Hola padres! Wanted to let you know that this will be my last post of the year! It is so hard to imagine that school is ending next week. It has been such a joy working with your children this year. Although at the beginning there was some shifting in terms of teachers, the scholars have been very accommodating in terms of who was leading them and I so appreciate their flexibility.
In PE this week, we have continued with games of ships across the ocean and today am giving them some free time with the jump ropes and hula hoops. I know the scholars are anxious for the school year to be over, so some free time to burn off their energy always goes over well this time of year.
For Spanish this week, we reviewed our days of the week and months of the year and the scholars did well! These are some concepts that we learned early on in the year and I was pleased to see that they remembered quite a bit. Next week for our final class we will do more review and possibly some reading of a book or two. I am sorry for the year to end, but excited to continue with this group next year as I will be teaching K-3 Spanish. Thank you for all of your support and help this year. May you all have wonderful and safe summers!
Sinceramente,
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Bingo, a puzzle and PE on the back field
Hola padres! This week has been interesting with our adjusted concert practice schedule. I have held some PE out on the back field as it allows more room for them to run and enjoy the games we are playing. Thank you for helping the scholars remember to bring their water bottles.
In Spanish, we have had a few different activities. We have put together a turtle puzzle in one class and in another, we have finished a coloring activity on la casa. We will end Spanish this week with a game of Bingo to help us review.
I also wanted to thank you all for all of your thoughtful notes and gifts this week! Thank you so much for making this week so special and enjoyable for all of us; we truly appreciate it!!!
Sra. Hamilton
In Spanish, we have had a few different activities. We have put together a turtle puzzle in one class and in another, we have finished a coloring activity on la casa. We will end Spanish this week with a game of Bingo to help us review.
I also wanted to thank you all for all of your thoughtful notes and gifts this week! Thank you so much for making this week so special and enjoyable for all of us; we truly appreciate it!!!
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, April 30, 2015
cinco de mayo, soccer and our next two weeks
Hola padres! This week in first grade Spanish we are wrapping up our unit on la casa. Next week my plan is to present a lesson on cinco de mayo and then start in on our review with games and worksheets. Hopefully this will work nicely with the schedule changes due to the concert practices.
In PE, we are continuing with soccer and today we began simple soccer games in class. I know there are varying levels of soccer skill and knowledge in all classes and I am encouraging scholars that we are not playing to win, but to have fun and to learn. Please encourage your scholar to have fun no matter how the game goes as it is simply for practice for everyone in class. I hope they enjoy the games!
Gracias,
Sra. Hamilton
In PE, we are continuing with soccer and today we began simple soccer games in class. I know there are varying levels of soccer skill and knowledge in all classes and I am encouraging scholars that we are not playing to win, but to have fun and to learn. Please encourage your scholar to have fun no matter how the game goes as it is simply for practice for everyone in class. I hope they enjoy the games!
Gracias,
Sra. Hamilton
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
our first quiz, la casa and next month
Hola padres! We had our first quiz this week and the scholars did well! They are always so nervous and don't realize how much they actually know. Hopefully, this quiz will show them that they actually DO know quite a bit of Spanish. I am so proud of them. I don't have them any more this week for Spanish, so next week we will start our new unit on la casa. In May, we will do a lesson on cinco de mayo which I am hoping they will remember mostly from last year, but I know that review is always good. After that, we will mostly review with games and other fun activities. I am hoping it will be a good way to end our year together. I have so enjoyed them and hope they have too.
Sra. Hamilton
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, April 16, 2015
our first quiz, lots of PE this week, soccer and Paraguay!
Hola padres! It has been an interesting week as we have adjusted to the testing schedule. We have mostly had PE out on the back field and I have introduced the scholars to a new game called Barnyard which is a tag game that had the scholars running laps whenever they got tagged. It is perfect for the back field and really allowed the scholars to stretch their legs and get their energy out. I hoped it helped keep the scholars settled in class.
Tomorrow in Spanish we will be having a final review of our familia vocabulary and then on Tuesday we will have our first quiz. I have assured the scholars that they don't need to worry. I will give them a word bank to choose from and part of our review will be writing the words so they will have practice doing that. They are well equipped for the quiz and should do just fine. There is no need for extra study outside of class.
Next week in PE we will begin a 2 week soccer unit. This will be a very basic introduction focusing on dribbling and passing.
Thankfully on Wednesday we had our regular schedule and I was able to start our study of Paraguay which is so exciting because it has a special connection to Arizona. This is the article I have read to the scholars:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/kids-in-paraguay-make-music-out-of-trash/2013/02/15/c57390b2-486b-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html
I also showed them a video that allowed them to hear the music these children play and taught them what the orchestra means to the community.
If you get a chance, I highly recommend visiting the Musical Instrument Museum in Mesa which has a display on the landfill orchestra from Paraguay. The museum itself is unique to Arizona and the one of the only of its kind. We are so lucky to have it so close by.
Once we are done with our familia quiz on Tuesday, we will start our last unit of the year on la casa. Most of May will be spent on review as our schedule again changes due to concert practices. I hope to solidify the vocabulary we have learned over the year and end the year on a fun note.
Sra. Hamilton
Tomorrow in Spanish we will be having a final review of our familia vocabulary and then on Tuesday we will have our first quiz. I have assured the scholars that they don't need to worry. I will give them a word bank to choose from and part of our review will be writing the words so they will have practice doing that. They are well equipped for the quiz and should do just fine. There is no need for extra study outside of class.
Next week in PE we will begin a 2 week soccer unit. This will be a very basic introduction focusing on dribbling and passing.
Thankfully on Wednesday we had our regular schedule and I was able to start our study of Paraguay which is so exciting because it has a special connection to Arizona. This is the article I have read to the scholars:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/kids-in-paraguay-make-music-out-of-trash/2013/02/15/c57390b2-486b-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html
I also showed them a video that allowed them to hear the music these children play and taught them what the orchestra means to the community.
If you get a chance, I highly recommend visiting the Musical Instrument Museum in Mesa which has a display on the landfill orchestra from Paraguay. The museum itself is unique to Arizona and the one of the only of its kind. We are so lucky to have it so close by.
Once we are done with our familia quiz on Tuesday, we will start our last unit of the year on la casa. Most of May will be spent on review as our schedule again changes due to concert practices. I hope to solidify the vocabulary we have learned over the year and end the year on a fun note.
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, April 9, 2015
review, field day and more review
Hola padres! What a fun, fun day we had yesterday! Thank you to all who helped out; I couldn't have done it without you! I think the scholars enjoyed it and we were so lucky to have such great weather.
This week Spanish has been on the lighter side since my mail focus was the planning and execution of field day. We have read some books and played some review games. As far as I can tell, the kinder-1st specials schedule will consist mostly of PE for me as our schedule changes to allow the best environment for testing. Please be sure to send your scholars with their water bottles as we will be out on the back field and it will be warm and there really is no shade. I cannot allow them into the building for water or to use the bathroom due to testing, so I will make sure they do all that before coming out to the back field. Thanks for your understanding and support! I appreciate all of your help!
Sincerely,
Sra. Hamilton
This week Spanish has been on the lighter side since my mail focus was the planning and execution of field day. We have read some books and played some review games. As far as I can tell, the kinder-1st specials schedule will consist mostly of PE for me as our schedule changes to allow the best environment for testing. Please be sure to send your scholars with their water bottles as we will be out on the back field and it will be warm and there really is no shade. I cannot allow them into the building for water or to use the bathroom due to testing, so I will make sure they do all that before coming out to the back field. Thanks for your understanding and support! I appreciate all of your help!
Sincerely,
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, April 2, 2015
field day, field day and more field day!
Hola padres! I feel like we haven't done much Spanish this week as I have been gearing all my energies towards field day, making sure everything is ready and that the scholars themselves are ready! I could still use some volunteers on that day. So far I have just enough and I always like to have a few extra hands on deck for unexpected things that come up. So if you could spare the time or an extra pop up tent, I would appreciate it! Thank you! Here is the link:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0949afa62fa31-k1field1
The next few weeks will be a little discombobulated with 2-4 field day and also AZMerit testing, so I will do my best to keep us moving forward with Spanish as much as the schedule allows. We'll see how it goes! Have a wonderfully long weekend and I look forward to next week!
Sra. Hamilton
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0949afa62fa31-k1field1
The next few weeks will be a little discombobulated with 2-4 field day and also AZMerit testing, so I will do my best to keep us moving forward with Spanish as much as the schedule allows. We'll see how it goes! Have a wonderfully long weekend and I look forward to next week!
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, March 26, 2015
field day, scooters, "i have...who has" and our next units
Hola padres! Field day is approaching! I have my games picked out, my teams together and the sign up genius for volunteers and supplies should be up early next week. The date is Wednesday, April 8th from 8-11. If you can help in any way, it would be greatly appreciated. This is always one of the days the scholars enjoy most and I am so excited to have it on the calendar. Be on the lookout for more information next week.
In order to prepare for field day, in PE we have been playing some of the games that we haven't tried yet that will be part of field day. There is a hula hoop game that I introduced and we also began scooters on the basketball court. Hopefully, most classes will be familiar with all games come game day.
In Spanish, we have continued working on vocabulary for the game "I have...who has". I am so amazed at how much the scholars remembered over the break! We have had a lot of fun reviewing the words with actions and with some practice, I hope that they will become profficient at the game in the next few classes. Our next unit will be la casa where we will learn about our homes and what makes them special. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!
Sra. Hamilton
In order to prepare for field day, in PE we have been playing some of the games that we haven't tried yet that will be part of field day. There is a hula hoop game that I introduced and we also began scooters on the basketball court. Hopefully, most classes will be familiar with all games come game day.
In Spanish, we have continued working on vocabulary for the game "I have...who has". I am so amazed at how much the scholars remembered over the break! We have had a lot of fun reviewing the words with actions and with some practice, I hope that they will become profficient at the game in the next few classes. Our next unit will be la casa where we will learn about our homes and what makes them special. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, March 12, 2015
JRFH and i have..who has
What an exciting morning with the jump rope contest! I am so proud of all of the scholars for their perseverance and willingness to work hard to learn a skill that can be challening. They so enjoy this unit and I love the comradery it brings to the K-1 grades. Congratulations to Levi Coleman and Angel Esparza as the top two jumpers. They did such a great job!
As a reminder JRFH donation packets are due today. I will do my best to get the scholars all of their prizes today and tomorrow, but if I don't I will pass them all out when we return from break.
This week we began learning a new game in Spanish whose title translates to "I have...who has?" In this game, each scholar has a card which reads, "I have (word in Spanish) who has (word in English)?" The scholars then have to translate the word given in order to find out if they have that card. I have taught first grade most of the vocabulary for this game to be played but there are still more words they need to learn so we have been working on learning that new vocabulary. Hopefully, they won't forget it all over break, but we will see....
All for now, I hope you all have a wonderful break!
Sra. Hamilton
As a reminder JRFH donation packets are due today. I will do my best to get the scholars all of their prizes today and tomorrow, but if I don't I will pass them all out when we return from break.
This week we began learning a new game in Spanish whose title translates to "I have...who has?" In this game, each scholar has a card which reads, "I have (word in Spanish) who has (word in English)?" The scholars then have to translate the word given in order to find out if they have that card. I have taught first grade most of the vocabulary for this game to be played but there are still more words they need to learn so we have been working on learning that new vocabulary. Hopefully, they won't forget it all over break, but we will see....
All for now, I hope you all have a wonderful break!
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, March 5, 2015
la familia and Uruguay
Hola padres! The scholars and I have been enjoying this week as we have been learning the different words in Spanish for family members as well as how to describe and talk about them. There is quite a bit to cover, so the unit will most likely continue after Spring Break. We will cover what we can before then.
As for our country study this month, we are learning about Uruguay, the second smallest country in South America. We have also discussed the remaining countries in the continent and discussed what our study would be of them depending on weather or not Spanish is their official language.
All for now,
Sra. Hamilton
As for our country study this month, we are learning about Uruguay, the second smallest country in South America. We have also discussed the remaining countries in the continent and discussed what our study would be of them depending on weather or not Spanish is their official language.
All for now,
Sra. Hamilton
JRFH, Uruguay, and continuing with la familia
Hola padres! Our Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser is off to a great start! Thank you to all who have donated. Please remember, donating is not mandatory in any way. However, all will participate in their classroom competition for Jump Rope for Heart as it is part of PE class. We have been having mock competitions in class all week so that all scholars are aware of how their class compeitions will go. Each class willl have their own compeition next week during their PE class. As a reminder, all scholars must jump like a boxer with no hopping in between or time jumping. Again, here is the schedule:
Parents are welcome to come watch as their scholar competes in either their class or the K-1 competition. You do not need to be fingerprinted, but please check in at the office prior to when your scholar's class competes.
The K-1 competition will take place on Thursday, March 12th at 8:45 on the basketball court.
This is always a fun and exciting time for the scholars as they compete to be top jumper of their class, but it can also be a disappointing time when they don't do as well as they had hoped. We have talked about how to handle each situation and about cheering for one another. Hopefully, everyone will enjoy themselves. Thank you for your help in this.
In Spanish, we had the opportunity to finish our book on Frida Kahlo this week which the scholars thoroughly enjoyed. I was so glad to be able to share with them about her life and art.
This week we also began our study on Uruguay which is the second smallest country in South America. We talked about the rest of South America and what countries we would be looking at and which we wouldn't depending on what each country's official language is. What a fascinating journey we have been on as we've travelled through this continent.
Lastly, we have continue our unit of la familia with an "arbol de familia" or a family tree. Those should come home with your scholar tomorrow. Next week, I hope to play a fun game of "I have, who has?" with them, but completely in Spanish. I am looking forward to teaching them a new skill set of listening and following along with what is being said in Spanish! Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Sra. Hamilton
Monday, March 9th:
Ms. Borden 8:05
Mrs. Cox 8:35
Mrs. Baird 1:50
Mrs. LaVant 2:20
Tuesday, March 10th:
Tuesday, March 10th:
Mrs. Dusard 8:05
Wednesday, March 11th:
Mrs. Mason 8:05Wednesday, March 11th:
Kinder parents, your PE showcase for 3rd quarter will be held during your class's jump rope competition. You will be receiving additional information from your classroom parents on the details of the curriculum showcase.
Parents are welcome to come watch as their scholar competes in either their class or the K-1 competition. You do not need to be fingerprinted, but please check in at the office prior to when your scholar's class competes.
The K-1 competition will take place on Thursday, March 12th at 8:45 on the basketball court.
This is always a fun and exciting time for the scholars as they compete to be top jumper of their class, but it can also be a disappointing time when they don't do as well as they had hoped. We have talked about how to handle each situation and about cheering for one another. Hopefully, everyone will enjoy themselves. Thank you for your help in this.
In Spanish, we had the opportunity to finish our book on Frida Kahlo this week which the scholars thoroughly enjoyed. I was so glad to be able to share with them about her life and art.
This week we also began our study on Uruguay which is the second smallest country in South America. We talked about the rest of South America and what countries we would be looking at and which we wouldn't depending on what each country's official language is. What a fascinating journey we have been on as we've travelled through this continent.
Lastly, we have continue our unit of la familia with an "arbol de familia" or a family tree. Those should come home with your scholar tomorrow. Next week, I hope to play a fun game of "I have, who has?" with them, but completely in Spanish. I am looking forward to teaching them a new skill set of listening and following along with what is being said in Spanish! Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, February 26, 2015
a new movie recommendation, JRFH details y la familia
Hola padres! This week in first grade we began a project called "el arbol de familia" or a family tree. I gave each scholar paper dolls to represent each member of their family. They are coloring them and pasting them on a piece of construction paper and we will finish the project by labeling each family member in Spanish. We will finish these projects up early next week.
Our Jump Rope for Heart unit has started! Thank you to all who have turned in donations! The scholars are doing a great job perservering in learning how to jump and we are working on jumping from one foot to another, criss crosing with our arms and legs, jumping backwards, and some are even jumping with their eyes closed! Just a few details yet to fill you in on. At the contest, both the class competition and the K-1 competition, all scholars must jump like a boxer with no hops in between and both feet at the same time. There is no time jumping. I have mentioned this in class and have shown them also what I meant. I will begin passing our prizes next week on Wednesday, March 4th. There is no need to sign the permission slip that came with the donation envelope as the class competition is just part of the normal PE class. As the classes become more proficient with jumping, we will just use jumping rope as our warm up and then add on a different activity to finish class out with. Again, please email me if you have any questions.
This last weekend, my husband took our kids to see a movie called "McFarland USA" starring Kevin Costner and said it would be a great movie to recommend to my classes, although it may be more appropriate for the older scholars. It is an underdog story about children of migrant workers who win state championships in cross country despite many odds stacked against them. Again, I haven't seen this movie myself, but I love sport movies and feel that this movie might give some of my students insight in to the Hispanic culture and what its like to grow up without the priviledges and comfort that we often take for granted. Let me know what you think if you see it!
Gracias,
Sra. Hamilton
Our Jump Rope for Heart unit has started! Thank you to all who have turned in donations! The scholars are doing a great job perservering in learning how to jump and we are working on jumping from one foot to another, criss crosing with our arms and legs, jumping backwards, and some are even jumping with their eyes closed! Just a few details yet to fill you in on. At the contest, both the class competition and the K-1 competition, all scholars must jump like a boxer with no hops in between and both feet at the same time. There is no time jumping. I have mentioned this in class and have shown them also what I meant. I will begin passing our prizes next week on Wednesday, March 4th. There is no need to sign the permission slip that came with the donation envelope as the class competition is just part of the normal PE class. As the classes become more proficient with jumping, we will just use jumping rope as our warm up and then add on a different activity to finish class out with. Again, please email me if you have any questions.
This last weekend, my husband took our kids to see a movie called "McFarland USA" starring Kevin Costner and said it would be a great movie to recommend to my classes, although it may be more appropriate for the older scholars. It is an underdog story about children of migrant workers who win state championships in cross country despite many odds stacked against them. Again, I haven't seen this movie myself, but I love sport movies and feel that this movie might give some of my students insight in to the Hispanic culture and what its like to grow up without the priviledges and comfort that we often take for granted. Let me know what you think if you see it!
Gracias,
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Jump Rope for Heart, la familia, wrapping up basketball and stickers
Hola padres! in PE this week, we have continued our unit on basketball by moving from dribbling onto passing. This will be about as far as we go as next week, begins our jump rope unit in honor of our Jump Rope for Heart even that will be held on Thursday, March 12th. Following is the information from the flyer that will go home with your scholars on Monday:
I hope this answers any questions you might have.
In terms of Spanish starting tomorrow, we will begin our unit on family, leaving behind clothing. The scholars and I have had a lot of fun so far with clothing and hope that they family unit will prove as exciting.
Wanted also to let you know that I have been using reward stickers in Spanish just as an added incentive for the scholars in this latter part of the year. It is always nice to introduce something new to continue to keep their excitement up and their perserverance going.
February 23, 2015
Hola padres! It is time again for our Jump Rope for Heart event! Fundraising begins today and attached is the donation envelope. This envelope will give you most of the information you need in terms of monetary donations and prizes that go along with it.
For those of you who are new to the Jump Rope for Heart competition, let me fill you in. Over the next two weeks in PE, scholars will be mastering the art of jumping rope. After two weeks of practice, each class will have a competition during PE Monday March 9th- Wednesday March 11th to determine which boy and girl can jump the longest. The boy and girl from each class who jumps the longest will participate in a final jump off on Thursday March 12th at 8:45. The schedule for the class competitions is as follows:
Monday, March 9th:
Ms. Borden 8:05
Mrs. Cox 8:35
Mrs. Baird 1:50
Mrs. LaVant 2:20
Tuesday, March 10th:
Tuesday, March 10th:
Mrs. Dusard 8:05
Wednesday, March 11th:
Wednesday, March 11th:
Mrs. Mason 8:05
Kinder parents, your PE showcase for 3rd quarter will be held during your class's jump rope competition. You will be receiving additional information from your classroom parents on the details of the curriculum showcase.
Kinder parents, your PE showcase for 3rd quarter will be held during your class's jump rope competition. You will be receiving additional information from your classroom parents on the details of the curriculum showcase.
Parents are welcome to come watch as their scholar competes in either their class or the K-1 competition. You do not need to be fingerprinted, but please check in at the office prior to when your scholar's class competes.
Scholars are given the opportunity to raise funds for the American Heart Association and earn prizes. This is in no way mandatory and is not required at all for their grade. Please refer to the envelope for prize details and be aware that some prizes are for online donations, some prizes the scholars will receive right away and still other prizes will need to be ordered. Prizes will be distributed on Wednesdays and Fridays beginning Wednesday March 4th. The last day to turn in donation envelopes for prizes is Thursday March 12th. Please turn envelopes into the office.
Please let me know if you have any questions. All of this information can be found on my blog at: http://k-1triviumspanish.blogspot.com or you can email me at ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org
Thank you!
Sra. Hamilton I hope this answers any questions you might have.
In terms of Spanish starting tomorrow, we will begin our unit on family, leaving behind clothing. The scholars and I have had a lot of fun so far with clothing and hope that they family unit will prove as exciting.
Wanted also to let you know that I have been using reward stickers in Spanish just as an added incentive for the scholars in this latter part of the year. It is always nice to introduce something new to continue to keep their excitement up and their perserverance going.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
la ropa and basketball
Hola padres! I have had a fun week with the scholars starting out on our basketball skills. I know many of them already know how to play but others never have before so I rely on those that do know to help me help those who are new to the game. This week we have been working on our dribbling skills and next week we will move to passing.
In Spanish, we have continued working on our clothing vocabulary in different ways. Earlier this week, we did a hidden picture activity where the scholars worked on finding clothing that was hidden in a forest and tomorrow we will watch a short clothing video and fill in a worksheet that goes along with it. It is nice for them to have this vocabulary "under their belt" =) so that now we can do our uniform checks at the end of PE in Spanish. I love being able to apply this all in such a real way.
Thanks and have a great long restful weekend!
Sra. Hamilton
In Spanish, we have continued working on our clothing vocabulary in different ways. Earlier this week, we did a hidden picture activity where the scholars worked on finding clothing that was hidden in a forest and tomorrow we will watch a short clothing video and fill in a worksheet that goes along with it. It is nice for them to have this vocabulary "under their belt" =) so that now we can do our uniform checks at the end of PE in Spanish. I love being able to apply this all in such a real way.
Thanks and have a great long restful weekend!
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, February 5, 2015
basketball unit, la ropa y Argentina
Happy jueves, padres! This has been a fun week of games in PE. We tried some relay races and did some dead ant tag and brought back an oldie, but a goodies from last year in Everybody's It!!! What fun to watch the scholars practice thier honesty and integrity as they run around tagging, rock, paper, scissoring and watching. You will have to ask them what I am talking about!
Next week in PE I plan on starting a two week unit on basketball. What I will mainly focus on is dribbling and passing which are the very basics of the game and what they will need to know as they move on from 1st grade PE. This is always fun to do with them and I am hoping we all learn a great deal.
In Spanish, we have moved on to our unit on clothing. We practiced by drawing clothes on a boy and girl earlier this week and will play a fun memory game tomorrow in order to practice our vocabulary. I have some new games I want to try with first grade and I am hoping to do that next week.
We also began our study this week of Argentina and I was able to play "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from the musical "Evita" for Ms. LaVant's class. It is such a great song and it was fun sharing with the scholars about Eva Peron and how much she was loved by her country as a leader. Please ask them what else they may have learned in class about the second largest country in South America!
Please let me know if you have any questions and have a good rest of the week!
Sra. Hamilton
Next week in PE I plan on starting a two week unit on basketball. What I will mainly focus on is dribbling and passing which are the very basics of the game and what they will need to know as they move on from 1st grade PE. This is always fun to do with them and I am hoping we all learn a great deal.
In Spanish, we have moved on to our unit on clothing. We practiced by drawing clothes on a boy and girl earlier this week and will play a fun memory game tomorrow in order to practice our vocabulary. I have some new games I want to try with first grade and I am hoping to do that next week.
We also began our study this week of Argentina and I was able to play "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from the musical "Evita" for Ms. LaVant's class. It is such a great song and it was fun sharing with the scholars about Eva Peron and how much she was loved by her country as a leader. Please ask them what else they may have learned in class about the second largest country in South America!
Please let me know if you have any questions and have a good rest of the week!
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, January 29, 2015
meals and our new unit for next week
Hola padres! There isn't a whole lot to fill you in on this week as with the half day on Friday, first grade only had Spanish today on Tuesday. We did a worksheet that helped us group the four daily meals together: breakfast, lunch, Spanish and snack. We could go on with food for weeks, but I plan to move on to clothing next week.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
las frutas, jackets and la comida!
Hola padres! We have had fun this week reviewing las frutas and tomorrow I will be introducing la comida or "food". We also spent some time this week reading more about Frida Kahlo and what it was that sparked her interest in painting. The scholars did a wonderful job remembering about her childhood and the mischievious girl that she was. I am excited to continue helping them learn about her.
In PE, we are continuing with dodgeball and will move to a different form of the game next week called knightball. All classes are doing a good job showing sportsmanship and honesty as they work on their throwing skills during the game. One thing I would like to remind all parents is to please send a jacket with your scholar for all Kinder classes and Mrs. Cox's first grade. These classes have PE in the morning and it can be quite chilly at times. I hate to see them without something on to keep them warm, but we will continue to have class outside despite the cold. Please make sure they are warmly dressed which greatly helps their participation.
I want to remind all parents of the app I recommended to some of you during conferences. It is called duolingo and is a great app to get scholars to practice their Spanish or any language for that matter! It is very intuitive and I believe that you can set it up to compete against others. Its a great way to keep their interest.
Sra. Hamilton
In PE, we are continuing with dodgeball and will move to a different form of the game next week called knightball. All classes are doing a good job showing sportsmanship and honesty as they work on their throwing skills during the game. One thing I would like to remind all parents is to please send a jacket with your scholar for all Kinder classes and Mrs. Cox's first grade. These classes have PE in the morning and it can be quite chilly at times. I hate to see them without something on to keep them warm, but we will continue to have class outside despite the cold. Please make sure they are warmly dressed which greatly helps their participation.
I want to remind all parents of the app I recommended to some of you during conferences. It is called duolingo and is a great app to get scholars to practice their Spanish or any language for that matter! It is very intuitive and I believe that you can set it up to compete against others. Its a great way to keep their interest.
Sra. Hamilton
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Chile, las frutas y el mercado and dodgeball!
Hola padres! What an exciting week! We started the week off learning the fruits in Spanish and putting together a little book about fruits at the market. We talked about how people buy and eat fruit differently in Spanish speaking countries than we do here. I hope they share the book with you and are able to tell you about it.
We also started our study on the country of Chile this week. What an interesting country! Its geography and placement in South America really make it unique. It is also called the country of poets and I'm sure your scholar would love to tell you why!
This week in PE we also started our highly anticipated unit on dodgeball. We started early in the week with making sure we knew proper throwing form by stepping with the correct foot as we threw. Today, our dodgeball games began. I hope to emphasize with the scholars that the dodgeballs are soft and they they shouldn't hurt too badly when they get hit as long as its not in the head or face. Emotions run high during this unit, so I am hoping to temper that with lots of discussion on being a good sport and following the rules and being honest and humble. I am hoping they can show me what great scholars of virtue they can be. Already, I have seen displays of good sportsmanship and I am so glad to finally be giving them the unit they have so deperately wanted since the first day of school!
Please stay tuned as our unit of jump rope will soon follow as we look to the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser. I will be posting here when your scholar will jump in their class competition which will decide the top boy and girl who will jump in the K-1 competition on Thursday, March 12th. Class competitions will be held during their normal PE time slot on either Monday or Thursday. The schedule will also be posted in the Friday flash, will be given to your scholars' teacher to be put in their weekly newsletter and I will also leave a schedule with the ladies in the office so that all parents should be fully aware of when theirs scholar is competing for top jumper in their class. If you have any questions, please let me know. Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Sra. Hamilton
We also started our study on the country of Chile this week. What an interesting country! Its geography and placement in South America really make it unique. It is also called the country of poets and I'm sure your scholar would love to tell you why!
This week in PE we also started our highly anticipated unit on dodgeball. We started early in the week with making sure we knew proper throwing form by stepping with the correct foot as we threw. Today, our dodgeball games began. I hope to emphasize with the scholars that the dodgeballs are soft and they they shouldn't hurt too badly when they get hit as long as its not in the head or face. Emotions run high during this unit, so I am hoping to temper that with lots of discussion on being a good sport and following the rules and being honest and humble. I am hoping they can show me what great scholars of virtue they can be. Already, I have seen displays of good sportsmanship and I am so glad to finally be giving them the unit they have so deperately wanted since the first day of school!
Please stay tuned as our unit of jump rope will soon follow as we look to the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser. I will be posting here when your scholar will jump in their class competition which will decide the top boy and girl who will jump in the K-1 competition on Thursday, March 12th. Class competitions will be held during their normal PE time slot on either Monday or Thursday. The schedule will also be posted in the Friday flash, will be given to your scholars' teacher to be put in their weekly newsletter and I will also leave a schedule with the ladies in the office so that all parents should be fully aware of when theirs scholar is competing for top jumper in their class. If you have any questions, please let me know. Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Sra. Hamilton
Friday, January 9, 2015
Welcome back!
Hola padres! It was so nice seeing some of you this week at conferences. Thank you for taking the time to stop by. I know you are all happy to be back into the swing of things with school and I am right there with you. Having a schedule is nice!
Wanted to let you know what we will be working on in the weeks to come. We did another counting lesson today, this time counting army men and counting how many small ones, big ones, yellow ones, blue ones, etc there were. I am hoping that these counting lessons solidify their ability to count higher than twenty. So far we have counted buttons and marbles. After the army men, I'm thinking legos.... =)
I also started reading to them the book "Who was Frida Kahlo?" Frida Kahlo was a very influential Mexican artist who was also a bit controversial. Her paintings could be fairly grotesque due to the immense physical pain she suffered throughout her life. Thankfully, this book does a really good job of presenting Frida Kahlo's influence without getting too much into details that are too much for young minds. I'm so excited to share this exciting personality with them.
Next week we will begin our unit on fruit which is a fun unit to teach. I hope the scholars enjoy it as well!
Sra. Hamilton
Wanted to let you know what we will be working on in the weeks to come. We did another counting lesson today, this time counting army men and counting how many small ones, big ones, yellow ones, blue ones, etc there were. I am hoping that these counting lessons solidify their ability to count higher than twenty. So far we have counted buttons and marbles. After the army men, I'm thinking legos.... =)
I also started reading to them the book "Who was Frida Kahlo?" Frida Kahlo was a very influential Mexican artist who was also a bit controversial. Her paintings could be fairly grotesque due to the immense physical pain she suffered throughout her life. Thankfully, this book does a really good job of presenting Frida Kahlo's influence without getting too much into details that are too much for young minds. I'm so excited to share this exciting personality with them.
Next week we will begin our unit on fruit which is a fun unit to teach. I hope the scholars enjoy it as well!
Sra. Hamilton
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