If Spanish was part of your family growing up and you want your child to hear it too, flashcards are an easy place to start. Our free First Words pack has 48 everyday Spanish words for kids, and every card has audio your child can tap to hear. You can get the free pack with just an email address. There are also free printables for days without a screen.
Why audio matters for flashcards at ages 3 to 8
A printed flashcard shows a child what a word looks like. It can't tell them how it sounds. With audio, a picture and a spoken word arrive together in one tap, so your child can hear the word as they look at it.
Audio helps parents too. Many of us understand more Spanish than we feel comfortable saying out loud, or we grew up hearing a different word for something than the one on the card. When you aren't sure how a word sounds, tap the card and listen together. Your child hears the word, and you get to say it right alongside them. Parents who don't speak Spanish fluently can use the audio to model pronunciation without having to get it right on their own.
What's in the free First Words pack
The pack has 48 Spanish words, grouped into four sections of 12:
- Emotions: feliz, triste, enojado, cansado, and more
- Action words: correr, saltar, comer, bailar, and more
- Toys and play: pelota, muñeca, bloques, bicicleta, and more
- Food and snacks: jugo, leche, manzana, queso, and more
Each card shows a picture, the English word, and the Spanish word, with a phonetic spelling such as feh-LEES for feliz (written the way an English reader would sound it out). A speaker button plays the Spanish audio.
There are two ways to play. In flashcards, your child swipes through the cards and taps the speaker to hear each word. In the matching game, they pair each picture and English word with its Spanish word, and tapping a Spanish tile plays its audio.
The pack is free. You sign in with your email address by magic link, with no password and no credit card. Kids can play without logging in, and the parent keeps the account. Get the First Words pack.
Five ways to use the First Words pack with your child
Do a five-minute word of the day. Pick one or two cards after breakfast or before bed. Tap the audio, say the word together, and use it once during the day. "Estoy cansado" works well at bedtime.
Play the matching game together. Sit side by side and take turns tapping tiles. Say each Spanish word out loud after you hear it. Keep rounds short and stop whenever your child does.
Read the cards aloud. Go through a section slowly. Let your child point at the picture, you read the word, and then you play the audio and say it again. Younger kids often like hearing the same cards over and over.
Match words to real life. Open the food and snacks section before lunch. Ask for the "jugo" or the "manzana" in Spanish, and let your child find the matching card. Emotions cards are good for a check-in after school: which face is today?
Play a screen-free game with the printables. Once your child knows a few words from the app, print a sheet and ask them to point to the words they remember. The printables below work well for this.
If you want more ideas for sharing a language at home when you are still learning it yourself, we wrote about raising a bilingual child without being fluent.
Free Spanish printables for screen-free days
Some days you want a pencil and paper. Our free Spanish printables are illustrated PDFs you can print at home to practice words. They cover five topics: animals, colors, fruits, numbers, and vegetables. The printables don't play audio, so use the First Words pack alongside them when you want to hear how a word sounds.
Questions parents ask
What age are the flashcards for? They are made for young children, roughly ages 3 to 8. Both the flashcards and the matching game use pictures and tap-to-hear audio.
Is it really free? Yes. The First Words pack is free with an email address. There is no credit card and no trial period.
Does my child need an account? No. Kids can play without logging in. The parent signs in with an email and a magic link, and no password is needed.
I don't speak much Spanish. Can I still use these? Yes. Every card has audio and a phonetic spelling, so you can listen and say the word along with your child.
Start with one word today
Pick the First Words section that matches your child's day, whether that's feelings, food, toys, or things to do. Get the free First Words pack, tap a card, and say the word together.