Mini cuento

this link you take you to our you tube channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xEua8ttkxI

I put the script for the story on there so your child can hear and practice good pronunciation.

The story is about a big fish who is very hungry and a little fish who is nervous he will be eaten by the big fish. A cat arrives at the house.  The cat is hungry too.  He eats the big fish.  The little fish says, "Thanks."  In the end though, the cat also eats the little fish.  Poor fish!

Today in class we practiced:

Quiere- he/she wants
Tiene- he/she has
Tiene hambre - she/he is hungry
Tiene mucha hambre- he/she is very hungry
El jueves- on Thursday

We told stories in Spanish and answered questions in Spanish about Elmo and his friends and un oso quien tiene mucha hambre.  El oso quiere comer Elmo, Big Bird y Snuffaluffagus.  Al fin, el oso come Cookie Monster!  Pobre Cookie Monster!

Hasta el lunes, amigos!

Greetings song you tube link

http://youtu.be/xAo5jUuko0o

This above link should take you to the greeting song we are using in class.

Feel free to let you child listen to it in the car, at breakfast, or whenever you have 3 minutes to spare.

Buenas Noches 🌅 🌛

You tube links for conversation

Many of our actions/responses that we learn along with the Spanish word/phrase are inspired by American Sign Language.

Our latest song to learn basic conversation uses these asl signs:
Hello- hola
Goodbye- adiós
How are you?- ¿Cómo estás?/¿Qué tal?
Fine, thank you - bien, gracias
Nice to meet you- mucho gusto
Good morning- buenos días
Good afternoon- buenas tardes
Good evening- buenas noches
What's up - ¿Qué pasa?

Here should be some links that show the actions:
 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1z0wuq2cLAA

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3x9pPcMbDBY&sns=fb

http://youtu.be/S40fTlJY0PQ

November newsletter

Spanish alphabet song (military style) by Barbara MacAurthur

This is the alphabet song we will be adding to our class warm up.  Spanish is phonetic language so practicing the sounds these letters make directly impacts pronunciation.  It is possible to pronounce just about any word in Spanish once you know you Spanish sounds since Spanish words are "rule followers," not like all of our rebel "rule-breakers" in English!

We had such a great first class together!  We sang days of the week, months of the year and answered calendar questions.  We had a fun round of the "grabbit" game where students sit in a circle with an item in front of them.  The person in the middle has to try to grab the item called out before the person with the item calls out a different one.  We reviewed vocabulary using our Spanish and our actions.  We played a game of matamoscas - where students circled words on a game board competing against a partner.  We ended class with a game of Que Problema!

Reminder: try to bring in a magazine or picture or print out of a feeling face - excited, happy, sad, tired, bored, sick, furious, mad, confused, proud... We are going to use these to make posters and for conversation starters.

Hasta el lunes,

Sra. K.

How is it May already?

Good grief!  This time has gone by muy rapido!  Que problema!  The students are gaining confidence and fluency as we have been really focusing on our core curriculum.  By repeating the vocabulary in various stories both read and acted out, students hear the target language and respond in fun and memorable stories.

In order to encourage accuracy, I encourage students to use the Spanish they know.  The foundation will allow us to expand as our learning adventure continues.

To wrap up the year, students will use the Spanish they have learned to create, edit and share their own mini cuento (story).  As we do this, I will address any unknown grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation in the context of what the students are using specific to their story.  This allows students to both cement what they know and challenge them to learn more formal Spanish structures in a meaningful context.  It also allows some flexibility to account for the various abilities and backgrounds in our great group of estudiantes.

The last class students will have the opportunity to share their stories as narrators and/or actors.  You are invited to be their supportive and proud audience.

OPEN HOUSE

The Spanish Stars Open House is in 7 days!  The curriculum has arrived.  Anyone who has been a teacher knows that when new curriculum arrives, it is like Christmas.  It is shiny and new... waiting, calling to us to come and explore.  There are promises of excitement and visions of children learning with delight dance in my head.  There is planning to do (and well- probably some cleaning too)!  Being a busy working parent of a nine month old and twin elementary school girls who are scheduled in a variety of activities doesn't leave much time left at the end of a day.  I hope you will excuse my less than perfectly clean house and join us as we jump into Spanish like you may have never experienced it.  TPRS (Total Physical Response Storytelling) is active - it is fun - children will be learning, listening, telling stories, making up their own stories, acting out and even writing in Spanish.  Let's keep that our secret though... it is so natural and inevitable that the students don't even realize they are actually communicating and even creating in Spanish.   It is the kind of memorable, personal learning us teachers and parents dream about... so thanks in advance for helping me make my dreams come true to teach again this fun and exciting program.

 

An invitation to learning... An invitation to fun and new friends

I am so excited to begin teaching this program again.  Learning a language has so many benefits for your child and for my children.  It also gives children an opportunity in their future to build relationships and understanding with other people and cultures they might not have otherwise. It opens doors.  So in that spirit, I open my door to you, my home and my family that we start this journey together - a journey of learning, fun and new friends.