Locate 20 to 30 items around your home or commonly used terms that you want to help your child learn how to say in Spanish. For example, items can be food like bananas, milk and cereal, or furniture like table, chair and sofa. Mix in common terms like "hello," "goodbye," "good night" and useful phrases like "my name is..." and "where is the bathroom?"
Find an English-to-Spanish dictionary at your local library, book store or online. Google offers a helpful tool that allows you to translate words, phrases and even sentences from English to Spanish or vice versa for free (link is included in Resources), and there are other similar translators available online. Translate all of the words and phrases and listen to them pronounced online (link included in Resources) or ask someone who you know who speaks Spanish to record the terms onto a digital voice or tape recorder.
Set aside an hour when your family has time to learn the new terms and phrases together. Gather 10 to 12 of the items and set them on a table. Write down the English and Spanish terms for each item. Listen to the terms pronounced on the recorder. Practice saying the terms with your children about 10 times each or until your child can pronounce them correctly.
Remove the pieces of paper and ask your child if he can remember any of the Spanish names for the items. You may use the tape recorder to jog his memory by playing the Spanish phrases for some of the items and asking him to identify which item it is. You may also provide the scraps of paper with the terms written on them in random order and ask your child to match them up with the proper items.
Practice the few phrases you've identified with your children. Dedicate five to 10 minutes of every day for a week where you speak to each other only in those Spanish terms. Begin saying "Good Morning" or "Good Night" to your children in Spanish to reinforce the terms.