Tech Tuesday: BrightStart Spanish App

Name: BrightStart Spanish
Subject(s): Literacy (Letter & number recognition, writing)
Brief Description: Children learn how to pronounce, read, and write upper and lower case letters and numbers.
Price: FREE - $1.99
Language: Spanish (though an English version is also available)
Ages: Pre-K through 1st grade

What I like:  
As your children work their way through this app, they will learn how to pronounce, recognize, and write all of their upper and lower case letters. Each letter and number is not only pronounced for the player, but also used at the beginning of a word. Kids use their fingers to connect the dots to correctly write the letter or number.

Additional notes:
This app is available in both English and Spanish with a lite version that is free, and a "Pro" version for educators that costs $1.99. This is a really great tool for parents of preschoolers.

Design-It-Yourself Cascarón Activity

I simply can't resist this one last activity that I created for my own kids. If you need a last-minute activity to keep your kids busy for a few minutes while you work in the kitchen or hide those eggs, then simply print up this sheet, give your kids a couple of dice, and some crayons or colored pencils.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Available in English or Spanish, you can find this printable in my TpT store.

¡Felices Pascuas!

Spanish Easter-Themed Vocabulary Worksheets {PRINTABLE}

Another download for those of you with beginning writers and spellers! These vocabulary worksheet pages come in English or Spanish, and with directional arrows or just dotted lines. There's also room at the bottom of each page for your child to write their own sentence(s) using the vocabulary. And your little ones may enjoy coloring them in when they finish.

Download them here

Don't forget to leave me some feedback in my store if you download them!

Enjoy!

Free Spanish Easter-Themed Note Cards {PRINTABLE}

More Easter freebies! (Be sure to check back tomorrow, too. ;)

Many of you enjoyed the blank Spanish Christmas note cards and Día de los Muertos note cards, and have asked for more. So here ya go! They are so great for inspiring your kids to write. Yo sé que many of you may have already printed up your Easter cards (wow, they're everywhere this year!), but you can always use these next year, no? Yes, yes, I'm slow, pero don't forget I'm homeschooling, too!

Download it here

And one favor: If you download (or purchase) ANY of my printables, won't you please consider leaving me some feedback on TpT, por favor?

Enjoy!

Book Review: Basher Science

Don't let the subject title of the books turn you away as they have in the past for me! If I see "Physics" anywhere, I just keep going. These books definitely caught my eye. I judged the books by their cover and they didn't disappoint. Because of the subject matter, these books are clearly intended for children in grades 4 through 8. Nevertheless, an introduction to any of these science subjects to younger children is a possibility due to the fact that the creators, writers and illustrators of these books are simply amazing at relating to kids.

Talk about knowing how to hook students to science! Talk about the ability to connect with kids and make teaching science so much fun and interesting. Just like many kids his age, Diego, who is in kindergarten, has been talking about space and planets for a long time. Recently though, he went from reciting the planet names to asking questions about gravity, dwarf planets and orbits so I had to think about a way to help him explore beyond me Googling for answers.

Lucky for all of us, during one of my volunteer shifts at his school's library, I came across Basher Science! Ooooh, how I wish I had these books when I was growing up! I remember sitting through countless science classes in grade school through high school and being bored out of my mind while the teacher gave us notes on atoms or force or rocks and minerals. I also remember now that while teaching literature to middle school kids, novels with graphics (whether it was handwriting style or with photographs) helped many of my students stay interested. Basher Books have created anime style illustrations and are explaining science the way kids talk: the recipe for a successful method of teaching all types of science material to students.

I checked out Basher Science: Astronomy: Out of this World!and Basher Science: Physics: Why Matter Matters! for Diego as I know these are his current obsessions. "Mami, gravity keeps us down! And did you know that speed and acceleration are different??" Um, no. Let's look it up!! And there is so much to look up! I love the tone in these books. A great example: "Acceleration: Forget the need for speed-I've got what it takes to get you going. I'm what makes things pull away from one another, like cars at traffic lights. I'm a total adrenaline junkie who likes to live in the fast lane."

There are titles in our library such as Rocks and Minerals, The Human Body, Biology, and Planet Earth. Also, while doing research for this post I see they have just created new titles such as, Basher Basics:Dinosaurs (Santi, my two year old will LOVE it), Basher History:U.S. Presidents, and Basher Basics:Creative Writing (coming out July 2013)! As a teacher, I believe in taking any material that inspires the educator and applying it to any type of student; young or old (I too have learned a lot with these books). As a mother, purchasing reference books are an investment. I need them to last for all three boys, and I need them to be "meaty" as I like to call them. In other words, I want to own a modern encyclopedia with lots of information that we can go to in the upcoming years.  The fun factor is definitely a bonus and Basher Books are doing it all!


Disclosure: All links to Amazon are my affiliate links.

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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.

Easter-Themed Freebie: Bilingual Plural Words Worksheets {PRINTABLE}

A few Easter freebies this week! My kids always need practice on plural words, so I put together these quick and easy worksheets - one in English and the other in Spanish. Children just match the words with their plural counterparts and then color in the picture.

Download it hereload it here

Enjoy!

PS - Yes, I'm aware that eggs and cascarones are not the same thing. But was trying to make it relevant for both languages. ;)

Let's Develop Your Child's Early Math Skills - It's EASY!

© Paulus Nugroho R - Fotolia.com

Many of you are the parents of children who are almost ready to start school. And because you read MommyMaestra, I know that you care about your child's education and are ready to help him or her succeed academically. We've talked a lot about the importance of developing pre-literacy skills with your preschoolers, and supporting their reading and writing skills once they start kindergarten.

But we haven't talked too much about the importance of math skills in early education.

PBS KIDS recently released the data of a survey they conducted which showed that parents tend to place less emphasis on their child's math skills because many see literacy as being the most important skill their child needs to succeed in school. The survey also indicated that parents are less comfortable supporting their child's math skills at home, and may even feel some anxiety about it.

But helping your preschooler develop basic math skills at home doesn't need to cause you any stress. It doesn't require you to sit your child down with worksheets, or to teach them algebra. 

Perhaps you'd feel better if you knew that your preschooler needs to learn:
- How to count from 1 to 10 (or even 1 to 20!)
- To recognize basic shapes (squares, circles, rectangles, and triangles)
- How to group items by size, shape, color...or some other common characteristic
- How to recognize simple patterns

Easy, no? Yes! It is! All of these are easy to teach in your daily routines. And it doesn't matter which language you use to teach them. 

Over the next year, I'll be sharing simple ways to teach these concepts to your child using everyday situations and items you find at home.

But I want to start off with a valuable resource about which you should know.

A few weeks ago, PBS KIDS announced its newest initiative dedicated to supporting the development of early math and literacy skills in children ages 2-8 from low-income families. "It All Adds Up" focuses on providing parents with the tools they need to develop their child's math skills.

They've started off by launching a BILINGUAL app for PARENTS. It is free. And it is a must-have app for parents of children up to age 5. You can read my condensed review of the PBS Parents Play & Learn App here on LatinaMom.me, but I'll be sharing a more thorough review here on MommyMaestra in the weeks to come.

In addition, PBS KIDS has put together a team of early childhood educators and educational bloggers who will provide tips and ideas for parents to help their children learn early math concepts and to integrate math activities into their daily lives. I'm super thrilled to be one of them. We'll be sharing our tips and ideas over at the PBS KIDS Lab. In fact, Maria Lando (TheMathMom.com) has already started off the conversation by sharing how we all use math in our daily lives in ways you never would have thought about.

And if you've never visited PBS KIDS Lab before - you'll love it! Not only does it contain dozens of educational online games geared to develop your child's math and literacy skills, but it also offers activities you can do at home, in the classroom, during the summer, or after school. And did I mention it is available in Spanish, too?

Looking forward to sharing more resources with you soon!

Con mucho cariño...

The #1 Reason I Celebrate World Water Day Each Year

Happy World Water Day! Did you read my post yesterday? It had some resources you might be interested in. And I write about WWD each year, so be sure to check out the links to those posts since I've shared some great bilingual websites and books to help kids study water. 

But the number one reason why I celebrate World Water Day is shared below in this beautiful minute video by Social Good Moms...

Celebrate World Water Day!

Every year, I celebrate World Water Day here on MommyMaestra with a post sharing resources in English and Spanish for teaching your children about the importance of water. And tomorrow, on March 22nd, we'll be celebrating it here at home again. Having fresh water is a basic necessity for not only humans, but nearly all living things.

783 million people, or 11% of the world’s population, do not have safe water to drink and that this, coupled with poor sanitation, results in 2,000 children dying every day. And this is why tomorrow, my kids and I will be discussing how precious this natural resource is, and why it is our responsibility to manage it in a thoughtful manner. 

By now, most of you know that I am a former zookeeper and that I take nature and our role as stewards of the Earth very seriously. You know I have a virtual zoo here on our little farm, and that our lives (and yours) are closely tied to the rhythms of the land. I look around and see how water can make or break our local farmers. 

But I also am aware that people across the globe are fighting to survive and their access to clean water is crucial. 

So that is why tomorrow, I'm going to do more than just teach my children about the importance of water. I'm going to be developing their sense of social responsibility by talking about what we (as a family and a nation) can do to be a solution for the water crisis.

I'll be tweeting and retweeting WaterAid America's #20ways that water is just the beginning of the road out of poverty. You can follow the conversation too, by simply following the hashtags #20ways and #WorldWaterDay on Twitter.

You can also join the World Water Day Google+ Hangout Friday at 1.30pm EST. WaterAid and other water organizations will be discussing the world water crisis and solutions in a session moderated by YouTube star Justine Ezarik.


RESOURCES:

In 2011, I asked you if you know where the water in your sink comes from and if you know what is in it (do you?), then I shared some great sites with lessons plans, printables, and other resources for you to download or use.

In 2012, I focused on books in English and Spanish for you to read with your children. (But I still shared some really awesome websites in English and Spanish for your kids to enjoy, so be sure to check them out because they're still super cool.)

This year, I'm recommending the new WWD website again - but this time, my favorite part is the Logo Builder! I made the logo above and the one at the right here using it. It is really a fabulous idea and allows you to create your own logo in one of 19 different languages and using various color/pattern combinations.

We're also putting together this super cute water cycle craftivity from Sweet Tea Classroom. It comes in both English and Spanish, so you can choose which one you prefer.

You can also find instructions in Spanish here for making your own terrarium so you can create your own water cycle experiment.

And last, we'll top it all off by watching this video together...

Nonfiction & Literature Lists from Scholastic

Have you taken a look at Scholastic's Common Sense for the Common Core site? There's a lot of really useful information there for parents. One of their newest pages is the Nonfiction & Literature Lists that makes book suggestions based on a child's grade and subject matter.

I was especially pleased to see multicultural books included in the lists. So if you are looking for a good resource to help develop your child's reading abilities with materials that are common core aligned, be sure to check out this great page.

New Bilingual Minibook On the History of Cascarones

Easter is less than two weeks away, so I just wanted to remind you about my bilingual minibook on cascarones. The little booklet includes black-and-white images for your children/students to color in, as well as a brief description of the history of cascarones. Your kids will learn where cascarones originated, what they originally carried, and who introduced them to Mexico. There are even instructions on how to make your own cascarones included. The bilingual pages include full text in both English and Spanish.

You can find it here in my TpT store. 

(If you'd like to just read a brief history of cascarones, check out this post, which has the full story.)

This post contains affiliate links.

You can also check out my Decorate Your Own Cascarón Bilingual Activities, which has three roll-the-dice and decorate your cascarón using the options provided. 

But if you are looking for a no-prep printable that is better suited for older children, my One-Page History of Cascarones may be for you. This reading passage talks about where they originated to how to make them. This informational text is written for students in 4th - 8th grade, and includes a 7-question comprehension quiz plus answer key.

Craft Supplies

If you are looking for supplies to actually create your own cascarones at home, here is a list of the items that we typically use. 

• eggshells (carefully cracked on one end, emptied, and rinsed)
• food dye, OR
• an Easter egg dye kit
• tissue paper and/or crepe paper
• hole punch
• scissors
• glue

Other posts you may enjoy:

• Resources for Holy Week & Easter
• Multicultural Easter Basket Ideas
• Free Download: Spanish Verbs Easter Egg Activity
• Guatemalan Alfombras During Semana Santa
• Cascarones Activity for Earth Day

The PBS 2013 Online Film Festival

The PBS 2013 Online Film Festival runs March 4th through the 22nd. The festival takes place on all PBS digital platforms, You Tube and PBS social media channels. It showcases 25 short films that feature a diversity of subjects, voices, and viewpoints. And people like you and me have the power to determine this year's winner. The film with the most online votes receives the People's Choice Award, and the winner will be announced in early April.

ALL of the films are fantastic. But, OF COURSE, I have my favorites. Embedded below are the ones that I'm voting for. I hope that you'll take a few minutes to watch them if you have the time...and maybe even go and vote?

I'm sure you won't be surprised at my #1 pick, Hoverboard...
 

And running a VERY close second is Sin País...