MommyMaestra Dia de los Reyes Resources

 

Día de los Reyes is only a few days away. Does your family celebrate this tradition? If so, how? 

If you aren't familiar with it, Día de los Reyes Magos (or Day of the Magi) takes place every year on January 6th. It celebrates that long ago day when the Three Wise Men arrived in Bethlehem to visit the newborn Jesus. 

In Latin America and Spain, Día de los Reyes is an integral part of the holiday season. For many, this is the day that children receive presents. It is the Magi who bring gifts rather than Santa.

Different countries celebrate the day in different ways. In some, children leave their shoes at the end of their beds or outside their bedroom doors for the Reyes to fill with gifts. Others assemble a box of hay for the Kings' camels to eat - and then the boxes are refilled with regalos. 

MommyMaestra has compiled a lot of resources over the years that are dedicated to this holiday. Take a look below at all the different ones.

Lesson Plans and More!

• Día de los Reyes Lesson Plans, Books, Activities - This is a really comprehensive post with resources outside of MommyMaestra for Día de los Reyes
  
  

Music

• Music for Celebrating Día de los Reyes Magos
  
• Los Reyes Magos: A Mini-Concert

Videos

• Los Reyes Magos on YouTube

Printables

Reading Passage (for 4th - 6th)

This is a one-page history on the Día de los Reyes Magos, or the Epiphany that is celebrated in Latin America and Spain. Your students will learn about this holiday tradition. Available in full color or black-and-white, this informational text is written for students in 4th - 8th grade. Includes an 8-question comprehension quiz plus answer key.

Minibook/Coloring Pages

This minibook is an introduction to the Day of the Magi. This book includes coloring pages of items most closely associated with the holiday, as well as brief descriptions in English and Spanish that are easy for young children to understand.

NOW UPDATED!

This file now contains THREE books:

• a bilingual book (English & Spanish)

• an English only (for ESL)

• a Spanish only (for Spanish learners)

Decorations Packet

This is my favorite printable for Día de los Reyes! Your students will enjoy it, too. This packet comes with:

• a festive banner to print and hang,

• photo booth props,

• a writing activity where your kids write a letter and stick it into a printed shoe,

• and shoebox decorating sheets for those who put out a box of grass for the camels. Each sheet contains a different scene and the sheets are available for small and large boxes.

FREE Letter Templates to the Magi

This stationery set comes with two designs and both are available in English and Spanish.

Books

In English:

• The Story of the Three Wise Kings by Tomie dePaola  -  on Amazon | on Bookshop
• The Three Wise Men: A Christmas Story by Loek Koopmans  -  on Amazon | on Bookshop
• Home by Another Way: A Christmas Story by Barbara Brown Taylor  -  on Amazon | on Bookshop
  
  

And in Spanish:

• Los Reyes Magos by Lourdes M. Alvarez   -   on Amazon | on Bookshop
• Ya llegan los Reyes Magos! by Georgina Lazaro - on Amazon | on Bookshop
• Las Estrellas de Los Reyes Magos by Tere Rodriguez-Nora  -  on Amazon | on Bookshop
• La Leyenda de Los Reyes Magos by Nora Girón-Dolce  -  on Amazon | on Bookshop
• Si los Reyes Magos no tuvieran sus camellos by Gilberto Mariscal  -  on Amazon | on Bookshop

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• Día de los Reyes Writing Activity
  
  
• Printable Activities for Martin Luther King, Jr Day
  

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Printable Día de los Reyes Resources

Will your family be celebrating Día de los Reyes Magos on Monday? If so, be sure to check out my post that lists TONS of resources for exploring and celebrating the holiday. You'll find everything from books to music to videos.

I also have several printables, such as the one shown above of reading passages, coloring pages, and letter templates that you may enjoy, too. You can find them in my TpT store and my MommyMaestra online shop.

My favorite activity for the holiday is this Reyes Writing Activity. It is part of the decorations packet that you can use to decorate your house or classroom. Do you put your shoes at the end of your bed or do you set out a box of hay for the Magi's camel? If it is the latter, you'll enjoy the printable coloring sheets to use to decorate your box!

Final TpT Sale of the Season!

Yikes! I forgot to tell you about this one! Don't forget that the final TpT sale of the year is happening. Today is the last day to take advantage of the discount on my ENTIRE store!

Search your wish list for those favorite holiday items. Here are just some of the items you might have been waiting to come around:

NEW this year! I've finally bundled my elementary files for Las Posadas. My five most popular activities for this tradition are available now. Reading passages for older children also available.

This printable booklet of popular villancicos is easy to print and go.

Here's a fun booklet of aguinaldo lyrics. 

My Parranda Reading Passage sheds light on this Puerto Rican tradition.

Introduce your students to el Día de los Reyes with this printable minibook! One-page reading passage for older children also available.

Click here to see my complete store and stock up for next year!

Lupita at Target

Oh. My. Goodness. I saw this doll in Target on Wednesday and I was moved to tears. La Virgen de Guadalupe is such a strong image in my childhood memories. My Buelita always had candles lit that featured her image, as well as a framed photo that hung in her bedroom. I remember that every year, the same Buelita would hang a calendar with Guadalupe in her kitchen. My Nanita also had a charm on her bracelet featuring our Lady. (Please excuse the shaky image - I was holding a squirmy baby at the time.)

But it is my mom who springs to my mind. She constantly referred to Guadalupe and had images of her stashed everywhere - in her purse, at home, various jewelry, etc. In case you don't know, December 12th was Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe Day). And that is the significance for me. I found her on her day and am reminded of my mom who passed away earlier this year.

This post contains affiliate links. 

So I could only imagine how popular this doll would be with MommyMaestra readers. Target is carrying the Lupita doll and book set both in their stores (this one I saw with the Elf on the Shelf (¡Qué horror!) display) and online. If you order online, you can have her shipped directly to your house or free to the store. Plus, it was on sale!

The 35-page bilingual, hardcover book has beautiful illustrations. It accompanies the plush Lupita doll who is a partner in kind in encouraging children to do good deeds throughout the Christmas holiday season leading to the Three Kings Day.💖

If you desperately want one, I would recommend going online to see if it is available in a Target store near you, or just order it and have it shipped to your home or local store. All the affiliate links in this post will take you directly to the product pages on Target.

But wait! The awesomeness doesn't end there! While searching for her, I found that there is also a Lupita Advent Calendar! Who cares if December has already started? Anyway, it runs from December 1st through JANUARY 6TH!! (Día de los Reyes, my friends.) It includes a full Nativity set for your child to put together. I LOVE nacimientos.

And, yes, there's more.

They are also selling an estrellita tree topper, a rosca de reyes baking mix, and a Lupita ornament. I couldn't find the ornament online, so I guess I'm going to pay a visit to all the Targets in my area and see if any are left. :)

Anyway, I thought I would share because it was such a delightful surprise to me and so I figure it might be to you, too, if you don't already know about it. 

Happy holidays, Amigos!

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• Juan Diego & Our Lady of Guadalupe Reading Passage
  
  
• Día de los Reyes Lesson Plans, Books, Activities

Printables and Crafts for Día de los Reyes

Does your family celebrate Día de los Reyes Magos? Or maybe you are simply learning about this Christmas tradition. Either way, don't forget that I have a post that lists TONS of resources for exploring and celebrating the holiday. From books to music to videos, you'll find everything you need in English and Spanish.

In addition, I have several printables, such as the one shown above of reading passages, coloring pages, and letter templates that you may enjoy, too. You can find them in my TpT store and my MommyMaestra online shop.

And finally, don't miss out on the activities I've shared before, including this Reyes Writing Activity. It is part of the decorations packet that you can use to decorate your house or classroom. Do you put your shoes at the end of your bed or do you set out a box of hay for the Magi's camel? If it is the latter, you'll enjoy the printable coloring sheets to use to decorate your box!

Día de los Reyes Writing Activity

Does your family celebrate Día de los Reyes? If so, you may enjoy this printable Día de los Reyes writing craftivity! It's such a clever way to get your kids to practice writing and have fun doing it.

Día de los Reyes Magos Writing Activity

This writing activity available in my Día de los Reyes Decorations Packet. It includes cutouts of various colored sneakers and letter writing pages so students can write to the Reyes with a wish list in English or Spanish. Then they just roll it up and stick it in the sneaker that is pasted to a sheet of colored construction paper. It's super fun!

Supply List

For this craft, you probably have everything you need at home, but if you don't. You can click the affiliate links below to order them from Amazon.

Other Resources in the Decorations Packet

The Decorations Packet also includes:

• a festive banner to print and hang, 

• photo booth props, 

• and shoebox decorating sheets for those who put out a box of grass for the camels. Each sheet contains a different scene for children to color in, and the sheets are available for small and large boxes...

Other Posts for Día de los Reyes

• Día de los Reyes Lesson Plans, Books, Activities
  
  
• Music for Celebrating Día de los Reyes Magos
  
  
• Los Reyes Magos: A Mini-Concert
  
  
• Printable Día de los Reyes Resources

New Día de los Reyes Printables and Decorations

Woo! Día de los Reyes is only a couple of days away. And to celebrate, I have some new resources available in my TpT shop! 

First, my Día de los Reyes Reading Passage is a one-page summary of the holiday. Available in full color or black-and-white, this informational text is written for students in 4th - 8th grade and includes an 8-question comprehension quiz plus answer key. It is in English only at this time.

The second (and my actual favorite!) is this set of decorations for celebrating Día de los Reyes! This packet comes with a festive banner to print and hang, photo booth props (so fun!), a writing activity where your kids write a letter and stick it into a printed shoe (see image at top), and shoebox decorating sheets for those who put out a box of grass for the camels. Each sheet contains a different scene. 

And don't forget you can still find my Bilingual Minibook of Día de los Reyes - now updated with three minibooks (bilingual, English only, and Spanish only) - in my shop.

For free Reyes printables, check out my letter to los Reyes Magos and my Reyes Activity Sheet (both in Spanish and English) for little ones.

Happy learning!

Free Download: Letters to the Magi in English & Spanish

Do your children leave letters to the Magi in their shoes on the night of the 5th? Or perhaps they leave a little letter next to a box full of hay for the Magi's camel? If so, here is a little freebie for you from MommyMaestra! Your kids will love these colorful printable letters to the Magi.

This post includes affiliate links.

Printable Template for Letters to the Magi

Our first post of the year is a printable stationery set. It comes with two designs and both are available in English and Spanish.

Click here to download your letter to los Reyes Magos

Enjoy!

More Día de los Reyes Printables

Day of the Magi - Dia de los Reyes - Bilingual Minibook

This minibook is an introduction to the Day of the Magi. This book includes coloring pages of items most closely associated with the holiday, as well as brief descriptions in English and Spanish that are easy for young children to understand. Comes in three versions: English-only, Spanish-only, and bilingual. For PreK through 3rd.

Día de los Reyes Magos Reading Passage

This is a one-page history on the Día de los Reyes Magos, or the Epiphany that is celebrated in Latin America and Spain. Your students will learn about this holiday tradition. Available in full color or black-and-white, this informational text is written for students in 6th - 10th grade. Includes an 8-question comprehension quiz plus answer key.

Día de los Reyes Decorations Packet

This is my favorite printable for Día de los Reyes! Your students will enjoy it, too. This packet includes:

• a festive banner to print and hang,

• photo booth props,

• a writing activity where your kids write a letter and stick it into a printed shoe,

• and shoebox decorating sheets for those who put out a box of grass for the camels. Each sheet contains a different scene and the sheets are available for small and large boxes.

For PreK-4th.

Other Día de los Reyes Posts You May Enjoy

• Día de los Reyes Magos Activity Sheet {PRINTABLE}
  
  
• Día de los Reyes Lesson Plans, Books, Activities
  
  
• Music for Celebrating Día de los Reyes Magos
  
  
• Día de los Reyes Writing Activity
  

Día de los Reyes Giveaway: Gifts by eeBoo

We are so excited to present you another fantastic giveaway! Actually, we have two! Thanks to our dear friends at eeBoo, a boutique toy manufacturer that specializes in beautiful and well-made educational games and gifts like I Never Forget a Face Matching Game and Natural & Earth Science Flash Cards.

My family has I Never Forget a Face Matching Game and everyone absolutely loves it! The game tiles are sturdy (perfect for those rough little boy hands we have around here!) and not only are the images for the concentration game visually stunning but also culturally refreshing! There are 24 faces to match and the little people hail from Mexico to Myanmar!

eeBoo is also giving a second winner a pack of the Natural & Earth Science Flash Cards. The learning tool offers six categories. My oldest boys would love to dig into the Mammals and Underwater Life flash cards! On one side of the card, a beautiful illustration is depicted. When flipped over, you can learn a bunch of facts about the featured image.

Both these eeBoo products introduce children to the world, work on concentration and memorization, as well as generating conversations with friends and family!

THE GIVEAWAY



eeBoo has donated a I Never Forget a Face Memory Game to one Mommy Maestra winner! Just in time for Día de los Reyes Magos ~ Three Kings Day!

eeBoo has also donated a pack of Natural & Science Flash Cards for another Mommy Maestra reader.

To enter to win, simply use the Raffecopter below.

¡Buena suerte!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Betty Galvan, is writing "for smart and stylish moms" over

at MyFriendBettySays.com.

Día de los Reyes Magos Activity Sheet {PRINTABLE}

To celebrate Día de los Reyes Magos, I put together a quick activity sheet for kids in Pre-K through 1st grade. May you all have a wonderful day!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Los Reyes Magos on YouTube

One last post before tomorrow. I know your children are no doubt super excited and getting ready for Los Reyes' visit tonight, but I thought I would just let you know (in case you don't already!) that you can watch chapters of the movie, Los Reyes Magos, on YouTube. I'm not sure if they are all there (I haven't sat and watched all of them), but you can find them here. And to give you a sample, here is Chapter 1...


Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

El Buzón de los Reyes Magos

Really thrilled to have found this incredible website dedicated to Los Reyes. Based out of Spain, El Buzón de los Reyes Magos is in Spanish only. The site is a visual feast for both children and adults.

There is a section dedicated to the history of Los Reyes that parents and children can visit together. Your child can also watch two fantastic animated videos and explore the Kings' palace or learn about Mechor, Baltasar, and Gaspar individually.

There is also a section just for parents, where they can create letters from the Reyes year-round and send them to their children whenever they need a little reminder to behave themselves!

Be prepared, though, for some differences. Having researched Los Reyes for a good while now, I've discovered that their individual stories are not consistent. Sometimes Gaspar is the one from Asia, sometimes it is one of the others. In one version, Melchor may be recognized by his flaming red hair...but not in another! So if you have already taught one version about the Reyes to your children, you may prefer to preview the site first in case it doesn't match your family's own traditional story.

Ibi has also created a free app by the same name. It mainly focuses on allowing your child to create their own letter to Los Reyes. But you can also watch the videos on your iPad.

Enjoy this awesome find!

Free Printable Letters to Los Reyes Magos (The Magi)

Time for a freebie, I think!

Do your children write a letter to Los Reyes with a wish list of the gifts they'd love to receive? I know some children do, and then they tuck the letters into the box of hay for the camels, or into their shoes, which they leave carefully lined up by the foot of their beds for the Reyes to fill with regalitos.

Well, I've created two letter templates that you can download for FREE. There are two versions: One in Spanish and one in English (Do you know how hard it is to find any in English?!?), so you can choose the one you prefer to use. And to save you ink, they were designed in black and white - so your kids can color in the camel and the Wise Men for fun!

Enjoy!

The Holidays Are Not Over

By Betty Galvan

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! How was it? By the way, is that what you are hearing lately? I have and I want to say, “Wait! It isn’t over!!”

When I was growing up, January 6th was the official ending to our holiday season. I knew it was Dia de los Reyes, but my parents dropped the traditional festivities when they arrived to Chicago from Mexico. Many years ago, I asked my mom why we didn’t celebrate Three Kings Day and she said that it was a holiday not observed in the U.S. Oh no! Yet, she had wonderful stories about leaving her shoes out twelve days after Christmas for The Three Kings to fill with delicious fruit and candy. So instead we waited for Santa, partied on New Year’s Eve and packed away all our Christmas decorations and nacimiento from under the tree on the seventh of January. As I wrapped up the porcelain Baby Jesus with great care, I used extra bubble wrap for each of The Three Kings, too. I wondered in my head about myrrh, but never asked.

Since the birth of my three sons, I have made sure we celebrate Dia de los Reyes and that no question goes unanswered. I understand my parents reluctance to celebrate something their neighbors did not. Today, I want to teach my kids an important piece of how our culture celebrates the Christmas traditions; from las posadas to pan de rosca, every detail will be explained.

When we start decorating our Christmas tree, I have the boys unwrap the delicate figures of our nativity scene (combining American and Mexican traditions!) and my husband tells them the story of The Three Kings following the North Star to find the Newborn King. In the future, I will purchase the books recommended here by Mommy Maestra and read them to the boys throughout the Christmas season. The Three Kings are important and the tradition of leaving out our shoes for a last surprise is a perfect way to honor them. It is also a perfect way to honor our Mexican traditions.

Will you observe Dia de los Reyes on Sunday? Any unique or original ideas you have added to the tradition? Let us know!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Betty Galvan, is helping her readers "find the positive and seek the benefits" over at her blog, MyFriendBettySays.com.

She is the mother of three beautiful little boys and a teacher.

Día de los Reyes for Kids

Happy New Year, dear friends! Thank you all for making last year such a fabulous one. I learned so much and even though it was a hard year for many, 2012 was a great learning experience for me with lots of opportunities. I hope that you had a good one, too!

I'm looking forward to sharing more great resources with you in 2013. And we are kicking off with Día de los Reyes Magos! Does your family celebrate this holiday? When I was a child, we didn't, but my children are getting to enjoy it now.

There are not a LOT of materials out there, but each year more and more activities and crafts become available. In case you missed them, here are some of the great resources I've already shared...

First, don't miss my comprehensive list of lesson plans, books, and activities. There are a lot of great links to fun projects and informational materials. And don't forget my Pinterest board on Día de los Reyes! It has a lot of fun crafts and activity sheets.

For the Spanish-speakers, take a look at my list of five books in Spanish on Los Reyes Magos.

Here is a list of MP3's on Los Reyes available for download from Amazon. You can also find them on albums, if you prefer to purchase and play. Also, last year I shared this mini-concert of online videos featuring a variety of people, both young and old, singing songs for Los Reyes. It's fun to watch them all from the comfort of your home computer!
Also, I still LOVE this app on Los Reyes Magos. It is so beautiful and definitely the best app that I've seen out there so far. We'll be sharing some others this week.

More to come this week!

Un abrazo fuerte...


 

Los Reyes Magos: A Mini-Concert

I'm going to end this week's posts a day early with these beautiful videos. It took me a while to find them. Don't forget that new links and resources for activities, crafts, and more for Día de los Reyes Magos have been added to the main MommyMaestra Reyes resource page.

Wishing you a joyful weekend! I hope you enjoy this mini-concert from your own computer...

Music for Celebrating Día de los Reyes Magos

This post uses affiliate links. 

You can find a whole list of MP3s available on Amazon about Los Reyes Magos. They are all inexpensive, but naturally, there were just a few in particular that I enjoyed. Below you will find three very different versions/styles of music dedicated Los Reyes. If you follow the link to their Amazon page, you can listen to a sample of each one. 

Ya vienen los Reyes (aff link) by Rayito is a beautiful version, that is easy to sing along with... though I think mamis will like this version better than los niños. It is available on the album, Queridos Reyes Magos (aff)($6.99), or as a single MP3 (aff) for $.89. It is also available in a CD format ($25.00 and up).

Los Tres Reyes Magos (aff) by José-Luis Orozco. Of course, you can't go wrong with Orozco's clear, strong voice and musical arrangements. I very much like listening to just the sound of him singing and playing his guitar - it doesn't distract me from the music itself. It is available on his album, Fiestas - Vol 6. (aff) for $9.49, or as a single MP3 (aff) for $.99. It is also available in a CD format ($15.98).

Los Reyes Magos (aff) by Aquabella. I love the harmony in this version! I can't hardly keep up with what they're saying, but it sounds beautiful. It is available on the album, Jaros Whisper (aff) for $8.99, or as a single MP3 (aff) for $.99.

Con mucho cariño...

Los Reyes on the Internet

Here are just a few of the new resources I have discovered on Los Reyes Magos. For a complete list, be sure to check out the main resource page for Día de los Reyes.

Pasitos de Colores has an adorable short story about Los Reyes. Just click on the picture and it will take you to their site. Once you are there, you can scroll down and click on the first picture. This will pull up a slide show to make reading the book easier for you and your children.

ParaBebes has the cutest site where kids can choose their favorite Magi and then send him an email with their wishlist. (I asked for a new car. Ahem.) And he immediately responds with a short video! All in Spanish. Love it.


Mi Sala Amarilla has a great collection of printable letters to los Reyes (it's also where I found the link to ParaBebes). You can download and print your favorite design!

Dibujos.org has this adorable banderita you can print and have your students color/decorate. Then just string them together and you've got your own Día de los Reyes banner!

Con mucho cariño...