Want to keep your kids engaged and practicing Spanish outside of the classroom? Here’s a rundown of different activities for kids that cater to the 3 major different learning styles!
Here at the Spanish Institute, we know that in order for kids to learn Spanish effectively, they have to be having fun! That’s why we developed our own curriculum, in order to make our learning experience as fun as possible for kids and adults alike.
Spanish Institute’s kids classes (“Primeros Pasos”) are based on the three major learning styles: kinesthetic (movement), visual and auditory. Our classes cover best learning techniques for all three learning styles. How do we do that? Through exciting interactive games, storytelling, and fun original songs! These learning styles were originally popularized by Neil D. Fleming in 1987. They encompass the different and unique ways that kids learn and show teachers how to keep every last kid interested and learning. Figuring out your child’s learning style will help you figure out the best way to keep them learning at home and out in the world!
Visual learners learn best when they’re using images, color-coding, illustrations, maps and graphs. They make fast associations between images and words, and are great at remembering visual aids. Spanish Institute caters to visual learners with flashcards, which are used in games and for study, and brightly illustrated books! Visual learning also covers students who learn best through reading and writing, and have strong memories and literacy skills. Our original books and workbook activities keep kids reading and writing to solidify the material they’ve learned in class.
Auditory learners learn best when they’re listening—to words, stories, music and rhythms! Sound, rhyme and music are a big part of the auditory learner’s experience. They can recall sounds and songs easily. Their Spanish accents are often years ahead! Our curriculum includes storytelling and a big selection of original audio tracks and songs. Check out a few of our songs right here:
(Did you know that all Spanish Institute audio is free online? Visit this link to listen to hundreds of free audio tracks for adults and kids!)
Kinesthetic learners learn best when they’re moving and putting their body into action. They excel in high energy situations and have a hard time learning in sedentary situations like lectures. Kinesthetic learners have great muscle memory, reaction times, and coordination. They’re often energetic and do great with acting, art and sports. Spanish Institute includes active games in elementary curriculum, so that kids get a chance to run around and engage their minds and bodies as they learn.
So, want to know how to engage your kids in Spanish learning outside of the classroom? Here’s an example of one of our favorite games to play!
Mata Moscas:
Mata Moscas is a vocabulary building game that uses flyswatters, pictures and flashcards. Simply lay the cards around the room, in a circle or at random. The kids will hold flyswatters. When you’re ready, call out a word in Spanish and have the kids race to see who can swat the corresponding picture first! Call out an English word, and have the kids race to find its Spanish translation. This game is fun, fast and active. The kids love getting to run around and compete. Plus, it’s versatile—print out your own cards and you can practice any vocabulary you want!
The beautiful thing about this exciting, simple game is that every learning style gets something out of it. The kinesthetic learners get to move and think, the visual learners get to find the right flashcards, and auditory learners hear the vocabulary repeated.
Interested in figuring out your student’s learning style? Here’s a link to a quiz that you can take with your child: http://www.schoolfamily.com/school-family-articles/article/836-learning-styles-quiz. For a quiz that you can fill out on your own by observing your child, visit http://home-school.lovetoknow.com/Learning_Style_Quiz.
To see Spanish Institute’s curriculum and learn more about our Primeros Pasos elementary classes, visit https://primerospasosco.com/elementary-enrichment/. And if you want to bring Primeros Pasos and Spanish Institute to your Colorado school, contact us at info@spanish-institute.org!