We asked two experienced educators who regularly work with Spanish speakers for their favorite SMILE activities in Spanish.
Yummy in two languages / Rico en dos idiomas
Tiffany Fontenot, Coordinator for Para Los Niños, a family learning program at the Children's Museum of Houston, likes ¡Helados! (Ice Cream!). She told us why, in both Spanish and English.
Mi actividad favorita de SMILE tendría que ser ¡Helados! He tenido la oportunidad para acompañar a un colega a facilitar un evento de Mateo y Cientina en una biblioteca sucursal y ¡Helados! fue una de las actividades. Observé mientras aprendices jóvenes y adultos hacían sus porciones personales de helado - leyendo la lista de ingredientes, revisando las medidas, e igual a Mateo en la tira cómica, ¡viendo lo que pasa cuando se usa creatividad con una receta! En la actividad los aprendices pudieron reírse con una tira cómica, aprender sobre causa y efecto y hacer las mezclas, y tomar un poco de helado al fin. ¡Qué rico!
My favorite SMILE activity to date would have to be Ice Cream! I've had the opportunity to accompany a fellow educator to facilitate a Mateo y Cientina event at a local library and Ice Cream! was one of the activities. I observed as young and adult learners went through the process of making their individual servings of ice cream - reading the ingredient list, double checking measurements, and just like Mateo in the comic strip, seeing what happens when you take liberties with a recipe! In the activity learners were able to read a humorous comic, learn about cause-and-effect and making mixtures, and, best of all, eat of bit of ice cream when it's all over. Yum!
Math for early learners, plus a literacy connection
Tara Lang, a freelance educator residing in upstate New York, likes Caterpillar Measure (Medida de oruga). According to Tara, “This simple activity developed for early learners and Spanish speakers introduces nonstandard measurement using caterpillars. Families enjoy making the caterpillars and then using them in a whimsical way to measure each other.
This activity also has a literacy connection as families can follow up the activity by reading Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar (La oruga muy hambrienta) together."