Bilingual Crossword Puzzles

When I was creating my activity book to go with "Zooprise Party/Fiesta Zoorpresa", I wanted to include crossword puzzles. they are great learning tools. But how could one be made bilingual?

I could have made two puzzles, one in English and one in Spanish, but that didn't feel to me like it would teach which ever was the second language very well. Then I came up with the idea of having the clues in one language and the answer in the other language. Teachers really liked this idea saying they'd never seen it before.

Have a look at one I have in my activity book and then download it and try it yourself.

Have fun!

Loooking for more bilingual fun, hop over to my bookstore and pick up your copies today. They make great Christmas gifts and throw in a bit of learning at the same time.

Introducing the Brand New Travel Pack

Working on marketing ideas is fun and frustrating at the same time. Trying to come up with something different that will stand out in the crowd is challenging.

We have a new product bundle that we think is really good. Children will have fun, keep busy and learn all at the same time.

Okay, so what is it already? We've bundled our book, activity book and bilingual flash cards together.

This is a $20 value and we're offering it for $13.95.

That's 30% off!

Get yours today.

Thank you in advance.

See you back here Friday. Have fun until then. Read a book with a child, take it to the next level and share please.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

New Lower Pricing of "Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa"

I've been toying with the idea of lowering the price of my picture book for some time now. I feel that part of the problem we are all facing in this bad economy is that many things are over priced. I might be wrong, but I finally made the decision to drop my price. Who knows, maybe I'll start a trend. :-)

If you go over to the bookstore at Laughing Zebra - Books for Children, you can:

* take a peek inside each book.

* purchase the books seperatly or in bundles.

* check out the rest of the site for additional FREE things that will help you take our book beyond reading.

Here's part of what Zebee had to say yesterday:

Over at the Laughing Zebra - Books for Children bookstore you can get the picture book for $8.95 now instead of $11.95! Also, if you buy the book and the activity book together you get an additional 20% off!

Then there's the Teacher's guide. She's dropped the price on it down to $3.00! This is a cool pdf. It gives parents and teachers lots of good questions but it also gives them the answers! How cool is that? They don't have to spend any time looking up the answers to questions like:

How long do okapis live?
OR
What are some of the things an animal keeper does?

Also, all the answers to the activity book pages are in it as well.

I will also have a new bundle coming out in the next few weeks, but more on that when it's avalable.

I sent the new pricing to both Amazon and This Old Schoolhouse but they haven't dropped the price yet. (It was effective the 15th) They will eventually, but over at my site it's up and running now.

Check it out and buy your copies today. Thank you in advance.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

And the Winner Is…

Today I am pleased to announce the winner of the Bounding for Books Blog Tour posted comments. I’ll be sending off over the vast internet an autographed copy of our book, “Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa” and a copy of the Activity book that goes with it.

Congratulations go out to April who left this comment:

What a fabulous looking and sounding book! I'm having such a blast discovering all these great new children's book authors and books!! Excellent tour!

Thank you April. Your prize will arrive in your email box soon.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

Raising Bilingual Children

In this day and age, being bilingual is really a must. Speaking only one language, what ever it is, limits you in many facets of life. For our children growing up in this century, they are at a great disadvantage.

Not sure how to start? Here are a few websites that can help you on your way.

The Multilingual Children’s Association has tips for getting started, resources, a bulletin board and more. They have community pages to help you find other families going through the same things you are. Dig around, I know you’ll find things to help you get started.

Another helpful site is Multilingual Munchkins. On the home page you’ll find links like Language Corner, Parents Corner and Reading Corner. The link I like best is the Activity Corner. In there they have a whole page dedicated to activities based on children’s books. They’ve taken books and found or created crafts, cooking and other activities that relate to the book. This site also has a yahoo group you can join and share with families all over the world as you teach your children multiple languages.

Looking for a book with an activity book and a teacher's guide that can help you get started? Check out mine over at Laughing Zebra - Books for Children. I also have lots of activites and interactive things on my web site.

See you back here on Monday with another great book that goes beyond reading.

Tip #16 Mix and match memory game

Another fun game is a Mix and Match Memory game. Like the flashcards, the fun is in the making of them.

Have your child or student help find pictures of things in the story. Remember, they need to find two identical pictures of each one.

Cut them out and glue them onto 3x5 cards.

Turn them upside down on the table and mix them up.

Now have your child or student find the matching pairs.

An easier version of this is to place the cards face up on the table, let them study the pictures and where they are for one minute.

Turn them over where they are.

Have the child or student turn over the pairs as fast as they can.

Here’s one sheet from mine for “Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa”. You can find this complete game and other things to take my book beyond reading at Laughing Zebra - Books for Children

See you tomorrow!

Tip #15 Playing “What If”

Play “What if” with your child or students. For example:

* What if Mori heard Lito and Elvis planning his surprise birthday party. How would the story be different?

* What if the hunter had told Little Red Riding Hood that there was a wolf inside her grandmother’s cabin. What would be different in the story?

* What if instead of Snow White finding the home of the 7 dwarfs, she found a bridge that a family of beavers lived under?

Get the idea? See what great story tellers your little ones are, and remember to have fun.

Tip #2 Post reading discussion questions

Here’s a way to see if your child or student understood the story (and was paying attention). After you’ve read the story, come up with a few questions you can ask your child or student to get them thinking about what they just heard. Using “Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa” again, here are a few of the post discussion questions in the teacher’s guide:

* Why do you think Mori is so sad?
* Would you be sad if your friends didn’t wish you a Happy Birthday?
* What animals are hiding in Mori’s exhibit?

Okay, your turn. See what you can come up with.

See you tomorrow with another fun and easy tip to take Books beyond reading.

Tip #1 Pre reading discussion questions

Read the book first. Then, think of 3-5 questions you can ask your child or students about the story. For example, my book, “Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa” is about a surprise birthday party for one of the animals in the zoo. In my teacher’s guide that goes along with it, these are some of the questions I listed:

* What do we call the day you were born?
* Did you know animals have birthdays too?
* Who could you plan a surprise party for?
* What would you do to make sure the person the party was for didn’t find out?
* How would you get them to the party?

Get the idea? Now, go pick out one of your child’s or students favorite books and come up with questions of your own.

See you tomorrow with another fun and easy tip to take Books beyond reading.