Though you’re probably getting ready to say ¡Hola! to a new school year, don’t say ¡Adios! to summer just yet. Send your kids off to school in the morning with a vitamin-packed summertime treat, served up with a side of Spanish.
My boys and I love to make smoothies. I learned from my friend Catherine that licuados are a traditional Latin American treat.
Catherine and I used to teach at the same middle school. While I was serving up crepes, she’s be turning on the blender for her extremely popular fruity treats. Naturally, Smoothie Day was a content-rich language and culture lesson in disguise. Read more about it in her article, Learning Spanish: Make Licuados.
Involve your kids in a hands-on Spanish lesson before the hectic school day even begins. Here’s a simplified version of Catherine’s language learning recipe for licuados. First, the ingredients:
- las bananas - bananas
- las fresas - strawberries
- el jugo de naranja – orange juice
- el hielo – ice
- la licuadora – blender
Have your children say the directions in the first person as they perform each step:
- Yo pelo una banana. – I’m peeling a banana.
- Yo corto una banana. – I’m cutting a banana.
- Yo corto unas fresas. – I’m cutting some strawberries.
- Yo pongo la banana y las fresas en la licuadora. – I put the banana and strawberries in the blender.
- Yo pongo una taza de hielo en la licuadora. – I put a cup of ice in the blender.
- Yo pongo una taza de jugo en la licuadora. – I put a cup of juice in the blender.
- Yo prendo la licuadora. – I turn the blender on.
- Yo apago la licuadora. – I turn the blender off.
Mmm. I think I could go for one of these right about now! Maybe mango and a little pineapple? Of course, my Americanized chocolate-peanut butter-banana specialty isn’t bad either!
Catherine and I entered the blogging scene together this summer. She’s one of the very best teachers out there, Spanish or otherwise. Be sure to check out her innovative ideas at Speak Spanish Every Day and Teacher Tips Today.
Feel free to comment with your favorite smoothie recipe. (Spanish speakers, include the vocabulary for any new ingredients por favor!)
Photo Credit: TanjaS at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/258405
