the Germans with big parties with harvest food and delicious treats.

Canadian Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October.

The discovery of America (Columbus Day and Dia de la Raza) on October 12.

And finally, Halloween which is celebrated in many countries on the last day of October, the 31st.

As part of the Let’s Celebrate program Languages4kidz has developed a mini-unit Booklet on Halloween with a lesson plan sample and a variety of activities in English and Spanish for celebrating Halloween in your classrooms. This Booklet is available as a digital, downloadable resource through our shop at the following links:

Spanish version: http://www.languages4kidz.com/product/halloween-booklet-spanish/

English version: http://www.languages4kidz.com/product/halloween-english-booklet/

Summer is here!

Summer is a great time for kids to enjoy different indoor and outdoor activities. They love to go to the beach and play

with the sand. Here is the trailer of a beautiful picture book about a child at the beach. What he sees, what he hears, what he smells,

what he tastes and what he

feels. Get a copy for your kids at:

Amazon

Earth Day!!!

April 22nd is Earth Day!!! A day to celebrate our beautiful planet.

Anything to help our environment is a perfect thing to do on Earth Day and every day. There are lots of easy and fun ways to celebrate Earth Day that can actually make a difference all year long. Learn about how you can make a difference and remember that leading by example will help others remember that caring about the earth is important every day of the year.

Here are some ways you and your children can contribute to heal our planet and we’d love to hear your ideas in the comments!

1) Recycle, reuse

2) Walk and ride bicycles and use public transportation

3) Save energy: turn off lights

4) Save water

5) Plant something that your family can consume

6) Care for trees, plants, animals and the city where you live in
Keep in mind that any small change can make a difference at a time when our planet needs a hand.

I will have flowers this Spring

Three beautiful books for reading to kids during Spring time.

You can purchase our books in Spanish or English through our webpage Store.