Board Games in Spanish

About two years ago I started teaching my children Spanish. I studied Spanish in college, and I wish I had spoken more Spanish to my kids when they were younger, but I really thought my Spanish wasn’t good enough for them. I was conversational, but not fluent. I have since then changed my mind about how well my Spanish needs to be in order to teach my kids another language.

In fact, after I began looking at Spanish curricula, I was surprised to learn that some of the creators of Spanish curricula were not native speakers. If a non-native Spanish speaker can create a Spanish curriculum, then certainly I could use a curriculum to help me teach my children. It was a relief to finally realize that I could teach my children a second language. Once I understood that perfection was not a requirement, I knew I could have fun with Spanish.

Most of our lessons are from a Spanish curriculum, but once a week we pause from the curriculum and play board games in Spanish. Currently, we enjoy playing Guess Who? and Go Fish. I like incorporating board games into our day because the kids get excited, but more importantly, they are practicing useful skills, such as asking and answering questions in Spanish.

When we play Guess Who? they ask questions such as ¿Tienes pelo rubio? (Do you have blond hair?) Or ¿Tienes ojos azules? (Do you have blue eyes). Then my kids have to answer back in a complete sentence; Sí, tengo pelo rubio. It’s repetitive and fun. It also helps with verb conjugation. When we play Go Fish, we use others verbs such as necesitar (to need). For example, Necesito un seis. ¿Tienes un seis? (I need a six. Do you have a six?). We also practice phrases such as me toca (my turn) and te toca (your turn).

Other games I hope to play in Spanish are matching games and scrabble (I have a Spanish edition).Candyland would be great for learning colors, and I think Chutes and Ladders would help with counting.

When I studied Spanish, I found that nouns were easier to remember than verbs, and it seems to be the case with my kids. Handing them a copy of 501 Spanish Verbs would not improve their conjugation abilities. So how do you get them to conjugate verbs and make real sentences in Spanish? I think they need to hear the verbs in normal conversation, and then they need practice using them. Simple, right? Well, the problem is that I often forget to speak Spanish to my kids. That’s why incorporating board games has been helpful for setting aside time for speaking only in Spanish.

The best part is that it’s free. Most of us probably have a few children’s board games lying around. Also, did you know that sometimes you can borrow board games from libraries? We request the ones we want and then pick them up when they arrive. Getting my kids to speak Spanish more is sometimes hard, but a board game is a great way to get them talking and have fun.