Playing with blocks to practice colors

We've been playing with blocks in kindergarten. Kindergarten is so much harder than it used to be. They get so little time to play. Earlier this year I made a resolution to let kids play more in class - so after reading Pinta Ratones we got out the blocks. I got this idea from one of my favorite blogs This is How We Learn Spanish. 

The first round we sang our color song and then I just let them loose. They were supposed to say what colors they were using to build their towers as they did, which some of them did and some of them didn't. I walked around the room and asked them what they had and most of them could tell me. They loved building them tall and then watching them fall. Some of them figured out they could go taller if they built a wider base.  I got hugs and heard, "this was SO much fun!" as they went out the door.

Listening to hear what colors they needed to build their towers.

The second class we worked in pairs and did a listening exercise. I would tell them what colors they needed to build their towers. "Necesitan dos amarillos. Necesitan un verde." They took turns and helped each other pick the correct colors - great for interpretive listening and social skills.

The third and fourth class I wanted them to do the talking so I built a tower and hid it behind a screen. One kiddo came up and took a look then went back and told their partner what to build in Spanish. The first class they managed about half in Spanish and half in English. The second class they had a better grasp of what to do and almost all of them did it entirely in Spanish. 

Only a few more classes left in the year! What are you doing to finish out strong? Share in the comments below or on Twitter using the hashtag #earlylang.