Parent Resources

The Parent Guide to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico

Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe is the patron saint of all of Mexico.

The Parent Guide to "Los Dias de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) in Hispanic Countries

Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, IS NOT HALLOWEEN or related to anything scary. It is a celebration of the Christian Holidays of All Saints and All Souls Days with some old native twists added in. Celebrations can start as early as midnight on Oct. 31, thus Nov. 1 and carry through Nov. 2. The recent Pixar/Disney movie "Coco" does a good job of explaining some of the cultural traditions behind it.

Below is a link to an excellent website that explains Day of the Dead in a child friendly manner. Check it out for explanations, videos, craft activities, etc. Spanishmama.com is an excellent website for many things to assist in teaching children Spanish. She is a teacher herself and is raising a bilingual family.

https://spanishmama.com/day-of-the-dead-kids/

An excellent video from Bedtime History about Day of the Dead traditions for children is linked below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH9wPgFiWvo&t=24s

The Parent Guide to Three King's Day in Hispanic Countries

Three King's Day, or Epiphany, Jan. 6 is typically when children in Spanish Speaking Countries receive many of their Christmas presents. The Kings are said to travel the world looking for homes where children at bedtime have left out a shoe or shoe box, filled with hay for the camels, by their window or bedroom door. Water is sometimes left outside for the camels to drink. Occasionally a camel is joined by an elephant and a horse to escort The Three Kings. Children awake to find candy and small presents in their shoes. A special celebration is held on Epiphany that includes wonderful food and a King's Cake. A ceramic baby doll is hidden inside the cake. Baby Jesus is hiding from King Herod. The person(s) who find Baby Jesus in their piece of cake are responsible for hosting a party on Candlemas Day, Feb. 2, which honors the presentation of Our Lord at the Jewish Temple 40 days after his birth. See the following resources:

https://kidsclubspanishschool.com/learn-about-three-kings-day-in-hispanic-countries/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ltbPANG2w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOTDArxFN-k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmMP7Mthx7w

The Parent Guide to Summer Spanish

https://spanishmama.com/summer-spanish-resources/

Spanish Prayers taught in our elementary schools

Spanish prayers taught in our elementary schools

Music Inside and Outside of Spanish Class:

We sing many silly songs in all of our Spanish classes to reinforce, practice, and learn Spanish vocabulary. Learning is enhanced through fun, laughter, music, and movement. Students in the older grades understand that our silly songs are sung to support learning and are encouraged to enjoy and not be overly self-conscious. Songs from many artists are used and are continually being written and discovered. The following is a list of some of the songs we enjoy.

Dr. Jean's Spanish songs from her ¡Ole, Ole, Ole! CD. Outside of class individual songs can be downloaded following purchase, at the following link. (There is a minimum purchase of 5 songs.)

http://drjean.org/html/songs/songStoreRenovated.html

The following is a list of her songs that I currently teach and use:

Hola Amigo (Spanish song)

Hello Friend (English version of Hola Amigo)

Días De La Semana (Spanish song)

Days Of The Week (English version of Dias de la Semana)

Meses Del Año (Spanish song)

Months Of The Year: Macarena Months (English version of Meses Del Año)

Matemáticas De Macarena (Spanish song)

Macarena Math (English version of Matemáticas De Macarena)

Mi Mamá Es Panadera (Spanish song)

My Mother Is A Baker (English version of Mi Mamá Es Panadera)

Dr. Jean's Spanish song lyrics from her ¡Ole, Ole, Ole! CD can be downloaded and printed off, free, from:http://drjean.org/html/lyrics/lyricsOle.pdf

Dr. Jean has a new CD out called Fiesta Fusion. I have not used any of the songs from her new CD yet.

Music from other artists:

Twin Sister's Productions:

Twin Sisters Productions, Spanish CD, songs: #1 The Alphabet Song (a favorite of the older grades); #4 Learning Colors.

Link: http://www.downloadkidsmusic.com/main.asp?uri=1029&cat=91&page=1&pi=6837&init=1

Charlotte Diamond:

Charlotte Diamond, Soy Una Pizza CD, songs: Un Pulpito (Octopus/Slippery Fish song), the English version is on her 10 Carrot Diamond CD; De Colores (A traditional Mexican Folk song.) Link: http://www.charlottediamond.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=33

Jose Feliciano:

Feliz Navidad is a favorite. I have it on a CD called Santa's Greatest Hits by Hip-O. It is #7.

Hap Palmer:

Hap Palmer, Divertamonos Aprendiendo CD, songs: #1 La Araña Pequeñita (The Itsy Bitsy Spider); #4 Doy Gracias; #8¿Cómo te llamas?

Link: http://www.happalmer.com

Cedarmont Kids:

Cedarmont Kids: Cantos Biblicos CD, song: #3 Cristo Me Ama (Jesus Loves Me);

Link: http://www.music-lyrics-gospel.com/free_mp3_downloads.asp?artist=Cedarmont+Kids&id=art.42840 When you go to the link scroll down to the correct album and click on the song.

Linda Ronstadt:

Canciones de Mi Padre, is an album collection of traditional mariachi music. We listen to it in the background occasionally.

Sugarland:

Their Gold and Green Album has Silent Night in English and Spanish on it. I use it when I teach the words to Silent Night in Spanish.

Jaci Velasquez:

Buenas Noches Mi Sol is a CD of hers I use to play calm and soothing music when students are working. It does containTwinkle Twinkle Little Star in Spanish.