December 7th is an exciting day in Colombia! It’s the day when many people celebrate “La Noche de las Velitas” also known as “El Día delas Velitas.” Although the origins of this celebration are religious (as the night when many families welcome and celebrate “The Immaculate Conception”), it’s also seen as a way for families to welcome the end of year festivities in which many people, but not all, celebrate Navidad. Farolitos (luminaries) and candles are seen everywhere.
I have blogged before about the importance of this celebration in Colombia. Visit the links below to read my previous posts and find other activities to help you share with your students about this and other Christmas traditions in Colombia.
This is a simple way to make farolitos with your students. You will need:
1. Paper lunch bags
2. Led tea light – battery operated
3. Templates of different Christmas shapes
4. Tissue paper – preferably green and red
5. Glue
6. Scissors
Use the opportunity to bring some language to the lesson. Visit my previous post with some ideas about questions for this activity. Talk about the colors and materials needed to make the farolitos.
You will need to prepare the templates in advanced and pre-cut the pieces of tissue paper.
Steps
1. Trace the shape on the paper lunch bag.
2. Cut out the shape. Younger students might need help to start cutting the shape.
3. Glue the tissue paper inside the paper bag.
4. Insert tea light
This is optional. Students can make designs around the edges of the bag.
5. Get ready to sing some villancicos while celebrating La Noche de las Velitas in class. I also recommend the “Mi Burrito Sabanero” version by Colombian singer Juanes.
This game will get everyone involved in class and will allow participation at different levels.For this game we read the e-book “¡Papá Noel! ¿Quién Tiene Tu Gorro?“. In this short story “Papá Noel” is missing his hat. He is worried and needs to find it before Christmas. He will ask Rudolph, the Christmas star, the candy cane, and others for the hat. To his surprise, he finds that the Christmas present had his hat. Once he has the hat on his head Papá Noel shouts happily “Ho, Ho, Ho, ¡Feliz Navidad!“
In preparation for this game, you will need to print the “Papá Noel” without the hat and a few copies of the hat. Just scroll down to find the link to download them for free . Laminate them and place Velcro or adhesive tape on the back of each hat.
You will need to teach students each of the phrases in the game. A good way to do this is to chant them along with children. I encourage my students to chant as a whole group and help each other out this way.
Next, choose a student to volunteer to be Papá Noel. Ask this student to leave the room.
Quietly distribute the hats between the children and ask them to hide the hats.
Invite your class to call the child who left the room by saying “¡Papá Noel ven aquí!“
Then, the class will ask: “¡Papá Noel! ¿Quién Tiene Tu Gorro?“
The student who is Papá Noel will ask in the class “¿Tu tienes mi gorro?“
The student and the class will answer: “Sí, si tengo tu gorro.” or “No, no tengo tu gorro“.
You can choose the number of turns you allow. If the student who is Papá Noel finds the hat, he can place it on the picture and say “Ho, Ho, Ho ¡Feliz Navidad!“.
This is how it goes:
Class: Papá Noel ven aquí ¡Papá Noel! ¿Quién tiene tu gorro? Student (Papá Noel): ¿Tu tienes mi gorro? Class: No, no tengo tu gorro.
Papá Noel has lost his hat! Do you think he would be able to find it before Navidad? Who could have taken his hat? This book is perfect to introduce vocabulary related to Christmas in Spanish. It’s short, fun andhas a lot of repetition. This set includes:
1. E-Book
2. A fun read aloud audio (Mp3) – Listen to sample here!
¡Hola! I am Carolina, a Colombian elementary Spanish teacher based in Boston, MA. Fun for Spanish Teachers is the result of my passion for teaching Spanish to children and my desire to inspire collaboration and creativity in a vibrant teaching and learning community. It’s the perfect stop if you are looking for songs, games, teaching tips, stories, and fun for your classes.
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