Schultüte-German School Cones

Foto Credit:  Wikipedia and author Farah Eliane

While perusing what is going on over at Bilingual Babes, I came across Tallulah’s post about German Schultüte.  I thought that is was such a fantastic cultural practice and very timely for us since schools just started their new academic years this week.  Do stop by Bilingual Babes and read all about the Schultüte, I’m sure Tallulah will welcome everyone!  Basically, in Germany, children receive Schultüte before school starts.  It is a large paper or maybe plastic decorated cone that is filled with sweets, school supplies and other miscellaneous and practical toys (think Christmas Stocking). In short, the idea is to celebrate the starting of school.  What a super concept!  MamaMamaHoney also posts about her before school celebration and Schultüte.

Through a simple Google search, you can find much more information about Schultüte including an online store, KinderCone where you can buy them!

¡Feliz Schule!

París in Northern VA

We went to an outdoor concert at a local pabellón today and I told Sofía that I felt like we were in París! After playing with our new and old amigos for mucho tiempo, we ate lunch.  We sat outside at a Pizzería where Sofía made her own pizza!  We really enjoyed listening to the passers-by speak a plethora of different languages. 

Then we walked over and picked up café for moi and then helado from Ben and Jerry’s for Sofía.  We lounged in the plaza in front of the fountain basking in the sol and eating our treats.  The only thing person we missed to make it a día perfecto was Sofía’s amie Victoria!

¡Definativamente París in Northern VA!

Dora and Shakira

Did you know that Dora has grown up?  Maybe you all did, but it was a surprise to me when Sofía found this video on YouTube (Yes, Sofía found it all by herself—great parental supervision was going on evidently!) Anyway, I’ve been wanting to introduce Shakira to Sofía for a while now and somehow this fell into my hands!  Really, what is not to love about Shakira! (Now that she’s cleaned up her act a bit!)  You can read all about her great Philanthropic ventures here, --there are too many for me to talk about in this little post!  But I will highlight that she is all about Education for All.  She has a foundation, Pies Descalzos, which has built schools around Colombia and other countries as well.  I can comfortably say that she shares the same values about Education as many of us and it is inspiring! I’m also SUPER thrilled that Sofía and Shakira share the same cumpleaños!  

Well, evidently Shakira teamed up with Dora and created an excelente video to help niños understand the concept of helping others.  Although I’m bummed that the video is in Inglés, I’m really thrilled that it exists!   

The Video is broken up into 4 parts…..although if you have YouTube Downloader, you can save it all together in one place!

¡Cuidado…the tune is pegajoso!

¡Disfrúten!

Todos Juntos:  Shakira y Dora Parte 1 de 4

Todos Juntos:  Shakira y Dora Parte 2 de 4

Todos Juntos: Shakira y Dora Parte 3 de 4

Todos Juntos: Shakira y Dora Parte 4 de 4

¡Feliz Cumpleaños Abuelo!

What better way to celebrar Abuelo’s cumple than with a homemade sign and

deli carne asado from a Churrasquería!

Sofía sure does LOVE her Abuelo!

You know your Grandmother is an Abuela When….

These are the kinds of chalk drawings she makes for you on the driveway!  Who else would draw a palmera except for a Latina?

A Tiza Game

Check out our post on SpanglishBaby™ about a fun outdoor game to play with your bebés!

Plastilina Primavera

We have varios tarros of Play Dough in our house, but that never takes away from the delight in making our own Plastilina Casera. 

We used our Plastilina Primavera to make Esculturas Primaveras which we wrote about on SpanglishBaby.  Click here to read about how to make your own Botero Inspired Esculturas Primaveras.

We usually make our Plastilina seasonal.  In the fall, we made Plastilina with an aroma of cloves and cinnamon with a speckled brown color.  Since it is Abril, we used an algodón dulce flavoring which gave our plastilina a deli aroma and a sharp aqua pastel.  

To make Plastilina Primavera, you will need the following ingredientes:

 Plastilina Primavera

¾ Cup Boiling Water

1 Cup Flour

½ Cup Salt

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon Cream of Tartar
(For our Plastilina Primavera, we added Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Flavor Mix.  I used the entire envelop of 3 gramos, but I recommend only using half the envelop.)

Mix dry ingredientes together first. My Sous Chef assisted. 

Add the liquids.  Stir together in a large bowl.

Stir together until the masa forms a ball. Add flour as needed to decrease stickiness and voila--¡Plastilina Primavera!

Making Plastilina Casera is a fun activity in which your whole familia can participate….it is really difícil for anyone to resist playing with it!  Once the dimensions of color and aroma are added…well…I would say, Plastilina Primavera is addictve!

Just a reminder to check out further actividades to create with your Plastilina Primavera.   Click here to read about how to make your own Botero Inspired Esculturas Primaveras.