Many of your students probably love learning Spanish, especially during your more dynamic and student focused lessons.  However, even the most eager Spanish learners might lack the possibility to practice the language during summer break.  Here are some ideas to keep Spanish present in a natural and relaxed way.

1. Watching films  

In April, Spanish Mama posted a blog with a long list of P and PG rated movies for kids.  The list includes trailers, the rating of the film, the length and a short blurb about it.  Check it out here:  list of movies to watch this summer with kids

2.  Yoga in Spanish

Namaste.  Kids are drawn to yoga.  It’s relaxing without sitting still and being quiet, it’s different, and it’s something that adults do.  Whether you do it with your children or make it something that they can do alone, it is beneficial not just for language learning, but overall well-being.

This Saludo al Sol song has a catchy song and fun animals movements to help kids remember the yoga postures.

A relaxing addition to any yoga practice is mediation.  This mantra (Mants para niños - Radhe Bol  *which is NOT in Spanish) can be used to form part of your summer (or even next school year) yoga practice. 

3. Trip Bingo

We saw this idea back when we were generating materials that could be used when teaching a unit on Transportation  and loved the potential for natural language use outside of the classroom.  Take this in the car and make Spanish part of your next roadtrip. 

4. Fortune tellers / Comecocos

Fortune tellers are a great classroom resource because even when the bell rings the students want to keep playing or throw them in their bags to use outside of the classroom.  Spanish Playground shares a fortune teller made by Mommy Maestra specifically for the summer.  For younger kids you could simply print the template and use it as a game (not mentioning that they are practicing Spanish).  For older kids you could suggest that they create a fortune teller in Spanish, just as they would do in English, putting questions, answers, and words of their own choosing.

5.  Board games

Most of the board games we know and love are also available in Spanish.  This summer you can play any Spanish version of a game you already know and love or check out a new game in Spanish.  There are some game that are designed for non-native speakers with the idea that they are a natural way to learn Spanish.  KLOO - A race to Madrid is an interactive game that can be played by children and adults and combines useful vocabulary with simple sentences.

Another one of our favorites that is for a more advanced level and more mature audience (read: not appropriate for children) is the card game Black Stories.  Each card has part of a story/crime on it, but it’s up to the participants to fill in the gaps of missing information.  Playing the game in Spanish combines all different skills with the motivation of solving a crime!

6. Online games, songs, and videos

We have a wide range of online games, songs, and videos that can be watched and played over the summer to take Spanish out of the classroom and bring it into summer vacation.

If you’ve already finished the school year, felicidades! And, if you finish this week, best of luck with the final push.  As always, please leave any comments on our Facebook page or in the comments section below.  Happy teaching and rock on into summer vacation!