Spanish4Kiddos

Hi, my name is Barbara. I’m the owner and founder of Spanish4Kiddos. Join me for Season 6 of the Spanish4Kiddos podcast. I’ll be sharing fun bilingual stories for the spring season. Listen to fun episodes and watch exclusive videos, quick strategies to help bilingual students, and so much more. The spring season is a time to refresh and renew. So, join me as we read together fun stories and more....

Bilingual readers watch as Santa’s helpers collect toys for little boys and girls for the holidays. Will they be able to get everything ready for Christmas? Find out how they prepare for the holidays and help Santa too. Visit the blog at https://spanish4kiddos.com/interactive-holiday-activities/ for more fun ideas to learn Spanish and stories. Grow deeper into Spanish learning when you become a me...

Ho Ho Ho Happy Holidays! In this fun English and Spanish bilingual read-aloud, bilingual readers enjoy an adorable story. Santa’s helpers need to get toys for little boys and girls around the world. But they need help! Bilingual readers learn more than dual-language reading. Take-away lessons are Spanish vocabulary, sight words, and elements of a story. Visit the blog at https://spanish4kiddos.com...

How do you encourage bilingual learners to write after reading? Sometimes, bringing ideas to life on paper can be challenging.  With Spanish or bilingual fairy tales like Cinderella, bilingual students engage with the story. Afterward, they can use the text in English and Spanish to deepen their understanding. More than that, writing captivates what they learned in Spanish too. Developing the...

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to talk about gratitude and being thankful. There are so many fun lessons that you can do with a Thanksgiving theme. Besides creating fun crafts for Thanksgiving, try using this holiday theme for Spanish learning. You can easily integrate fun games like scavenger hunts and matching. Visit the blog at https://spanish4kiddos.com/thanksgiving-bilingual-story-and-resou...

Where do pumpkins go for Halloween? They go around and visit fun places here and there.  In this bilingual read-aloud, you’ll get to listen to a cute Halloween story. Themes like Halloween or holidays are fun starter lessons to learn other topics. In this bilingual reading, bilingual readers learn bilingual vocabulary and Spanish sentence structure. Visit the blog archive at https://spanish4k...

What’s a fun way to learn Spanish animals and their habitats than a visit to the zoo? Well, at least in virtual form.  The bilingual story, A Day at the Zoo, opens up children's imagination as they explore various animals in the text.  Giraffes are tall and have long tongues for eating. And, seals use their whiskers to find food.  Bilingual listeners can find these and other fascina...

Fall or autumn is an amazing season, full of colors, harvest, and learning. How can you encourage bilingual readers to learn more about autumn?  Bilingual readers will learn about the wonders of harvest time and why it’s important. Perhaps, you visit a pumpkin patch or a farmer’s market.  That time can be a great way to learn about harvest time. Also, it’s an excellent opportunity to lea...

Ease that anxiety of returning to school with this fun bilingual read-aloud in English and Spanish. These little monkeys are anxious about school. They’re so excited they wonder about and explore many aspects of school. So enjoy this cute bilingual story just in time for back-to-school or the first week of school. For more fun ideas, visit the blog at https://spanish4kiddos.com/spanish-back-to-sch...

Hi, my name is Barbara. I’m the owner and founder of Spanish4Kiddos. Join me for Season 5 of the Spanish4Kiddos podcast. I’ll be sharing fun bilingual stories for back-to-school and the fall season. Listen to fun stories, quick strategies to help bilingual students, and so much more. Back to school is the time for a fresh start and new beginnings. So, let’s have fun learning Spanish! Try the Exclu...

Have fun celebrating the Fourth of July with this bilingual read-aloud. Bilingual readers can enjoy this adorable story by listening or watching the video. The video contains both English and Spanish texts that you can follow along with the story. Visit the blog at https://spanish4kiddos.com/spanish-sight-words-patriotic-activities/ for more fun summer reading ideas to encourage bilingual readers....

What are ways to celebrate the Fourth of July with young bilingual readers? Besides using a bilingual text, you can create various fun activities. Use word matching after you read the text and look for those terms. Add a scavenger hunt list of keywords from the text. Create a patriotic wreath and use it to match bilingual terms. Visit the blog at https://spanish4kiddos.com/spanish-sight-words-patr...

How can bilingual literature support reading at home or in the classroom? I chat with Natalia Simons from Bilingo Books about that. In her latest books, The Spanglish Girl and Mexiglish Girl, the characters immerse into the language. The young bilingual girls enjoy learning about Hispanic traditions and being bilingual. Natalia’s Biography: Natalia Simons was born in England to a Spanish mother an...

Aargh! In this bilingual story, young bilingual readers can learn about dinosaurs using a simple fun, informational text.  Along with the story, there are adorable after-reading activities you can do. From learning Spanish sight words to writing tips, this bilingual story is ideal for summer learning. Visit the blog at https://spanish4kiddos.com/dinosaur-bilingual-read-aloud-story/ for fun su...

Social-emotional learning skills are necessary for the classroom or homeschool group to help students with difficult emotions or feelings. Today, Miriam Campbell shares her tips for SEL and her book, Bubble Double. Miriam discusses how a ‘bubble’ can actually support students with friendships and relationships. This approach is a wonderful way to help special education students to express their em...

Summer reading can be adventurous. Dr. Dawn Menge discusses her books of marvelous characters that venture into amazing adventures. In her stories, Dragon’s Breath and Queen Vernitas, characters explore different places while learning valuable lessons. The series of adventures help characters develop emotional skills to understand valuable life lessons. Dr. Dawn Menge’s Biography: Dr. Dawn Menge i...

Encouraging bilingual learners to develop vocabulary can be fun with activities that encourage specific language skills. Besides using rhyming, you can also use silly songs. In learning bilingual body parts, you chant to the traditional Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes song or clap to the lyrics. In this brief bilingual story, bilingual readers learn about the different words for common body parts...

Implementing different instructional texts can encourage bilingual learners to read. Using how-to instructional bilingual texts helps students grasp the sequence of events and instructions.  Perhaps, using projects can sometimes be challenging for bilingual learners. There are many steps to follow, and they may wonder how to start. Use simple projects like making s’mores or a bird feeder to e...

Discover the wonders of the ocean with this fun bilingual reading in English and Spanish. As part of the summer reading challenge for bilingual readers, this bilingual story is ideal to start your summer reading. Check out these lessons and reading ideas: Ocean Animal Names in Spanish - includes a list of ocean zones and ocean animal terms as well as ideas to use the ocean as part of your bilingua...

Start summer reading with this informational text about ocean life. Bilingual readers learn about various marine organisms that live in the ocean and their special features. Along with this bilingual story, you can also add other after-reading activities like matching, puzzles, and virtual field trips. Check out these lessons and reading ideas: Ocean Animal Names in Spanish - includes a list of oc...

Summer is a refreshing time to relax and take a moment to renew. After all, school is out and learning is done. Well, that’s what the kiddos like to think. However, every summer students go into the summer slide. The summer slide is the loss of learning during the summer break. Perhaps, your children may experience a lack of engagement or get bored easily. That is why encouraging your children to...

Earth is a unique planet that sustains life. Learning about outer space can be a fun experience.  However, having to memorize many challenging words is not. In this bilingual story, you’ll learn about the planets and Earth. Then, discover how Earth is special in many ways.  Many of these features include knowing about planets, space, and the Sun. Then, add fun activities to integrate Spa...

How do little ants enjoy a picnic? Find out in this adorable bilingual story the amazing things ants can do. This English-Spanish text is ideal to start summer reading camp. Enjoy bilingual stories that can also engage students with after-reading comprehension and activities. Visit the blog at https://spanish4kiddos.com/category/summer-reading-activities/ for more fun bilingual summer stories. Oth...

Create a wondrous adventure of learning with life cycles. For instance, with the ladybug's life cycle, young bilingual readers experience how ladybugs grow.  But, they also discover how essential these tiny bugs are for plants to survive. While the life cycle of the ladybug has four simple stages, each part is crucial to the development of the ladybug. This bilingual reading encourages students to...

The Grimm brothers’ stories were so popular during their time. But, how can these children’s stories be scary yet fascinating to read? In this bilingual version of the story, discover how this traditional tale can help bilingual readers learn about story elements and comprehension. This version of Little Red Riding Hood takes bilingual readers into the concept of helping and understanding how to a...