Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Happy Cinco De Mayo! Today commemorates the unexpected 1862 victory of the Mexican army over the French army in the battle over the city of Puebla. I've compiled some Spanish vocabulary words that follow the theme of today's festivities.

La batalla - battle La revolucion - revolution La bandera - flag El heroe - hero La independencia - independence La victoria - victory

Get the kids together and practice your espanol today! If you're heading out to a party, I've included a guacamole recipe below that will entice even your pickiest eaters.

Yummy Guacamole

Ingredients

2 large ripe avocados 1 small red onion, finely chopped 2 tbsp (30 mL) lime juice 1 medium tomato, seeded and finely chopped 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cumin 1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped cilantro 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt

Cooking Instructions

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and peel them. If they are ripe, the peel should come off easily. Dice the avocado flesh, and dump into a bowl.

Add all the remaining ingredients, and toss to combine without mashing. The ingredients should remain separate, and the salsa chunky. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping, or as an accompaniment to tacos or burritos.

Servings: Makes about 2 cups (500 mL).

recipe from Kaboose.com

Contest: How Do You Say "Halloween"?

Halloween is right around the corner & we're in a spooky mood! How about you? What will you be dressing up as this year? We'd love to see what your little ones in their Halloween costumes.

For this week's contest, either post a photo of your child in a Halloween costume (from this year or previous years) on our Facebook wall or email it to info@littlepim.com.

One person will win either Spanish Bop or French Bop! Both CDs feature three original songs by the popular children's band, Milkshake.

Below are a few Spanish and French Halloween vocabulary words to get you in the spirit of the season!

Spanish

• una arana - spider

• aterrador - scary

• una bruja - witch

• una calabaza - pumpkin

• caramelos - candy

French

• un chat noir - black cat

• une chauve-souris - bat

• une citrouille - pumpkin

• une araignée - spider

• un balai - broom

• des bonbons - candy

*photo from coolhalloweencostumesforkids.net

"Une Pomme" Means Apple

Emmett has certain words he always remembers in French that he loves to say. One of them is "une pomme." Whenever we find one he points it out and says excitedly "une pomme!" When he is having trouble remembering new words in French I point to an apple and say what is this in French? He always brightens right up. "Une pomme!" he says proudly. Or sometimes it’s more of a "duh mom, une pomme, of course!" This helps keep learning fun for Emmett, and it's also a key piece of the Pimsleur Method. My father's method included many instances of recall affirmation - he'd' teach you a complex phrase and right after ask if you know how to say "How are you?" Or something easy like that. "Of course I do," you think and answer with ease. That little surge of confidence enhances your ability to remember the more complex phrases being taught.

Find your own "une pomme" with your kids and remember that affirmation and repetition are key to a child's learning a new language. And keep it fun!

(Click on Little Pim above for our Word of the Day Coloring Pages, another way to make language learning fun and interactive!)