12-16 de abril

 ¡Hola Familias!

We have had a great transition back to school after spring break! I have been so proud of the kids for getting right into their routine: every day they are doing their best to follow behavior expectations, be kind to one another, do their best in reading, writing, and math, and of course, speak lots of Spanish! 

Here's what our week has looked like...

Reading / Lectura: This week we took a pause on our syllables (which we're almost done with anyways!) and hit hard on our school-wide behavior expectations, which is summarized in the acronym SER. SER = be self-controlled (dominio propio), engaged (estar presente), and respectful (respetuoso). We read some books about SER, acted out and role-played how to be a good friend, and practiced using positive behaviors. I encourage you to go over your child's SER book that he/she brought home today and talk about what we've been learning this week!

Writing / Escritura: This week we started our unit in nonfiction writing. We began by classifying books as ficción or no ficción and noticing the features of many nonfiction texts, such as photographs, labels, diagrams, and facts. Next, we brainstormed about topics that we're "experts" in, and then, we started writing our own nonfiction books. More to come on this topic!

Math / Matemáticas: We have been doing lots of review of the parts of 10 this week (e.g. 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, etc.). We are practicing "seeing" the parts of 10 on our fingers (how many fingers are up? How many are down?) and writing the equations. 

Bible / Biblia: For the rest of the year, we will be learning about Jesus' life, specifically his milagros (miracles) and parábolas (parables). This week we talked about what a "miracle" is and learned about a few of Jesus' first miracles: changing water to wine, healing the centurion's servant, and healing the paralytic who was lowered through the roof.

Science / Ciencias: We are continuing the Mi Tierra (my earth) unit to focus on las plantas. This week we did an experiment by planting bean seeds, and we are eagerly waiting for them to start growing! We are also comparing the growth of seeds in soil, sand, rocks, and in the dark. We'll see what happens next week with our semillas (seeds)!

Body Safety Presentation

This coming Monday, we will have a special guest from the Children's Advocacy Center from Ottawa County come and give a presentation on Body Safety. You should have received an email with a letter with some more information. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Lunch Menu Change

Choice 2 - Tuesday (4/20) will be a Cheese Pizza Lunchable. Thanks!

Have a great weekend and enjoy pictures from this week below!

29 de marzo - 1 de abril

 ¡Hola Familias!

Happy Spring Break! Happy Easter! ¡Cristo Vive! It was a busy and full week. I truly enjoyed being able to spend time with you during conferences and talk about how much your child has grown this year. 

This week we had a great time celebrating reaching our español goal by having a popcorn and movie party! Here are a few more quick notes about our past week...

Lectura / Reading: This week we reviewed syllables with the letter X. We have finished the whole alphabet--can you believe it?! We've also been working on singular and plural verb forms es and son (the verb "be").

Escritura / Writing: This week we finished our semilla, or seed, stories, in which we wrote about small moments. We enjoyed sharing these with our classmates!

Matemáticas / Math: We are preparing to begin our last math unit, which will be a review of everything we've learned so far this year. 

Biblia / Bible: We finished our huevos de la resurrección (Resurrection Eggs) project. The pictures inside each egg helped the kids understand and retell Jesus' last week on Earth, as well as His death and resurrection. Although the story has sad moments, we rejoice knowing that Jesus is alive! We are thankful for the incredible gift of life that He has given us!

Spring Break Challenge

Yesterday you should have received a packet with a green first page. As with Christmas break, I'm sending an optional (but encouraged!) challenge for the students to complete each day of break (only 5 days total). Keep up the reading and math and win a prize when we come back to school!

Have a wonderful, relaxing, and fun Spring Break! See below for a super fun (and yes, very sugary!) snack that we made to remember la tumba vacía (the empty tomb)!