December 4, 2013

Hola, Padres, Last Wednesday was a fantastic and busy day for your children! They organized their cuadernos, their notebooks, and have a lot of new take-home materials which are all activities we have worked on so far this year. Perhaps some of them will entertain your chiquito during the long holiday break. Speaking of the Break, we only have two more Wednesdays until January. Another exciting milestone for our Spanish class was completing a worksheet with the letters A, M, and P. The children practiced the sounds of these letters in Spanish and learned some new words using just those letters. You will find the sheet in their cuadernos. They can practice Mama, Papa, and ama, as well as mapa with Spanish pronunciation! We will add letters and words in the coming sessions. It is a privilege and pleasure to work and play with your children. Gracias, padres! Lucy

November 20, 2013

Hola, padres de los chiquitos! Today we had a conversation about what we give thanks for, and the children listed their parents, relatives and friends, and pets, first and foremost. Some children said they are thankful for the earth, la tierra. We sent a paper home that they can add to if you like. By the way, the word for parents is los padres, the word for relatives is los parientes, and la mascota is the word for pet. The children drew pictures of things that they feel grateful for. La lluvia means rain and they were excited about it, but a bit disappointed, that they could not go outside. We listened to music about El Pavo, the turkey, and they have a picture that they can color at home that shows un pavo grande! The day ended with a story told in English and then Spanish about what we are grateful for. Sometimes just hearing a language is helpful, even if every word isn’t understood. So, hearing stories and listening to music in Spanish is a great way to add vocabulary and to accustom the child’s ear to the sounds of Spanish. Have a beautiful “Dia de Accion de Gracias”. We will see each other again on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. Senora Lucy

Balance statement

Dear Parents,

Today, I sent out with your children the balance statements for the year. Please look for it in your child's binder.

Thank you and HAPPY THANKSGIVING !
Valérie

November 13, 2013

We had an extensive review session the other day at class. The chiquitos really made an effort and did a good job. One parent has reported that her daughter likes the flash cards we sent home. If you child didn’t receive them, let us know. We played outside a lot in the beautiful day. The new project of the day was to learn the Spanish words for the parts of the face and head: la cabeza, the head, los ojos , the eyes, la nariz, the nose, las orejas, the ears, la boca, the mouth, los dientes, the teeth, and el pelo, the hair. They have copies of the words and the faces. If you have a three-hole punch at home, they can put their papers in their binders. Otherwise, we will spend some time next time catching up on that. This week we will talk about El Dia de la Accion de Gracias and will brainstorm what we are thankful for. We may learn some food names and will listen to songs about Thanksgiving. Senora Lucy

November 6, 2013

A busy afternoon was spent making flash cards for greetings.   The children cut out flashcards in Spanish and in the corresponding English and decorated envelopes to put their practice cards in.  They can practice with these at home.   We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar in Spanish and learned a new  fingerplay  which uses family vocabulary in Spanish.  Review is essential  when learning a language, and we will be continuing to add new  challenges while reviewing  phrases and vocabulary. We talked about all kinds of families throughout the  world, and looked at pictures of Guatemalan children and located the country on the map.  In the coming days we will talk about what we are grateful for, as well as the names of our facial features:  cejas (eyebrows),  ojos (eyes),  orejas (ears),  nariz (nose), and  boca  (mouth).  Hasta miercoles, chiquitos! 

Senora Lucy

October 30, 2013

As you can imagine, parents, our class was delightful: we combined the concepts of family members and pets whom we love and those loved ones who have passed away. The chiquitos brought pictures of their families and grandparents and shared about them. They also brought gifts and mementos from their grandparents. We shared hot chocolate with cinnamon and a bit of almond flavor, which is a festive drink associated with the holiday of Dia de los Muertos in Mexico. After making creative masks, the children wore funny hats and paraded around the room. It was a sweet combination of Halloween and All Saints Day. Thanks, parents, for following up by sending the requested items. Your children are very special!! I will make a vocabulary list of all the words and send home coloring and practice sheets. We will review our songs in class. You can help your children by enjoying the CD and the song and chant sheets. Senora Lucy

October 23, 2013

Buenos Dias, Padres, Autumn has blessed us with some beautiful days. The children enjoyed drawing pictures of their families for their binders and folders. We are learning family words like “padre, madre, hermano, hermana, and abuelo and abuela. In the spirit of Fall and Halloween we are learning the Jack o’lantern song and Five Little Pumpkins (Calabaza and Cinco Calabacitas). I will make sure the children have their take-homes with the songs so they can practice. Outside, we played a new game involving El Lobo, the Wolf, a very spirited tag game. The children shared a moment with my ceramic jack o’lantern, with the lights turned down low. The children shared about their costumes for Halloween. For next time, please bring a fun hat for our parade outside. We will make masks out of paper plates and drink Mexican hot chocolate. Please keep it a secret?! Also, if your child has a loved one who is no longer with us, please help him/her find a souvenir, special photo, or object that reminds your family of a beloved relative. I am going to bring a photo of my grandma and her soup ladle. This will be our way of honoring family and friends for Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, a very important fiesta day in Mexico and other Central American countries. Senora Lucy

October 16, 2013

Hola, Padres, Que buen tiempo hace! What good weather it is today, el sabado! During the last class the children learned something about Monarch butterflies, Las Mariposas Monarcas, which are at Natural Bridges for a few months. You might want to take your child to see them, since they are actively flying on a warm, sunny day. The children made butterfly puppets with popsicle sticks and fluttered them around, singing the little song we are learning. I will send the lyrics home after the next class. Why not encourage your child to sing it to the tune of “Frere Jacques”? We talked about the colors of the monarchs and looked at books about them. As always, we reviewed Hola and Buenos Dias, Buenas Tardes songs, and are working on the Colores song, as well as the Me Llamo and Adios. We continue to use counting in Spanish at every opportunity. You can do this at home for just about anything! Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve diez. With the help of felt pumpkins in different sizes, shapes, and colors, we learned which is the Calabaza (pumpkin) pequena, mediana y grande. Again, you can practice this at home with objects that are different sizes and colors. We are learning about our families and the vocabulary for next time. We are still deciding what to do for Halloween, which is now celebrated in some Spanish-speaking countries. We would like to make pan (bread) for the class on the 30th. We will need to get permission from the kitchen to bake it so each child may take some home. We will learn Halloween songs and read a book about el Dia de los Muertos. The song about five little pumpkins is very popular in English and Spanish. I will bring my ceramic jack-o-lantern for the next few classes. Is there any parent who might help us out by mixing the dough for the special bread? If not, I will, of course, prep it myself. It just uses regular bread dough, which we will decorate. We will learn some other fun Halloween songs and maybe plan another way to celebrate. I will let you know in advance. Have a nice fin de semana! Senora Lucy

October 9, 2013

Hola, Padres,

We spent a lively day talking about Otono, which means “Autumn”, looking at leaves (hojas), and reviewing our songs. We have added a seasons song and coloring sheet, and a full page Otono sheet for them to create at home. One chiquito suggested gluing real autumn leaves on our Autumn art.

We looked at a treasure of orange glass in the shape of a Calabasa (squash). Our repertoire now includes a colors song and a coloring sheet. We spent outdoor break playing “Pato, Pato, Ganzo”, and “Piedra, Tijeras, y Papel”, AKA “Rock, Scissors, Paper”. At the end of class, I passed out C.D.’s.

Whenever you can, encourage your child to sing, say and play games that are variations on a theme. When getting dressed, you can talk about the color in Spanish that your child is wearing, and play I Spy with colors. Repetition in a variety of ways is the key to language learning.

Remember, the library system has books, events, and audio online for children. Be sure to fill out the evaluation sheet that encourages speaking Spanish outside of class and other Spanish language activities. Stickers seem to be a major incentive, plus the fun of it all!

Hasta miercoles!
We will talk more about families (all the different kinds) and concepts of small, medium, and large. We will be moving into more about Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, since there are only three weeks left.

Feliz fin de semana,
Senora Lucy (Me llamo Senora Lucy. Como te llamas)?

October 4, 2013

Hola, Padres,

Our day was full of fun and focus!  The chiquitos sang our regular greeting songs and practiced counting how many children were there. We have eleven bright and happy children. We combined learning the colors in Spanish with a compelling art project involving glueing tiny tee shirts ( camisetas ) of many colors to create art. The children were highly creative and involved. You can practice naming colors with your children at home. Be sure to find their work in their notebooks.

We also played games outside for a quick break and learned the new chant "Me llamo Lucy; como te llamas." We ask and answer all around the circle, keeping the rhythm with snapping and clapping. Ask your child how to do it, and you can include family members, pets, etc.for fun. You may have to play the role of a speaking bird or dog.   It may take several run throughs for them to become fluent in it.

Rocio read a book "Say Hola to Spanish" and showed us a finger play to go with our "Buenos Dias" song. We will continue to practice and add a new activity each week. Last week I gave you sheets that remind you to encourage your child to practice the Spanish they know with you. There is room to add stars or cute stickers to reward their practice outside of class.

Thanks to those who sent photos of their children or their families. Will you be sure to send one that can be used for our activity about our families? Also, if you happen to find autumn leaves on a walk or in your yard, feel free to send some for our class, since we will talk about the season of Fall this next time. Also, does anyone have tongue depressors or popcicle sticks to share with the class?

It is a delight to be together each Wednesday with your little stars. Muchas gracias. We are working on using polite terms such as "Por favor" and "Gracias", which can be useful for manners in English as well as Spanish!

Hasta miercoles, la proxima vez!

Senora Lucy

25 de septiembre, 2013

Hola, Parents,

We had a wonderful first day!  

The children browsed through colorful library books in Spanish and enjoyed our hands-on display of small Hispanic culture objects.  We learned the "Hola" song and the "Buenos Dias Song", which we sang and listened to several times.  We counted the number of children in our group, and we are 12 when every child is present.  The children played "Pato, Pato, Ganzo" outside and "Luz Roja, Luz Verde" during a short fresh-air break. Later, the children colored their first page of their song book, kindly provided by last year's teacher, Cindy.  We sang the "Adios song" before leaving.  I handed out a sheet that reminds parents that daily practice of listening and speaking is a great way to learn a language.  It lists listening to the CD (we don't have copies yet), speaking the Spanish you learned on a certain day, and any other reinforcing activites that can be done with parents.  

What a great group of engaged children!  My assistant Rocio and I truly enjoyed ourselves.  The children were enthusiastic, too.  

Next Wednesday we will talk about colors, review our phrases from last time, learn the "Me llamo" phrases and sing songs related to our topics.  It should be lots of fun. We will honor Fall briefly; it is such a beautiful time of year in our area.  If you have a small photo of your child, we can use one when we talk more about each child’s family.

Gracias y hasta la proxima semana.
Senora Lucy

WELCOME TO LOS CHIQUITOS CLASS

Dear Parents,

I am happy to inform you that Back to School will be on Wednesday September 25, 2013 at 1pm.
Please bring your children to room No 14, opposite of the Library.

Thank you and see you soon!
Valérie