20-23 de febrero

¡Hola Familias!

It feels like springtime outside! We had a wonderful week together of learning and fun. 

Here is what we have been up to this week...

Reading / Lectura: We learned the syllables ra, re, ri, ro, ru this week. We've also been learning about verbs in different forms, such as yo (I), tú (informal you), and nosotros (we). As we read, we have been working on summarizing a story into beginning, middle, and end, as well as talking about how characters feel.

Writing / Escritura: This week we continued talking about los sentimientos, or feelings. The kids drew and wrote about different feelings they've had, describing why they felt that way. It is so fun to hear them express themselves and talk about moments in their lives! We are going to expand on one of their ideas next week.

Math / Matemáticas: We have been working on representing teen numbers using both equations and objects. The kids are getting better at representing and building the numbers from 1-20!

Bible / Biblia: This week we learned more about David, who had un corazón de Dios. We learned how even though David was small, he was brave because he knew that God was by his side. God gave David the ability to defeat the giant Goliat!

Science / Ciencias: We are learning more about force and motion, exploring how when we push an object harder, the object goes faster and farther. 

Social Studies / Estudios Sociales: We learned about our 16th president Abraham Lincoln and how he wrote about his feelings. This tied nicely into our unit on sentimientos!

Immersion Tip of the Week

Ask your child to tell you about his/her favorite thing from school today, or any day next week! Talking about what he/she learned with you in English helps reinforce the concepts. Ask questions to encourage your child to provide details!

Reading Tip of the Week

Create a special "reading place" for your child at home with some big pillows, blankets, or stuffed animals. Build a "reading time" into your family routine, both reading with your child or encouraging him/her to read alone!

Sickness & School

We have had so much sickness going around in our classroom (and at school)! Just a reminder that if your child is feeling under the weather, please keep him/her home to avoid spreading this to others. Please reinforce good hygiene as well, including hand washing (we do this often) and covering coughs/sneezes. Also just a reminder that your child must be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school. Together we can kick this sickness!

That's all I have for now--have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy more photos from our week below.

12-15 de febrero

¡Hola Familias!

We had another great week in Spanish Immersion Kindergarten! This week we enjoyed learning about el Día del Amor y la Amistad on February 14th, which translates to "Day of Love and Friendship". We talked about all of the people we love, and celebrated how much God loves us!

We also held a special SER celebration on Thursday where a few students were chosen to PIE THE PRINCIPALS! It was definitely exciting for everyone. ;) Great work!

This is a really great time of the school year; I am seeing so much growth in every area--reading, writing math, and especially in the Spanish language!

Here is a summary of what we've been up to in the classroom...

Reading / Lectura: We learned about the sound /k/ this week, which is made by 3 different letters in the Spanish alphabet: c, k, and qu. We have also been studying different forms of verbs (the endings change depending on the person) and talking about characters' feelings in the books we read together.

Writing / Escritura: We are starting a new unit on small moments. To give the students some context and vocabulary, we are focusing on los sentimiemtos (feelings) to give them a springboard to draw and write about their own experiences. We are going beyond words like "sad" and "happy" and using words like "excited", "ashamed", "nervous", and "grumpy" (all in Spanish, of course!). We will continue this next week by developing an idea to write a story.

Math / Matemáticas: We have been working on recognizing patterns, classifying objects into groups, and solving story problems.

Bible / Biblia: This week we learned about el Rey Saúl, who was Israel's first king. We learned how Israel's true king was Dios and how el Rey Saúl started to disobey him after a while. Then, we learned about how David was chosen as the next king--not because of his physical strength, but because of his corazón para Dios! 

Science / Ciencias: We are beginning a new unit on force and motion. We explored how we can make objects move on the playground, especially focusing on los columpios (the swings) and la resbaladilla (the slide). We are starting to use new vocabulary such as empujar y jalar (push and pull) to describe motion, and we're figuring out how we can make objects move farther and longer.

Immersion Tip of the Week 

Your child may be starting to decode words using Spanish pronunciation, even if the words are in English! This can be fun to listen to, but don't worry about "fixing" your child's pronunciation. You can simply say, "Wow! That's exactly how you'd say it in Spanish! In English we say the sounds like this: ____". Your child will start to unconsciously separate English from Spanish as you continue to read at home and as he/she continues to grow in reading skills. 

Reading Tip of the Week

Speaking of reading, make sure you are reading every day at home! If you do not have a regular "reading routine" (e.g. before bedtime, right after school, etc.), make it a point to establish one--and stick to it! Life can get hectic, but I have to say, as a parent I really enjoy slowing down every evening to read with my kids.

Carpool: In an effort to be smooth and efficient in the carpool line, please take a look at these expectations: First, at morning drop off please pull as far forward as possible, and coach your children on exiting the car quickly, this allows us to get all students into the building and to their classrooms as soon as possible. If we can avoid adults getting out of the car this allows the line to move quickly, and we can get our school day started right at 8:15.  Additionally, after school -  please make sure to give the three carpool lanes the right of way. As soon as we release the carpool lanes we need to those to continue moving. Once the first round is over, you may then exit the parking area. Additionally please do not use the bus loop as that is legally only for bus use!

If your child is interested in a season of Little League, please find the necessary info here! 

TTQ: It’s almost springtime and your boys might LOVE training and running together with the support of a coach team! OR! Would you be interested in joining the coach team? First hand, it’s a BLAST if you’re curious and available to join the fun!

Enjoy more pictures from our busy week below! Hope you and your family have a wonderful long weekend; see you back at school on Tuesday!