7-11 de octubre

¡Hola Familias!

That's a wrap on another week! I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to spending this cooler, rainy weekend at home on the couch getting some rest! (Who knows if that will happen, though... ;) )

This week we've been making an exciting step towards speaking Spanish in class by trying to speak for un minuto en español! I put on a timer and the kids work hard to do it! We've been filling in minutes on the board and celebrate every time we get to 10. This can be challenging, but it's also exciting as kids realize how much they are learning! Give your child lots of encouragement for this big step en español.


Here's some more about this week: 

Bible: We finished the story of José and started talking yesterday and today about Moisés and how he was an israelita growing up in Egipto. It's been really exciting for me to connect all of the stories together with the kids and learn how faithful God is throughout ALL generations--and he still is, today!

Reading
This week we moved from vocales (vowels) to sílabas (syllables)--an exciting step towards reading! The syllables ma, me, mi, mo, mu were the focus this week. The students practiced blending sounds, identifying how many syllables in words, and reading simple words and sentences. Here is a fun video that gives an example of blending and reading syllables in Spanish with a puppet called Monosílabo. We also sorted words containing the Spanish diminutive form, -ito or -ita, which is added to the end of some words when referring to a small size or as an affectionate term.

Writing
In writing, we've been working on telling about our own experiences through illustrations and words. We've also been practicing using skills that good writers use, such as putting spaces between our words, adding details, and using correct capitalization and punctuation.

Math
In math this week, we've been working on comparisons of numbers using the words más (more) and menos (less). We've also told number stories with sumas y restas (addition and subtraction) as well as compared and noticed different shapes, including círculos, rectángulos, y cuadrados.

Science/Social Studies
We've finished all of the five senses! We did a review activity with this topic this week as well as started exploring our world in estudios sociales. We also played a fun game called ¿Dónde está el gusano?  (Where's the worm?) as we looked for a hidden worm in a manzana (ask your child about it! I'll send them home next week). 

Immersion Tip of the Week
One of my favorite parts about teaching immersion is finding creative ways to incorporate language into our everyday activities. For example, when we're having lunch, I like to ask the kids to identify colores, formas (shapes), and other adjectives like caliente/frío (hot/cold), suave/duro (soft/hard), and dulce/salado (sweet/salty). The kids really enjoy showing me things they bring for lunch that fall into different categories! Try this at home and ask your kids what words in Spanish they'd use to describe their food.

Reading Tip of the Week
When reading a book this week, see if your child can identify a syllable with "m" (ma, me, mi, mo, mu). Even if the book is in English, he/she can still look for the syllables. Or, ask your child for an example of a word with each syllable. (Make sure you watch the video for correct pronunciation!)

Upcoming Dates to Remember

*Monday, October 14th: Field trip to DeGraaf Nature Center! We'll leave around 12:40 and return to school by 3pm.

*Friday, October 18: Book orders due! Please order any Scholastic books before this date so I can submit the order. 

*Monday/Tuesday, October 21/22: Parent/Teacher Conferences. Please make sure you sign up for a time to meet!

*Wednesday, October 23rd: Half Day (day ends at 11:30)

*Thursday/Friday, October 24/25: No school: CEA Conference 


Unfortunately, I did not take lots of pictures this week! I'll try to take more next week. :) Here you go!