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Folk Songs in Spanish: Las que corren por las venas

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Some songs run in your veins. They take you home, your heart swells with memories, and maybe you can’t help but go get your dancing shoes. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, I’ve gathered a list of those songs here: the folk songs in Spanish everyone should know, the ones full of sabor.

(And don’t miss the big Multicultural Kid Blogs Giveaway at the end of the post!)

folk songs in Spanish

Credit: simonovstas / Shutterstock

To be be real, reggaeton and bachatas are totally my guilty pleasures. There are some Enrique Iglesias songs I could listen a hundred times on repeat. (Yup, I did just say that.) I use many modern songs in my classes and love them, BUT–

It’s important to give our kids and students the music of decades or centuries, too. …

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Nazca Lines Craft

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month, 2017! At the end of this post, find our Multicultural Kid Blogs HHM giveaway for some fun prizes. Today I’m sharing an exploratory Nazca lines craft. The project gives hands-on feel for these marvels of Peru, and how they were made.

Lesson 9 covers the asking and answering very simple questions in Preschool Spanish. Click here to see the week-by-week listing, and to access my still-in-process unit plans. (Each lesson provides enough material for multiple classes.) Lesson 9 Goals: I can answer very simple questions about myself. Target Structures: busca, ve, eres, soy Review: Sings the[Read More…]

teaching Spanish without a textbook

When I threw out my textbook, I really wanted to jump right into planning. Just tell me what to do, on a day-to-day basis, please! The WHY has to come first, though. Even really good materials can go wrong when the teacher doesn’t know why she’s doing what she’s doing. So I spent a lot[Read More…]

I don’t know about you, but beginnings make me anxious. Or maybe it’s more like this: the anticipation of beginnings makes me anxious. Even on Sunday nights–in the middle of the school year– I get those butterflies. Once school starts, we jump in and it really is okay! (Especially now that I have a clearer[Read More…]

authentic Spanish songs for advanced classes

Finally: a list of authentic Spanish songs for advanced classes! My lists for Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 are already popular, and this one should round it all out. Using authentic songs gets significantly easier with upper grades, as you aren’t sheltering vocabulary so much. If you need some ideas on what to do, read[Read More…]

Spanish songs with preterite and imperfect

40 Authentic Songs for Spanish I has consistently been one of my top hits. I figure it’s time for Spanish 2 to get some love! Here are 30 Spanish songs with preterite and imperfect verbs throughout the lyrics. Of course, the content of Spanish 2 varies. In my classes, I look for lots input in[Read More…]

Days of the Week in Preschool Spanish

Lesson 8 covers the days of the week in Preschool Spanish. Click here to see the week-by-week listing, and to access my still-in-process unit plans. (Each lesson provides enough material for multiple classes.) Lesson 8 Goals: I can say the days of the week. Target Structures: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo (optional: hace[Read More…]

Opposites in Spanish for Kids

Lesson 7 covers the opposites in Spanish for kids. Click here to see the week-by-week listing, and to access my still-in-process unit plans. (Each lesson provides enough material for multiple classes.) Lesson 7 Goals: I can describe people and things. Target Structures: hace frío, hace calor, triste, feliz, grande, pequeño Review: Sings the songs learned[Read More…]

Authentic Books in Spanish for Kids

While I love our stash of picture books in Spanish and English, I really like finding original Spanish titles. And authentic books in Spanish for kids are not always easy to get! It’s taken some digging, but I’ve found quite a few treasures here. As a non-native Spanish speaker, I love knowing these books will[Read More…]

I often start posts on bilingual parenting by describing the beginning: a new mom. Staring into my new baby’s eyes, hoping I wasn’t crazy to think I could raise him in Spanish. All those stacks of books for bilingual families I got at the library, the hours researching Spanish nursery rhymes. Raising my kids in[Read More…]

In Part 1, we talked about proficiency: where we are going in the language classroom. Here in Part 2, I’ll talk about acquisition: how students take language in. If our goal is students who “rise in proficiency” (World Language Classroom), how do they grow? What do they need? What is the best way to get[Read More…]

Last year I wrote a post explaining why I was throwing out my Spanish textbook. Of course, throwing it out was the easy part. But what to do next? I’m writing this series because I remember so clearly what’s it’s like, to be on the edge of that cliff– poised to jump into textbook-free land,[Read More…]

No Spanglish home is complete without a stash of books for kids in Spanish and English. Thankfully, there are more and more available now! I often walk in the door exhausted after a day of teaching, to kids who have heard English all day. Even though my brain just wants a break, they need these[Read More…]

Draw, Listen, Check: a listening activity for the WL Classroom

One of my favorite things about teaching textbook-free is that authentic songs in Spanish are central to class now. If you’re not sure about how to pick authentic songs in the first place, read more here, and if you need ideas for songs, click here.

Good teachers know this about their students: they won’t remember most of what you say. They will always remember how you made them feel. These are wise words for parents of bilingual kids, too, as we make our hundreds of parenting decisions. What is best: OPOL, or minority language at home? Where should the kids[Read More…]

Lesson 6 Goals: I can recognize some colors. Target Structures: me gusta, no me gusta, te gusta (repeated from last week), los colores, pinta Note: You may want to teach just four colors one week, or all at once. The online songs, books, etc. teach all the colors together, but doing activities with all the[Read More…]

Free Online Spanish Resources for the Home and Classroom

This is the list I wish I’d had as a new teacher! Here I’ve collected my favorite online Spanish resources, and all are free (though some may have paid upgrade options). These are great for supplementing in the classroom or practicing at home. If you are looking for younger kids, I’ve got a great list[Read More…]

It’s easier than ever to learn language now, with so many online Spanish resources for kids– for free! The hardest part is just sorting through all of them. No worries though: I’ve collected and sorted through the most popular resources so you can find what you need. If I am missing any, let me know! Online[Read More…]

Shows in Spanish on Netflix for kids can be a great source of input for little learners. Now, we all know to limit screen time for kids, right? BUT… videos really can be an incredible tool. They provide authentic and rich language for little learners. I’m not a native Spanish-speaker and can’t provide a completely[Read More…]

Lesson 5 Goals: I can say that I like or don’t like something. Target Structures: me gusta, no me gusta, te gusta (Las uvas, la zanahoria, el queso, la galleta, la lechuga, and los arándanos are also introduced. At this point, they are always presented with pictures or props.

Lesson 4 Goals: I can recognize the names of several familiar foods. Target Structures: tiene hambre, come, toma, la manzana, la leche, el maíz, el pan, el agua

Two years ago I was very pregnant with my second baby, living in my parent’s basement. We only planned to stay a few months, to “get back on our feet.” Two years later, there we were still. It had been yet another year of constant car repairs, a failed business start-up, a new baby and[Read More…]

I wish I’d known how to teach Spanish with authentic songs as a new teacher. Fresh from living in Peru and head over heels for the language and culture, I sat down with the textbook. Apparently, for the first half of Spanish I, we would learn classroom objects, articles, greetings, and regular verbs. Hmm. Not[Read More…]

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