Free Download: #ElPasoChallenge

This week, while reading about the horrific mass shooting in El Paso (in my home state), I stumbled upon this one article highlighting the efforts of 11-year-old Ruben Martinez.

Deeply disturbed by the shooting, the sixth-grader wanted to do something that would help his community. And after being challenged by his mom to think of an idea that shows the kindness of El Paso, he wrote down a whole list of ideas.

And he started the #ElPasoChallenge.

He is challenging everyone to do 22 acts of random kindness in honor of those who perished that day.

I love your challenge, Ruben. And to help you with it, I've created these two pages (available in English and Spanish) that list ideas of ways to be kind, or allow you to record your acts of kindness.

It is free for everyone to download and use.

Thanks, Ruben.

Click here to download your copies

The Grammar Missions

Six years ago, I shared with you one of my favorite resources for teaching elementary kids grammar: Super Grammar (aff link)!

You can see above why I like it so much. It's because my kids LOVED it. My two oldest, who hated boring worksheet activities related to grammar, totally got into the action and adventure hidden inside this book. And I was able to use the characters to teach and present important grammar concepts in a way that my kids could enjoy learning. Read my post here to see how I used it.






Anyway, Super Grammar has now opened a store on TpT! Do you know what that means? NO WAITING! You can now buy and download a digital copy of their updated 2nd edition of Super Grammar instantly.

In addition, they have now come out with an additional resource that is just SUPER helpful. Grammar Missions is the awesome workbook that I wish I'd had six years ago. It goes perfectly with Super Grammar and contains more than 140 grammar mission assignments.

This workbook has a section for each Super Grammar super-team, and each super-team section is color-coded to match the color-coding in Super Grammar. Also, to keep things organized and easy to follow, the super-teams and their superheroes in the workbook appear in the exact same order and progression as they do in Super Grammar.

So if you have a 3rd, 4th, 5th, or even 6th grader who loves action and adventure and needs a grammar curriculum that's different and fun, this may be for you!

Art for Kids Hub

Today's Back-to-School Fiesta favorite new resource is centered around ART.

By now, I hope we all know about the profound effect art classes can have on academic performance. Access to art classes really has a beneficial impact on how a child performs in all the other subjects. In this study of more than 10,000 students in the Houston area, exposure to art classes led to "a 3.6 percentage point reduction in disciplinary infractions, an improvement of 13 percent of a standard deviation in standardized writing scores, and an increase of 8 percent of a standard deviation in their compassion for others."

Another study found a link between arts elective courses in music, dance, visual art and drama, and better grades in middle school. According to the study "when all variables are accounted for, enrolling in the arts seems to be linked to better academic performance, in the same year and later years."

And Learning Liftoff lists the specific skills that art education helps develop.

So I'm always looking out for art curricula, either online or as DVD/workbook sets. A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Art for Kids Hub on Facebook.



It. Is. So. Much. Fun!

The videos show kids how to draw various objects and scenes by watching the artist and his young student. After a brief introduction, the camera zooms to their artwork, and the drawing begins. Their art is side by side, so kids can see both versions.

It is fun and easy. If you have a budding artista, check out their streaming channel, so your kids can watch the lessons without ad interruption. Or they can watch for free on their YouTube channel (I don't recommend unless you have it set to restricted mode).

I haven't been able to find out much about the people behind the program, but I do know that it is a family out of Utah. And - MAN! - have they uploaded a TON of videos! You can learn how to draw pretty much ANYTHING. From dinosaurs to peregrine falcons to Miguel from Coco to a food truck to a Native American headdress...seriously, there's not much you can't find on their videos.

Here's a summer-themed one I just randomly picked out to show you.

If you're looking for more art resources, check out these on MommyMaestra:

• Teaching Art to Preschool and Early Elementary Age Children - a complete art lesson for free here on MommyMaestra
• Aula Creativa 5 - an art workbook in Spanish for upper elementary and middle school
• 20 Multicultural Children’s Books about Female Artists
• Home Art Instruction with Heron Books - a curriculum review for tweens and teens
• Art for Tweens & Teens: Inky Art School - a free self-paced, 10-day art class online by Scottish artists Johanna Basford

Teaching Textbooks 12-Month Subscription Giveaway

I'm thrilled about being able to offer MommyMaestra readers another wonderful giveaway from Teaching Textbooks, our favorite homeschool math program.

My family has been using Teaching Textbooks for at least the last five years. Here's the original review I did of the program in 2017. We started out ordering the version that has the entire program on CDs so my kids didn't have to use the internet. This was perfect for us the first few years because our internet had data caps and was crazy expensive.

Last year, Teaching Textbooks rolled out their new 3.0 online version. We used it this past year and it has been such a great addition to our curriculum.

Lessons are simple and straightforward. A new concept is taught in each lesson, which begins with a short lecture.



Then, the student gets a chance to practice a few questions before answering 21 problems. The online version also lets you customize your screen and turn on and off the animated "Buddy" in the top left corner.

But what I love best is the easy parent directory. I have separate login credentials, which take me to the home page, which gives me a variety of options to choose from to manage my child's lessons.

I mainly use it to look at the grade book and see how my son is doing. The grade book lets me know if the lesson has been completed, how many problems he finished, how many he got correct, and his score.



If I notice that my son has a really poor score, I will click on the lesson to figure out what in the world happened. Not only can I see which problems he got wrong, but how many attempts he made, and whether or not he watched the solution to figure out the correct way to solve the problem. By seeing the backend, I know if he was just goofing around and not paying attention, or if he really needs more help understanding this concept.


Overall, this program has just really lightened my load as a homeschool parent. I don't mind teaching math, but it does require a lot of prep on my part to make sure I understand what he's learning so if he has trouble, I know where he went wrong and how to help him.

For parents who are scared of math, or really dislike it, this program would be a lifesaver.

The Giveaway

I'm so happy that I'm able to offer this program to one of you! The awesome people over at Teaching Textbooks have once again offered a 12-month subscription to the grade level of your choice to one MommyMaestra reader.

Don't miss this awesome opportunity if you are a homeschooler.

To enter to win, simply click on the Rafflecopter below.

¡Buena suerte!


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The Bilingual Back-to-School Blog Hop & Free Download

I'm so happy to be participating in the Bilingual Back-to-School Blog Hop! So many fantastic free resources from some wonderful teachers, who if you aren't following them on TpT, you are totally missing out.

When I signed up, I stopped to think about what is it in my shop that I consider to be essential for classes. And I knew right away that it actually was something that every single school in the country should be teaching.

I created this #RespectEachOther Packet to Combat Bullying three years ago right after the election. I was getting emails from Latino parents worried about sending their children to school. So I made this packet to help parents and educators deal with the issue of bullying, and hopefully using it sometimes helps to stop bullying before it starts.

This packet includes:

• posters to be placed as visual reminders
• an educator's guide
• discussion questions & guide
• resources for parents
• phrases parents can use when talking to school officials about their child being bullied
• plans for students on how to deal with a bully
• writing prompts
• writing pages
• and a recommended reading list

It's also available in Spanish...

and English...

I'm a Texan. And last weekend's shooting in El Paso affected me deeply as a parent, as a teacher, as a Mexican-American, as a Texan, as an American. I'm tired of ALL the mass shootings. It's so easy to feel helpless. This is just one small way that I feel like I can fight the hate and the extremism. I'm sorry to bring this sad subject up in this blog hop, but helping our children/students is just so important. And I think it is one way for us to actively help each and every student.

I hope that you enjoy this download. You can find both of them for free in my TpT shop.

And don't forget that all of my products on TpT AND my online shop are on sale. The TpT sale runs today and tomorrow, while my website sale will run through Friday. Just use the promo code BTS19 when you checkout to get 25% off your purchase.

Time to Hop...

Ready to hop off to the next stop on our Bilingual Back-to-School Blog Hop? You'll love La Profe Plotts! (I even love her logo.)

Go see what wonderful freebie she has lined up for you by clicking here.

Multicultural Family Pack Giveaway

Oh, this is one of my favorite giveaways on MommyMaestra this year. It's for all of us who are raising world citizens (everyone, I hope!), including teachers who are nurturing a classroom full of knowledge, understanding, and inclusion.

Whoever wins this giant Multicultural Family Pack is going to be so happy!

Thank you to all the fabulous ladies who have contributed to this giveaway. Take time to visit their blogs - you probably already known them. If not, here are some links:

• For the Love of Spanish
• Kid World Citizen
• Discovering the World Through My Son's Eyes
• Spanish Playground
• Multicultural Kid Blogs

Here's what it includes:

Barefoot Books Children of the World

Discover the must-have book for all children! Barefoot Books Children of the World depicts kids of a wide range of shapes, sizes, races, abilities and lifestyles from countries and cultures all over the world. From enjoying special days to trying on silly hats, this ground-breaking picture book celebrates the big ideas and everyday moments that all children share.

Alphabet Art Flash Cards for Toddlers, Children of the World

by eeBoo

Printed on thick, high-quality cardstock, eeBoo’s Art Cards feature the artwork of acclaimed children’s book illustrators. Incredibly versatile, eeBoo’s Art Cards can hang on your wall or serve in a call and response flash-card activity, making them perfect for both play and display. Each set includes 26 7” x 9” cards to spark conversation and inspire alphabet memorization.

Cities of the World Memory Game

Sharpen your memory skills, discover some of the world's greatest buildings and boost global literacy! Match the pairs of landmarks and learn the city and country where the landmark can be found. Features gorgeous hand-painted illustrations by World Atlas artist David Dean.

Passport Booklet & Stamps Growing Bundle: Around the World Unit, Geography Fair

These passport stamps and passport booklet are absolutely amazing!!! Perfect for an around the world unit, introduction to country studies, a Geography Fair, International Night, Social Studies Units, "Read Around the World" Passports, or Christmas Around the World (or Holidays Around the World).

The passport booklet is authentic, appropriate for students in any country ("Citizen of the World") with a realistic, trilingual identification page to allow students to personalize their passport. On the "visa" pages, we have inspirational quotes from around the world about diversity, kindness, friendship, and making the world a better place.

My Multicultural Heritage Journal

by Monica Olivera

My Multicultural Heritage Journal is an opportunity for children to explore and record their own multicultural family heritage and history. Inside this journal are pages that allow kids to draw their own family tree, record and describe where in the world their family is from, paste photographs or draw images of family members, and record their favorite memories or stories. Cultural images from around the globe are scattered throughout the book. And there is even a section for writing down family recipes. This journal is meant to be a keepsake that kids can share with other family members and treasure for a long time.

Poets Around the World Activity Pack

Designed for children ages 8 – 12. This 95-page, no-prep packet includes one-page reading passages featuring 18 international poets. In addition, there is a reading comprehension quiz for each reading passage, as well as comprehension worksheets, poetry activities, and a recommended reading list for further research.

Spanish Classroom Packet

Perfect for teachers and homeschoolers alike, this packet includes a Spanish alphabet "foam puzzle", a Spanish word search book, and Spanish "center/station" signs.

The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations: 

Holiday Poems for the Whole Year in English and Spanish

by Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong

NEW and BILINGUAL! 

(This giveaway is for the STUDENT Edition of this book. A separate Teacher/Librarian Edition of this book is also available.)

Celebrate all year long with 156 poems in English and SPANISH... ideal for preK - grade 6. 

This latest book in The Poetry Friday Anthology series offers 12 poems per month plus 12 poems with the theme of “Birthdays and Baby Days.” Choose your favorite celebrations for each month!

Listening Activities and Speech Bubble Photos

Buena Gente is a video series for Spanish language learners. It is available free on YouTube. These activities accompany it.

Hispanic Culture Lesson: The Story of Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo & Activity

This amazing Frida Kahlo lesson includes an authentic biography in English plus comprehension questions, a unique guided self-portrait lesson, and a beautiful coloring sheet of one of her most famous paintings.

The self-portrait activity leads the students through all of the symbolism in Frida's paintings, discussing emotions, settings, and why she has chosen certain objects. Students dive deep into her artwork and attempt to create a self-portrait that tells their own story. When they are finished, the class set of self-portraits are absolutely stunning on a bulletin board!

The Giveaway

Didn't I tell you it was an amazing giveaway?

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below.

Good luck, Everybody!

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Shipping available only within the continental U.S.

MommyMaestra's 2019 Back-to-School Fiesta!

Hola, MommyMaestra Readers!

August has arrived and with it comes my annual Back-to-School Fiesta! This is the time after a quiet summer spent with my family when I share new, helpful, or just plain fun products and services that will help you make your coming school year more effective and/or enjoyable. You'll find resources for homeschoolers, parents, and teachers. So keep an eye on this website because I have a wonderful lineup for you every Monday through Friday this month.

A few notes on important things I want to sneak in today because the other days are already full.

First, don't miss the TpT Back-to-School Sale this coming Tuesday & Wednesday, August 6th and 7th. Everything in my shop will be on sale at their maximum 25% off... including new products. This is the perfect time to go through your wish list and stock up on items that you've been waiting for!

Second, don't miss the Bilingual Back-to-School Blog Hop happening on August 6th & 7th! There will be 14 or 15 FREE DOWNLOADS that you just don't want to miss! My choice of freebie to share was directly affected by an event that happened this weekend. I hope you will all download it, if you haven't already.

And finally, if you aren't already signed up for my newsletter, please consider doing so. There will be a few freebies available only to my newsletter subscribers.

If you are shopping for the coming school year, please check here because you might win something!

Good luck to all and ENJOY!

Free Download: Animals & Verbs Part 2

Last month, MommyMaestra sponsor Spanish for You! shared this fun set of activities and charades centered around animals and verbs. This month's free download is a continuation of it.

This month's 4-page freebie includes a word search, guess the sentence activity, and speaking prompts. Since it is still centered around last month's theme, you can use the audio from last time.

Click here to download this file

I am a fan of using manipulatives when learning new vocabulary/concepts/etc. So for these activities on animals, I would consider pulling out our set of animal figures, similar to these:

Remember! Spanish for You!'s program is geared for middle schoolers and is the perfect choice for homeschoolers and afterschoolers alike because their concepts are carefully divided up into manageable bundles that are available for immediate download from their website.

If this is your first time here, you can find other free samples from Spanish for You! here. There are some fantastic downloads of games and activities for you and your family to enjoy. If you enjoy this activity, be sure to visit the Spanish for You! website where you'll find tons of additional resources for you to help your young Spanish learner!

Creating "Go Packs" for Migrant Children

One of the most wonderful things that I've noticed about our Migrant Children's Book Drive is how many people are saying thank you. Most of the packages arriving from caring people who have ordered books from our recommended titles Amazon List include a section where the sender can write a note on their gift receipt.

I read each note when I open the packages. Over and over again, I see the words "Thank you so much for letting us help." And it has really made it clear how people don't just want to give money to a worthy cause (though I have NO DOUBT that money is needed to help these families with legal fees, medical fees, etc.), but they want to give someTHING that is going to directly impact these families, specifically the children.

We have all felt helpless about the crisis along the border and the horrid camps where children are being kept in the worst conditions imaginable. It seems like there's so little we can do other than protest, call our politicians, or put pressure on the companies funding these private prisons.

So, I think that is why the book drive has been so successful.

And yet even so, people are still messaging me or leaving comments asking, "How can I do more?"

That's why I wanted to share another possibility. I've been working with Save the Children on the book drive. And yesterday, they sent me this flyer describing another way people can help.

Remember, these children and their families have already been in a detention center. They've been released and are now free and legal to move about the country to travel to their sponsor family, with whom they will stay until their court hearing in which their appeal for asylum will be heard.

Go Packs are small bags with activities, nourishment, and comfort that the children can take with them as they leave the shelter and Save the Children and travel to their sponsor families.

Maybe you can organize a kitting event with your students, club, team, youth group, or organization? I would recommend approaching a local business or nonprofit to underwrite some of the content, such as the small backpack which will hold all the supplies. For example, I found these on Oriental Trading and these on Amazon. Your local dollar store should have all the other items (except, maybe the Spanish-language book?) listed on the flyer above.

Just remember that a minimum of 25 bags will be accepted by Save the Children. If your organization can help, contact me through my blog or Facebook page and I'll put you in touch with Save the Children.

Thank you for your compassionate, helpful hearts.

Free Migrant Children's Book Drive Flyers for Educators, Parents

Shortly after launching the Migrant Children's Book Drive, I had an independent Spanish teacher with lots of classes throughout her area message me and ask me for some flyers to pass out to all her classes. Of course, I said yes.

Then I noticed another comment from a reader who is a Girl Scout troop leader and she wanted to use this as her troop's community service project. Wow. So I thought, well, I'll just make a flyer for that, too.

And then I started thinking about my nieces who frequently have birthday parties in which they ask their guests to donate money or products to a particular charity of their choice (one year everyone brought dog food to donate to the local animal shelter). So I though, well, I'll just make a flyer for THAT, too!

Next thing I knew, I had a handful of flyers drawn up with different wording to fit different situations.

If YOU are an educator or team or club leader who would like to use the book drive as your community service project, I think that maybe you will find these flyers helpful.

Or maybe you'd like to have your family and friends donate books for your birthday. There are flyers for you, too. :)

And OF COURSE I would be happy to customize the text for any situation. Just contact me!

And if you decide to use the book drive for your group's community service project, please let me know so that I can acknowledge and thank you properly!!

Thank you all for your support.

Download the Book Drive Flyers Here

Using Storyboards to Boost Your Child's Reading Comprehension

Summer is an excellent time to work at home on important literacy skills. But developing and maintaining these skills doesn't have to seem like school work. There are lots of fun activities and templates you can use with your children.

Learning to read involves many different skills: letter recognition, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. It's not just about making words out of letters or sentences out of words.

Reading comprehension plays a major role in your child's literacy. Being able to read words is of no use if you don't understand what they mean or how they relate to each other in a sentence. Reading comprehension is a skill that is developed over time and has to be taught to children in addition to basic decoding skills.

This is why I love activities that help children to think about what they've read and the meaning of the story. One of my favorite tools is the storyboard. It is quite simply a visual template that your child can fill with words or drawings related to the book he or she has read.

They are extremely versatile. In the example above, we used the book ¡Olé! Flamenco by George Ancona. In the center circle is the title of the book, and the surrounding spaces are filled with the elements most closely associated with the traditional Spanish dance.

Typically the center space is reserved for the main subject of your storyboard. Your child can write in the title of a book, the main character, or something else. Consider these potential topics:

- Character traits of the hero
- Character traits of the villain!
- Different settings found in the story
- Sequential events (i.e., in the Three Little Pigs, FIRST the pigs left to build their own houses. SECOND the first little pig built a house of straw, THIRD the middle pig built a house of sticks, etc.)
- Comparing and contrasting; take two characters and on the left side of the page, show what they have in common, but on the right side of the page, show what is different about them.

The absolute best part of using storyboards is that you can use them in any language! Or more than one; we used both Spanish and English in the storyboard above. You can also make them as simple (with fewer lines for younger children) or as complex (more lines for older kids) as you want.

The neatest part is that the storyboards can be used for multiple subjects including science, history, geography, and others.

Storyboards are easy to create yourself, but I made a set of them which I sell in my online TpT store.

Happy reading!

Migrant Children's Book Drive

Like a lot of you, I'm upset. Why? Because I keep reading about the atrocity happening to children along the border. We have a crisis unfolding and no one seems capable or willing to fix it.

Even compassionate citizens who are trying to donate the items that the Border Patrol claims it is in dire need of are being refused. It has made me feel powerless to stop the mistreatment - many would say abuse - of these migrant children.

But aside from writing my senators and representatives to object, I realized that there is one thing I can do: help the families that are being released.

The Backstory

I finally saw one good piece of news regarding these families seeking asylum on NBC. The piece talks about how citizens from one of the poorest towns in our country have stepped up to help those families who are being released by the Border Patrol to go to their sponsors and await their asylum hearings. When Border Patrol started leaving families in front of their local McDonalds, the community opened their hearts and created a humanitarian shelter to help these families get started with everything from basic supplies (most arrive with nothing but the clothes they are wearing) to guidance on where they are, and how to get to their sponsor families.

In the piece, I learned that Save the Children has also stepped in to assist these shelters by setting up two of their disaster-proven programs: Child-Friendly Spaces and Mother/Baby Areas. The segment included an interview with actress Jennifer Garner, a board member of Save the Children, who was visiting the shelter. And one image, in particular, stood out to me...



There aren't that many books in the background. And none - well, maybe one? - of them appear to be Latino children's literature. Most are (I'm assuming) translations of popular children's books. Because I can't imagine that any of these kids arrive knowing English. Bilingualism is surely a luxury in the countries from which they are fleeing.

So I reached out to Save the Children and guess what? They're desperate for new Spanish-language books.

They want to use these books in the shelters where they have set up their Child-Friendly Spaces and Mother/Baby areas. In these areas, their staff and the parents will read to children during the short time that they are at the shelter. Save the Children would also like to be able to send a book along with as many children on their journey to their sponsor family as possible.

I know that books don't seem like something these families urgently need. Most of you may be thinking it's more important for them to have basic necessities such as soap, clothes, diapers, etc. The shelters are receiving lots of these donations from the community and independent organizations.

But books are important to these children also. Many of them have never been read to. Why? Because books are a luxury when you are suffering and fleeing from violence and poverty. And a book is such a treasure to the families because it represents something that they are trying to attain: Hope of a better life for their children.

A better life includes a good education to lift them out of poverty. And a good story is a precious gift to a child because it sparks their imagination, encourages them to dream, and can even motivate them to pursue that dream as they grow older.

The Book Drive

So after talking with Save the Children, I've decided to host a book drive for these migrant children and their families.

The nonprofit is urgently seeking new books in Spanish for children anywhere in between the ages of 2 and 18. These books will be used not only in their shelters to be read during storytimes by their bilingual staff, but we would also love to be able to receive enough books to send a book along with as many children on their journey to their sponsor family as possible.

Currently, they have around 200 children and their families coming through the facility each day. Save the Children has made a 2-year commitment and expects to serve between 10,000 and 50,000 children each year.

So you can see how ambitious our goal is - we'd like to get as many books as possible.

And we invite you to join us, not just in donating books, but in sharing this drive with all of your family and friends.

If you need ideas for which books to purchase, I've created an Amazon gift list with a variety of Spanish titles. If you purchase from this list, the books will be shipped to our receiving center for these shelters and Save the Children.

If you are an organization or publisher and would like to make a large donation of books, please contact me for more information. Save the Children is a nonprofit and is happy to provide you with a letter for your tax deductions.

Thank you ALL so much for your compassion and kindness for these children and their families.

UPDATE 7/1

I am so delighted at the remarkable response I've received to the book drive. I spent the weekend responding to messages from:

• individuals wanting to donate books,
• individuals who have already bought and donated books off of the Amazon list,
• authors and publishers who have agreed to send books ASAP!

And I'm also excited to have the #latinaboomermom, Maritere Rodriguez Bellas join our team! If you live in California, be on the lookout for ways to donate books in person. Follow Mari here!

UPDATE 7/3

TEACHERS! GIRL SCOUT LEADERS! And INDIVIDUALS!

Are you thinking of choosing the Migrant Children's Book Drive for your group's community project? Or thinking of celebrating your birthday with a book drive?

We have free flyer templates for you to use. Click here to download them.