Hola padres! I am so excited to report that the kids are solidly learning their Spanish survival phrases. It is so amazing to see them asking to go to the bathroom in Spanish with very little prompting or help from me or their classmates. They are doing an amazing job!
We continued with opposites this week. The scholars learned "arriba, abajo, izquierda, derecha, lleno y vacio." We had fun practicing each one with body movements that I hope will help solidify the meanings in their heads. It was so fun when one student from each class recognized that "arriba" is also the name of a nearby restaurant. Their sharp little minds are always working!
The next few classes will find us working on a few commands as well as having the children learning how to provide information about what they see, do and want. We'll see how this goes! Have a wonderful weekend!
Adios,
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Opposites and Read Conmigo
Hola padres! This week we concentrated on reviewing and solidifying our Spanish survival phrases. The kids are really catching on and I am excited to see them come alive with their pronunciation. We will continue to practice these phrases for a few minutes at the start of each class.
We also began our study of opposites. This week we learned "big" and "little" or "grande" y "chiquito". I read a book aloud to the kids that talked about this concept and had them each tell me something that was either "grande" o "chiquito" in order to be excused to their seat. We will continue with other opposites in the weeks to come.
I also wanted to let you know about a neat bilingual book program that I have become a part of. It is called Read Conmigo (Read with me) and information can be found at www.readconmigo.org This is a program that provides free bilingual children's books to families that are interested. All you need to do is sign up. The books are fairly lengthy so they might be a little long for Kindergarteners, but they are a neat place to start. If you sign up, let me know what you think. Have a wonderful weekend!
Adios,
Sra. Hamilton
We also began our study of opposites. This week we learned "big" and "little" or "grande" y "chiquito". I read a book aloud to the kids that talked about this concept and had them each tell me something that was either "grande" o "chiquito" in order to be excused to their seat. We will continue with other opposites in the weeks to come.
I also wanted to let you know about a neat bilingual book program that I have become a part of. It is called Read Conmigo (Read with me) and information can be found at www.readconmigo.org This is a program that provides free bilingual children's books to families that are interested. All you need to do is sign up. The books are fairly lengthy so they might be a little long for Kindergarteners, but they are a neat place to start. If you sign up, let me know what you think. Have a wonderful weekend!
Adios,
Sra. Hamilton
Friday, January 18, 2013
Review and Spanish Survival Expressions
Hola padres! Happy New Year! It is so good to be back! I hope you all had a restful break and an exciting time with those cute Kinder projects. It was so wonderful to see the children's faces last Friday and feel their excitement as they came in with all the hard work they had done. What a great way to start the semester!
I was very sorry to be gone two days this week, but I had three children of my own at home with fevers as the flu bug attacked our household in full force. Thankfully, we are all on the mend and I was able to be back on Wednesday. I concentrated this week on some review of colors and la naturaleza or nature with a fun game of Bingo.
The most exciting part of the week was the introduction of the Spanish Survival Expressions that will help us step up our game in Kinder Spanish this semester. I have chosen five short phrases that I am hoping the children can master to communicate with in Spanish class. These phrases include, "may I use the bathroom?", "more slowly please", "I have a question", "I don't understand" and "please repeat". I have laminated cards with pictures that match each of these phrases and the written phrase is on the back. At the beginning of class, I put these cards up on the board with magnets. When the children want to express their requests during class, they can raise their hand and use the phrase in Spanish or they can come up to the board, point to the appropriate card and receive help from myself or their classmates to let me know what they need. I am hoping this will serve two purposes: one, that they may begin to speak in Spanish themselves in class and two, that this will limit their trips to the bathroom since in order to use the bathroom, they will have to use the phrase in Spanish "?puedo ir al bano por favor?". Since Spanish is only thirty minutes long every other day, it would be great for them to use that time to their greatest advantage as much as possible. So far, there are a handful of kids who have mastered the phrase and I am so excited! I am hoping this will excite their classmates to follow suit. By the end of the semester, I hope they all will be able to ask to use the bathroom without any assistance. We will surely put lots of practice in and urge each other on.
Again, it is great to be back and I look forward to teaching your children Spanish!
Sra. Hamilton
I was very sorry to be gone two days this week, but I had three children of my own at home with fevers as the flu bug attacked our household in full force. Thankfully, we are all on the mend and I was able to be back on Wednesday. I concentrated this week on some review of colors and la naturaleza or nature with a fun game of Bingo.
The most exciting part of the week was the introduction of the Spanish Survival Expressions that will help us step up our game in Kinder Spanish this semester. I have chosen five short phrases that I am hoping the children can master to communicate with in Spanish class. These phrases include, "may I use the bathroom?", "more slowly please", "I have a question", "I don't understand" and "please repeat". I have laminated cards with pictures that match each of these phrases and the written phrase is on the back. At the beginning of class, I put these cards up on the board with magnets. When the children want to express their requests during class, they can raise their hand and use the phrase in Spanish or they can come up to the board, point to the appropriate card and receive help from myself or their classmates to let me know what they need. I am hoping this will serve two purposes: one, that they may begin to speak in Spanish themselves in class and two, that this will limit their trips to the bathroom since in order to use the bathroom, they will have to use the phrase in Spanish "?puedo ir al bano por favor?". Since Spanish is only thirty minutes long every other day, it would be great for them to use that time to their greatest advantage as much as possible. So far, there are a handful of kids who have mastered the phrase and I am so excited! I am hoping this will excite their classmates to follow suit. By the end of the semester, I hope they all will be able to ask to use the bathroom without any assistance. We will surely put lots of practice in and urge each other on.
Again, it is great to be back and I look forward to teaching your children Spanish!
Sra. Hamilton
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