veo veo, I spy

Below are the steps for playing an I spy (veo veo) game in Spanish with your children. I hope to share more examples in the future! In the meantime, trying creating new Spanish-language I Spy games with other objects from around your home. Gather the objects into a basket and pull them out one by one for the children to see. This approach always captures their interest!

Here are the objects I use in the example (see video and script below):

lana (yarn)

taza (tea cup)

ángel (angel)

gallina (hen)

concha (shell)

Los pasos (Steps)

1) Name the objects in Spanish for your child as you lay them out (you may ask your child to repeat the names after you say them, cupping your hand to your ear and saying “Repite, por favor” (“Repeat please”).

2) Ask your child to identify the object whose (initial) sound you indicate:

Parent: “Veo veo” (“I spy”)

Child: “¿Qué ves? (“What do you spy/see?”)

Parent: Veo un objeto que comienza con el sonido___ (I spy an object that starts with the sound ____)

3) Child chooses the correct object. If they choose incorrectly, say the initial sound of the object they chose and then ask the question again. Repeat until they choose correctly. Mistakes are part of the learning process!

Here is a listening chart of the Spanish sounds (phonemes). Remember, the focus of this activity is on the sounds of the letters, not the names.

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Example video & script:

Parent: lana

Child: lana

Parent: taza

Child: taza

Parent: ángel

Child: ángel

Parent: gallina

Child: gallina

Parent: concha

Child: concha

Parent: pluma

Child: pluma

Parent: Veo veo

Child: ¿Qué ves?

Parent: Veo un objeto que comienza con el sonido “a” (phoneme = /a/)

Child: Points to ángel (and may or may not say ángel)