For the past few days I’ve found myself in an organizing frenzy: cleaning out my closet! making chore charts for the girls! creating a system to deal with all the papers that come back from school! etc. 

I was a little mystified by this sudden motivation to improve everything until I remembered: September. We’re in September now, aka “the other January,” so of course I was all about creating new systems for our daily routine and trying to get organized. 

And while I was thinking of new routines and new systems to implement, it occurred to me that this back-to-school time is also the perfect moment to add a little something else to new daily routines: E S P A Ñ O L! 

pinterest graphic: add spanish to your daily routine

So if you feel like perhaps you haven’t been speaking as much Spanish to your kids as you’d like to, this post is for you. All of these strategies are simple because let’s be real, things are only going to get busier from now until the holidays. But I truly believe that even a little bit of Spanish is absolutely better than no Spanish at all.  

HOW TO ADD SPANISH TO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE

Write a little note in Spanish, stick it in the lunch box. Do you do lunchbox notes? If so, try doing a few a week (or all of them) en español for a sweet way to practice reading in Spanish.

Say a prayer/affirmations in Spanish. For praying folks, praying with your kids in Spanish is a really good way to talk about things they did that day or are thankful for in Spanish— hello, vocabulary building! (Giant disclaimer: obviously in this case language acquisition is completely secondary to spiritual communion, but you have to admit it’s a nice perk.) And if you’re not the praying sort, doing daily affirmations in Spanish with your kids could accomplish the same thing (in addition to being completely adorable). 

Spanish at bedtime. Of course reading in Spanish was going to make its way on this list somehow :). If you aren’t already reading in Spanish during the day, the bedtime story is a natural time to do so! And if you happen to sing at bedtime, might I suggest choosing a Spanish lullaby?

Spanish music in the morning. And speaking of singing, why not greet the day with some tunes en español! I’m partial to salsa music during the morning rush because I don’t drink caffeine and need all the energy I can get, but you could also try Spanish kids tunes as you’re making sure everyone has breakfast and locates shoes.

Spanish in the car. If you happen to drive your kids to and from school, that time in the car is perfect to listen to an audiobook or kids’ podcast in Spanish. I’m always on the hunt for great ones, but a good place to start is Ven con un cuento on Spotify (though I really wish there were more episodes!). I’m planning on doing a roundup of the best audiobooks and podcasts for kids in Spanish, so stay tuned for that if you need some suggestions. 

If you can think of other easy ways to add some Spanish to your family’s daily routine, leave a comment here!

P.S. While we’re on the subject: some of my favorite Spanish picture books for back to school!