Worksheets to Help Teach Numbers to Preschoolers

I found a good site with some worksheets to teach numbers in English, but you can still use the site, print out the worksheets and teach your children the numbers in French. It's appropriate for preschoolers. It's been helpful for my 3 year old.

http://www.kidslearningstation.com/preschool/practice-counting.asp

I'm trying to look for some more age appropriate worksheets for my 7 year old and 5 year old. If anyone knows of any, let me know!

Spanish for Little Learners

In the past I combined some French and Spanish posts on this site. I've decided to start a blog for teaching children Spanish. This way people who visit this blog and that blog will only see articles that interest them (either teaching their children Spanish or French).

The blog address for my new Spanish for Little Learners site is: http://spanishforlittlelearners.blogspot.com/

Guess Who????

I have to admit that I've had the best time playing Guess Who Extra in French with my kids. For those of you who haven't played it yet. It's like classic Guess Who but with lots of cards that you can change. So you can guess which house hold item, which animal, which kid, which monster, etc. There are so many different things you can practice in French. The monster card is good for practicing colors and body parts.

The best reason I like playing games while teaching French to my kids is because the kids don't know that you are actually teaching them. :) They end up forgetting that they are learning and just have fun.

More Color Worksheets - French and Spanish

Here are some simple worksheets for your children to practice their colors in French or Spanish. If they can't read yet, you can read the colors to them and they can color the word the correct color.

To extend this exercise, you can make a little color book. They can cut out each word and paste it to a page. Then they can cut a picture from a magazine that is that color or they can draw a picture and color it that color. There are many different ways you can expand this activity. Enjoy!

Red light, Green light

Do you remember the old game Red light, Green light? You know the one where 1 person turns their back and says green light to the other people. Then, those people run as fast as they can to try to touch the person who is calling out the light colors. Then, when the person turns around and says red light, all of the people have to freeze. If you are caught running, then you have to be sent back to the starting line.

Now that you remember the game, have you ever thought about changing it to a French/Spanish game and playing with your kids? We did that this afternoon and the kids had fun. We even added colors like yellow for slowing down and black for dropping to the ground. We just tried to change it up a bit. Try it with your kids. I'm sure you'll have fun! It's a great fun way to learn a new language.

French Colors:

purple - violet

blue - bleu

green - vert

yellow - jaune

orange - orange

red - rouge

black - noir

Spanish Colors:

purple - morado

blue - azul

green - verde

yellow - amarillo

orange - anaranjado

red - rojo

black - negro

Back to the books!

Hi everyone! I just got back from a great visit to Canada with my family. We spent most of our time in English speaking Ontario, but we did get to spend some time in French speaking Quebec. It was really cute to see my son walk up to "friendly strangers" to practice his French. He wasn't fearful at all. It reminded me about how important it is to just dive right in and practice with anyone who is willing to practice with you.

Since we home school, I get to create my own curriculum and I've decided to do intensive French this school year. I'll post any activities that could help you as well with your children. My children are 7, 5 and 2, so I'll have activities for those ages which could be altered for older (or younger) children as well.

Spanish for Little Boys

Spanish for little boys is officially available on Amazon.com.

This workbook is created especially for parents who do not have any prior knowledge of Spanish. You and your son can embark on a journey of learning a foreign language together. Everything you need is inside this workbook, including a pronunciation guide, a dictionary and a variety of teaching tips. And as with French for Little Boys, you can email me and ask me any questions that you have about the workbook or ask for lesson ideas. I'm here to help you!

Spanish Puzzle Worksheet

Here's a worksheet for teaching a few words in Spanish. You can use paint or photoshop and change the puzzle pieces to be different words that you are currently teaching. Or, you can use the worksheet as is. Simply cut print out the worksheet and cut out the shapes. Then your child can put the pieces together and say the words outloud!

hola - hi
adiós - goodbye
buenas noches - good night

French Puzzle Worksheet

Here's a cute, simple little worksheet which will help you teach your kids a few phrases in French. You can print it out, cut it out and have your little ones practice the words. You can also edit the worksheet to practice any other phrases you'd like.

au revoir - goodbye

bonjour -hello/good day

bonne nuit - good night

Spanish for Little Boys

Spanish for Little Boys is about to be released and will be available for purchase on Amazon. Here's a sneak peak at the cover.

Look for French for Little Girls next!

July Calendar in French

Hi everyone. How is your summer going? I hope your French lessons with your kids are going well. We have slowed down a little for the summer, but we are starting back up.

Here's a calendar for July in French. Remember in France they usually start their calendar week on Monday, but for ease for my kids, I keep my calendar starting on Sunday. Feel free to do whatever you think is best for you and your kids.

Calendar for the Month of June in French

Here is a calendar for the month of June in French. You can print this out and hang it on your fridge. Maybe you can put your kids 'things to do' on it, so they can see the days of the week and become more familiar with them! Enjoy!

Making Necklaces and Learning French

Sometimes the best ideas for practicing French are the simplest. My 4 year old daughter's new obsession is to make necklaces, bracelets and rings out of stringing beads. It's an easy way to practice numbers and colors in French.

You can count together as your children string them. And you can even use this activity with your younger children who can't string them yet. Instead of stringing the beads with them, you can sort the beads together.

The great thing about making necklaces is that your children will have something to remember their lesson with later. You can use the necklaces and bracelets to continue to practice their numbers in French. Also, you can buy a huge container of beads for only $5 at walmart. So this isn't a big investment. But, loads of fun!

Helping Your Children Learn Numbers 11-20 in French

Teaching children numbers is one of the building blocks in learning a foreign language. Here's a great activity to help them learn their numbers from 11-20 in French.

Now that the weather is nice and warm outside. Take a little walk with your children or you can go into your backyard. Take a basket and have your children gather different things like blades of grass, flowers, leaves, etc. As they pick the blades of grass you can count in French with them to help them get used to counting up so high.

Afterwards, you can take your basket of treasures and sit down at the dining room table and do a little craft with them. Let your children make a masterpiece by gluing the grass and flowers on some paper. As they glue them on, have them count them again in French. Hang up their masterpieces so they will be reminded of the numbers they learned.

Here are some the number in French from 11-20:

11 onze

12 douze

13 treize

14 quatorze

15 quinze

16 seize

17 dix-sept

18 dix-huit

19 dix-neuf

20 vingt

Learning Facial Words in French and Spanish

I found a Wooly Willy the other day and decided to buy it and use it for our French and Spanish lessons. You know Wooly Willy, the face where you move the little magnetic pieces to make different faces.

It's a great tool to practice facial vocabulary for French or Spanish. You can give your children commands in French and then they can move the magnets around to do what you asked them. It's really fun. My kids love this game! Wondering where you can buy one? You can fine them on amazon for only a couple of bucks.

Small and Big Worksheet in Spanish!

Here's a simple, yet helpful worksheet for your kids to practice big (grande) and small (pequeño(a)) in Spanish. You can give them as much or as little guidance that you feel they need. Enjoy!

Petit(e) and Grand(e) French Worksheet

Here is another worksheet that I made for my children. It will help reinforce the words petit(e) small and grand(e) big. With a little introduction from you, they should be able to do the worksheet by themselves. I hope everyone has a great week!

International Visitors!

I know there are a lot of you out there who come from other countries other than the US or Canada. If you are interested in purchasing French for Little Boys, you can email me and I can send you an invoice including shipping which depends on where you live. Just let me know!

ybatot@yahoo.com

Thank you all for stopping by my blog! Let me know if there is anything you need or any lessons you want designed!

Eiffel Tower Craft

Okay this is really cool French craft. I know our preschoolers can't do it themselves, but it might work for older kids or for a family group craft. You make an Eiffel Tower out of of craft sticks:

http://crafts.kaboose.com/craft-stick-eiffel-tower.html

Even if you have to do most of the work, you can get your children to practice their numbers by counting the craft sticks as you use them.

Happy Birthday Song in French

Today is my birthday and I wanted to find a good French version of a Happy Birthday song on Youtube. After looking around I found this one. It's really good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0G_6NRbvTo

Here are the lyrics:

Bon anniversaire, nos vœux les plus sincères

Que ces quelques fleurs vous apportent le bonheur

Que l'année entière vous soit douce et légère

Et que l'an fini, nous soyons tous réunis

Pour chanter en chœur : "Bon Anniversaire!"

Emotions Worksheet in Spanish

Here's a worksheet for your children to help them learn some emotion words in Spanish! All they have to do is draw little faces according to the emotion listed.

Here's a list of the Spanish emotion vocabulary:
sad - triste
happy - feliz
angry - enojado
crazy - loco

Emotion Words in French

Here is a worksheet I made to practice emotion words in French. Just print it out and have you child draw in the oval a face that represents the emotion underneath it. You can even add yarn and sparkles to make the faces look more realistic (or at least for your children to have more fun).

Useful Vocabulary:

sad - triste

happy - heureux

crazy - fou

angry - fâché

Simple and Easy Way to Practice Numbers

Okay this might seem like the easiest thing ever to do to help your children practice their numbers in French or Spanish, but I really never thought about it until today. My daughter wanted pretzels for her snack today. As she ate them, I asked her to count them in French. I know it sounds simple and easy, but it's practicing French and to me that is all that matters!

Homemade Memory cards featuring your children!

I had a fun idea today! I made memory cards featuring my children! It's very simple to do. You just have to take pictures of whatever you want to focus on. I took pictures of my daughter and my son in different clothes. Then, I used Word to size the pictures smaller. Finally, I printed 2 copies. My daughter loved it! She thought it was so funny to see herself on the different pictures.

Every time your child flips over a card make sure they say the name in Spanish or French and all of the sudden you have a very nice language lesson.

Memory Rhythm Game to Learn Body Parts in French or Spanish

Here's a fun memory game to help your children learn their body parts in French or Spanish.

Clap your hands and establish a rhythm together. Then, within your rhythm point to one body part and say the name. Next, start over with the same rhythm point to that first body part and say its name and then add another one. Start over and keep adding body parts to it.

Here are some body parts in French:

head -la tête

face – le visage

neck – le cou

eye – l’œil

eyes – les yeux

nose – le nez

ear – l’oreille

mouth – la bouche

hair – les cheveux

arm – le bras

hand – la main

fingers – les doigts

finger – le doigt

back – le dos

leg – la jambe

foot – le pied

Here are some body parts in Spanish:

head -el brazo
nose – la nariz
eye - el ojo
mouth – la boca

hair – el pelo
arm – el brazo
hand – la mano
finger – el dedo
back – la espalda
foot – el pie

Mini Spanish Number Book

Here is a mini Spanish number book you can use to help your children learn Spanish. Your kids can color the pictures and words and then cut apart the sections and staple the little pages together. Or they can use yarn to bind your book together. You can also have your children decorate the pages with stickers or glitter. Have fun with it!

Mini French Number Book

I'm in such a big worksheet mood lately. Today I made a little mini-number book that you can all print out and use with your kids as well. Just cut on the lines and staple and you are ready to go. Your children can color in the pictures and words. It's a great way to help your children practice their numbers in French.

Spanish calendar for your kids!

Teaching your kids Spanish, no problem. Here's a calendar for the month of May where you can help them learn the days of the weeks. You can give them a star or sticker for every day they practice their Spanish with you!

French calendar for May

Here's a basic French calendar that you can use to help teach your children the days of the week, while keeping up with what you need to do during the month of mai (May). You can also use it as a way to track when you and your children study French. You can give them a sticker or gold star to put on each day they practice their French.

Spanish Animal Worksheet

Here's a Spanish worksheet to help you your children/students learn a few animals' names in Spanish! Enjoy!

French Animal Worksheet

Here's an animal worksheet I made for my daughter and son. . I hope some of you will find it useful for your kids too. Let me know if there is a type of worksheet you'd like me to make for you!

A Road Trip and Learning a Language!

Going on a big road trip? Here's an idea to get some French or Spanish learning while driving. When I was little we used to have to find things that start with a certain letter, starting at A and ending with Z. Why not do this with French or Spanish?

This is a game that even preschoolers can do because you don't need to spell. Your child only needs to know the alpabet.

You can play too. It might be easier to play if you're not the one driving though!

Action verbs in French

At the preschool age, kids are very egocentric and like to talk about themselves. What you can do instead of teaching your kids how to conjugate verbs, is to just teach them a lot of verbs using the first person singular "I/Je". Later on then you can introduce "You/Tu" and the other ones.

Here is a great list of French action verbs to get you started:
I walk - je marche
I go - je vais
I am - je suis
I do - je fais
I sleep - je dors
I want - je veux
I have - j’ai
I dance - je danse

Learning the rooms of the house in French!

This works well if you have kids who can read (even if just a little bit). Write the words in French on big pieces of paper and tape them to the outside of each room. Everytime you and your children walk into a room, you can say the room's name together in French!

Here are some names of rooms in French to get you started:

le bureau de travail -the office, study
la chambre - the bedroom
la cuisine -the kitchen
l'entrée -the hall
l'escalier - the stairs
le grenier - the attic
la salle de bains -the bathroom
la salle à manger - the dining room
le salon -the living room

Barnyard Animals in French!

Here's a fun way to play with your kids while reviewing animal names in French. Grab some of your children's picture books and sit down with your kids. Say a name of an animal in French and then have your children flip through their books until they find a picture of that animal.

Also, you can make a bingo card with the names of the animals on it. Then they can mark them as they find them in the books. There are a lot of variations to you can do with this activity.

Here are the French names for some animals:

Chicken - le poulet
Cow - la vache
Donkey - l'âne
Duck - le canard
Goat - la chèvre
Horse - le cheval
Mouse - la souris
Mule - la mule
Pig - le cochon
Sheep - le mouton

Award Certificate

A great way to award your little language learner for their hard work with studying French or Spanish is to give them an award or certificate. Sure you could go out and buy them a trophy and they’d be delighted, but they’ll probably be very happy with a simple certificate too.

Attached are 2 certificates that you can print out for your chidren (Spanish, French). You might think I used big words on the certificate, but when you read it to your child, you’ll see their eyes light up because those big words will impress them and make them feel extra special. You can also make your own if you'd prefer.

You can even print it out before hand and color it in so it looks more fancy. Then you can have a little award ceremony and have your whole family watch as you child receives their award from you!

A unique idea for teaching 1 French or Spanish word a day!

If you want your child to learn 1 word a day in a foreign language like French or Spanish here is an idea for you. Think about what you do everyday. For a good 30 mins. or more. If you are like me the answer is drive in a car. While you are busy driving your daughter or son could be busy learning.

Just write 1 word in French or Spanish and tape it to the back of the chair that is in front of your son or daughter. You can even draw a little picture of the word too. Even if they can't read, you can say the word a few times and then get them to repeat it. By looking at the word and the picture, the will remember it.

My friend did this with her kids for the alphabet, but it works well with words too! Pressed for time? Just write the numbers - 1 each day. That will take no time at all. Good luck!

Learning the Days of the week in French!

One great way to help your children learn the days of the week in French is to either make a calendar or better yet, you can put the day of the week each day on the fridge.

Make a pretty (or basic it doesn't matter) sign for each day of the week. You can do this part with your child or without. Then, every morning as part of your ritual, you can hang up the new day of the week on the fridge and say it together a few times. After a while, they will be changing it for you to the correct day. I did this right before I gave my kids breakfast so that they had something to think about while I was pouring milk in their cereal bowls. :-)


Here is a list of the days of the week:

Lundi - Monday
Mardi - Tuesday
Mercredi - Wednesday
Jeudi - Thursday
Vendredi -Friday
Samedi -Saturday
Dimanche - Sunday

Using this blog for other languages

Not into French? Never fear, just use these activities grab a Spanish dictionary if you don't know the words and away you go. Most of this blog will work for any language. Choose whatever language you learned in highschool or college or any language you want to learn now. Nothing better than learning a language with your children together.

Also, since I speak Spanish too, I'm going to try to do more activities with both the Spanish and French languages.

And as always, please let me know if there are any topics you'd like me to cover in this blog!

Have a great weekend!

Video tape your kids speaking French

This is something I had no idea would work as well as it did. It was my daughter's idea. She wanted to be videotaped. She can be a ham. And I said sure, but after our French lesson. But, then it dawned on me, why not incorporate the 2.

She ate it up. And after she was done she wanted to watch herself over and over on the computer. I was going to post it here, but she made me promise not to let anyone see it. I'm not sure why since she likes to be the center of attention.

You can do this with your kids by practicing numbers, clothing, commands, Simon says, any lesson at all. After you play it back on your computer or TV, you will see your kids' eyes sparkle because they are so proud of themselves (as they should be).

Playing dress up to learn French

I found the cutest little web site that is very basic and easy to use for kids, but engaging as well. It is where you drag clothes onto a little girl and dress her up. Just like Paper dolls, but on the computer. You gotta love technology!

Here's the link. When you use it, make sure your son or daughter practices their French while dressing up the little girl.

Here are some words that might be useful for this exercise:

un pull – sweater
un tee-shirt – T-shirt
un pantalon – pants
un jean – jeans
une jupe - skirt
une robe - dress
un chapeau - hat

O Canada lyrics in French

My kids are Canadian (as my husband is Canadian). They know O Canada in English, but we never thought to teach them the song in French. I found the lyrics on line and hopefully they'll learn it soon. Even if you aren't Canadian, it's still a great opportunity to teach your children some French Canadian culture.

Ô Canada

Ô Canada!
Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux.

Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix.

Ton histoire est une épopée,
Des plus brillants exploits.

Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Here's a instumental YouTube video with the lyrics in English and French.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBiZYZXiGsM

Using water play to learn French

It may not be warm enough where you live to do this activity, but you can keep it in your back pocket to use in the summer.

Put all of your kids in their swimsuits and go in your background. Turn on your hose and using your thumb to make a stream of water. Then, you can give them French commands that the have to do in/on/under the water.

Here are some words you can use:

jump - saute

run - cours

go - va

under - sous

crawl - rampe

kick - donne un coup-de-pied

On the bridge of Avignon / Sur le pont d'Avignon

I love singing French songs with my kids (even though I can't sing very well). Kids are so receptive to songs!

Here is On the Bridge of Avignon / Sur le pont d'Avignon.

Sur le pont d'Avignon

On y danse, on y danse

Sur le pont d'Avignon

On y danse tout en rond

1 Les beaux messieurs font comme ça

Et puis encore comme ça.

Refrain

2 Les belles dames font comme ça

Et puis encore comme ça.

Refrain.

I found these lyrics on http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=155&c=22

The site has other French songs and it has the music you can sing to as well.

Spring Break

Spring Break is here and maybe it is time for you to take a little break too from teaching your children French. Take a few days to rejuvenate yourself. But, wait, you may not want to lose your momentum with your son's or daughter's progress in French.

Find some French videos on YouTube or watch a movie that you have using the French track. Disney movies usually have a French track. If you keep up this practice, you have have your kids ask to watch something in French. That's a great feeling!

Also, if you don't need a Spring break, don't take it! Think about what works for you and your family and run with it!

Easter Egg and Basket French Activity

Here is another French Easter activity for you to do with your children.

Print out the Easter Basket I found on another site. Write out the names of the different French colors on each egg. Then, use the other worksheet I made of eggs. Have your children color those eggs and cut them out. Then, they can paste the correct egg on the correct egg in the basket. If they are not yet reading, you can read the word to them.

In order to print out the pages, just double click on the picture and it will bring put it in another window where you can print it out.

Spring and French Language

The weather is getting nicer and nicer and now is the time to take a nature walk and use the blooming flowers to increase your children's French vocabulary. If you haven't studied French in a long time or if you are learning French with your children, you can take a little pocket dictionary with you on your walk. This way if they point to something and ask you how you say it in French, you'll be prepared.

Here are some useful French Springtime vocabulary words:

Spring - le printemps
flower - la fleur
grass - l'herbe
tree - l'arbre
butterfly - le papillon
Smell! - Sens!
Look! - Regarde!

More Felt Doll Activities

My motto with homeschooling is to run with whatever works. What worked was the felt dolls. So, today I practiced listening comprehension with my kids. I told them how to dress the dolls in French and then they had to dress the dolls correctly.

We also reversed this and they had to tell me how to dress the dolls in French. I turned my back so that they couldn't see what I was doing. It made it more fun for them to see if mom would get it right.

Then, when daddy got home from work, we let him join in the action. A simple, yet very effective way to teach French clothing words.

You can also do this with felt faces and different color eyes, mouths and hair.

Felt dolls and French

A really fun thing I did with my kids this weekend was to cut out a few dolls and clothes from felt. Felt is kind of hard to cut for kids, so I did most of that work, but they got to design the clothes.

Felt is really neat because it stick to other felt. Thus, you can play 'paper dolls' but with your felt dolls. While you do this you can practice clothing words in French.

First, you can have your children decorate the clothes you cut out with glitter, markers, fake jewels or anything you can think of. Then, afterwards you can do different role playing games or just change the clothes and mix and match outfits. Make sure they practice their French the entire time!

I think your kids will really enjoy this activity. And, felt is really cheap to buy. You can find it at Wal-mart or Michael's.

Here's an example of what you can do. Ours didn't turn out as well, so I thought I'd show this example instead. :-)

Here are a few French clothing words you can use:

un manteau -coat
un pull - sweater
un tee-shirt - T-shirt
un pantalon - pants
un jean - jeans
un short - shorts
des chausettes - socks
des chaussures - shoes
des tennis - sneakers
un pyjama - pajamas

Making Cookies, Learning French Shape Words

Today, I played a fun little game with my daughter. I had some pre-made cookie dough and put it on the cookie pan and then I told her what shape of cookie she was to make, in French. She had so much fun making the different shapes.

After we cookies them she told me their shapes in French before eating them. We used Peanut Butter cookie dough because that was what we had, but you could use sugar cookie dough and they could decorate them afterwards. That way you could practice the colors in French, as well as the French words for shapes.



Here are some helpful French shape words that you could use:

le carré – the squarele
cercle – the circlele
cœur – the heartle
rectangle – the rectangle
le losange – the diamond
l’ovale – the oval

Here's a Sneak Peak at the French for Little Boys Workbook

Here are a few pages example pages of my French for Little Boys Workbook. This book has 50 activities to teach your son (or daughter) French. Although it's for 'Boys,' girls who like trains, cars, animals and robots would like this workbook as well. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Easter Worksheet - learning French colors

Here's a French Easter egg worksheet I made for my children today and I hope you find it useful. It has a color key in French and they can color the eggs according to it. Also, you can have them count the eggs and designs in French. I think it's important to use the current holidays in order to motivate children to learn a foreign language. Enjoy!

French Easter Egg Worksheet

Here's an Easter worksheet that I made which you can use to help your children practice their numbers in French! After they finish matching the eggs with the same numbers, you can tell them different colors in French which they can color the eggs.