This week!

Happy Tuesday! I thought this week I would fill you in on what we have been doing in class. I had some great fun working with Ms. Sitzmann's class yesterday having the kids work on their formas by using their crayons to create the shapes on their desks. I was a little worried that they might color on the desks since they didn't have any paper out, but they did a great job, eagerly forming their shapes and really using their problem solving skills to be able to shape un rectangulo as opposed to un cuadro. I was so proud of them.
In Mrs. Kelly's class today, we began working on months of the year. We practiced the names of each month first, then I had each child tell me their birthday and I put their names on a month chart. Each month was in the shape of a balloon and along with repeating the month in Spanish, I had them tell me what color that particular balloon was and they really enjoyed that and did well. We also counted all the balloons on the chart. In closing, we learned a month song complete with a hand rhythm that some of them had some difficulty learning, but I assured them that we would be practicing it lots in the future and that they would surely catch on.
As for activities this week, I wanted to let you know that in October, we will be talking about The Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos. I know that some images from this yearly celebration can be a little scary for little ones, but I want to make sure to highlight it as it is such a great part of the Hispanic culture. To read more about it, you can click here: http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html It is my hope to get to one of the celebrations with my family that will be held here in the valley. At the very least I would like to get to a panaderia or bakery that sells some of the goodies that make this time of year come alive. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. We have various children's books here at the school that will help me illustrate this topic, so I am hoping to give the kids an idea of the celebration of life that goes on at this time. I am so excited that fall has finally arrived!
Sra. Hamilton