I am thankful for...

I am thankful for…
First, I apologize for the length of time between posts. Encourage your child to use his/her manners when asking for something. With the spirit of thanksgiving upon us, I thought I would share a couple of ways you can use it to practice some Spanish. With younger children, I use the simpler version given below.

Please Por favor (pohr fah-BOHR) *a V is pronounced like a B in Spanish
Thank you. Gracias (GRAH-see-ahs)
You’re welcome. De nada (deh NAH-dah)

I am thankful for… Estoy agradecido por… (ehs-TOY ah-grah-deh-SEE-doh pohr)Thank you for… Gracias por… (GRAH-see-ahs pohr)

Playing with your child - Games

Playtime is a great time to add in some Spanish phrases. There are usually lots of colors on board games, so that’s a natural opportunity. And, numbers are usually involved, too, so don’t hesitate to use those, either. Here are some other phrases for you to use when playing a game with your child(ren).

It’s your turn. Te toca. (teh TOH-kah)
It’s my turn. Me toca. (meh TOH-kah)
It’s his/her turn. Le toca. (leh TOH-kah)
Roll the dice. Tira los dados. (TEE-rah lohs DAH-dohs)
Take a card. Toma una carta. (TOH-mah OO-nah KAHR-tah)
You won! ¡Lo ganaste! (loh gah-NAH-steh)

At the supermarket/store (Part II)

If you have little ones, they can help you put things in the shopping cart. Older ones can read your list to you.

Do you have the list? ¿Tienes la lista? (tee-EHN-ehs lah LEES-tah)
What do we need? ¿Qué necesitamos? (KEH neh-seh-see-TAH-mohs)
We need…. Necesitamos…. (neh-seh-see-TAH-mohs)
Fruit fruta (FROO-tah)
Vegetables verduras (behr-DOO-rahs)
Meat carne (KAHR-neh)
Bread pan (PAHN)
Put it in the cart. Ponlo en el carrito. (POHN-loh ehn ehl kah-REE-toh)

At the supermarket/store (Part 1)

If you’re shopping for groceries, you can use lots of colors with your child. In addition to the colors listed in Lesson 7, you can use the ones below.

Do you want to ride in the shopping cart? ¿Quieres ir en el carrito? (kee-EHR-ehs eer ehn ehl kah-REE-toh)
I like the _____ one . (fill in with color) Me gusta el _____. (meh GOO-stah ehl ____)
Blue azul (ah-ZOOL)
Purple morado (moh-RAH-doh)
Orange anaranjado (ah-nah-rahn-HAH-doh)

Be careful!

Be careful!

You can use a simple phrase to warn your children to take caution, whether it’s to watch for an oncoming car or to watch their step.

Be careful! Watch Out!, etc. ¡Cuidado! kwee-DAH-doh
Hold my hand. Dame la mano DAH-meh lah MAH-noh

El semáforo

Sometimes when I stop at a traffic light, my four year-old tells me to go! I try to show her that the colors tell me what to do. This is also a great set of vocab for playing Red light, Green light.

The (traffic) light is… El semáforo está en… (ehl seh-MAH-foh-roh eh-STAH ehn…)
…red. rojo (ROH-hoh)
…yellow. amarillo (ah-mah-REE-yoh)
…green. verde (BEHR-deh)

*In Spanish, the “V” sounds like a “B”

Fasten your seatbelt!

Fasten your seatbelt!

After you finally get your child(ren) in the car, make sure they buckle up.

To one child, say, “Abróchate el cinturón (de seguridad).” (ah-BROH-chah-teh ehl seen-too-ROHN deh seh-goo-ree-DAHD)
To more than one child, say, “Abróchense los cinturones.” (ah-BROH-chen-seh lohs seen-too-ROHN-ehs)

Let's go!

When it’s time to go somewhere, you can use the phrase “Vamos…” (BAH-mohs) to say, “Let’s go…” Then, you can add any of the following nouns to say where you’re going.

...to school ...a la escuela (ah lah ehs-KWEH-lah)
...to the grocery store ...al supermercado (ahl soo-pehr-mehr-KAH-doh)
...to the pool ...a la piscina (ah lah pee-SEE-nah)
...to Spanish class ...a la clase de español (ah lah KLAH-she deh ehs-pahn-YOHL)

To simply say “Let’s go!” we say, “¡Vámonos!”

Brush your teeth!

To tell your child to brush his/her teeth, say, “¡Cepíllate los dientes!” (seh-PEE-yah-teh lohs dee-EHN-tehs)

Eat your breakfast!

When asking your child what he would like for breakfast, say, “¿Qué quieres comer para el desayuno?” (keh kee-EHR-ehs KOH-mehr PAH-rah ehl deh-sah-YOO-noh)

You could then offer a series of choices from below.
Eggs= huevos (WEH-bohs)
Cereal=cereales (seh-reh-AHL-ehs)
Toast=pan tostado (pahn toh-STAH-doh)

Get dressed!

When helping your child get dressed, use the phrase “Ponte __________.” (POHN-teh)

Fill in the blank with an article of clothing below.

Shirt = la camisa (lah kah-MEE-sah)
Pants = los pantalones (lohs pahn-tah-LOH-nehs)
Socks = los calcetines (lohs kahl-seh-TEE-nehs)
Shoes = los zapatos (lohs zah-PAH-tohs)

Wake up!

When you go to wake your child up in the morning, say, “¡Despiértate, cariño!” (dehs-pee-EHR-tah-teh, kah-REEN-yoh) This means “Wake up, Dear!”

If your child wakes up first and comes to you, say, “¡Buenos Días!” (BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs)

About this blog

I created this blog so that moms (and dads) will have a way to introduce their children to the Spanish language without having to know Spanish themselves. Periodically, I will post a new phrase to use with your child. (I will try to do this weekly.) Eventually, you will build up a repertoire of phrases that you can continue to use with your child throughout the day, every day! Your child learns his first language this way (although on a much larger scale), so it is natural for him to learn a second language this way as well. Good luck!