Bert, Beth, and the Open Sea (pages 6 to 9)
- Read the story and then ask: Why do you think Beth was frightened? Why do you think Beth wasn't frightened at the very end of the story?
- Ask children to talk about what they do when they are afraid.
Young children sometimes have a hard time telling the difference between fantasy and reality. In this story, Beth was having a hard time keeping those images safely tucked away in her imagination. They were becoming too real for her. But she also knew how to solve her problem. She knew that having Grandpa by her side would help keep those troublesome fantasies where they belong. Talking with your children about the images they see—whether in books or magazines or on screens—is important. You can help them not only to make sense of what they see but also to begin to tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
Fold and Color (page 12)
- Encourage your children to fold down a corner of a piece of paper, color over the fold, and watch for the line to appear. Then unfold the paper, make a new fold, use a new color, and watch as the new line appears. Encourage them to repeat this process until they have filled the paper with lines and colors.
- Explore what happens when you put string, paper clips, or other thin objects under the paper and rub crayons across the paper.
Most young children enjoy scribbling with crayons. But they sometimes don't pay attention to the marks they are making on the paper. This activity encourages children to watch carefully to see the lines appear.
Cheer Up, Scarecrow! (pages 20 to 23)
- Before reading this story, talk together about what's happening in each picture.
- Point out that the Spanish words in this story are printed in red. After you read each Spanish phrase, stop and ask the children to use the pictures to help them figure out what the Spanish words mean.
- After reading the story, ask the children to describe how the characters fixed the scarecrow. What did they do first? Next? What was the last thing Carlos did?
If you want to check your own pronunciation of the Spanish words and phrases, you can listen to this story read aloud on our free audio edition. But don't worry about making mistakes. If you sound hesitant and unsure, you're showing kids that you're willing to try to learn some Spanish. You're setting a good example!