Category: Holidays and Celebrations

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!!!

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 21^st – 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!!!!