Spanish For Kids: Sports, Activities and Hobbies in Spanish

¡Bienvenidos! Welcome to the sixth lesson in our Learn Spanish for Kids Starter Kit, Learning vocabulary for Sports, Activities and Hobbies in Spanish. I’m Elisabeth from Spanish Mama, sharing easy ideas and resources for learning Spanish as a family.

Today’s lesson teaches the Spanish words for hobbies and sports, as well as the verb “poder” (to be able to).  

Spanish Lesson 6 Goals:

See the whole Learn Spanish for Kids series to follow every lesson!

Essential Vocabulary for Lesson 6:

If you need some help with pronunciation, you can look up any of these phrases at SpanishDict.

There are more thorough notes in the parent eBook to learn about verbs in Spanish, but a quick tip is that for almost of these terms (the exceptions are jugar – juega, and dormir), duerme), you can simply remove the “r” at the end to make it go with with he or she.

For example, “bailar” means “to dance.” “Baila” means he or she dances. “Baila” also works as a direct command, “you dance.” This is useful if you want to play the games described below!

To use these verbs in everyday conversations, it’s helpful to know these terms:

• ¿Te gusta….? (Do you like to…)
• Vamos a… (Let’s… or We’re going to…)
• ¿Puedes…? (Can you…?)
• Tienes que… (You have to…)

Luckily, you can simply put the verbs as-is after these phrases, and use Spanish in your daily life!

¡Vamos a leer, niños! (Let’s read, kids!)

¿Puedes hablar en español? (Can you take care of the baby?)

Tienes que comer. (You have to eat.)

Teaching Sports and Hobbies in Spanish

In lesson 6, we’ll explore things people like to do, and can or can’t do.  

A. Learn Vocabulary for Hobbies and Sports

It’s easiest to learn these new terms by acting them out. Have your kids act out the words as you say them, slowly adding in new terms. When they’re comfortable with the vocabulary, try playing Simon Says.

You can practice the new words by adding them to your card games for Memory or Go Fish, or creating your own Bingo set. You can also play a familiar outside game with a fun twist, described below:

Red Light, Green Light With Verbs

• Pick one person to be it. S/he stands on side of your outdoor space, facing away and everyone else lines up on the other side.
• “It” usually calls out “green light” or “red light” to tell everyone go and stop. This version has a twist. “It” will call out an action like “baila, “ “corre” or “pinta.” Everyone can advance, but only by doing the action or mimicking it. 
• “It” calls out “rojo” and turns around. Anyone who is still moving and not frozen has to return to the start line.
• The first person to tag “it” wins.

B. Use “Puede” and “Gustar” with The New Words

Now you can use hobbies and sports in the context of likes and abilities.

Cut out the picture cards. Use the sorting sheets and talk about what each person in the group can/can’t do, or likes/doesn’t like doing. You can let each student list their activities from favorite to least favorite too.

Use the graph from the eBook to survey Spanish-speaking friends and family about their favorite activities. You can ask by saying: “Cuál es tu favorito?”

You can also work these words into your daily life by creating a weekly plan or “to-do list” that your kids can check off as they complete their activities. (Check out the links in the eBook for a free calendar and chore cards if you would like to expand on that idea!)

Review

• Read the short story that uses phrases from Lessons 1-6, in the eBook.
• Don’t forget to keep reviewing the games and words for lessons 1-5!

Online Spanish Lessons for Kids

We hope you enjoyed Lesson 6 from the Spanish for Kids series with Spanish Mama: Learn the Sports and Hobbies in Spanish.

Remember that printables are included for every lesson! You can access the posters, practice sheets, and vocabulary/game cards HERE

Make sure you check out the whole Learn Spanish for Kids series on the Bilingual Kidspot.

Looking for a Spanish Book List? Take a look at our Spanish Books  for Kids Recommendations