Here we are at Week 27, hanging out at the bus station and still finding lots of exciting things to do.  The “I don’t know” game was so much fun for my little one. I would ask her questions to which she knew the answer was “yes” and questions to which she knew the answer was “no’.  Then her favorite part would come when I would ask some off-the-wall question, which I knew she wouldn’t know the answer to and she would get to reply with “No lo sé (I don’t know)”, most emphatically.  We also practiced vehicles and their colors some more, using the phrase, ¿Qué es? (What is it?).  My daughter enjoyed when I tried to stump her on the colors, having her say “No” or “Sí ” after I would ask if a vehicle was a certain color.  She was a sharp listener and soon decided to quiz me as well.  My 4 year old also enjoyed turning the activity into an “I Spy” sort of game around the house, locating items of a certain color, in Spanish of course.

Kimberly

Week 26 finds us still at the bus station.  We had great fun making and coloring paper airplanes, then flying them indoors and outdoors, while saying “Mi avión rojo (My red aeroplane)…Mi avión blanco (My white aeroplane)… etc.” The “I Spy” worksheet was a wonderful idea.  My 4 year old watched the video clips, checking off each vehicle that she saw.  Then, the next time we went for a ride, she brought the paper along and checked off the rest of the vehicles, as she saw them on our outing.  The Speekee program has the cutest ideas for activities and reviews, just right for this age range.

Kimberly

This week we were off on a new adventure to the bus station.  This was one of my favorite episodes so far; it seemed just right for my 4 year old daughter.  We learned the names for several different modes of transportation and reviewed colors.  My daughter enjoyed the word puzzle, helping me match up the correct answers by finding the letters that she recognized.  After reviewing a video clip about crossing the street safely, my daughter and I had great fun acting out the scenes ourselves.  We took turns, one of us being the pedestrian and the other being the car driver.  “Look, listen, be careful!”  She loved riding by on her bike, while I waited to cross safely.  “Fantastico!”

Kimberly

This week we made our last visit to the market, before moving on to our next destination.  We watched the video again to refresh our memories of some of the vocabulary and phrases.  Then we did some activities that my 4 year old enjoyed.  She watched the clip on colors with me; then, she enjoyed being quizzed on them to see how many she could remember and repeat.  We also played a fun review game, called “What’s in the Bag”, after watching the clip by the same name.  I decided to draw a variety of foods, instead of using real ones, and placed them in a paper bag.  Then, as my daughter pulled different ones out of the bag, we would review the Spanish terms for the food.  Once all the foods were out on the table, we practiced counting them in Spanish.  She thought this was great fun; and hours later, she said to me, “Hey Mommy, patata means potato.”  After Daddy arrived home, our 4 year old was proud to show off her counting skills also.  I love seeing that she is learning and remembering and having fun in the process.

Kimberly

Did you know that the Speekee music CD is now available to download on iTunes and Amazon? This is great news for Speekee TV subscribers who want the music CD to play in car. Just go to iTunes or Amazon and search for “Speekee”.

If funds were available, would you recommend parents buy or use this product to with children at the appropriate grade / age level? Please explain why or why not.

1. Only if you could have suggestions by age range to go with it. I think I figured what worked best for my children, but other parents might not be able to.

Our aim with the coming changes is to make site navigation obvious by using age-appropriate ‘signposting’

2. If funds were available, I would recommend this product to families. I know that half of my class is learning Spanish as a second language and could benefit from this program, and I would recommend this to their parents.

3. Yes! My son and I totally enjoyed learning Spanish from these lessons! Certainly for beginning Spanish learning children this is an excellent product for anyone! Thank you for letting me have the chance to try it out!

Zaragoza is Spain’s fifth largest city, located in the north of the country:

image from http://pnb.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zaragoza_location.PNG

It is also where my sister lives, and I was there on a visit over the Christmas period.

It’s a long time since I have experienced the bustle of city life, living as I do in a town of 30,000 inhabitants – Zaragoza has 700,000.

The city has changed quite considerably since I lived there for 9 months back in 1992, especially since it began preparations to host Expo 2010, the theme of which was ‘Water’. As you might expect, a lot of money was poured into – excuse the pun – that internationally recognised event, and Zaragoza has benefitted greatly. Among the impressive changes I have noticed is a new tram system (so smooth!) and a network of cycle routes under the name Bizi Zaragoza, which is what you might desribe as a park-and-ride for bicycles.

But the highlight for me this year in Zaragoza was the start of filming for Speekee 2, and the very generous assistance of my niece Susie… the star of an episode which will feature the sights and sounds of this lovely city.

¡Gracias Susie!

Zaragoza, Spain
image from http://www.turismodezaragoza.es/ciudad/patrimonio/barroco/basilica-virgen-pilar-zaragoza.html

On the 6th of January it is by way of the Reyes Magos – The Wise Kings – or los reyes de Oriente, that Spanish children get their Christmas presents.

The Wise Kings are traditionally characterised by three kings: one red haired, one white haired and one black, bringing to the baby Jesus three symbolic presents: gold, silver and myrrh. It is understood these kings are coming from far away and exotic countries and travelling for days just with aim of visiting the baby Jesus.

On the night of the 5th of January, families prepare themselves to welcome the wise kings and their respective camels.

Sweets for them and water for their camels are left beside the children. When everyone is asleep the Wise Kings enter via the window or door and leave the presents for the family.

image from http://xavierpinyes.com/?p=354

And if you already knew some or most of the above, here’s news of a tradition within the tradition…

In the Basque Country, traditionally ‘Olentzero’ comes to the house on the night of the 24th December to drop off presents for children.

He is depicted as a Basque peasant wearing a Basque beret, a farmer’s attire with traditional abarketa shoes and smoking a pipe. On Christmas Eve, groups of people or children carry effigies of Olentzero around on a chair through the streets, singing Olentzero carols and collecting food or sweets.