Stories are an integral part of childhood and language development. Story stones are a wonderful way to help children begin to tell stories in Spanish. The stones are colorful and fun to hold and arrange. This is important because children learn language best through movement and active participation. Also, a story stone collection can grow and change as your child acquires more language and different interests.

Play Sol y sombra, a variation of the traditional game Mar y tierra. Line up along the edge of the shadow of a tree or building. The leader calls out sol or sombra and the others players jump to the correct space. For example, she might call sombra, sol, sol, sombra, sombra, sol. Players jump in place if they do not have to cross the line. Like Simon Says, the goal is to trick players into jumping in the wrong space.

My children can rattle off rhymes they chanted jumping rope when they were small. I have to say, they are not the only ones! I can recite rhymes I jumped to as a child, too. With jump rope rhymes, movement and language work together to reach our minds and memory on the deepest level so that we remember the chants long after we stop jumping rope with our amiguitos.