One recent Spanish find we have at our house from the library is
El Ratoncito, La Fresa Roja y Madura, y El Gran Oso Hambriento (Spanish Edition)
. This book was written in English by authors
Don and Audrey Wood, translated by
Teresa Mlawer. What a fun story! A little mouse about to enjoy a ripe and tasty strawberry has a little visit with the narrator about big hungry bears that like to eat ripe strawberries. The mouse has no need for words because the illustrations show perfectly his look of distress and worry at the thought of a bear eating
his strawberry. After some funny solutions thought of by the mouse, the mouse and narrator together discover a way to save the strawberry from the bear. Read the book with your family to discover what happens at the end! And after reading it, try these fun activities to extend your Spanish learning with this delightful book.
#1 ¿Dónde está la fresa?
Words to Know:
dónde (DOHN-day)—where
está (eh-STAH)—is
la fresa (lah FRAY-sah)—the strawberry
el oso (ehl OH-soh)—the bear
aquí (ah-KEY)—here
verde (VEHR-day)—green
rojo (ROH-hoh)—red
hoja (OH-hah)—leaf
el ratoncito (ehl rah-tohn-SEE-toh)—the little mouse
Game: This is a fun game we played together after we read the story. First, make a big fresa. We
drew one on cardstock and decorated it with red and green glitter to make it look beautiful and delicious like the strawberry in the book. While we were coloring I spoke in Spanglish with Scachemo (Jefe was napping)…saying things like, “Here’s the verde (green) can you color the hoja verde?” Or “Look, this part is rojo.” Or I “would point to the strawberry in the picture and say “rojo,” and then hold the red marker next to it and say excitedly, “¡rojo!” Or you can just point to the strawberry and say “¡fresa!” However you decided to interact is great, just be repetitive and playful or excited when introducing new Spanish words and use any kind of non-verbal motions and signals you can think of—just like when you are teaching your baby his or her first language.
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Coloring our fresa. |
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All sparkly! |
Next, take your strawberry outside for a hide-and-seek game. This is how we played: One person pretends to be the oso and “hibernates” (hides his or her eyes) while another person playing pretends to be the ratoncito and hides the strawberry from the bear. When the osocomes out of hibernation he (or she) stomps around saying, “BUM! BUM! BUM! ¿Dónde está la fresa?” while looking for the hidden strawberry. When the osofinds the strawberry switch roles and repeat!
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“Hibernating” |
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The “oso” looking for the fresa. |
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We tried disguising our fresa like the mouse in the story, but it didn’t work! That oso kept finding the fresa! |
#2 Red Light, Green Light
Words to Know:
rojo (ROH-hoh)—red
verde (BEHR-day)—green
Game: If you have not played “Red Light, Green Light” here is how it works: One person stands at the end of the yard or play area yelling “Green light!” or “Red light!” The rest of the players stand at the other end of the yard or play area. The object of the game is for those players to run as fast as they can to tag the person at the other end first. Players can only run when “Green light!” is called and must stop if they hear “Red light!” called. If you keep running after “Red light!” is called you go back to the starting line. For younger players, no need to race—just have fun running and stopping. Now for the Spanish part: instead of yelling “Red light!” or “Green light!” simply yell out “rojo” or “verde.” You could even have two papers or object to hold up (one rojo, one verde) to hold up as you call the color for a visual clue as you say the words. This game is a great way to reinforce the new color words introduced with the story El Ratoncito, La Fresa Roja y Madura, y el GRAN OSO HAMBRIENTO.
#3 Veo, Veo—NOUNS (Like the game I Spy)
Words to Know:
un (oohn)—a/an
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un árbol (AHR-bohl)—tree
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una (OOHN-ah)—a/an
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unas piedras (pee-AY-drahs)—rocks
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unos (OOHN-ohs)—some
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una cuchara (koo-CHAH-rah)—spoon
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unas (OOHN-ahs)—some
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una llave (YAH-vay)—key
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una escalera (eh-skah-LEHR-ah)—ladder
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una cadena (kah-DAY-nah)—chain
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una casa (KAH-sah)—house
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un candado (kahn-DAH-doh)—padlock
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una puerta (poo-EHR-tah)—door
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una escoba (ehs-KOH-bah)—broom
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una hamaca (ahm-AH-kay)—hammock
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un sombrero (sohm-BREH-roh)—hat
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unas flores (FLOH-rehs)—flowers
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una sombrilla (sohm-BREE-yah)—umbrella
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una chimenea (chee-may-NAY-ah)—fireplace
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unas chinchetas (cheen-CHEH-tahs)—pushpins
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una tetera (tay-TEH-rah)—teapot
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una silla (SEE-yah)—chair
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una mesa (MAY-sah)—table
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una taza (TAH-sah)—teacup/mug
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unas galletas (gah-YAY-tahs)—cookies
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un mantel (mahn-TEHL)—tablecloth
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unas cerillas (seh-REE-yahs)—matches
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un cuchillo (koo-CHEE-yoh)—knife
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una vela (BAY-lah)—candle
una servilleta (sehr-vee-YAY-tah)—napkin
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un candelero (kahn-dehl-ERH-oh)—candlestick holder
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Game: For this game, take the book and flip through the fun illustrations and introduce the Spanish words for object you see. Use the list above for a reference if you need. You can start out with a few and add words the more you play this game (no need to overwhelm your child with learning too many words at once). Try finding a page with lots to look at and teach two or three new words. Then take turns saying to each other “Veo, veo…” and fill in the blank with one of the new words in Spanish. The other person then says “Aquí!” when they find the object and point to it with their finger.
#4 Veo, Veo—Colors
Words to Know:
amarillo (ah-mah-REE-oh)—yellow
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anaranjado (ah-nah-rahn-HAH-doh)—orange
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verde (BEHR-day)—green
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azul (ah-SOOHL)—blue
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rojo (ROH-hoh)—red
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morado (mohr-AH-doh)—purple
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negro (NAY-groh)—black
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blanco (BLAHN-koh)—white
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café (kah-FAY)—brown
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gris (grees)—gray
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Game: This game is just like the one above, except you insert a color after “Veo, veo…” instead of a noun.
#5 Patterning
Words to Know:
A ) el queso (KAY-soh)—the cheese
B ) el ratoncito (rah-tohn-SEE-toh)—the little mouse
C ) la fresa (FRAY-sah)—the strawberry
Game: Print out this fun printable, cut out the pictures, and have fun making patterns! You can start a pattern for your child and “read” it as you point to each picture: “queso, ratoncito, fresa…queso, ratoncito, fresa…queso….” and then ask your child, “What goes next?” To which they can simply place the correct picture in the pattern or say it. When they choose the right one say, “Yes! You’re right, the ratoncito goes next!” You can make lots of different patterns, and depending on the age of your child, they can make some too! Try some of these:
ABABABAB
ABBABBABBA
ABCABCABC
ABCCABCCABCC