28-31 de marzo

¡Hola Familias!

It's been a looooong week, but we made it to Spring Break! I am so thankful for the opportunity to sit down and spend time with each family celebrating the growth of their child! I am grateful for our partnership together, and so thankful for each one of my amazing students!

We finished off this week with a super exciting, sugar-filled ice cream party to celebrate reaching our Spanish goal for March! The kids have been working SO hard, and I am proud of them! 

Here is more information about our week...

Reading / Lectura: This week we reviewed the letter C, which makes both the hard /c/ sound (ca, co, cu) and the soft /s/ sound (ce, ci). The kids have been doing a great job identifying which syllable and sound to use when writing words with the letter C. We have also been working on comparing and contrasting nonfiction books.

Writing / Escritura: We finished up our instructivo, or how-to, unit this week. The kids wrote their own how-to books, revised their work, and presented them to the class. We are celebrating amazing growth in writing!

Math / Matemáticas: We have been practicing counting from 1-100 with partners as well as writing the numbers. We have also been exploring 2D and 3D shapes, reviewing parts of 10, and continuing to solidify our addition and subtraction facts.

Bible / Biblia: We are working through the story of the resurrection of Jesus by making huevos de la resurrección, or Resurrection Eggs. This week we learned about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, shared the last supper with His disciples, prayed in the garden, and was arrested and beaten by the soldiers. It is always a somber part of our story as we remember Jesus' death. We have taken time to talk about how Jesus took our punishment so that we can have forgiveness for our sins. What an amazing gift!

Immersion Summer Opportunities! 

We are pleased to announce that HC will put on a Spanish Immersion Summer Camp the week of June 27-July 1st from 9am-12pm! You should have received a little yellow slip with some more info. More details, including a signup, will be available after spring break, but at this point you can mark your calendars if you are interested!

Also, check out more awesome SI opportunities for summertime here!

Immersion Tip of the Week

Have your child be the "language teacher" in your house one evening. Encourage him/her to teach you some new words or phrases. Let your child show off and be the expert. Don't be afraid to make mistakes and laugh as you learn. Most importantly, have fun!

Reading Tip of the Week

In some of our reading groups, we've worked on developing fluency when we read. Fluency is reading like talking--not too quickly, but also not in a choppy way. When you read to your child, read with lots of expression to model this!

We will have more information about end of the year field trips and other activities coming up after we return from break! For now, take a breath, slow down a bit (maybe?), and enjoy a break from routine! Can't wait to have everyone back in April!

21-25 de marzo

 ¡Hola Familias!

This was definitely not a typical week for me--I'm not used to missing so much school, and the kids are not used to me being gone either! I am thankful, however, for the willingness of Maestra Van Wolde and Maestra Rodriguez to step in and take over the class while I was out--and to be honest, I really enjoyed being able to spend some special quality time with my own children. :)

Speaking of sickness and absences, we just HAD to take a class picture this week, because it was the first time we had the entire class in school in a long time--probably since January! It is a gift to be your child's teacher every day, and we are SO happy when we all get to be learning together!

Here is an update for the week:

Reading / Lectura: This week we reviewed the syllables with k, which are mostly English words translated into Spanish, such as koala, kiwi, kayak, karate, etc. We have also been working on talking with our reading partner about what we have been learning from nonfiction books, by reading the words and looking at the pictures. 

Writing / Escritura: We have been continuing to work on instructivos, or how-to books. We brainstormed topics that we know how to do--for example, making a s'more, a snowman, a fruit salad, or a paper airplane. Each child chose a topic, brainstormed the steps, and is working on writing their own how-to book.

Math / Matemáticas: This week we have been reviewing the numbers from 11-20 as a group of 10 with extra 1s. We put together a mini-book representing these numbers. Also, we've been working on writing and counting by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s to 100!

Bible / Biblia: We wrapped up our study of el Antiguo Testamento--the Old Testament--this week by learning the stories of Jonás and the great fish! We also learned how the entire Old Testament is woven together with references of a coming King, who would save His people from the bondage of sin and suffering--and how we know who this King is! Finally, we are beginning our Easter project of making resurrection eggs and learning the story of la Pascua, or Easter. 

Science / Ciencias: This week we made cute tulip crafts to celebrate la primavera and las plantas that we are seeing starting to grow everywhere. We praise God for new life in spring!

Immersion Tip of the Week

When your child brings home work from school (from any subject), ask him/her to be the "teacher" and tell you about it. Ask questions and let your child be the expert! Show your child how proud and impressed you are by his/her growing language skills. 

Reading Tip of the Week

You already know that reading to your child is critically important, but did you also know that talking to your child is just as important? When we engage in conversation, we model language, taking turns, eye contact, listening behaviors, comprehension, and good manners. Take some time to talk to your child this weekend. Ask about his/her favorite activities in school, games to play on the playground, or just play together!

P/T Conferences

I look forward to the opportunity to connect with you next Monday or Wednesday evening! Please let me know if anything changes with your scheduled conference time. We have much to celebrate!

Spring Break

...is right around the corner! Remember that we have no school next Friday, April 1st, and we will resume class on Monday, April 11th. Also, a big THANK YOU for all of the school supply donations for my mission trip to Guadalajara! It will be a huge blessing to the school we are visiting!

Have a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to another full week next week with your child!