Spanish Basics
From Profe · Updated October 2026
Every Spanish word your child needs in year one, one chart at a time
Days, colors, numbers, animals: about nine small word families cover a child’s first year of Spanish. Each unit here gets one clear reference page and one free printable chart for the wall. Words on the kitchen wall get said out loud, and words said out loud get learned.
Work through them in order, one unit every week or two. No apps, no accounts: print, tape up, and use the daily ritual each page gives you.
The year-one word plan
Days of the week
los días de la semanachart + guide readyThe easiest daily ritual: one breakfast question, seven words, done in two weeks.
Colors
los coloreschart + guide readyEverywhere your child looks: clothes, crayons, the sky on a walk.
Numbers 1–10, then 1–100
los númeroschart + guide readyCounting stairs, setting the table, hide-and-seek in Spanish.
Months & seasons
los meses y las estacioneschart + guide readyExtends the calendar ritual the days started. Birthdays are powerful motivation.
Greetings & goodbyes
los saludoschart + guide readyHola, buen día, chau: the words that make Spanish social, not academic.
Family members
la familiachart + guide readyMamá, papá, hermana. The people your child already talks about all day.
Animals
los animaleschart + guide readyThe vocabulary kids volunteer to learn. Every story needs a perro.
Body parts
el cuerpochart + guide readyHead-shoulders-knees-and-toes works in every language.
The alphabet & sounds
el abecedariochart + guide readyLater than you'd think. Sounds matter before letter names when reading starts.
Feelings & emotions
las emocioneschart + guide readyFeliz, triste, cansado: a bedtime check-in that gives your child words for the day.
Weather
el tiempochart + guide readyAsk ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy? at the window each morning and answer with hace sol, hace frío or llueve.
Games and printables for these words: the free Spanish worksheets (trace and match) and the Spanish word search puzzles, one per unit, for review once the words have been said out loud.
Why this order?
Frequency and dailiness. The days of the week come first not because they’re easiest, but because they attach to a moment you already have every single morning. Colors and numbers ride along on errands and play. The alphabet comes last on purpose, because young children learn spoken words long before letter names are useful.
Charts build recognition; stories build language. Each unit points into a Manuel y Lola story where the same words live inside a plot your child will ask to hear again. That request-to-repeat is where the real acquisition happens.
Pair the charts with your first story
The free Manuel y Lola Starter Story Pack puts first words into a gentle printable story, with a parent guide in English, so you can lead it without speaking Spanish yet.