Resources for Bless Me, Ultima

The one book that changed my life and opened up a whole new world to me was Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. I read it my Junior year in high school while taking a Multicultural Literature class. Before this I had NO IDEA that there was a whole genre dedicated to Latino lit. And I was so overwhelmed to see so many of the traditions and, yes, even figures from my childhood it literally made me weep. Until I was around 14, my childhood was steeped in Mexican culture. Mostly thanks to my great grandmother, with whom we lived. But she passed away when I was 12, leaving behind a giant hole that I never knew was there until I read Anaya's book. 

A year or so after her death, my mother and I moved away and I started at an all-English school where I think that maybe I was one of only two or three Hispanics in the upper school. My mother was busy working and all the traditional customs or events that we would participate in were left behind. My heritage and culture quietly slipped away a little more and more each day. 

Until I read that book.

I never met Anaya. But when he died not long ago, I felt so deeply grieved. I think it was because of that precious gift of my past and myself that he gave to me. And today, now that both my great grandmother and mother have passed away, I feel that my connection to my culture tries to quietly slip away every day. And if it weren't for my children and my decision to continue MommyMaestra and my work writing education materials, I think I would sadly drift into the mostly white culture that surrounds me. I fight every day to hold on to the little girl who celebrated las posadas, ate authentic chalupas, received "limpias" from my 'Buelita, and wore traditional dresses to celebrate every 16 de septiembre. 

So in honor of Señor Anaya, I want to dedicate today's post to his remarkable book that saved me. I've been thinking of having my older kids read it this year and watch the movie. Perhaps you'd like to do so, as well.  

The following links are affiliate links.

The Book

There are actually two versions of the cover, but the content is the same...

And did you know it is also available in Spanish?

The Study Guide

This probably excites me more than anything else. The Study Guide Student Workbook has 114 pages and works for both public/private school and homeschool classrooms. But note: it is only available in English.

Here's another one:

And on TpT, there is a whole ton of downloadable resources!

The Movie

Sadly, the price of the DVD has soared in the last few weeks. But you can still rent or buy it from Amazon Prime for a reasonable price:

An Interview with Rudolfo Anaya

Here's a few fabulous interviews with the author...

Free Typing Lessons & Games Online

Another unexpected result of the distance and online learning has appeared! There have been a lot of parents asking about typing lessons for their kids. For many, typing isn't taught in schools (and I bet those schools are now re-evaluating that!). So parents are looking for online programs. And it's a bonus if those programs are FREE!

So I started looking at some of the suggestions that many veteran homeschoolers have been sharing. Here is a short list of awesome online typing programs. I've noted if the language can be changed for Spanish and English instruction.

Online Typing Programs

• Ratatype.com - Free/multiple languages
• Typing Club - Free/multiple languages 
• Typing.com - Free/multiple languages
• LearnTyping.org - Free/English only

Typing games for younger students:

• ABCYA - lots of fun typing games here! I think they are in English only?
• Typing.com also has a section of games for young students.
• Typing Fingers
• TypeTastic! - a variety of games for K - 12

Image © Can Stock Photo - zurijeta

Reading Passage Boom Cards in English & Spanish

 

Are you looking for distance learning resources? I have a new series of reading passages on Boom Cards with comprehension questions available in English and Spanish. 

These are based off of my printable one-page reading passages, but have been reformatted for digital learning. They include a colorful layout and new images. The best part about them is that 8 comprehension questions are SELF-GRADING! (Awesome!)

So far I have uploaded Spanish and English versions of three different subjects: Las Adelitas, Los Mariachis, and Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

The Spanish versions are excellent for heritage speakers, immersion students, and advanced Spanish speakers.

Free Online Piano Lessons: Encore Music Studio

Are you looking for a way to start or maintain your child's piano lessons from home during the pandemic? Or maybe you're looking for lessons that fit your budget? Check out the free online piano lessons from Izzie Chea! Ms. Chea teaches voice, piano, and flute out of her home in Texas. Her Facebook page is Encore Music Studio.

Free Piano Lessons via YouTube 

Oh, my gosh, friends. She is the nicest and so much fun. Ms. Chea is a virtual piano teacher giving FREE fun piano lessons on YouTube and Facebook live. She gives full, 30 minute piano lessons to kids, teens and adults. She gives LIVE lessons on Facebook every Friday at 1:00pm CST!

Watch her introductory lesson below. It is the first lesson in her children's series. She tells you which books to purchase for the lessons, explains how a piano works, how to hold your hands/fingers, where the different keys are, and more.  If you love it, you can join her private Facebook group Encore Music Makers.

Now, guys here's the thing. Ms. Chea is SO NICE to offer these lessons for free. She's made this a donation-based studio. So if you decide to participate in these lessons, after you buy your books, PLEASE consider donating whatever you can on a weekly or monthly basis via Patreon.com/izziechea. 

We're here to help each other and $5/mo or even $10/mo if you can spare it for piano lessons is a deal you won't find anywhere!

The Piano Lesson Books You'll Need

Here are the books that you'll need for these lessons. I've included links to them using Ms. Chea's affiliate links so when you purchase them, she'll get a small percentage at no extra cost to you. It's one way to support her in exchange for her free lessons. ♥

Piano Lesson Book: Complete Level 1, for the Later Beginner

Alfred's Basic Piano Library Theory Complete, Bk 1: For the Later Beginner

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Cultural Bytes Online Spanish Courses

A lot of parents are looking for online courses as part of their homeschool lesson plans for this fall... especially first-time homeschoolers and those whose children were in immersion programs last year.

So I'm excited to share that Cultural Bytes has offered one of their foreign language courses to be part of the Back-to-School Fiesta!

Cultural Bytes is based in Southern California. It provides immersion classes for Spanish, French, and Mandarin. In addition to teaching the language, they also focus on cultural awareness. And the classes also focus on four skills:

1. reading
2. writing
3. listening
4. speaking

Their classes are fun and engaging thanks to their differentiated learning approach and game-based environment.

The Giveaway

Cultural Bytes is offering 1 FREE online class (35 minutes) of the language of your choice! The options are: Spanish or French or Mandarin.

Try it out and see if it is a good fit for your family!

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below.

Good luck!

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Back-to-School with 123 Andrés

Learn Spanish with your Kids -- a fun Back-To-School Giveaway with 123 Andrés

For a few years now, we've been highlighting the amazing albums and videos by 123 Andrés. The musical duo, Andrés and Christina, are well-known among bilingual and Spanish-speaking families. In fact, they won a Latin Grammy for Best Children’s Album in 2016 for their album, Arriba Abajo.

I love 123 Andrés because of the educational component that comes with ALL of their songs. And it is no surprise because Christina has a Masters in Education and was once a public school teacher. 

I'm so delighted to be able to offer a great giveaway for a MommyMaestra reader!

Win this bundle of musical learning fun:

• Hola Amigo: Songs of Friendship  album
• Hola Amigo/Hello Friends picture book from Scholastic
• Una Idea Tengo Yo album
• Canta las Letras (2019 Latin Grammy-nominated album!)

123 Andrés is releasing a surprise digital album – Hola, Amigo: Songs of Friendship. The album, due out Aug 21, contains remastered versions of Hola, Amigo in Spanish and English, and eight more songs that explore the theme of friendship, in two languages. The album and the picture book with Scholastic both celebrate 10 years of  123 Andrés music for kids. The bundle also includes two recent and acclaimed albums by 123 Andrés.

For more information and the latest live stream concert schedule, please visit www.123andres.com.

The Giveaway

One MommyMaestra reader will win this great package!

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below.

¡Buena suerte!

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Making the First Day of School Special (Free Downloads)

One of the things I've strived to do each year is make the first day of homeschool special. It doesn't matter when you start - summer, fall, or some other time. That first day is important. I want my kids to look forward to the new year and start the whole thing off with a positive mindset. 

Here are five ways to make that first day special.

Start it off with breakfast

Lots of people make special breakfasts on the first day of school. Maybe it is their favorite meal. Or maybe you get really creative with their food to make them smile and brighten their mood.

Perhaps, you involve your kids in the making of breakfast and take time to talk. Ask them what fun things they'd like to do this year in school - make a list of their ideas, then try to incorporate as many as possible.

Or maybe making breakfast together IS the first lesson of the year! So many great concepts for math, science, and literacy can be taught this way. And the best part is you get to eat the yummy results of your work.

Take a back-to-school picture

ALWAYS take a picture of their child sometime during the first week of  a new grade. Even if you don't do it on the first day because things happen (you forget, you're waiting for new photo props, the kids didn't cooperate, someone has bedhead, whatever!), take it the next day or sometime that week. 

In fact, take LOTS of pictures throughout the year because you can make your own yearbooks at the end of the year. 

And let me give some advice for this year -- make sure you put "2020" somewhere in the picture, such as on the board they are holding: "First day of 9th grade - 2020!" Because you're going to want to remember this year. And even if you'd rather forget it, this is a great photo for your child to have years from now as proof they made it through!

Begin with a field trip

Well, that's a little harder to do this year. But if you can make it to a state park or other outdoor venue, go for it! And if you can't, don't worry. There are a whole ton of virtual field trips you can take. I have a whole page full of them listed in my free 2020 Life Skills Lists (in English and Spanish!).

Make a time capsule

This is super fun! It doesn't have to be big. You can even use a Tupperware container or coffee tub that is just for this purpose.  Be creative about what you include. You can take a video of your child and ask them to describe what this year has been like (2020!!). Or if you are going to use this time capsule every year, put a journal in it and have them write about what the year has been like so far and what they hope for in the months to come. Throw that back-to-school picture in there. Let them put whatever they want in there. If they have successfully gotten rid of their pacifier, throw it in. If they made it through reading War and Peace, add it! 

You can also have them fill out this FREE Goal Worksheets for the School Year. It's been updated this year to include pages with graphics and font better suited for older children.

Give gifts

Throughout the year, I set aside money to purchase new school supplies that I know my kids are going to need for the next school year. I think getting new supplies helps get their excitement going. So for my daughter this year, I bought her gel pens, an assortment of pens with colored ink that she was begging for, new headphones for all her online classes, a new case for her phone, and books. My middle kid, who is entering 9th grade got a graphing calculator, craft tools, and books. My youngest who's starting preschool got a LOT of manipulatives, games, and books to help teach all those fun skills and concepts that kids learn in PreK. 

I usually wrap things up and I add special labels that remind them what grade they're going into (when you homeschool, you tend to forget what "grade" you're in!). Here's a peek at my daughter's gift bag: 

And here is another example from years gone by:

If you'd like to use these labels, you can download them for free here. They've been available for a few years here on MommyMaestra, but I just updated them also with a variety of graphics to account for a variety of children and ages.

Enjoy!

Martín y Pepe - Spanish Beginning Reader Books

 

Friends, I'm excited about today's giveaway! (I know, I'm excited about ALL of them!) But this one is special to me because this series of books is loved by my 3yo. 

Last year, I shared these books with you in a sponsored post. Not only did I fall in love with the simple storylines and the beautiful illustrations, but so did my youngest. 

THEN, when I was hosting the Migrant Children's Book Drive last year, Dana Ryan - the author of this series - reached out to me and donated 40 copies (10 of each book). Y'all, I just really love this series and both the author and the illustrator. 

Rosa C. Lopez is the artist. She's brilliant. I actually had her create some art for me for a current project I'm working on and it was remarkable the choices she gave me. I had such a hard time narrowing it down and had to ask my own children to help me choose. And they had a hard time, too. Rosa is THAT good. 

Here's a time-lapse video of her working on the most recent book released in this series. Watch her brilliance in action... 

The Giveaway

Dana has SO kindly offered to give away one complete set of these beginning readers to one MommyMaestra reader! 

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below. 

Good luck, friends!

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Nacho Books

One of the things that I see coming up a LOT these days from parents raising bilingual children is a request for materials that teach children how to read in Spanish. Especially from parents who had children in immersion PreK and are now homeschooling them for Kindergarten.

A few years ago, I reviewed the Nacho (lectura) books from Susaeta. They have been SO POPULAR! So many parents have said that these were the books they used to learn to read. 

But the biggest hangup was that they are published in Latin America. Fortunately, there is one place here in the States where you can order them: Cultural Bytes. 

The Giveaway

But I'm very happy to announce that our friends at Cultural Bytes are offering a set of these awesome books for one lucky family.

This set includes (all shown above):
1- Nacho Lectura Inicial De Lectura (estados unidos)
1- Leo y Escribo 1
1- El Gran Nacho

To enter to win, simply use the Rafflecopter below.

¡Buena suerte!

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3-Month Subscription to Booklandia

Friends, for a few years now, I've been sharing about Booklandia. It is such a remarkable company and I'm excited to include them again in this year's Back-to-School Fiesta.

Booklandia - based out of Oakland, CA since 2016 - specializes in Spanish and Bilingual books for kids and teens. They assist families and schools in building inclusive and representative libraries through their subscription boxes, online store, book sets, and book fairs.  

Here's a note from the owner, Maceo Cabrera Estevez:

We are happy to offer Mommy Maestra's audience an opportunity to join the Booklandia community in this giveaway of a 3-months subscription.  The winner will choose from our Board Books, Bilingual Books, Spanish Picture Books and Spanish Chapter Books Boxes and will also receive a coloring page and bookmark each month.

Visit us at booklandiabox.com

The Giveaway

As stated above, Booklandia has graciously offered a 3-month subscription of the Booklandia Box of your choice to one MommyMaestra reader!

To enter, simply use the rafflecopter below.

¡Buena suerte!

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Act It Out Shakespeare

Today, I have the pleasure of a special feature. 

There's no giveaway associated with this because the creator is using the profits from her sales to pay for her ballet class. She's 12 years old. 

Julie Cerdas is a member of our Hispanic & Bilingual Homeschoolers Facebook group. Her family homeschools. A few years ago, while studying King Lear with another family, they tried to find paper puppets to supplement their lessons and make it a little more interactive for the kids. But they couldn't find any. Her daughter was inspired to create her own, and then, Act It Out Shakespeare was born. 

Her daughter has created a website to seller her creations. It's called Bluebirds and Blackberries Studio. That's where you can find this set for Shakespeare's The Tempest. But she didn't stop with just puppets. She also adapted the play to include only the characters for which there are puppets, but still presents the complete story arc of the play. So in all, her digital set comes ready for download with 11 puppets to cut out and glue to popsicle sticks (if desired), a play, and a list of characters per scene so you can easily assign roles without going through the entire play.

She's also created a set for A Midsummer’s Night Dream and is working on Much Ado About Nothing. I love that she's made the former available in different versions: full-color or outlines to allow children to color their own should they so choose. 

Children are amazing. Their creativity knows no limits. And parents who nurture not only their child's creativity but their entrepreneurial spirit deserve praise. 

So if you are studying Shakespeare in your home or school classroom and would like to buy a set, visit their online shop. 

Well done, young one!

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Spanish Alphabet Books for PreK & Kindergarten

So many families raising young bilingual children are searching for resources right now to help their preschoolers and kindergartners learn to read in Spanish.

We are lucky to have Spanglish Schoolhouse participating in this year's Back-to-School Fiesta! They have generously offered their Spanish Alphabet Books Bundle. And what I love about it is that parents don't have to be native speakers to help their children learn!

Why? Because this set comes with QR codes . And although the student resources are 100% Spanish, the teacher instruction pages are in English.

This DIGITAL DOWNLOAD bundle is fantastic for practicing letter identification, syllable counting, and beginning sounds in Spanish (or sonidos iniciales).

Every consonant book has all five vowels represented. (The exception is c & g, because there are two versions for those letters: hard and soft.)

Each letter comes with five resources:

Flipbook with QR Code

A printable book children can color, cut, staple, and read to practice beginning sounds in the context of a predictable sentence. These have QR codes, so children can scan and read along with the flipbook using any QR code reader on a phone, tablet, or computer.

Video

This is a full-color version of the above flipbook being read. NOTE: The QR code connects children to files in Google Drive. You will want to be sure your district does not block Google Drive files. 

 

Trace & Match

Trace the word and match it to the correct picture.

Word Puzzle & Syllable Count

Children use the word bank to match the word to the correct picture, then count and circle the correct number of syllables.

Word & Picture Puzzles

Use these to introduce the vocabulary for each letter, as matching puzzles, or to play memory or Go Fish.

What a FABULOUS resource, no?!?

Visit Spanglish Schoolhouse to learn more and watch the video. 

The Giveaway

Spanglish Schoolhouse is offering their Digital Download Spanish Alphabet Book Bundle to one MommyMaestra reader.

To enter to win, simply use the Rafflecopter below.

¡Buena suerte!

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