¡Hola Familias!
Is summer here to stay forever? It sure seems like that now, but in a few months, I'm sure we'll forget about how how and sticky we were! ;)
We finished up another great week today. I continue to be proud of the kids for constantly building more vocabulary as we practice, practice, practice our daily routines and procedures. This week we've focused on the phrases "yo también" (me too) and "yo tengo" (I have). It's fun to hear the kids spontaneously use language more and more.
A few highlights from our week were our Celebración de Independencia (pictured above) and reading with our buddies for the first time! Find lots of photos of both activities below!
Here's a summary of other things we've been up to this week:
Bible: We learned about Abraham y Sarah and started acting out and learning about Esaú y Jacob. Through these stories, we've learned how God keeps his promises, and how even though we sometimes make bad choices, he still loves us and forgives us!
Reading: This week we've studied the vowel U. We've also learned the letters P, Q, R, S, and T. Our daily activities for each letter include: (1) learning a song about the letter; (2) practicing vocabulary words beginning with that letter; (3) sorting words with and without the letter sound; and (4) writing the letter. We're almost done with the alphabet--whew! We've also practiced the words un/una and unos/unas this week, which are used for singular and plural nouns.
Writing: We've continued to learn about mi cuerpo (my body) while we practice our writing routines. We're practicing how we think about what to write and s-t-r-e-t-c-h out words so we can hear and write the sounds.
Math: This week in math we took our MAP tests, as well as practiced our numbers, colors, and shapes on the iPads (we're using an app called Spanish School Bus, which is lots of fun!)! We also drew more scenes of numbers as well as practiced counting objects.
Science: We finished the sense of hearing this week and started learning about la lengua (the tongue) which we use para saborear (to taste). We did a fun taste test to learn words dulce (sweet), salado (salty), amargo (bitter) and agrio (sour). Items we tasted included limes, pretzels, strawberries, kale, and black coffee (the kids got a kick out of that one!).
Immersion Tip of the Week
You may be wondering about the yellow "sorting" pages your child brings home every week (usually we do them on Thursdays). As part of the add.a.lingua curriculum, we highlight second-language-specific points that are not the same in English. We build on those skills each week and touch on them in all subject areas so they are taught in context--one of the most crucial ways to teach a language.
Reading Tip of the Week
Using a favorite picture book (i.e. any book with pictures), have your child "read" you the story by telling you what happens. Ask questions like, "What's happening here?" "How does (character) feel? How can you tell?" Retelling a story helps your child build his/her oral language skills.
Announcements/Upcoming Dates to Remember
*Monday, September 23rd: Field Trip to Holland State Park to pick up trash. If you would like to volunteer to chaperone, we can take one more person!
*Wednesday, September 25th: Walk-A-Thon! We will walk as a class from 1-2:15 at the HCHS track. Feel free to join and cheer us on!
*Friday, September 27th: NO SCHOOL: Staff development
*Monday, September 30th: Field Trip to Crane's
That's all for now, amigos! Enjoy your weekends and see you on Monday!
¡Hola Familias!
Whew, what a week! I'm so happy to see the kids progressing in their knowledge of our daily routines, the letters and numbers, and of course, mucho español! At this point all of the students are expected to say certain common phrases ("I'm finished", "Can I go outside?", "Can I go to the bathroom?", "Can you open this?") in Spanish, and they are doing an amazing job!
Since there are LOTS of announcements for this week, I'm going to put them first, followed by a quick summary of what we've been doing in class:
Día de Independencia: Come celebrate Mexico's (and other countries') Independence Day with us! Join us in the small gym (note change of location) on Monday after dropping off your child. At 8:45, we'll put on a special presentation along with the 1st grade and preschool SI classes. ¡Viva!
Picture Day: This coming Wednesday! Please turn in your picture day forms on on before that day.
Walk-A-Thon Packets: Thank you to those who have already turned them in! Please make sure to turn in your packet by Tuesday if you are raising money for this event! (Our Walk-A-Thon will be on Wednesday, September 25th from 1:00 until approximately 2:15pm at the High School.)
Hispanic Heritage Month: There are lots of cultural events in the community around this time of year! Check out the calendar to the right to see some events happening near you.
Parent Volunteers/Field Trips: Interested in volunteering? We have lots of open spaces for lunch duty coverage, which takes place every Wednesday. Please sign up here if you are able! Also, we have 2 upcoming field trips (listed below). Please send me an email if you would like to chaperone. Do so ASAP, as space is limited!
*Monday, September 23rd: Beach Cleanup at Holland State Park (time approximately 10:45-12:15pm)
*Monday, September 30th: Field trip to Crane's (time approximately 11:45-3:00pm)
Here is an update from this week:
Bible: We learned the story of Noé (Noah) and the arca. We made puppets and practiced telling the Bible story together. Check out the video below to hear some of the story. :)
Reading: We practiced letters L, M, N, Ñ (pronounced en-yay), and O this week. We also focused on the vowel "o" and looked for it around the classroom, in poems, and in words. Finally, we practiced noticing the words el and la (meaning "the", depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine).
Writing: We've been learning vocabulary for "mi cuerpo" (my body) and writing about it.
Math: We are practicing matching numbers with the correct quantities using manipulatives, as well as noticing and drawing escenas (scenes) with groups of numbers.
Science: We continued our unit of Mis Cinco Sentidos by learning about the sense of hearing and how we use our oídos para escuchar! We went on a listening walk around school and played some games to guess the mystery sound!
Immersion Tip of the Week
Singing is a powerful way to learn a language! I'm sure you have probably heard your child singing songs in Spanish at home (we do a lot of that!). Ask your child if he/she remembers the song for "can you open this please?", the song for getting in line ("silencio"), or the song for washing their hands ("el agua y el jabón").
*If you haven't already, check out our Spanish Language Resources page (in the list of links to the right) with info about songs that I use a lot in class, in case you're interested in downloading them and playing them at home...on repeat...over...and...over. :)
Reading Tip of the Week
Play a game with your child by segmenting words. Try something like this: "Base - ball. What does that say?" (baseball) Continue with compound words, such as snowman, football, bookcase, etc. Then, break down words into syllables, for example: "ta - ble". Finally, you can do sounds in the words, like "c - a - t". You can do this while running errands together, while driving somewhere in the car, while getting ready for bed, or really anytime!
That's all for now. Enjoy the weekend and hope to see you all tonight at the game!
Here's a summary of other things we've been up to this week:
Math: This week in math we took our MAP tests, as well as practiced our numbers, colors, and shapes on the iPads (we're using an app called Spanish School Bus, which is lots of fun!)! We also drew more scenes of numbers as well as practiced counting objects.
Using a favorite picture book (i.e. any book with pictures), have your child "read" you the story by telling you what happens. Ask questions like, "What's happening here?" "How does (character) feel? How can you tell?" Retelling a story helps your child build his/her oral language skills.
