In North America, it’s Groundhog Day.  While there are celebrity rodents all over the U.S. and Canada, the most famous has got to be Punxsutawney Phil from Pennsylvania.  Here’s a photo montage from Phil’s 2008 prediction of six more weeks of winter. Phil, I’m counting on better news from you for 2009!

This next clip doesn’t really have to do with Groundhog Day per se . . . just groundhogs. You’ll see the cutest marmotte in this French commercial for Milka chocolate:

In France, it’s la Chandeleur, or Crepe Day. You hold a coin in one hand, and flip a crepe in the other. If the crepe lands in the pan, you’ll have a year of happiness. Here is a French crepe recipe. Look delicious?

Finally, el Dia de la Candelaria is a religious and family celebration in Mexico. People have parties and eat tamales. Many families also dress a niño Dios in fine clothes to be presented at church.  Check out these photos from About.com. Now, about those tamales . . .

Have yourself a multicultural midwinter celebration

Tapas

Grazing on tapas with my friends is one of my fondest memories of visiting Spain several years ago.  Don’t even get me started on the garlic shrimp! 

Introduce your kids to the food, language, and culture of Spain with tapas.  First, visit Disney’s Junior Adventurers website and play the Find Those Tapas game.  You’ll enjoy the sights and musical sounds of Spain as you hunt for these tapas:

Calamares Fritos – fried squid rings

Paella – saffron rice dish with fish, seafood, or meat

Mejillones – mussels

Abla Serrana – cured meat and cheese plate

Aceitunas – olives

Bombas – fried meat and potato ball

Canape – small open-faced sandwich

Champiñones al Ajilo – mushrooms in garlic and sherry

Chorizo – cured spicy sausage

After viewing all of that delicious food, you’re probably going to be hungry.  Next, visit the Tapas Recipes website for some cooking inspiration.  You’ll even find kid-friendly suggested recipes for a child’s tapas birthday party.  Enjoy!

Photo Credit:  woodsy at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/745843

Your purchase of tapas cookbooks help support this free site. Gracias

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:

1. Yo pelo una banana. – I’m peeling a banana.  
2. Yo corto una banana. – I’m cutting a banana.
3. Yo corto unas fresas. – I’m cutting some strawberries.
4. Yo pongo la banana y las fresas en la licuadora. – I put the banana and strawberries in the blender.
5. Yo pongo una taza de hielo en la licuadora. – I put a cup of ice in the blender.
6. Yo pongo una taza de jugo en la licuadora. – I put a cup of juice in the blender.
7. Yo prendo la licuadora. – I turn the blender on.
8. 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

 If you’re ever having trouble exciting your kids about a new language or culture, just sugar them up and you’re good to go!  My seventh grade French teacher just happened to have a culinary arts degree under her belt.  Who knew that signing up for her class for the goodies would lead me down such a francophile path? 

Cooking is a valuable hands-on language learning activity.  I incorporate food and cooking as much as I can get away with as a teacher.  Unfortunately, I’m somewhat lacking in culinary skills.  Kids don’t care, they just want to eat.  And you can rest assured that any recipe you get from me will be easy-breezy!

Make this super simple version of a French chocolate croissant, or pain au chocolat, as an immersion activity with the kids.  Learn French shapes along the way.  (The shapes in red are used in this croissant recipe):

• cercle – circle
• ovale – oval
• carré - square
• rectangle – rectangle
• triangle – triangle
• diamant – diamond
• croissant – crescent

Now that you’ve introduced some great French shapes vocabulary, it’s time to bake.  Here’s what you’ll need:

• Refrigerated crescent roll dough
• Hershey’s chocolate bars divided into rectangles
• Melted butter
• Sugar
• Oven

Use these French directions as you prepare the chocolate croissants:

1. Prenez un triangle de la pâte. - Take a triangle of dough.
2. Mettez un rectangle du chocolat sur le triangle. - Put a rectangle of chocolate on the triangle.
3. Roulez la pâte et faites un croissant. - Roll-up the dough and make a crescent.
4. Tartinez le croissant de beurre. - Spread butter on the crescent.
5. Mettez du sucre sur le croissant. - Put sugar on the cresent.
6. Répétez 1-6 pour chaque croissant. – Repeat 1-6 for each crescent.
7. Mettez-les dans le four. - Put them in the oven.
8. Follow the baking directions on the crescent roll package.

Bon appétit!