Escucha, teléfono y orejas grandes

      Happy Friday, padres! We have had a fun week of learning a new command, "escucha" or "oye" which means "listen". We started by reading a book entitled Oye al desierto which had us listening to the different sounds in the desert. 
     We then played a fun game of teléfono or telephone which had us trying very hard to escucha to see if we could get the phrase right all the way around the circle. Sometimes we succeeded and sometimes we didn't, but it was fun nonetheless. 
     Lastly, I had the kids do a fun activity that would help them escuchar. We made big ears that were stapled to pipe cleaner that they could wear over their heads to help them to better escuchar. It was a  fun craft that really solidified the command for them. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. 

Thank you again for sharing your child with me. They always make me laugh and keep me smiling. Have a wonderful weekend!

Sra. Hamilton

Salta, ranita, salta!

Hola padres! What a fun week in Kinder Spanish! Your children learned the command, "salta" which means "jump". In order to reinforce this, we made little frogs that jump. I reminded the children that they way they make the frog jump was to say, "salta, ranita, salta!" They had such fun with this and really grasped the concept. I am so excited that they learn so quickly. 

I am also very pleased to report that the children are doing an incredible job of asking to use the bathroom in Spanish. Mostly all of them remember to ask in Spanish and those that need a bit of a reminder get lots of help from their classmates. I have even been told that they ask to use the bathroom in Spanish even when they are not in Spanish class. This is so wonderful! Anytime they practice helps them greatly. 

This is all I have for now. I hope you all have a wonderfully long weekend and I look forward to teaching more commands next week! 

Adios, 
Sra. Hamilton

LA CASA

Hola padres! Wow, what a week! Your children and I have been busy learning about the parts of the house. I have an adorable little coloring book that we have been working on diligently that shows us the different parts of the house: la puerta, el techo, la pared, la ventana, el piso, la chiminea, las escaleras, etc. Unfortunately, the book has taken us a little longer to complete than I had anticipated, so I have collected them all and we will finish them at a later date when we are in need of a quick review. 

In the next week or so, we will be focusing on some simple commands as well as having the children learn how to express the feeling of being hungry and providing information about what they see and what they are able to do. I look forward to helping them learn these concepts. 

I also wanted to share with you about a way I have tried to make Spanish more real to my children. I'm sure you have all heard of the programs that allow you to sponsor children across the world that are in need of basic needs as well as an education. Through Compassion International my family and I sponsor a little boy in Ecuador. I made sure that the child we were given lived in Central or South America so that we would be able to write to the child in Spanish. I have been able to share with my children a little about where he lives as well as the fact that he speaks the same language we do. The letters we write to him are in Spanish and the kids have expressed an interest in visiting him one day. I'm not sure if that will ever happen but I am glad that they are learning and growing with a small boy who lives far away but who shares a common language with them. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I look forward seeing your children next week! 

Adios,
Sra. Hamilton