Greetings & Giggles: How to Teach Manners While Having Fun
/0 Comentarios/en blog, Parent Tips /por canteditENGLISH | SPANISH
Greetings & Giggles:
How to Teach Manners While Having Fun
By Nuria Santamaría Wolfe
Manners matter. We all want our kids to be well-mannered citizens of the world and teaching them to be so shouldn’t have to be boring.
While manners include everything from saying “please” and “thank you” to offering compliments and exhibiting proper etiquette at the dinner table, the easiest place to start teaching manners is with greetings.
Proper greetings like “Hello” or “Good morning” are the first step for your little one to establish a relationship with a new friend or to make a great first impression with her teacher at the start of the school day.
Here are a few tips to help your little ones practice greeting phrases:
Use Songs:
- There are so many songs to choose from but our favorite is the very simple but very fun “Hello, good morning”. Watch our Little Chickies greet each other and greet the day in our catchy sing-along video here.
- They can learn these phrases in English and in Spanish…so they can greet twice as many friends!
- A simple “hello” in someone’s native language goes a long way to establish a connection with someone. Nothing makes a person smile more than knowing that a stranger is trying to speak to them in their own language. Learning to say “hello” in multiple languages can be fun!
- Sing in English. Sing in Spanish. Sing in both!
- Sing every morning to salute the day with joy and to establish the behavior.
Role Play:
- Use your child’s favorite stuffed animals and throw a pretend tea party or birthday party. Ask your child to greet each animal as he/she arrives at the party with phrases like “Hello” and “Thanks for coming.”
- You can respond with your most sweet bunny voice with “Hi. How are you?.” and with the most majestic wave of your elephant trunk with a “Nice to see you”.
- Act out shaking hands, paws, trunks, etc. and giving snuggly hugs. Switch roles to allow your child to role play as his/her favorite lovie.
- Soon your little one will get the hang of it and start to realize how nice it feels to greet and be greeted with a warm welcome.
As you try these creative ways to help your little one learn the concept of greetings, don’t forget your own manners and express gratitude for their effort. “Thank you” and “Gracias” are among the sweetest words they can hear from you.
About the author
Nuria is an entrepreneur and mom raising two bilingual children. She joined forces with another mom, Susie Jaramillo, and founded Encantos – a family entertainment and education company for today’s multicultural families.
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The Itsy Bitsy Spider/La Chiquitita Araña: Sing and write!
/0 Comentarios/en Literacy - Lectura /por canteditThe Itsy Bitsy Spider/La Chiquitita Araña: Sing and write!
Video
- English
- Español
- printed activity sheets
- crayons or colored pencils.
This week we are sharing our song “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Children will practice:
- Singing along to “The Itsy Bitsy Spider/ La Araña Chiquitita” in English and Spanish
- Handwriting practice for the five vowels
To help your little ones practice the opposites in this song, see our blog post on best practices for teaching vocabulary.
- hojas de actividades impresas
- crayons or colored pencils.
Esta semana estamos compartiendo nuestra canción “La araña chiquitita.” Los niños practicarán:
- Cantar “The Itsy Bitsy Spider/ La Araña Chiquitita” en inglés y español
- Escribir los cinco vocales
Para apoyar a tus niños a practicar los opuestos en esta canción, lea nuestra entrada de blog sobre las mejores prácticas para enseñar vocabulario.
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Bilingualism: Tips For Establishing Cultural Connections And Staying The Course
/0 Comentarios/en Parent Tips /por canteditGood Manners/Buenos Modales: Sing and color!
/0 Comentarios/en Art - Arte, Social Emotional Learning - Aprendizaje social y emocional /por canteditGood Manners/Buenos Modales: Sing and color!
Video
- English
- Español
- printed activity sheets
- crayons or colored pencils
- pencil
This week we are excited to share a compilation of our favorite songs that teach good manners and habits. Children will practice:
- Singing along to our playlist “Good Manners/ ¡Aprende buenos modales!” in English and Spanish
- Bilingual vocabulary for common items around the house or classroom, and create a poster to guide clean up time
Good habits take time to build, so hang the poster somewhere visible as a reminder for what little ones should clean up until they can tidy things without a visual aid
- hojas de actividades impresas
- lápiz
- crayones o lápices de colores
Esta semana nos emociona compartir una recopilación de nuestras canciones favoritas que enseñan buenos modales. Los niños practicarán:
- Cantar con nuestro playlist “Good Manners / ¡Aprende buenos modales!” en ingles y español
- Vocabulario bilingüe de artículos comunes en la casa o el salón, y crear un póster para guiar el tiempo de limpieza
Los buenos modales toman tiempo en desarrollarse, así que cuelgue el póster en un lugar visible como recordatorio de lo que los niños deben limpiar, hasta que puedan ordenar las cosas sin ayuda visual
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Teaching and Learning Science through the Five Senses
/0 Comentarios/en blog, Parent Tips /por canteditENGLISH | SPANISH
Teaching and Learning Science through the Five Senses
By Sophia Espinoza
Our new song, “The Senses/Los Sentidos,” is full of vocabulary and teaches children all about how we use our five senses every day.
To teach preschoolers new science concepts, it’s important to make learning as hands-on as possible! You’ll see that it’s easy to teach the senses through fun observations. Additionally, research shows that sensory play is a very important part of early childhood learning because it helps children remember and understand new information better.
Here are some fun activities you can do at home or at school for each sense:
Sight
- – Play a game of I Spy in different indoor and outdoor settings
- – Use a magnifying glass to observe interesting objects, or reexamine everyday objects at home like coins and buttons
- – Create a small frame, from popsicle sticks or other arts and crafts materials, and use it to try to capture live “photos” of the things around you
Touch
- – Make a Mystery Box by cutting a hole into the side of a shoebox, and have the child guess what the different mystery objects are that you place inside
- – Play a game of Opposites, where the child holds an object and describes how it feels, then have them search for an object around the house that has the opposite texture
Taste
- – To expand children’s palates, have them taste unfamiliar spices or herbs in new dishes, and describe what they are tasting out loud
- – When eating their favorite dishes, have them describe what they love about the taste, and use it as an opportunity to teach them new taste words like “savory.”
Smell
- – Use something fragrant to see if the child can identify the ingredients or elements while closing their eyes and only using their sense of smell
- – Infuse scents into other fun arts and crafts activities, such as making scratch-n-sniff stickers or candles
Hearing
- – Do a mindful listening activity by sitting still and taking in sounds, while listening to music or simply being outside
- – Have children record everyday animal sounds, either as digital audio clips on a device or as written observations in a notebook, to pique their interest in animal behavior
One last tip: to tie in new vocabulary a child is learning in a second language, have them practice saying that word out loud. For example, “I spy a mariposa,” or even better, “yo veo una mariposa.”
You probably noticed that any one of these activities can be used for multiple senses, so the possibilities are endless. Let’s get learning! ¡A aprender!
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The Senses/Los Sentidos: Sing and color!
/0 Comentarios/en Literacy - Lectura /por canteditThe Senses/Los Sentidos: Sing and color!
Video
- English
- Español
- printed activity sheets
- crayons or colored pencils.
This week we’re excited to share our new song “The Senses!” Children will practice:
- Singing along to “The Senses/ Los sentidos” in English and Spanish
- Body part vocabulary in English and Spanish with a Pin Pon coloring activity
Children learn best through hands-on learning, so practice these concepts by using the five senses to observe things around the house.
- hojas de actividades impresas
- crayones o lápices de colores
Esta semana estamos compartiendo nuestra canción “La araña chiquitita.” Los niños practicarán:
- Cantar “The Senses/ Los sentidos” en inglés y español
- Vocabulario de partes del cuerpo en inglés y español con una actividad para colorear con Pin Pon
Los niños aprenden mejor a través del aprendizaje práctico, así que practique usar los cinco sentidos para observar alrededor de la casa.
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Chickies In The Tubby/Al Agua Los Pollitos: Read, sing, and color!
/0 Comentarios/en Learning hub, Literacy - Lectura, Social Emotional Learning - Aprendizaje social y emocional /por canteditChickies In The Tubby/Al Agua Los Pollitos: Read, sing, and color!
Video
Activity
- English
- Español
- printed activity sheets
- crayons or colored pencils
- pencil
This week’s activity is based on our new song “Chickies in the Tubby.” Children will practice:
- Reading and singing our song “Chickies in the Tubby/ Al Agua los Pollitos” in English and Spanish
We know that getting your little chickies in the tubby can sometimes be challenging. Incorporate toys, singing, reading and imaginative play into your bath time routine to make it more fun.
- hojas de actividades impresas
- lápiz
- crayones o lápices de colores
La actividad de esta semana se basa en nuestra nueva canción Chickies in the Tubby. Los niños practicarán:
- Leer y cantar nuestra canción “Chickies in the Tubby/ Al Agua los Pollitos“, en inglés y español.
Sabemos que a veces bañar a sus pollitos puede ser un desafío. Incorpora juguetes, canto, lectura y juegos imaginativos a tu rutina de baño para que sea más divertido.
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Bilingual Firsts: Read, sing, write, and color!
/0 Comentarios/en Art - Arte, Learning hub, Literacy - Lectura /por canteditBilingual Firsts: Read, sing, write, and color!
Video
- English
- Español
- printed activity sheets
- crayons or colored pencils.
- scissors
This week’s activities are all based on letters and words to celebrate the premier of our Bilingual Firsts books. Children will practice:
- Reading and singing our song “Star Light, Star Bright/ Estrellita de la Nochecita” in English and Spanish
- Writing letters A, B, C, D, E
- Spanish and English vocabulary for objects found at home with a memory game
You can also use the memory game squares as labels or vocabulary flash cards. Make another fun vocabulary game out of this activity by asking children to hunt for objects around the house. “Can you find the chair? ¿Dónde está la silla?”
- hojas de actividades impresas
- crayons or colored pencils.
- lápices
Las actividades de esta semana se basan en letras y vocabulario para celebrar el lanzamiento de nuestros libros Bilingual Firsts. Los niños practicarán:
- Leer y cantar nuestra canción “Star Light, Star Bright/ Estrellita de la Nochecita”, en inglés y español.
- Escribir las letras A, B, C, D, E.
- Vocabulario en inglés y español de objetos en la casa, con un juego de memoria.
También puedes usar los cuadrados del juego de memoria como etiquetas o tarjetas de vocabulario. Haz otro juego de vocabulario divertido de esta actividad, pidiéndoles a los niños que busquen objetos en la casa. ¿Dónde está la silla? Can you find the chair?
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