¡Felices vacaciones de primavera!
Can you believe it's spring break already? In a way, I feel like we just started the year, while at the same time I feel like we have been together for a long time! I so enjoyed connecting with each one of you at our parent-teacher conferences this past week and reflecting on the tremendous growth I have seen in each one of my students over the last months. It is incredible to see how much Spanish they know, and how much ownership they take over their ability to speak the language! Wow!
Here is a quick summary of our week and what we've been up to!
Our Week
Bible: In Bible this week, we finished learning about the Old Testament prophets! We acted out and retold the well-known stories of Sadrac, Mesac, y Abednego, as well as Daniel y los leones and Jonás y el pez grande. Finally, we tied all of the stories together by remembering that all of these prophets and individuals were pointing to Jesús. I was reminded of this powerful song that we would sing in my church in Texas, which talks about how our King is coming! After Spring Break we'll dive right into the story of Jesus's death and resurrection leading up to Easter--I can't wait to be reminded of this joyful news with the kids!
Reading: This week we spent time reviewing the letters and sounds that we've already learned, as well as reading leveled books and nonfiction texts. I encourage you to keep reading with your child--in any language!--over Spring Break!
Writing: Continuing our study of nonfiction books, we wrote some "how-to" books this week on animals and other topics that we know about. We also conducted some basic "research" on our iPads by doing Google Image searches of animals in Spanish. It was exciting for the kids to type in the name of an animal and be able to study different pictures of them!
Math: We continued to reinforce concepts this week in teen numbers, parts of 10, and writing numbers. We also took time to explore, play, and construct using blocks, shapes, and tubes we have in the classroom!
Invitado Especial: We also received another special guest in class and learned how to make tostones (fried plantains) from Puerto Rico! It has been amazing to have so many visitors come and speak with the students. Please let me know if you would like to come and visit our classroom!
Immersion Tip of the Week
I encourage you to help your child continue to hear and speak Spanish this week, whether it be watching a video, going to a place where there are Spanish speakers, or talking with a friend or family member! Language learning never stops, even outside of the classroom!
Reading Tip of the Week
Visit the library this week (or sometime this month) and check out some new books! Try some easy readers in English, or in Spanish (the Holland public library has a good selection of Spanish books). Get excited about starting a new book or a new series with your child!
Upcoming Events to Remember
*March 29-April 5: Spring Break
*Monday, April 8th: Classes resume
*Thursday, April 10th: Field Trip to Outdoor Discovery Center (9:00-12:15). Let me know if you are interested in coming along as a chaperone!
*Friday, April 11th: Noche de película con la Maestra! I am inviting all of the students to my house for a movie night. We will have pizza and watch the movie Coco (en español!). 6:00-8:30. I will send a note home the week after spring break. :)
I think that's everything! Have a wonderful spring break, everybody! Looking forward to seeing you back at school soon (but not too soon!)! :)
¡Felices vacaciones!
¡Hola familias!
It's been another fantastic and busy week here in our classroom! We had some special events this week, including:
*Enjoying a concert from the HCHS band
*Celebrating World Down Syndrome Awareness Day, during which we talked about how we can love and include our friends with Down syndrome and participated in activities with the number 21 (to remember the 21st chromosome)
*Learning about Honduras and making baleadas (a typical food with beans, cheese and tortillas) with some special family members (and by the way, the kids loved them!)
Here are some more updates from our week:
Our Week
Bible: This week in Bible we read stories about Elisha, Naaman, Josiah, and Esther. It was fun acting out stories and making some crafts. I especially enjoyed hearing about what the kids would like to do if they were a king or queen, like Josiah was when he was just a boy!
Reading: We practiced the syllables with the letter j (which is called "jota" and sounds almost like a hard English /h/ sound). We also learned how the letter g makes the same sound with the vowels e and i (ge, gi).
Writing: In writing this week, we practiced making sentences with the word Estoy (which means "I am", generally when referring to feelings or locations). We also continued to study informational texts, created mini-books about los pingüinos, and practiced distinguishing between una certeza (a fact) and una opinión.
Math: In math, we have continued to practice working on telling number stories and breaking numbers into their partes. We also reviewed 3-dimensional objects like la esfera, el cono, el cilíndro, and el cubo.
Social Studies: In estudios sociales this week, we continued to talk about el mundo--the world. We navigated Google Earth together as a class, which was fun and exciting for the kids as they saw just how BIG the world is! We studied the sizes of ciudades (cities), estados (states), países (countries), continentes, and finally, el planeta! We made mobiles to reflect the order from largest to smallest, which you'll see hanging from the ceiling in our classroom!
Immersion Tip of the Week
Ask your child to tell you about his/her favorite thing from school today, or any day next week! Talking about what he/she learned with you in English helps reinforce the concepts. Ask questions to encourage your child to provide details!
Reading Tip of the Week
Create a special "reading place" for your child at home with some big pillows, blankets, or stuffed animals. Build a "reading time" into your family routine, both reading with your child or encouraging him/her to read alone!
Upcoming Dates to Remember
Monday, March 25th and Wednesday, March 27th: Parent/Teacher Conferences. I'm looking forward to meeting with you all!
Friday, March 29: NO SCHOOL (beginning of Spring Break!) Have a great vacation!
Monday, April 8th: Classes resume
Thursday, April 11th: Field trip to Outdoor Discovery Center (more details to come!)
Friday, April 12th: Noche de Película (Movie Night) at Maestra's house! (more details to come!)
Other Notes
*With this ever-changing spring weather, please consider having your child bring a lighter (i.e. not winter) jacket to school for recess time. The kids are required to wear jackets when it's under 50 degrees, but sometimes they get hot in their thick winter coats. ¡Gracias!
*I am looking for a parent volunteer who can put some books together for me. Please email me if you are interested and willing to help this coming week, if possible!
*We are almost out of glue sticks (yikes!)! We do a LOT of cutting a pasting in our class. If you are willing, would you please consider donating a pack of glue sticks to our classroom? ¡Muchas gracias!
Have a great weekend, everyone! ¡Que disfruten su fin de semana!
Writing: Continuing our study of nonfiction books, we wrote some "how-to" books this week on animals and other topics that we know about. We also conducted some basic "research" on our iPads by doing Google Image searches of animals in Spanish. It was exciting for the kids to type in the name of an animal and be able to study different pictures of them!
