At-Home Spanish Vowel Scavenger Hunt

I love Spanish phonics. I love how straightforward it is, and how easy that makes it to teach to kids. And while we’re scrambling to come up with activities for kids to do at home, phonics may not be at the top of that list. But it should. Starting with vowels and their corresponding sounds, I’ve put together this at-home Spanish vowel scavenger hunt to get our little language learners started on the right (phonics) foot.

Vowels are the building blocks of any language. So they deserve far more attention.

At-Home Spanish Vowel Scavenger Hunt

In this post I’ve, a.) simplified vowel sounds for those of us staying at home who might not be familiar with Spanish letter sounds and, b.) created an easy-to-implement activity that our kids and students can all do, regardless of Spanish level.

Step One: Vowel Basics

Spanish has five vowels (or vocales) which make five vowel sounds. A, E, I, O, U. The name of the letter is the same as the sound of that letter. Easy peasy. Let’s quickly compare that to English, which has five vowels (sometimes six) that make TWELVE vowel sounds. 

What we can take away from this is that Spanish vowels always, always, always sound the same (unlike you, English!). Which makes life a lot easier for our Spanish learning kiddos.

Step Two: Listen & Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

Kids need to listen and mimic the correct vowel sounds -over and over again. I’ve added a video below for reference, but there are a ton of videos on YouTube to choose from. Choose one your kids (or you) like, and add it to your morning routine (whether at home or at school). 

Consistency is key, so constant exposure and repetition of Spanish vowels and their sounds are essential to getting the pronunciation down. 

Step Three: Avoid Common Mistakes

There are a few common errors English speakers make when learning Spanish vowels. The winners for most problematic? E and I. Spanish I is pronounced like the English E. 

Meanwhile, Spanish E is pronounced /eh/. Visualize someone shrugging their shoulders and saying “meh”, that’s the E sound you want. You don’t want to say /ay/ as in “hay.”

It’s important to keep those errors in mind when working with your students or kids. The more aware you are of potential errors, the easier it will be to avoid or fix them as they pop up.

Step Four: Download My At-Home Vowel Scavenger Hunt for Kids Freebie

Now that we have the vowel sounds out of the way, you can download my free At-Home Spanish Vowel Scavenger Hunt. You can choose to print it out or leave it open on your kids’ electronic device of choice for reference. 

Each vowel has a column of objects (beginning with either a,e,i,o, or u) that can be found around the house. Have little ones race to see how many objects they can find. 

Now, there are plenty of objects on the list that little ones might not know. That’s OK. I’ve listed the vocabulary in English as well. The point is to practice vowels. 

And in order to keep practicing vowel sounds, you can ask these questions during or after the activity:

¿Con qué letra empieza agua? (What letter does water start with?)
Empieza con la a. (It starts with a.)

For kids that feel comfortable reading the vocabulary listed on the scavenger hunt, they can repeat the words to you emphasizing the initial vowel sound.

A, a, agua
E, e, escritorio
I, i, imán
O, o, ordenador
U, u, uniforme

Step Five: Extension Activities

Once you’re finished, you can keep the vowel practice going by using the same list of objects from my download and playing Frío o Caliente (Hot or Cold) or Veo, Veo (I Spy). 

For teachers doing online classes, both of these games can be adapted and played virtually as well. Depending on your online class setup, you can choose an item on your screen, a student’s screen, your Google Classroom, or a shared picture. 

Frío o caliente (Hot or Cold):

Choose a vowel and tell your kids which one you’ve picked. Then choose an item, but keep that item secret. When you’re ready, your kids can move around the room (or in a virtual classroom, point to different objects) while you tell them if they are getting close (caliente) or far (frío) from finding the object.

Spanish Phrases:
¡Estás frío! (You’re cold!)
¡Estás caliente! (You’re hot!)
¡Estás tibio! (You’re lukewarm!)
¡Te estás quemando! (You’re burning up!)
¡Te estás congelando! (You’re freezing!)

Veo, Veo (I Spy)

Choose an object from the list without saying what it is. Then continue with the phrases below:

Spanish Phrases:
Player 1: Veo, Veo
Player 2: ¿Qué ves?
Player 1: Algo que empieza con la letra a/e/i/o/u.
Player 2: ¿Es ___?
Player 1: ¡Sí! / ¡No!

Interested in more at-home activities? Take a peek at my 8 No Prep, No Hassle, At Home Spanish Activities for Kids and get some ideas for Virtual Field Trips to Spain for Kids.