Take a pretend vacation and practice Spanish!
It is cold out lately in Boston- and then it’s fairly mild- and then it’s cold again. All this back and forth just seems to make the colder days that much colder! If you are like many of us, you’re spending a good portion of these “colder days” planning imaginary vacations to warmer places. So why not put those plans to good use? Even if you can’t get away right now, you can use some items you probably already have at home to spend some quality time with your children and practice Spanish at the same time! Plan and execute a pretend trip to a Spanish-speaking country. Whether you are fluent in Spanish or can only say a few words, use as much as you can when you “arrive”.
During the months of November and December, many of our schools did Transportation and Travel themes to coincide with the holidays when families are often actually traveling. Here are some pictures from our Needham school where the teachers and children created an “agencia de viajes” or “travel agency” in their dramatic play area.
You can make one at home quite easily. Ours had a travel desk, and a lounge-area for planning journeys, but you could use anything-even your kitchen table. If you are a member of AAA or other such organization, you can obtain free travel guides and maps to use as well. Otherwise, you can use any materials you happen to have around the house, or print information and pictures from the internet.
Once you have planned your journey, you are ready to get on the airplane! This can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. All you really need though, are a few chairs arranged in rows, and maybe an aisle (depending on how big your plane is, of course). The teachers at Pine Village Needham even created a beverage cart out of a set of plastic drawers on wheels. It came complete with plastic cups and a pitcher for the children to serve drinks. If you don’t have one of these carts, you can use anything you do have around the house, such as a tray or even a flat piece of sturdy cardboard. You and your children can pretend to have the plane take-off and land. Once you disembark, remember to use as much Spanish as you can as you play out all the activities you will be doing on your trip. Maybe you would like to go horse-back riding, or swimming, or biking. The sky’s the limit!
Just don’t forget to bring your passport!
If you like what you’ve seen here, you will love the Pine Village Spanish Immersion Summer Camp! During the summer months, we take imaginary vacations to a different Spanish-speaking country every two weeks.