Spice Up Your Summer (and keep your kids busy) with Worldly Wednesdays!

Summer break is such an exciting time for kids!  Lots of free time for relaxing, playing, and having fun.  But for some parents, months of unstructured time can be a little daunting!  If you are searching for activities to keep your kids engaged, here’s an idea for you.  A former Spanish Schoolhouse family shared this great plan for keeping kids tuned into the Spanish culture.  You can adapt the program to your children’s ages and your family’s schedule.

Each week, select a Spanish speaking country to learn about.  Did you know there are 21 to choose from?!  Encourage your family to do simple research for a few days, and celebrate on “Worldly Wednesdays” with a family presentation of what you’ve learned! 

Ideas ages 3 and up 

• Print out a flag coloring page for your child to color.  Attach flags to sticks or straws and build your collection week by week, or make a garland.  http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/flag-colouring-pages
• Research animals that are native to your country
• Search online for samples of typical music, or check out the great kids’ collection of world music from Putumayo Kids – http://www.putumayo.com/putumayo-kids/. Many libraries have copies of their CDs.

Additional ideas for ages 5 and up

• Print a map and find your country; pinpoint the capital city, adding new ones each week!
• What are the most popular sports in this country?
• What is the climate like?  (Are their summer months the same as ours or opposite?)
• Fun facts or trivia
• National anthem (find the lyrics in Spanish and try to learn them, just in time for the Olympics!)
• Visit a restaurant from your chosen country, or find traditional recipes to prepare a Worldly Wednesday dish at home.

Fun for all ages

To help kids keep track of their imaginary travel experiences, trim a folder to look like a suitcase and have them decorate it with travel stickers, or make a little passport booklet and  “stamp” the names of each country as they explore throughout the summer.

We know we’ll see many Spanish Schoolhouse students and their friends at our summer camps, but we hope these ideas will help your family dive deeper into Latin culture during the summer.  Be creative and have fun learning together at home!  іBuen viaje!