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