An Honest Boy, Un hombre sincero {GIVEAWAY}

Today's giveaway is a new book by a new author. Magdalena Zenaida has written a lovely, bilingual, picture book for children introducing them to the famous Cuban poet, José Martí. Centered around one of Martí's first books of poetry, Versos sencillos, this book talks about his life as a young man and touches on a few of the events that influenced his writing, as well as the many places he lived while exiled from Cuba.

Don't let the title fool you. (It was the first thing I noticed, too.) I don't believe it is meant to be a literal translation as we typically see in most bilingual titles. The book is written in English, with some of the Spanish verses from the poem scattered throughout the text. And at the back is an excerpt from Versos sencillos along with a translation that is again, not a literal one, but rather one that conveys the meaning within his poem perfectly.

In addition, Zenaida has included a couple of pages with a more informative biography of Martí's life in the back of the book that includes more details about his role and influence in Cuba's revolution for independence. You'll also learn more about his works, including Abdala, La Patria Libre, Ismaelillo, and La Edad de Oro.

This is the first picture book I've seen about José Martí, and Argentinian Gastón Hauviller's illustrations are sweet and engaging. I'm glad to finally see Martí as the subject of a children's book. It's available in paperback and best suited for kids ages 4 to 8.

THREE MommyMaestra readers will win a signed copy graciously donated by the author.

To enter this giveaway, just use the Rafflecopter below.

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Fascinating Facts Human Body Game {GIVEAWAY}

Today's Back-to-School Fiesta! giveaway is perfect for strengthening your child's science skills. The Fascinating Facts Human Body Game by Lakeshore Learning is a fun way to help your kid learn anatomy. Which organ sends messages to your body at speeds of up to 180 miles per hour? Kids find out with this captivating game! It has over 60 fun questions for kids to explore, plus a 10 1/2" anatomical torso with body parts kids can remove.

This game is geared for students in third and fourth grade, but older and younger children can certainly benefit from playing, too. This game is available with playing cards in English only.

Lakeshore Learning is offering one of these sets to a MommyMaestra reader.

Enter to win below using the Rafflecopter.

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Disclosure: This is not a compensated post. The company agreed to offer one of these games to a MommyMaestra reader after I contacted them.

MamaYala™ Flash Card Set {GIVEAWAY}

Today's Back-to-School Fiesta! giveaway is one of my favorites. MamaYala™ is a design studio that develops cultural education materials. You may remember this post that I shared last year when I discovered MamaYala (they were just a Kickstarter campaign). I loved the concept and designs, so I supported. Imagine my joy when they achieved their fundraising goal and became an actual business. Above is a picture of the products I bought through their Kickstarter page.

The package included a set of alphabet flash cards, stickers, postcards, and memory cards (not shown). My kids and I have really enjoyed them. The flash cards have a letter of the Spanish alphabet printed on one side and an image on the other. They also come with a booklet, or a glossary, that includes a pronunciation guide and brief description of each item. The first time we laid out the cards and started learning about each design, my daughter would say, "Let's read about it!" when we discovered an instrument, animal, or food that we didn't recognize.

The cards are easy to store in the 100% cotton, drawstring bag with which it comes.

Of course, stickers are ALWAYS fun and the postcards are so lovely, we can't bring ourselves to write on them or part with them, so we keep them to look at and have even toyed with the idea of framing them to hang on the wall.

My favorite part of the products is that they are printed on paper made from sustainable forests and printed with soy-base ink.

And in case you didn't see it, last year MamaYala generously shared a printable food coloring book with MommyMaestra readers. You can still download it for free here.

One lucky MommyMaestra reader will win a flash card set from MamaYala™ that includes the stickers and postcards.

To enter this giveaway, just use the Rafflecopter below.

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Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I purchased the products. All opinions are strictly my own. 

Free Epic Downloads and a Giveaway!

Happy Monday! 

Today's Back-to-School Fiesta! resource is a free download plus a giveaway. 

This summer, we mostly took advantage of the dollar movies showing at the local movie theater. But there were two movies that I actually paid full price to take the kids to see. And the main one that I waited anxiously for was Epic. (You may remember me writing about our creepy adventure.) 

Anyway, as I mentioned back in June, I have a nice surprise for you. Because the kids and I just loved this movie so much, we're happy to share two educational printables from the movie with all of you.

To download these free printables, click here

But I'm also giving away a copy of this movie! On August 20th, EPIC debuts on Blu-ray and DVD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. If your kids love nature and spending time outside, this is the perfect movie for them. 

One MommyMaestra reader will win an Epic DVD.

To enter this giveaway, just use the rafflecopter below.

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The Complete PetraLingua® Multimedia Spanish Learning Set

I have another great giveaway for my annual Back-to-School Fiesta! Today I have a complete Multimedia Spanish Learning Set from PetraLingua®.

The Complete PetraLingua® multimedia language learning sets include:

• 2 Language course DVDs
• Audio CD with songs
• Activity Book with picture dictionary
• Audio CD with listening exercises for the activity book
• PetraLingua ID Card with 12 months access to the online course
• Parent's Guide Brochure
• Wuffy Dog Handpuppet
• Playing cards
• Audiovisual dictionary DVD

Available languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Chinese

The giveaway set comes with:

2 Animated Spanish Video DVDs

The PetraLingua® multimedia Spanish course for children consists of 21 everyday lessons.

You can see the list of lessons here.

Each lesson includes an introductory video followed by a revision version to repeat the words and sentences spoken by a native speaker in the video.

A large number of lessons include animated vocabulary songs composed to repeat and practice the vocabulary from the lesson. Each song is followed by the instrumental version.

Audio CD with songs

All the Spanish Songs from the course are recorded on a separate audio CD as well.

Spanish Activity Book with audio CD

The Activity Book includes all the topics covered by the PetraLingua® Spanish course and gives your children a great opportunity to practice their reading and writing skills.

Furthermore, to focus on their listening skills as well, the activity book includes a large number of Spanish listening exercises, recorded on audio CD.

Wuffy Dog Handpuppet

The kids will sure be happy to recognize the puppy from the language videos.

Our Wuffy handpuppet is not only a cute toy, but also a wonderful teaching tool that can be used in the classroom and at home.

Learning through play is fundamental to our children’s education. Puppets provide a creative learning structure for language students, encouraging them to explore language in a safe way.

By stimulating the children’s imagination, creative play and discovery, the puppets encourage speech and language development.

Even the children who are shy about speaking in a new language will easily relate to the puppet and feel free to start talking and express their thoughts.

The handpuppet can be used to introduce new vocabulary and sentence structures, repeat the knowledge, tell stories, sing songs, play games or act out dialogues.

PetraLingua® Parent's Guide Brochure

The parent's guide brochure gives you detailed information about the PetraLingua® multimedia Spanish course and practical guidelines on how to learn a new language with your child.

PetraLingua® ID Card

By purchasing the complete PetraLingua® multimedia Spanish learning kit you get a year acces to all the interactive activities that are available online.

Apart from the videos and songs from your Spanish set, the PetraLingua® online Spanish course includes a set of various interactive Spanish exercises and a talking picture dictionary for each lesson.

Playing Cards

PetraLingua picture cards offer a fun and easy way to pactice new vocabulary.

Audiovisual dictionary on DVD

The set includes a separate DVD with the talking picture dictionary, so the kids will be able to watch it on TV, without using the computer or accessing the Internet. It is especially suitable for smaller children, who already know how to use the DVD remote control.

One MommyMaestra reader will win a complete PetraLingua® Multimedia Spanish Learning Set. 

Just use the Rafflecopter below to enter to win.

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Maya: Amazing Inventions You Can Build Yourself {GIVEAWAY}

Today's Back-to-School Fiesta! giveaway is best suited for older kids ages 9 - 12 and grades 4 to 6. Nomad Press may very well be one of my favorite publishers. I discovered them a year ago or so and simply love their books for homeschooling (thought I would love them even if my kids were not homeschooled).

They were kind enough to send me copies of their book, Maya: Amazing Inventions You Can Build Yourself, in both English and Spanish. I've had them a while, waiting on my shelf for a review (look for a more thorough review next month).

This book is a treasure trove of information and activities. If you want your child to study the ancient Maya civilization, you need to pick this up. The books starts off with a timeline of important dates in Maya history. From when the Mayan written language was developed in 700 BC to when Christopher Columbus learns about the Maya in 1502 to when Maya woman, Rigoberta Menchú, wins the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for her fight for human rights for the Maya. Your kids will also learn important names and places.

From there your child can dive right into the culture as they explore the history of the Maya by learning about everything from heiroglyphs and folklore to the number system and calendar just to name a few. There are dozens of crafts and activities for your child to make and do using common household supplies. They'll love making a sand art picture of the cosmos or their own royal "Jadeite" burial mask or even their own musical gourds. And they can even learn how to play a version of Pok-a-Tok with their friends. There is so much fun and learning to be found within the pages of this great book.

One MommyMaestra reader will win a copy of this amazing book. 

Just use the Rafflecopter below to enter to win.

Buena suerte!

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Disclosure: I received a copy of these books to review. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

The Letter M Counting Book in Spanish {PRINTABLE}

Today's Back-to-School Fiesta! resource is for EVERYBODY, and it is from our newest sponsor. Lectura para niños is a Spanish reading program complete with phonics centers and workbooks for children in preschool through 2nd grade who are learning to read in Spanish. You can read more about them in this interview and watch a video that I shared 2 years ago here.

This is their first Letter of the Week Counting Book for students to learn picture vocabulary. There are many other counting books that teachers and parents can purchase for just $1.00 each on their TPT store. These are new and have just recently been added to the site.

I love that the counting book is so interactive. Not only does your child learn numbers, but there is also a space at the bottom of each page where your child can practive their writing skills. And of course, each page comes with fun illustrations for your child to color. Math and reading and writing all in one librito!

They just launched their Facebook page last week, so let's show them some love! You can learn more about some of the amazing materials they offer.

I'm especially happy that today's resource isn't a giveaway and can be downloaded by anyone and everyone!

Download the Letter M Counting Book in Spanish here

And feel free to leave a comment thanking Lectura para niños below...

¡Abrazos!

Math Masters Learning Games {GIVEAWAY}

Today's giveaway is geared toward helping your 1st or 2nd grader master the math skills they'll be learning in class. Math Masters Learning Games (from our friends at Lakeshore Learning) make it easy and fun for kids to master math skills while playing colorful board games and using super cute manipulatives.

The first grade games focus on teaching addition, subtraction, time and measurement, while the second grade collection teaches problem solving, money, and fractions.

Girls and boys both need to be strong in math, especially if they grow up with an interest in the STEM fields. Help your child learn that math isn't hard, and can be a lot of fun to learn. Both of my kids are hands-on learners and learn faster and more easily when they have activities that reinforce the concepts I'm trying to teach them. If your kids are the same way, don't miss this great giveaway!

Lakeshore Learning is offering one of these sets to a MommyMaestra reader. 

Enter to win below using the Rafflecopter.

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Sonrisas Level 1 Curriculum {GIVEAWAY}

Giddy. That's what I am. Or maybe just plain loca because my annual Back-to-School Fiesta! week this year has turned into a MONTH of giveaways. Now you probably have noticed that I've been doing less and less giveaways lately. Mainly because there's so much time and work that goes into them and I've been stretched thin. But this is the one time of year when I know MommyMaestra readers deserve the chance to win some awesome educational items to help boost their children's education.

SO for the next FOUR weeks, I'll be having a different giveaway every day during the week. I really hope you'll enter to win each and every one (oh, okay, at least those that your child could really benefit from), or the companies may not give me the opportunity to offer other great giveaways again here on the site. (You know how it goes.)

So we're starting off with an awesome Spanish curriculum!

One MommyMaestra reader will win a Level 1 Curriculum from Sonrisas. 

This is an amazing 2-year program for kids in Pre-K through 5th grade. There is a heavy emphasis on culture and a strong literature component to it. You can read my full review here and decide if this sounds like the right curriculum for your children/students.

The Level 1 Curriculum comes with one Teacher’s Guide and two CDs; one with Spanish songs, poems and chants for children to accompany the lessons, and the other with cultural songs. It has a retail value of $189.00.

Enter to win below using the Rafflecopter.

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#SummerLearning: Friendship Bread & a Discount for You!

This post contains affiliate links.

Happy National Friendship Day! Are you celebrating?

For some of us, school has already started, but that doesn't mean that summer isn't still in full swing. For others, the start of school is still weeks away. But either way, summer learning should still be weighing heavily on our minds. So as a Little Passports Ambassador, I'm happy to share with you another learning activity that can take place at any time of year, really. And one of the best ways to make learning fun is in the kitchen.

Has your family ever made Friendship Bread? It is frequently given the name Amish Friendship Bread, but there is no actual connection to the Amish, though the recipe has been around for a very long time. Friendship Bread is a type of bread or cake made from a sourdough starter that is usually passed around and shared with friends and family.

So in honor of National Friendship Day, below is a fun recipe for creating your own Frienship Bread starter from Sam and Sofia, our Little Passport (affiliate link) friends. Invite some of your child's friends over and help them make their own batch! It's a long-term activity that your child can enjoy doing every day for 10 days.

And because we are all friends, at the end of this post, you will find a special discount for MommyMaestra readers! 

Happy baking!

FRIENDSHIP BREAD STARTER RECIPE

In honor of friendship day, Sam and Sofia are cooking one of their favorite recipes together! Why not invite a friend to come cook with you?

INGREDIENTS

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F) 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided 3 cups white sugar, divided 3 cups milk

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.

2. On days 2 through 4, stir starter with a spoon. Day 5, stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 throughout 9, stir only.

3. Finally, on day 10, stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, and give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe. Store the remaining 1-cup starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10-day process over again (beginning with step 2).

MommyMaestra readers: Because my own kids have enjoyed their monthly packets from Little Passports so much, and because LP is such a great supporter of global learning, I'm happy to offer you this special discount for 40% off the regular monthly subscription price! Remember, "You don't have to be rich to enrich your child!" Just click here (affiliate link) and enter the code above to take advantage of this discount. 

Abrazos!

Free Spanish Jungle Animal & Action Printables

It's already August! And that means it is time for some new free printables from Monarca Language. Today's set includes pages on jungle animals that your nene can color, cut, and put together to form a booklet, as well as action cards for coloring, cutting, and acting out.

The jungle animal booklet was extra fun for my kids because it gave them the opportunity to get out their daddy's wildlife collection (they don't get to play with it very often). This really reinforced the vocabulary and made learning more interactive. The book focuses on animals and colors.

And if you subscribe to Monarca Language's newsletter, you'll find a free printable in this month's newsletter that allows your child to cut and paste jungle animals onto a jungle scene. It's a great complement to this booklet. And super fun!

The action cards can be printed up on one sheet, colored in and then cut up. Then your kids can take turns pulling a card from the pile and acting it out for everyone else to guess. Charades anyone?

Now, time for some additional resources to complement the jungle animal printables:

YouTube:
• Alex en la selva. I love this little series for preschoolers! And you will, too. Actually, there are many episodes exploring wildlife, but only three that are dedicated to the jungle are free on YouTube. You can subscribe to their channel and see more episodes here. Check out this episode where Alex encounters a lion...




Books in Spanish:
• Jungle Animals /Animales de la selva (Two Little Libros) (English and Spanish Edition) by Mike Lowery
• Animales de la selva: Pequediccionario en imagenes (Spanish Edition)by Inc. Susaeta Publishing

Audiobook:
• Cha-cha-cha en la selva by Debbie Harter
• (and in English) The Animal Boogie

On Kindle:
• Cuentos de la selva by Horacio Quiroga
• Jungle Tales by Horacio Quiroga, Bert Van Wijk, Jeff Zorrilla and Natalia Cortesi

Back-to-School Must-Haves!

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and Kleenex. All opinions and lists are strictly my own!

Okay, you knew it was about time for another Box Tops post, didn't you? I mean NOW is the perfect time to be thinking about Box Tops, no? Well, I am. Because it's the beginning of the school year, and I'm buying supplies, and going with several brands that carry the Box Tops coupons on their packaging. I also prefer to take advantage of the opportunity to stock up on school supplies for the year while the prices are low and I can enjoy tax-free weekend. (Check out this chart from Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company to help figure out when the tax free holiday is happening in your state!)

Back to Box Tops: Did you know that Box Tops for Education is one of the nation’s largest school fundraising loyalty programs and has been helping schools succeed since 1996? In fact, it is an easy way to help your child’s school earn funds through the products you already purchase. All you have to do is clip Box Tops coupons on the product packaging, including many of the products on your child’s back to school list. (Pstt! Kleenex is the only facial tissue brand that participates in Box Tops for Education – and is a must-have on your child’s back to school list. It has also donated $13 million to Box Tops for Education so far!) Then turn them into your school so they can redeem them for cashola.

With school budget cuts across the nation, Box Tops for Education has become increasingly important as it provides unrestricted dollars to help schools offset this loss of funding. And if you've read my post a few years ago, then you'll know that even homeschoolers can benefit from the program.

Right! Now on to my BTS Must-Haves! I can tell you right now this is sort of a long post because I'm going to show you everything on my shopping list. Some I'll purchase right away, but some might take a little longer to buy.

So this year, here's what's on my list of back-to-school must-haves:

Office Supplies:
First up, is some of the stuff that I need as a teacher. (And it just so happens that all of the items shown above have Box Tops coupons!)

1. Three binders: Two for storing each of my kids' school work throughout the year, and one for my stuff like daily charts/record sheets, a calendar, assignments for the next day/week, notes, etc. The ones above are from Avery.

2. Colored paper. I use it for signs or to highlight important docs, and also for various printables. The kids use it for crafts and other activities.

3. Highlighters! In the past, we've mainly used these to identify grammar elements. But this year, I vow to be more organized and use them for keeping track of things not covered or areas of difficulty and that need extra attention.

4. Full sheet labels. I can't teach without these because I have two kids, but frequently I only buy one subscription or one set of stickers, etc. All I have to do is make copies on these and then have the kids cut them out to make stickers and labels.

Tech:
This is in addition to the tech devices we already own, like computers and iPads.

1. Each kid finally needs their own flash drives for backing up and storing all their written reports and such. This three pack is on sale at Target.

2. Last year, I gave the kids a "school" camera. They use it for everything. BUT they keep grabbing my SD cards and I'm afraid they're going to accidentally delete my pics, SO ta-da!

Art Supplies:
This is always my biggest list because my kids are hands-on learners (aren't all kids?) and so I try to provide them with as many activities as I can to help reinforce concepts.

1. Drawing/Sketching pencil set. We do a LOT of drawing in school. My kids are very visual and when they draw out concepts (life cycles, types of geographical features, etc.), I know they are processing them.

2.Chalk pastels. There's a lot of lesson plans available for free online using chalk pastels. We'll be exploring them this year.

3. Tape. We use it for EVERYTHING. (And we never have enough.)

4. Kleenex. Seriously. We need it when fall and winter colds strike. And it's not just good for blowing your nose, you know. We use them for art projects like blending colors and various crafts.

5. Erasable colored pencils. My girl has been begging for them. I'm cool with that.

6. Pencils. I think I have a pencil monster in my house that gobbles them up at night while we are sleeping because they're always missing by class time the next morning. :/

7. Q-tips. Again, they are great for so many art projects. From studying pointilism to blending chalk and pencil marks.

8. Drawing/sketch pads. We go through a LOT of these, and I really like this set from Amazon.com

Clothes:
All of these clothes are from Land's End, just because I like the simple styles without all the bling. 

1. My daughter wants a button up, "uniform" shirt. Boom!

2. But I like relaxed polos.

3. Sweaters are a must in the winter.

4. Did I mention we homeschool? Warm, fuzzy sweatpants are our uniform of choice.

5. And no girl (or woman) can have too many of these!


What about you? What's on your list of Back-to-School Must-Haves?