Teaching preschoolers for the first time can be a bit challenging. The saying “time flies” feels very true with young children. That’s why it’s important to always have extra activities ready, just in case you need them during your lessons.
After nearly ten years of teaching, I now find preschool classes the easiest to plan and teach. Here are four helpful tips for teaching a foreign language like Spanish to preschoolers.
Tip #1: Plan Ahead and Always Have a Backup
Make sure to plan your lessons ahead of time. Depending on how long your class is, include different activities to keep your students focused and involved.
Here is how a typical 30-minute preschool Spanish class looks for me:
- Warm-up songs or chants: Review basic topics like colors, numbers, and shapes. (About 5 minutes)
- Introduce new material: Use something exciting to grab their attention. Try real objects, puppets, or costumes. This part is very important to keep them interested. (About 5–7 minutes)
- Review the material: Use visual tools like flashcards, games, or movement activities such as bingo or “I spy.” These help keep them active and involved. (About 10 minutes)
- Worksheets or group work: I create worksheets where students cut, color, circle, or follow directions. Work closely with your students and help them during this time. (About 5 minutes)
- Extra activity: We might read a book, watch a short video, or play a game to review. This is helpful in case one of the earlier activities doesn’t go as planned.
Tip #2: Don’t Be Afraid to Be Silly
Kids enjoy it when teachers act playful or silly—it’s like speaking their language. Even if you’re teaching in Spanish, they’ll understand your energy and excitement. Bring out the toys, puppets, or action figures. Children love when teachers use fun items to help teach.
When I teach body parts using flashcards, I like to joke around. I’ll stick a flashcard on my arm or nose and pretend I don’t know where it is. When the kids say “your nose,” I respond with “Oh, mi nariz?” I don’t find the card until they say “nariz” again. It makes learning fun and helps them remember the words.
Tip #3: Listen to Your Students, But Stay Focused
Johnny might want to tell you about an episode of Daniel Tiger where the cake got squished. Sandy may want to show you her Peppa Pig shirt, and Danny might talk about his Paw Patrol party from the weekend. Kids love it when you listen and talk with them, but it’s also important to guide the class and stay focused.
A kind way to respond could be, “That sounds great! Maybe we can talk more after circle time,” or “I love Paw Patrol! Can you tell me more about it after our activity?” Be sure to follow through and talk with them later.
When they’re working on their worksheets, or if you see them in the hallway or at pickup, show them you care. Say things like, “I hope Daniel Tiger gets a new cake tomorrow,” or “That Peppa Pig shirt is so cute!” Ask Danny who his favorite Paw Patrol pup is—and say yours is Tracker, since he knows a little Spanish!
Tip #4: Keep Activities Short, Fun, and Fresh
- Short: Try to keep each activity to around five minutes. Preschoolers have short attention spans. If you lose a few students’ attention, it can quickly affect the rest of the class.
- Fun: Keep them active and moving. Movement keeps them more focused and excited to learn.
- Fresh: Young children enjoy routines but also like new things. Keep your songs and chants for review the same, but bring something new and interesting when teaching fresh material.
If you’re using flashcards in class, here are a few fun ways to use them:
- Find your match: One group gets labels, the other gets pictures. They must find the correct match.
- Left or right: Hold up two flashcards, one in each hand. Say one word and have students guess which hand it’s in.
- Flyswatter game: Place flashcards on the board. Give two students flyswatters and call out a word—they race to swat the right one.
- Thief in the market: Choose five flashcards and show them to your class. Then have one student secretly take one while the others close their eyes. Ask the class which card is missing or who took it. This is great for reviewing phrases like “tienes” and “no tengo.”
Most importantly, be yourself and enjoy teaching these young learners! Their energy and excitement can make each day more fun and meaningful.
