Summer break is here! Your hardworking child deserves every bit of rest and fun on the horizon, but you might also be wondering how to keep their new Spanish skills sharp. Staying true to our no-homework philosophy, Arco Iris Spanish Immersion School will not ask you to spend your summer with flashcards or formal lessons. Instead, we want you to sprinkle a bit of Spanish joy into your family's summer adventures!
1. Make It Fun - and Tasty!
This first tip comes from Christa Billings, who found that her three bilingual children were more likely to take a risk and put their new language skills to use when there was a tasty treat promised. Head to your favorite Mexican restaurant and challenge your child to order their meal entirely in Spanish. Sweeten the deal by offering to buy dessert if they successfully place their order. Don't worry about perfect pronunciation – the goal is building confidence and having fun together. Restaurant staff are usually delighted to help young Spanish speakers practice!
2. Bring Spanish Home Through Stories
Visit your local library and check out Spanish picture books or bilingual stories. Make it a cozy evening tradition to read together, letting your child take the lead on familiar words while you tackle the trickier passages as a team. Most libraries, including the Beaverton City Library, offer a Summer Reading Program that can sweeten the prospect of reading Spanish and English books throughout the summer. Tigard, Lake Oswego and Portland summer reading options are awesome, too!
3. Create a Family Spanish Challenge
Designate certain activities as "Spanish only" zones – maybe cooking together, walking the dog, or playing a board game. Start small with just 15-20 minutes and gradually increase as it becomes more natural. Remember, giggles and mistakes are part of the learning process!
4. Turn Family Movie Night into Spanish Language Movie Night
Pop some popcorn and put on a family movie, but make it Spanish cartoons, movies, or music! Disney movies dubbed in Spanish are a perfect place to start. Your child likely knows the story already, making it easier to follow along in their second language.
The key to practicing Spanish during the summer is to keep it light and enjoyable. Your child has worked incredibly hard this year developing their bilingual brain, and summer should feel like a celebration of that achievement.
If you aren’t already enrolled for Fall 2025-26, we have a few seats available in our tuition-free K-5 program. Give us a call at (503) 372-6052 or visit our enrollment page to get started.
About Arco Iris
Arco Iris Spanish Immersion is a small tuition-free public charter school providing a rich, immersive Spanish language experience and robust academics in a true multicultural setting. Centrally located off 217, between SW Portland and Tigard, we serve K-5 students in the greater Beaverton area to become bilingual and biliterate leaders of the future. Get to know us on Instagram @arcoiris_spanishimmersion and on the web at www.arcoirisschool.org. We’re enrolling for Fall 2025-26. Bilingual Education: A Rainbow of Possibilities