¡Hola familias!
Hope you are having a restful and enjoyable weekend so far. We had yet another great week during which we were working, playing, and learning. See below for some important updates about next week, as well as a summary of what we've been up to!
Our Week
Bible: We've been working our way through the Old Testament prophets, with a focus this week on the life of Samuel (same spelling in Spanish with a slightly different pronunciation--like "Sahm-well"). We learned about how Samuel's mama, Ana, longed for a child until God faithfully answered her prayer. We played a whispering game when we learned about Dios llamando a Samuel--God calling Samuel--when he was a boy. Finally, we read about Saúl, the first rey, and David, who had el corazón de Dios. With every Bible story, we return to the fact that God is faithful, he listens to our prayers, and he speaks to us--even though it may seem like a small whisper in our hearts. I love seeing students putting these ideas together as we sing and pray as a class.
Reading: This week we studied the sounds ya, ye, yi, yo, yu, as well as the Spanish letter ll, which makes the same sound. We practiced saying and writing words with these different, sometimes tricky, letter combinations. We also practiced putting verbs into the correct forms for nosotros (we) and ellos/ellas/Ustedes (they/you all). This can be a challenging task, but through their immersion experience, the students are becoming more apt to recognize what sounds "correct".
Writing: We continued our study of instructivos, or how-to writing, by making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches one day and limonada the other day. It was fun for the kids to practice saying, and then following, the instructions--and did I mention delicious?! :)
Math: This week we've worked on forming numbers 11-20 using sticks and cubes, as well as comparing numbers using the words mayor (greater than) and menor (less than). We've also gone "shopping" (de compras) for frutas y verduras in a make-believe supermercado!
Social Studies: In preparation for our next unit in which we learn about our earth (nuestra tierra), we have reviewed prepositional words like arriba (up), abajo (down), adentro (inside), afuera (outside), and others. We've done this through listening to instructions, drawing pictures, and playing games.
Immersion Tip of the Week
You may have noticed your child starting to decode words using Spanish pronunciation, even if the words are in English! This can be fun to listen to, but don't worry about "fixing" your child's pronunciation. You can simply say, "Wow! That's exactly how you'd say it in Spanish! In English we say the sounds like this: ____". Your child will start to unconsciously separate English from Spanish as you continue to read at home and as he/she continues to grow in reading skills.
Reading Tip of the Week
Yesterday I sent home a handout with some great reading tips--take a look and choose an activity to do this week! If you do not have a regular "reading routine" (e.g. before bedtime, right after school, etc.), make it a point to establish one--and stick to it! Life can get hectic, but I have to say, as a parent I really enjoy slowing down every evening to read with my kids.
Upcoming Dates to Remember
*THIS UPCOMING WEEK is Maker's Week (Semana de Ciencias), a time when K-2 students will be mixed up and meet in different classrooms every morning (except Wednesday) to participate in STEM-based activities. The students are so excited to participate in these exciting projects! Expect your child to bring home some creations (depending on the class), and be sure to ask about it. Please make sure your child is on time to school--we will dismiss to different classrooms starting at 8:30am. Our afternoons will be normal, in our own classrooms.
*Market Day: Fourth grade Market Day is coming on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 27! In conjunction with their economics unit, fourth graders have each produced a product that they will have available to sell to the student body (items like pencil holders, bracelets, cookies, keychains, etc.). All Rose Park students will get to shop at the Market that afternoon. We are asking that each student bring no more than $3 to spend at Market Day ON WEDNESDAY in order to assure that there are enough products to go around. A small shopping bag may also be useful to help carry the purchases. Thanks for your help with this!
*Parent/Teacher Conferences: These will be held on Monday, March 25 and Wednesday, March 27. Please make sure you have signed up for your spot! I look forward to meeting with you to talk about your child's progress.
*Invitado Especial: I'm still looking for more Spanish-speaking parents, family, or community members to sign up to come visit our classroom! Please sign up here!
There you have it! Enjoy some photos below (I hope to add more limonada pictures later). Have a great rest of your weekend!
¡Hola familias!
We enjoyed a great (albeit short) week this past week, celebrating el día de San Valentín. In Mexico and other Latin American countries, this day is also called el día del amor y la amistad (The Day of Love and Friendship), and we spent some time talking about how great, deep, and wide God's love is--check out a song about it here.
Here are more updates on what we've been learning!
Our Week
Bible: We've been working through the time of los jueces, or the Judges, and stories of los héroes in the Old Testament. This week we learned about Gedeón, Sansón, and Rut (see how similar their names are to English?). We enjoyed acting out portions of each story, doing crafts, and singing songs.
Reading: This week we studied the syllables ra, re, ri, ro, ru and words beginning with these sounds. As students grow in their decoding abilities, learning new syllables has become much more automatic for them. We continue to work in small reading groups--make sure you're checking out your child's book bag (in his/her folder) and reading the stories daily!
**Note for next week: We'll be learning the syllables ya, ye, yi, yo, yu. There are actually very few words that begin with these syllables in Spanish. For our example words, we'll be using a couple that I don't really like--yarda for the syllable "ya" (which is a Tex-Mex word used for "yard") and yin for "yi" (as in "yin yang"). I won't be emphasizing these words very much; the purpose will be to practice the syllables. Just giving you a heads up!
Writing: This week our writing time was shorter than usual because of our days off and a special activity for Valentine's Day. We did a special activity talking about how we can llenar nuestro corazón (fill our heart) by serving others and by being like Jesus. Kids did a great job writing about their ideas--check out their work in the hallway!
Math: In Math, we have been practicing breaking up groups of 10 into two partes: for example, 9 and 1, 8 and 2, etc. We also did some graphing of heart candies and exploring with manipulatives.
Social Studies: We spent time this past week talking about nuestras emociones, or our emotions. We talked about how all emotions are OK and how we all feel sad (triste) or angry (enojado) sometimes. We read a book together called Estoy muy enojada! and talked about how we can help friends feel better when they are angry.
Immersion Tip of the Week
Are you as amazed and excited about your child's learning journey as I am? Tell a friend! Spread the word to help our program continue to grow and thrive in the coming years. We are still accepting students for kindergarten next year!
Reading Tip of the Week
When reading with your child this week, ask him/her to retell the story to you in order after you finish it. Or, ask: "What happened at the beginning? The middle? The end?" Sequencing and retelling stories are important reading comprehension skills for your child to practice in English AND Spanish!
Upcoming Dates to Remember
*Wednesday, February 20th: Wacky Wednesday: Silly socks/hat day
*Week of February 25-March 1 (excluding Wednesday): Makers' Week: For this special week, we will mix with all the other K-2 students to join in some special STEM-based activities! Students will go to different classrooms on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings, and on Friday, they will come to my classroom for a Makers' Week activity in Spanish. This week we'll see the different choices of activities and the students will be able to choose their favorites.
*Monday, March 25th and Wednesday, March 27th: Parent-Teacher conferences. You will receive an email to sign up for a time slot.
Have a great day! ¡Hasta mañana!
¡Hola familias de inmersión!
Much as my family enjoyed last week's polar vortex and our unexpected "vacation", it was great to get back into the routine this week with the kids (and by kids, I mean both my own kids and my students!). We had a fun-filled, busy week, from "peluche" day on Monday, to el día de pelo loco (crazy hair day) on Wednesday, to el centésimo día de la escuela on Friday. I was happy to see your child back at school and continue on our learning journey together!
Here is a summary of what we've been up to in the classroom:
Bible: This week we picked up our story with Moisés and los israelitas, whom we'd been talking about before Christmas. We learned about los 10 mandamientos (the 10 commandments), los 12 espías en la tierra prometida (the 12 spies in the promised land), Josué y Jericó, and Deborá. We enjoyed sneaking around likes spies, acting out the march around Jericho, and some coloring and art projects as well.
Reading: We continued our study of the /k/ sound in Spanish, made by the letters Qq, Cc, and Kk. The kids did a great job saying, hearing, and writing words with the sounds. I continue to be pleased with their progress in reading. We used the Kids A-Z app quite a bit this week, but unfortunately the free trial ends this weekend. I appreciate the work that many of you did at home to help your child practice reading and hope you enjoyed the app! I have put in a request for students to have access next year, so you'll see it again soon. :)
Writing: This week we started to talking about instructivos, or "how-to" writing. We started by making chocolate caliente together and then putting the instructions in order using the words primero (first), después (after), luego (then), and al final (finally). Then, we brainstormed different things we know about and things we want to know more about. We'll use these ideas for future writing in the coming week!
Math: In matemáticas, we practiced forming more teen numbers using different manipulatives like pasta, paper clips, and buttons. Then, we made robots and reviewed different shapes and different ways we can put them together. Your child also finished book 1 of our math workbooks--look inside for his/her unit test (you may see some notes with things to practice at home). Finally, on Friday, we enjoyed counting, sorting, classifying, and making patterns with our special 100-piece merienda (snack). Thanks to everyone who contributed to this!
Social Studies: This week we talked about the difference between quiero (I want) and necesito (I need). I enjoy seeing students grow in their vocabulary and their ability to justify their answers in Spanish (for example: "Why do you need water to live? Why don't you need TV?"). We also made our own timelines (líneas de tiempo) to reinforce our study of the past, present, and future. (Side note: the kids really enjoyed guessing my age. Their guesses ranged from 12 to 100. Ha ha!)
Immersion Tip of the Week
One of my goals for the next few months of school is to give the students the opportunity to hear from Spanish-speaking members of the community. This year we are privileged to have many Spanish-speaking parents and grandparents in our classroom family. Would you (or someone in your family) like to come to our classroom to read a book, talk about your country of origin, or do a special activity with the kids? Sign up here! (Also, non-native speakers are welcomed and encouraged to sign up too! I'm happy to work with you if you would like to participate in ANY way!)
Reading Tip of the Week
When reading a book with your child this week, point to a word. Say, "What is the beginning sound? What is the ending sound?" Or, say a word that is on the page and have your child try to find it. If this is difficult, say something like "Hmmm, what is the first sound in mmmmouse? Can you find a word with mmm at the beginning?"
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
*Thursday, February 14th: El día del amor y la amistad (aka el día de San Valentín). We will do some special Valentine's Day activities. Your child is welcome to bring valentines to exchange with his/her classmates. You may help your child write our classmates' names if he/she is able to read them. If not, feel free to just write "De/From: (your child's name)".
*Friday, February 15th: NO SCHOOL: Staff development
*Monday, February 18th: NO SCHOOL: Presidents' Day
*Week of February 25-March 1 (excluding Wednesday): Makers' Week: For this special week, we will mix with all the other K-2 students to join in some special STEM-based activities! Students will go to different classrooms on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings, and on Friday, they will come to my classroom for a Makers' Week activity in Spanish. This week we'll see the different choices of activities and the students will be able to choose their favorites.
**REQUEST: If you have some shoe boxes or shoe box tops WITH rims, can you send them my way for my Makers' Week activity? Gracias!
That's all for now--¡que pasen un lindo fin de semana! Happy weekend! Enjoy some fotos below!
Writing: We continued our study of instructivos, or how-to writing, by making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches one day and limonada the other day. It was fun for the kids to practice saying, and then following, the instructions--and did I mention delicious?! :)
