Friday, August 28, 2020

24-28 de agosto

¡Hola Familias!

We made it through the first week of Kindergarten! :)

Considering the circumstances--6 months of no school, a hot and humid week, a new language and new expectations for the kids--I am IMMENSELY proud of the class for all of their hard work this week! They are troopers! In only 5 days, we have settled down into a nice routine and the kids are catching on quickly.

In each blog, I will give a short summary of what we've learned in each subject this past week. I'll also include an Immersion Tip and a Reading Tip, which you'll find below...

Reading: This week we've been working on quiet reading from our book boxes. We've also been learning the alphabet song and started practicing letters A, B, and C. For each letter, we practice the name, the sound, vocabulary with that letter, and writing the mayúscula (capital) and minúscula (lowercase).

Writing: We have been learning how to use our writing and drawing materials, how to draw pictures and write our names, and how to listen and share our work with one another.

Bible: After learning about how la Biblia is about Dios (God) and Jesús, we started to learn about the 7 days of creation. We learned that on day 1 Dios created la luz (light) and la oscuridad (darkness). On day 2 Dios created el agua (water) and el cielo (the sky). 

Math: We've started to practice using math materials, count to 10, and write numbers uno y dos (1 and 2).

Routines: Of course, this week has also been full of routines, as we learn how to wash our hands, get in line, take turns, use our materials, and use our masks (a new skill for everyone! ha ha!). 

 Immersion Tip of the Week

In Monday's email, I mentioned that you shouldn't worry if your child comes home saying that he/she learned nothing or didn't understand what was going on. This is VERY normal! Children this age often aren't able to process or verbalize what they are learning, but their little brains are busy making TONS of connections! Expect your child to be exhausted over the next few weeks, so make sure he/she is getting lots of rest! Above all, keep being a cheerleader for your child!

Reading Tip of the Week

When reading aloud to your child, "track" with your finger under the words as you read. This helps build print awareness and reinforces the concept that we read from right to left. This is an example of the "common underlying proficiency" (see #2 in link), a theory stating that skills learned in one language naturally transfer to the second.

See below for some pictures from our first week!