Teaching Spanish with Games

I blog about the games you can play with your kids to teach them Spanish but how often do I actually do it with my own kids?  The truth is that it is not as often as I would like. Today I am going to do this game with my kids.

¿Qué hay en la caja? (What's in the box)

First I will review the following random objects: pluma, lápiz, vela, cepillo, zapato, dinero, collar, llaves, una moneda, una maraca.  To review I will put them all in the box, and show my kids.  I'll take each item out one by one and have my students repeat the word in Spanish.  Next I'll ask them what each object is in Spanish.  ¿Qué es esto? If I think I need to provide extra motivation I might bring out the M&M's.  Next I'll explain that we're going to play a game with these items.  Vamos a jugar con estos. The winner each time will then get to be the person that chooses what to be in the box.  For further details on how to play the game go here.

Okay, I just got done playing and it went really well.  (actually we are still playing while I type.) FYI, my kids are three and a half and five years old.  The five year old did better with this and enjoyed it more but my three and a half year old still got a lot out of it.  They were very interested at first in what was “en mi caja” and we had fun just reviewing.  After I took each item out we counted them in Spanish and then we reviewed like I had planned.  I then perked up their motivation by telling them that we were going to play a game.  With little ones it is especially important to be overly enthusiastic and even a little bit silly. As motivation dwindled I brought out the idea of the M&M’s which of course went over well.  And even after I said last M&M they still wanted to keep playing.  Katie, my five year old, really enjoyed being the person who chose the item and said “¿Qué hay en mi caja?

This is a great game and I should definitely try to play it more often.  It is a fun way to work on vocabulary without feeling pushy.  : )

This evening when Daddy came home I had the kids tell him about the Spanish game that we played.  My five year old did better than that!  She gathered up all the items and taught her Daddy all the words and we played a rousing game of ¿Qué hay en mi caja? after dinner.

***Update!!
My three year old found a pen yesterday and said "Look mom.  A pluma!"