Here are some of our ideas for what to teach this spring

1.  Springtime resources

We have so many different teaching resources for children related to the topic of spring.   Be sure to check out our spring video for kids, online game, interactive worksheets that practice vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing (+ coloring!), our song, picture dictionary AND printable flashcards.  

3. Yoga outside (or inside) of the classroom

Spring is a time when students, especially the younger ones, are excited and tend to have higher energy levels.  It could be the change in light, weather, or the fact that they know that summer vacation is right around the corner.  Whatever it is, we find that it's harder to keep them on task and engaged during class.  An activity that we love all times of the year, but love even more this time of year is yoga!  Doing yoga in Spanish is the perfect way to get kids interacting with the language in a natural and movement fueled way and it helps to break up the class.  Because yoga requires a physical response it makes it accesible to any Spanish learner and it’s also a great way to give your students a “brain break” without missing language input time.  

Here’s a list of 7 yoga stories that you can read in Spanish with your kids, with the exception of one about winter, all could be used this spring! 

If you're looking for a good video to practice yoga, we recoomend this one to take your Spanish students on a yoga journey to discover El cuento de las mariposas

4. Use spring related works of art to explore the Spanish language

Teach a lesson on an artist that used spring colors in their work or a specific piece of artwork.  Start with a short introduction into the life of the artist, where they lived and created their art, what languages they spoke… basically anything that you think would interest your students.  Then explore their artwork using simple sentences 

“Qué ves?”  “Veo flores amarillos.”  

If you’re not interested in teaching about a specific artist, instead look at three or four works of art making sure to talk about spring vocabulary, colors and what the students like and dislike about each work of art.  

Finally, finish up the lesson/s by creating artwork like the artist.  Make sure to use all available vocabulary, explaining the process, the tools you’ll be using and even having the students do their own version of a piece of art you’ve looked at and includes spring vocabulary.  

Here are some ideas for artists and pieces of art that include spring vocabulary:

Check out how this teacher used the piece of art La Primavera by Sandro Botticelli in a class of children 4-6 years old, but make sure to keep in mind that the native language is Spanish, so depending on your class level you could adapt the language used or use it for older/higher levels.   

Henri Matisse: The Goldfish (1912)

*See some ideas for painting it with second graders here

Use Monet's water lillies to paint a springtime piece with your elementary studetns.  Check out a lesson plan and examples of students work here.  

5.  Poesía

 A very visual poem about spring by the poet from Seville, Antonio Machado.  This resource includes a primera parte where you can review or introduce the vocabulary that the students will see in the poem with visual images and the written words.  Once they’ve seen the vocabulary you can read the VERY VISUAL poem filling in the vocabulary words you’ve just practiced where the images appear.  After reading the poem you can watch the accompanying video about spring or play the online game.  

6. Adivinanzas de la primavera

  This short slide show has spring riddles written on each slide in a clear way that students can read out loud in class from the board.  Immediately following the riddle is a slide with a visual image of the answer and the vocabulary word.  If you are like some of our teachers and absolutely love riddles, yo can find more about the spring here.

Thanks for reading along with us!  We hope you like the ideas and that you can use them in your Spanish classes for kids.  As always, we'd love to hear from you either in the comments section below or on our  Facebook page!  Until next time, keep on rocking!