As I reflect on how far these kids have come this school year, I never cease to be amazed. If you were to drop in and visit our classroom (which you are welcome to do anytime, btw!), I think you would be too! This week I have been SO impacted by the children's genuine conversations in Spanish, their kindness to each other, their passion for Jesus (think: the whole class belting out "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus"--in Spanish of course--during writing time), and their thoughtful, compassionate questions and observations. Wow, I am truly blessed to be your child's teacher!
It was also great to see so many parents at our buddy chapel service on Wednesday. If you were unable to make it, there are many pictures below for you to enjoy! Everyone did a great job reading, acting, and singing with their third grade buddies.
Here is a snapshot of what we've been up to this week:
Our Week
Bible: This week we learned about Elías (Elijah) and a little bit about his successor Eliseo (Elisha). We talked about how the reyes (kings) during those days worshiped los ídolos, and we enjoyed acting out the story of fire coming down from heaven to light the altar that Elías made for God. Once again, we were reminded of God's power--and His incredible love for us. ¡No hay nada imposible para Dios!
Reading: We practiced the syllables ha, he, hi, ho, hu this week, which are pronounced the same as the vowel sounds because the letter "h" is silent in Spanish. Kids had fun trying to remember what words looked like rather than being guided by the sound. I am seeing so much growth in phonemic awareness and the students' ability to write words that they hear!
Writing: We have started to move on from instructivos and learn about escritura informativa--informative writing. We started this unit by exploring the books in our classroom library and classifying them as ficción or no ficción. I taught them the following "chant" to help them practice this skill: "Fantasía, ficción, de mi imaginación. Verdad, no ficción, es real." Next week we will dive into more informational texts and start to compose our own.Math: This week we created books with los números de 11-20, which your child took home today. Have him/her practice saying the numbers and how they are made up of tens and some more (e.g. 11=10+1). We also continued practicing breaking numbers into parts and writing equations. If you've noticed papers with 4 parts and groups of circles in your child's folder, these are what we use to practice listening to and writing about number stories. Ask your child to invent a number story at home using one of these pictures!
Social Studies: Our new unit is about our place in the world (Mi Lugar en el Mundo), which we started to talk about this week. We used Google Earth to explore big places like continentes and smaller places like nuestra ciudad--Holland! The kids LOVED this. We will keep talking about big and small lugares in the following weeks.
Immersion Tip of the Week
If you're only juuuuust thinking about summer camps (like me... I am a little behind!), consider enrolling your child in Spanish camp! Our own Dinah Pereira will be hosting a camp (sign up here), and Zeeland Christian is also offering a few Spanish camps (more info here!). Also, last year the Carolyn Stitch art studio downtown offered a few art camps in Spanish--I haven't seen anything yet this year, but it's worth it to check. I encourage you to help your child keep hearing and practicing Spanish in any way possible!
Reading Tip of the Week
When reading to your child this week, ask him/her if what you are reading is fiction or nonfiction. Talk about whether the story is real or just imaginary. Reinforcing the concept in English will help your child continue to master the skill in Spanish!
Upcoming Events to Remember
Wednesday, March 20th: I will NOT be in school on this day (I will be doing school observations--this was rescheduled from the February snow day). If you feel that your child will have a difficult adjustment without me or Maestra Pereira there, please let him/her know in advance. Febe Gomez, the Spanish teacher from the South Side, will be subbing for me that day. She will do a great job with the kids!
Thursday, March 21st: SI Parent Meeting from 6:30-7:30. Pass along one of the invitations your child brought home today to invite a friend!
*Also, on this day (Thursday, 3/21) we will observe World Down Syndrome Day to raise awareness about what Down Syndrome is. Your child may wear striped socks, and we will do some classroom activities to learn more about Down syndrome. Stay tuned for more info!
Monday, March 25th and Wednesday, March 27th: Parent-Teacher Conferences
Friday, March 29th-Sunday, April 7th: Spring Break!
Thursday, April 11th: Field trip to Outdoor Discovery Center: more details coming!
Friday, April 12th: Noche de película! (Move night!) More details coming!
Swimming lessons: Your child brought home a permission slip for swimming lessons, which will take place (through the Holland Aquatic Center) from April 22-May 3. Lessons will be from 10:10-10:45am every day for those two weeks. Please return the permission slip as soon as possible as we prepare for this event! Gracias! More information about the swimming lessons is available here.
Thanks for reading, everyone! Have a great weekend--and enjoy some pictures below. Dios les bendiga--God bless you all!
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