28-31 de agosto

¡Hola Familias! We have had a wonderful second week of kindergarten! I can tell we are all settling into a comfortable routine, and the kids are doing a fantastic job getting used to our routine and schedule. We had a great time riding the bus to Convocation on Wednesday, and it was beautiful to be able to worship together as an entire student body (with many parents too!).

This week we have been starting to use more common phrases and questions, such as "¿Puedo ir afuera?" (Can I go outside?), "¿Me lo abres?" (Can you open it?) and "¡Ya terminé!" (I'm finished!). 

We also had the chance to meet our school counselor, Mrs. Kyra Short. She talked about her role at the school and the different ways she helps students (see photo above).

Here are more details about what we are learning...

Reading / Lectura: This week we have learned and practiced the letters B, C, D, and E. All of the consonant sounds we've learned so far have almost exactly the same sounds as they have in English. We have also been learning about las vocales--the vowels (see here for a video of the pronunciation)--as well as the difference between una persona (a person) and una cosa (a thing). 

Writing / Escritura: We have started our unit focusing on la familia, or the family. We have been learning and practicing family vocabulary words and drawing pictures of moments with our families. It is exciting to see the kids start to share their work with each other!

Math / Matemáticas: This week we have practiced counting and writing the numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5. We are also having fun counting on our fingers, exploring manipulatives, and sorting objects.

Bible / Biblia: We are continuing to learn about the 7 days of creation. On day 2, God created el cielo y el agua (sky and water). On day 3, God created las plantas (plants). On day 4, God created el sol, la luna, y las estrellas (the sun, moon, and stars). The kids have been enjoying pulling things out of the "surprise bag" every day to discover more about God's creation!

Science / Ciencias: We are learning about los cinco sentidos, or the five senses! We will continue to dive into each sense while learning important vocabulary at the same time.

Immersion Tip of the Week

One technique I use to encourage students to produce language, even when their vocabulary is limited, is called "circling". For example, I'll ask "sí-no" questions, such as: "Is this ball big?" "Is this a pencil?" Then, I'll ask "either-or" questions, such as: "Is this a Bible or a notebook?" "Is this book red or blue?" "Is the boy happy or sad?" This helps students hear more vocabulary and feel successful because they can understand and answer questions correctly. 

Reading Tip of the Week

When you're reading a new book to your child this weekend, talk about the pictures you see on the title page. Ask, "What do you think this book will be about? Why do you think that?" Make predictions together. Most of all, have fun!

Kindergarten Family Night

Come join us for a night of fun and community at our Kindergarten Family Night! Join us at Crane’s Orchard on Thursday, September 28th from 5:30-7:30pm for hay rides, the corn maze, and lots of fun and fellowship as we get to know each other better! We will cover each kindergartener’s ticket, and each additional family member’s ticket is $10 per person. Will you please fill out this form to help us get a head count for the evening? Thank you; we can’t wait! 

-Mrs. Brouwer, Mrs. Bos, and Maestra Klipp Lopez

You Are Invited! 

Chapel is every Thursday morning from 8:30-9:00 in the small gym of Rose Park. Our preschool through fifth grade students worship together, spend time in prayer and deepen our faith walk. Feel free to join us if you’re able!

 

HC’s Homecoming Event is coming soon! 

• Friday, September 15th from 5-6:30 pm Kickoff is 7:00 pm

Our Homecoming event includes dinner, bounce houses and inflatables.

•  **All preschool and kindergarten families are invited to attend for FREE through the RSVP form.**  RSVP HERE (Accepting RSVPs until September 6th.) 

• Families with children in 1st-12th grade can purchase Homecoming tickets through our Athletics link - EVENTLINK - tickets include the meal, activities, and Varsity Football game at 7:00 pm. Take advantage of the Early Bird Ticket pricing $8 per ticket. Price increases to $10 per ticket starting Monday, September 11th.

We hope to see you out at this fun, family event! GO MAROONS! 

Picture Day- For those of you really planning ahead, Rose Park’s picture day is September 13th and 14th. Once order forms are received from GPI they will be sent home with students. If you are ordering a yearbook this will be the time to do that also.

Grandparents Day -- Please pass along our invitation to your special Grandparents/friends! We'd love to pull out all of the stops and welcome them to our beautiful space at Rose Park. Thursday, October 5 in three different celebrations we will give thanks to God for surrounding us with the support and care of loved ones. Please note the timeframes for each age level!

Thanks for reading! Enjoy lots more pictures from our week below!

22-25 de agosto

¡Hola Familias!

We have had an AMAZING first week of school! I have so enjoyed starting to get to know each child in our class! We have spent a lot of the first week learning behavior expectations and practicing our daily routine, in addition to singing songs, coloring, playing, and doing crafts together! I am so thankful for the opportunity to teach your child this year, and I pray that in my class he/she will learn how great is God's love for each one of us.

In our weekly blogs, I will give you a synopsis of what we have learned this week, give some classroom and school updates/reminders, and post photos. Additionally, most weeks I will include an Immersion Tip of the Week and a Reading Tip of the Week with some practical ideas for you to do with your child at home.

We have started getting a little bit into our curriculum, so here is what we have done this week:

Reading / Lectura: We are beginning the year learning ALL letter names and sounds in Spanish with a letra del día, or letter of the day. This week we started learning about letter A. You may have noticed a half-finished "A" tracing worksheet--check out the HOMEWORK section below!

Writing / Escritura: We are starting to learn how we are all writers and can share our stories and ideas.

Math / Matemáticas: We have been starting our Math routine by counting on our fingers and identifying numbers. We are also working on a libro de números (number book) and have finished number 1.

Bible / Biblia: We have been starting to sing Bible songs together to practice our Bible routine. We also learned how Jesus loves children and invites us all to have "faith like a child"--fe como un niño.

Immersion Tip of the Week

Over the next few weeks, please don't worry if your child comes home saying that he/she learned nothing or didn't understand what was going on in school that day. 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! It is a lot of work to learn a new language, but it is an incredible gift!

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" (third paragraph), a theory stating that skills learned in one language naturally transfer to the second.

Homework

While we have no "formal" homework in Kindergarten, please READ every day with your child! Also, while we practice our letter of the day, I strongly suggest that you have your child finish the letter tracing page (both capital and lower-case). He/she should start letters from the top. This will GREATLY help your child strengthen his/her fine motor skills and get familiarized with the letters!

Take-Home Folders

Your child should have taken their folder home today. Please make sure you empty it out daily. We will have LOTS of papers every day in Spanish Immersion Kindergarten, and I try to write feedback when needed--so please make sure you're checking every day!

Labor Day Weekend

There will be no school on Friday, September 1st and Monday, September 4th. Enjoy the long weekend!

All-School Convocation

We will have our all-school convocation on Wednesday, August 30th from 9:00-9:30 at the Holland Christian High School stadium (weather permitting). We will gather in the classroom at the normal time and then take a bus to the high school. Parents are welcome to join us!

Parent Volunteers

Would you like to help out in (or outside) our classroom this year? Here is a form for you to fill out! Also, one of the options is to come in on Wednesdays as a lunch helper. You can find that link at the top right-hand corner of our blog, and it is also available HERE. 

Whew, that is a lot of information for the first week! I appreciate you taking the time to read everything through! Hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend, and I look forward to seeing your child again on Monday morning!