Over at the Foreign Language Fun Blog…

This evening I was reading through my blog list when this review at the Foreign Language Fun blog caught my attention. Diane, a French teacher, who is encouraging her sons to learn Spanish as well, wrote a post about Sing-a-Lingo. To me her review has clout because of her background in education and foreign languages.  So, I decided to click on the video:

And I have to admit, I was hooked as well. This music is fun and I could definitely see young children learning Spanish by listening to it.

Where to go:
Foreign Language Fun Blog
Sing-a-Lingo
____________________________________________

Review: Foreign Language Friends

Foreign Language Friends is a web-based learning program geared towards young children and I’m pretty excited about it… no, actually I’m very excited about it. From the site:

Foreign Language Friends is a complete multimedia experience designed to help your children learn a foreign language easily and successfully. Through unique and entertaining activities, your children will discover their unique ability to learn a foreign language almost effortlessly. 

The theme-based program covers shapes, body parts, zoo animals, sea animals, family and more. (New themes are added on a regular basis.) With each theme there are seven activities such as Vocab Builder, Memory Match, Animation (completely in the target language) and several others finishing up with a printable booklet that can be used to reinforce the new vocabulary.

Even though your children could use the program independently, they recommend involving the entire family. I would as well. I think it’s very important to reinforce the language at home. For example, after doing the exercises for the shapes section, you and your children could go on a “shape hunt” in your house using the new vocabulary. (In fact, my head is buzzing with ideas for this.)

My six-year old was reluctant at first, as he is when it comes to almost anything that has to do with Spanish, but even this program hooked him. Yes, it did. His favorite parts are the matching game, the animation clip and the vocab builder activity. When I asked what he thought about Foreign Language Friends, he said enthusiastically, “I like it, I just like it!”

Monthly subscriptions are $9.95 a month or save and pay $99.95 for the year. But right now, Foreign Language Friends is offering a 7-day free trial for individuals and families so that you can try it out yourself. (For educational institutions, click here for information on pricing.)
____________________________________________________________

Parts of the body: songs and game

This evening the boys and I were having Mexican restaurant night at home. I pretended to be their waitress and spoke in Spanish pretty much the entire time and they played along as well. I put on the cd Animales y Movimiento by José-Luis Orozco in the background to add some extra authenticity.

As I was cooking, Juanito came on which reminded me that this is a terrific song for learning parts of the body. It's such a great tune that you can't help but dance to it. The first part goes like this:

Juanito cuando baila,
baila, baila, baila.
Juanito cuando baila,
baila con el dedito,
con el dedito, ito, ito.
Así baila Juanito.

Then it goes on to using other parts such as el pie, la rodilla, la mano, etc.

To build on the theme, play a game of Simón Dice:

Tócate la nariz.
Tócate la boca.
Tócate el pie...

And so on... once your students get the hang of it you could make the commands more difficult. (If speaking to more than one person, use tóquense.)

Songs for learning parts of the body

Here's a song about every preschooler knows: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (Cabeza, hombros, rodillas y pies):

Cabeza, hombros, rodillas y pies*
rodillas y pies
Cabeza, hombros, rodillas y pies
rodillas y pies
Ojos, orejas, boca y nariz
Cabeza, hombros, rodillas y pies
rodillas y pies

I would recommend introducing the vocabulary first:

Cabeza - head
Hombros - shoulders
Rodillas - knees
*Pies - *Pies means feet and dedos de pies is toes, it's shortened to pies to fit the rhythm of the song.
Ojos - eyes
Orejas - ears
Boca - mouth
Nariz - nose

__________________________________________________

Another good song is the Joki Poki - for the lyrics scroll down to the bottom of the page: http://www.sparkenthusiasm.com/teacher_treasures.html

¡Qué divertido!