I just posted about the realization that, though I am natively fluent in Spanish, there were many words on which I needed a refresher. One of N’s first obsessions was with trucks, specifically those having to do with construction. My preferred way to learn more about them was through books (which you will notice is a common theme for me, just because they relieve so much of the pressure of providing new and interesting vocabulary), but along the way we’ve also encountered the occasional show and activity that spark some great opportunities for expanding their (and refreshing my) vocabulary.
Books
Both N and E love this book, which their grandmother brought on a visit about a year ago and is still in our bedtime rotation.
(For the record, this is an affiliate link, which means if you click on it to purchase from Amazon, I may earn a small commission, which will allow me to fund the further purchase of books and other items so my kids can put them to the test and, if merited, maybe even earn a recommendation on this blog.)
This was an impulse purchase one rainy afternoon at the bookstore and it was a pleasant surprise. My kids love the sound effects and have it pretty much memorized. (Affiliate links)
Here’s another one in the same vein (affiliate link):
Many of you may be familiar with the Blue Truck series. Happily, we’ve had good experiences with the translated books as well. (Affiliate links)
The Bebe Listo series of books are also crowd pleasers in our household. Our kids are quickly aging out of this series, but they make for a quick read with lots of great starting places for questions and conversations. (Affiliate links)
Shows
I’m working on petitioning Netflix to provide audio filters for children’s shows, as they currently do for adult programming. Until that happens, I’ve provided below a couple of construction-related shows in Spanish that N has enjoyed.
Handy Manny is a great one, which N occasionally enjoys, but which did not become an obsession as I originally anticipated. The Disney Junior Latino site posts free full episodes, like this one and this one along with some activities, such as printable coloring pages of the show’s characters.
Shows like Bob the Builder are sporadically available in Spanish on Youtube, though the quality isn’t that great:
Activities
Construction sensory bins, like these by Modern Preschool, allow for rich language exploration when Mama or Tato joins in, as well as a much needed distraction for cooking dinner, doing some work or regaining enough sanity to get me to bedtime. We’ve loved these mini construction vehicles for several years and use them often quite often. My kids also love this Green Toys dump truck for all things pebble, bean, and pretty much anything else you can dump (books, blocks, you name it). (These are both affiliate links.). If you’re in the market for larger trucks, Bruder trucks
This one by Munchkins and Moms incorporates beans, which are a crowd pleaser in our house when it comes to sensory play.
Here’s one more from Fantastic Fun and Learning, though I can pretty much guarantee I will never be the type of person who is inclined to separate and line up beans like this with the sole purpose of having my kids muss them up. Maybe one day! They do look pretty.
Post below if you have any other good ideas or recommendations! And let me know what you think!
To clarify, the Demolicion book does not have actual sound effects, but great onomatopoeic words that work like sound effects and which are unlike those I’d seen in other comparable books. Hope that clears things up!