Take Spanish on Summer Vacation + FREEBIES

Y’all, it is finally summer vacation. Our kids deserve a summer filled with fun activities like going to the pool, selling lemonade on the front lawn, visiting cool museums, and maybe taking a trip somewhere fun (and so do we!). What else do they deserve? A chance to interact and keep up with their Spanish skills. Research shows that the more you use those new language skills over a period of time, the more likely they are to stick in your long-term memory (and we call that acquisition)! Whether your vacation is exploring a new museum, driving across the country, or maybe just exploring your own backyard, there are plenty of opportunities to practice and learn more Spanish on your summer vacation.

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The more your learners are immersed in REAL experiences that promote second language development, the more likely that acquisition will happen. That is why we are on a mission to make sure that these experiences happen for our Calico Stories family. These real experiences do not rely on an app, subscription box, or rote memorization of phrases. Our experiences are built on laughter, memory making, and real-world experiences that, chances are, you already have planned in your summer schedule. Let’s take a look at 5 easy ways you can take Spanish on your summer vacation!

Take Spanish to a Restaurant

According to this article, there were over 70,00 Mexican restaurants operating in the United States in September of 2020. Chances are, you live close to one of these delicious Mexican food establishments with native Spanish speakers! It’s time to take your learner out to flex those Spanish-speaking skills. Ask them to look at the menu beforehand to see if they notice any of the words on there. Can they pronounce them? To order in Spanish, have them use the word “quiero” to say “I want” or “me gustaría” for “I would like” if you want them to be a bit more polite. To say “I want a chicken taco,” you say “quiero un taco con pollo” or “me gustaría un taco con pollo.”  And don’t forget to explore the breadth of cuisine from the Spanish-speaking world – we love Peruvian food, Spanish tapas, and more!

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Sites of Interest

Summer vacation is the perfect time to explore museums and zoos whether you are on vacation or in your hometown. While you’re at a zoo or museum, take note of the Spanish on their exhibit signs. Ask your children what words they understand. Can they tell you anything about the exhibit based on what they’ve learned in Stories – like where monarch butterflies live, or how people in other countries celebrate birthdays? I recently visited The Center of Science and Industry, COSI, in Columbus, Ohio while they had a Cuba exhibit. I was pleased to see Spanish on most of their museum exhibit signs. They are also active in language research in their Language Lab.

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Most large cities typically have a Latino corner where you may find incredible Hispanic grocery stores. Want to know an unlikely site of interest? Walmart! Our Chief Storyteller spent time in Texas recently and found a fantastic array of Mexican treats. Also keep an eye out on your road trip for historic sites that show the influence of the Spanish-speaking world on our nation, like the Missions of the Southwest, or Calle 8 in Miami. Even murals can inspire a conversation about how amazing the Spanish-speaking peoples (and their language) are!

Spanish Songs, Stories, and Games for the Car

Are you headed on a road trip? Going anywhere more than 5 minutes away? You can easily take Spanish on your road trip regardless of the length and we have some great suggestions to pass the time!

• Listen to your favorite Calico Spanish songs on your preferred streaming app. Just search for Calico Spanish – you might need to try Joel Valle, Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell or Obed Gaytán as the artist to find them, depending on your app.
• Ask who can spot Spanish on the passing billboards, or even city and street signs. It’s astounding how many cities now feature Spanish-language billboards, and the Spanish influence on our city, street, and even state names is quite widespread. What words can your children identify?
• Play I spy for the numbers, in order, or counting by twos, etc. How high can you count by spotting the numbers and saying them in Spanish?
• Our Chief Storyteller reports her kids have a bizarre habit of tracking a particular color of car while they’re on a road trip – possibly from a scene from Pixar’s Up. Assign each child a color of car and have them call out carro rojo or carro amarillo for every red or yellow car they see. (Heads up: black, gray, and white cars can make this game get old pretty fast for the grown-ups, ha!)
• Print out our coloring sheets that go along to our favorite Calico Songs for free from our Teachers Pay Teachers Store!
• Listen to your favorite Calico Storybook or print out the PDF version from the website. We added the PDF version of all of the books to every subscription in March of 2022!

Summer tictactó Freebie

There’s no denying that recent changes in education and even social media have taught us that kids love challenges, and gamification works. Last summer, we launched our at-home TicTacTó board where kids can complete activities each week of the summer. The concept is easy: we’ve compiled a list of nine fun, easy activities to keep children engaged with Spanish over the summer or other long breaks. Each week, children choose three activities in a row to complete TicTacTó. So, if your summer vacation is enjoying your own backyard like me, this tictactó board will keep the phrase “I’m bored” at bay.

Of course, you can make your own TicTacTó board with any activities you choose. Here are our suggestions. They include some of the options above.

• Watch and sing along with a Calico Spanish song you know.
• Try a snack (& a conversation!) at a Hispanic/Latino store.
• Make a craft.
• Watch a movie in Spanish.
• Present a Stories Activity Sheet to someone.
• Check out a Spanish-language book at the library.
• Ask an adult to help you read the latest tweets from Disney Spain.
• Play a game.
• Put sticky notes on 4 things in your house to label them in Spanish.

Click here to download!

Spanish Summer Bucket List Freebie

Our last suggestion is to keep track of all of your summer fun on our new  Summer Bucket List Freebie! This list includes summer activities like making lemonade, watching movies in Spanish, going to the zoo, and playing an instrument. There are helpful images next to each phrase to promote understanding. We would LOVE to see your learners progress through their bucket lists so be sure to tag us on Instagram in all of your fun summer activities.

Well, there you have it! We hope these 5 authentic experiences encourage you to take Spanish on your summer vacation this year!

PS: Here us out…

Would you let us get serious for a minute while we end this post? There is no magic pill, phrasebook, recipe set, stuffed animal, movie, etc that is going to make your child bilingual. What is going to make your child bilingual? A combination of real-life experiences that give children language input so they can one day produce the language spontaneously. The 5 activities above won’t guarantee a bilingual child by the end of summer, but they will guarantee to get MORE Spanish into their lives and the more they hear and see it, the more they will fall in love with it. This is what is going to keep them on the journey to a lifetime of Spanish skills.

A lifetime of real Spanish skills takes a variety of real-life experiences. Period.

Ready to get started on the greatest variety of experiences we could develop for you and your children, or any child you love? Try Stories FREE today. There’s no obligation, and we know we’ve built the most engaging, effective Spanish learning experience for children available. See if you agree.

Enjoy the journey, amigas y amigos!