Learning Spanish through Literature // No hay tiempo para monstruos (FREE Printable)

by | Jul 24, 2013 | Uncategorized

We found another fun bilingual book at our library!  Ever since we went to see Monsters University at the movie theater, we have had fun looking for books about monsters at our local library.  Have you noticed we like books!?  When I stumbled upon this one in my online library search, I knew I had to get it.  No Time for Monsters / No Hay Tiempo Para Monstruos is published by a division of Arte Público Press, Piñata Books, which holds the mission of publishing bilingual (Spanish/English) books that highlight U.S. Hispanic culture.  We have checked out a few Piñata Books before, and they usually have too many words for my kiddos, aimed at higher reading and age levels.  But No Hay Tiempo Para Monstruos turned out to be just right.

The Story: Roberto, the young boy in the story, plays at home while his mom tends to the laundry, cooking, and cleaning.  When she asks Roberto for help, he claims the cleaning monsters will get him so he cannot help.  All throughout the day Mamá asks Roberto to help with various tasks around the house–but monsters seem to be everywhere preventing him from helping.  Near the end, Roberto asks his mother to read him a story; however, Mamá says the Reading Monster might get her.  You will have to read the story for yourself to see what happens to Mamá and Roberto at the end–and all the monsters!

The Fun: Here are some ways we are extending the story in real life.  Check out this video where we made a fun monster craft.  If you have trouble viewing it from the blog, click here to watch it on YouTube.  Or see the pictures below!  We got the idea here, here, and here.  You should definitely check out those sites because they have tons of other great ideas…two of them are art teacher blogs, full of art ideas for kids.

Follow these instruccions to make your monster!
You need… 1. Paint 2. Water 3. Straw 4. Paper

#1: Mix the water with the paint.

#2: Pour the mixture on the paper.

#3: Blow with the straw.

#4: Let dry.

#5: Cut 2 white circles, 2 black circles, 1 black oval, and 5 white triangles.

#6: Use them to make the eyes and mouth.
The monster!
Print out this FREE Monster Printable.  I have been making these alphabet coloring pages for us at home, and I thought they would be fun to start sharing.  This year we are working on learning las letras and how to write them.  At first I tried printing letters that Jefe could trace but he is such a perfectionist–if he would stray one bit from the line he would get frustrated and give up.  One day I wrote his name in block letters for him to color in, but instead he drew the letter inside and said “Look!  I made a J!”  After that I started printing off block letters and he never gets frustrated writing the letters inside.  Here we are writing monstruo and coloring!
The night of our block letter discovery!
I love that he can feel proud of his work and not discouraged.

Jefe’s awesome letter work!

Scachemo and I did this one together.
Some More Fun:  We will also be trying this recipe for Ranchero Beans, just like Roberto eats for lunch in the story.  What activities would you do after reading this story?  Did you learn any new Spanish words reading it?  What is your favorite bilingual children’s book?  Let us know below!  


Kali Carollo

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