Mi hija quiere hacerse una trenza para ir al colegio.

Mi hija is the normal, neutral way to say my daughter in Spanish.

Spanish usually uses the possessive adjective before the noun:

• mi hija = my daughter
• tu casa = your house
• su libro = his/her/their book

La hija mía is possible, but it sounds much more marked or emphatic, like that daughter of mine or my daughter, you know. It is not the usual choice in a simple sentence like this one.

Here, quiere means wants, and hacerse una trenza means to do/make herself a braid.

So:

• quiere = she wants
• hacerse = to do/make for herself
• una trenza = a braid

Together, quiere hacerse una trenza means she wants to braid her hair / wants to do herself a braid.

The idea is that the daughter wants the hairstyle for herself.

The se shows that the action is being done to/for oneself.

Compare:

• hacer una trenza = to make a braid
• hacerse una trenza = to make oneself a braid / to braid one’s own hair

This is very common in Spanish with things people do to their own body, hair, clothes, etc.:

• lavarse el pelo = to wash one’s hair
• pintarse las uñas = to paint one’s nails
• ponerse un abrigo = to put on a coat

So hacerse una trenza is the natural way to say that she is doing that hairstyle on herself.

Yes. Both are possible:

• Mi hija quiere hacerse una trenza
• Mi hija se quiere hacer una trenza

This happens because with a conjugated verb + infinitive, the pronoun can often go:

1. attached to the infinitive → hacerse
2. before the conjugated verb → se quiere hacer

Both are correct. In everyday Spanish, attaching it to the infinitive is very common.

Una trenza means a braid, so it introduces the hairstyle as just one possible braid, not a specific previously mentioned braid.

• hacerse una trenza = to do a braid / to braid one’s hair
• hacerse la trenza would usually suggest a specific braid already known from the context

In this sentence, the daughter simply wants a braid, so una is the natural choice.

Para here expresses purpose: in order to or for.

So:

• para ir al colegio = to go to school / in order to go to school

Spanish often uses para + infinitive when the subject is the same:

• Estudio para aprender. = I study to learn.
• Se levantó temprano para llegar a tiempo. = She got up early to arrive on time.

Here, the daughter wants the braid for going to school.

Because a + el contracts to al in Spanish.

So:

• a + el colegio → al colegio

This contraction is mandatory in normal Spanish.

Compare:

• Voy al médico. = I’m going to the doctor.
• Vamos al parque. = We’re going to the park.

The only common exception is when el is part of a proper name:

• Voy a El Escorial.

But with el colegio, it must be al colegio.

In this sentence, yes: colegio means school.

For learners of Spanish from Spain, it is useful to know that colegio often refers to a school, especially at the primary level, though in everyday speech people may use it more broadly depending on context.

You may also see:

• escuela = school
• instituto = secondary school / high school in Spain

So ir al colegio is a very natural Spain Spanish way to say to go to school.

Because ir simply means to go, and that is all that is needed here.

• ir al colegio = to go to school

Irse adds the idea of leaving or going away:

• Me voy al colegio = I’m leaving for school / I’m off to school

In this sentence, the focus is just the purpose of the braid, not the act of leaving, so ir al colegio is the natural choice.

Yes. Spanish uses the present tense here just like English does in many similar cases.

• Mi hija quiere... = My daughter wants...

It describes her current desire or intention. There is no need for a future tense just because the action will happen later.

This is very normal:

• Quiero comer. = I want to eat.
• Quiere salir. = She wants to go out.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Mi hija = subject
• quiere = main verb
• hacerse una trenza = infinitive phrase acting as what she wants to do
• para ir al colegio = purpose phrase

So the pattern is basically:

[subject] + [want] + [infinitive action] + [purpose]

A similar example would be:

• Mi hermano quiere comprarse una chaqueta para el invierno.

This same structure is very common in Spanish.