Well, this week has certainly lacked in consistency with picture day on Monday, early release Wednesday and half day Friday! I have taught all sorts of lessons at random times and was even able to spend some time with the second graders working on some Spanish from last year. I have not introduced any new concepts in Spanish this week and have instead focused on reviewing basic color and number concepts. These are always good to review and I want to make sure the scholars know this vocabulary well. I am wrapping up our study on Venezuela today and will introduce the county of Ecuador next week.
Kinder Spanish began their study of the letter "B" this week and as we reviewed colors earlier this week, I was so pleased when a couple of the scholars noticed that some of the colors began with the letter "A" that we had studied the week before! These connections are so exciting for them to discover and make me so happy. While talking about these letters and also learning how to write the colors out in Spanish, we spend a lot of time talking about how letters in Spanish are different or the same from letters in English. We talk about how in Spanish, the letter "h" is always silent, how the "ll" makes a "y" sound and how the letter "j" makes and "h" sound. I think these are important concepts for them to be aware of and they will become more concrete for them as the year goes on. It is so exciting for them to see the "ll" in "amarillo" and know that it makes a "y" sound.
We have played all sorts of fun cooperation games in PE this week: link tag, chinese tag, and a game called "gato y raton" with the parachute. Next week we will begin our unit with the hula hoops and also do body part tag as we start our body part unit in Spanish. I am so blessed to be able to meld these two subjects together in the hopes of giving the scholars a better understanding of the Spanish language.
On a precautionary note, I have been talking to scholars about how their participation in both Spanish and PE affects their grade. I have a handful of scholars that for various reasons at different times decide they do not want to participate in PE or follow along in Spanish. In PE, it is my goal to make class as accessible to all the scholars as I can. I realize they are all at different levels physically and I make sure that my lessons will enable everyone to participate. I have let them know that what I am looking for is their best effort and for them to be following directions. As long as I know they are trying, they will succeed. The same in Spanish class. As long as they are working hard and doing their best, I make note of that. Please let your scholar know that the best way to succeed in my class is to give their best effort. When they do, they really enjoy class and the enables all of us to enjoy it as well. Thank you so much for your support!
Have a wonderfully long restful weekend and I look forward to seeing your scholars next week.
Sincerely,
Sra. Hamiltlon
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Thursday, August 21, 2014
classroom vocabulary, the Spanish alphabet, and new PE games
Hola padres! What a fun week! With the rain, our schedule was very fluid this week and we have adjusted where needed. In PE earlier this week, we played freeze dance and learned to juggle with scarves, again while listening to the Gipsy Kings. It was a fun way to get moving! The latter part of this week, we have been playing Chinese tag, a new tag game that will take some practice to play really well, so we might continue it into next week.
In Spanish, for first grade we have been practicing our classroom vocabulary by using a couple of games to help us remember the names for things in Spanish. Later this week, we are practicing by using a worksheet that will also help us practice our numbers in Spanish.
For Kindergarten Spanish, I began the alphabet today. Mostly, I'd like them to learn the names of the letters and words that begin with that letter. I hope to get through most of the alphabet this year and we will see how that goes.
Next week, I hope to get into colors and broadly cover those so that we can get into some new vocabulary the week after. We'll see what creative ways I can come up with to get the scholars to recognize the color names in Spanish. On Wednesdays, we are continuing our work with the parachute and our study of Venezuela.
Gracias,
Sra. Hamilton
In Spanish, for first grade we have been practicing our classroom vocabulary by using a couple of games to help us remember the names for things in Spanish. Later this week, we are practicing by using a worksheet that will also help us practice our numbers in Spanish.
For Kindergarten Spanish, I began the alphabet today. Mostly, I'd like them to learn the names of the letters and words that begin with that letter. I hope to get through most of the alphabet this year and we will see how that goes.
Next week, I hope to get into colors and broadly cover those so that we can get into some new vocabulary the week after. We'll see what creative ways I can come up with to get the scholars to recognize the color names in Spanish. On Wednesdays, we are continuing our work with the parachute and our study of Venezuela.
Gracias,
Sra. Hamilton
Friday, August 15, 2014
greetings review, music in PE, colors and numbers
Hola padres! This has been an exciting week of so many things! We are having PE in a small classroom in building B. Due to the small space, I thought it would be fun to use music in class to encourage movement and add a cultural element to the lesson. So this week, we have been playing games that include music. Earlier in the week, we played freeze tag and the latter part of the week we've been playing hula hoop madness, both while listening to the Gipsy Kings, a favorite group of mine that is actually from the south of France. This group performs in Spanish with an Andalusian accent and they are great to encourage movement in the scholars.
In terms of Spanish, we have been working on learning all sorts of vocabulary from greetings, colors and numbers to classroom objects. I was able to introduce colors on Wednesday during PE as we played with the parachute. (As Wednesdays are a short day, I use it to bring in an extra fun element such as the parachute, scooters, earth balls, etc.) To finish up this week, we are reviewing greetings and numbers. Next week, I hope to really introduce classroom objects and solidify that vocabulary so that I can use those words during class and have them know what it is I want them to use as we go through the lesson (pencils, crayons, scissors, etc.)
The scholars have all done so well and I am so excited getting to know them. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sra. Hamilton
In terms of Spanish, we have been working on learning all sorts of vocabulary from greetings, colors and numbers to classroom objects. I was able to introduce colors on Wednesday during PE as we played with the parachute. (As Wednesdays are a short day, I use it to bring in an extra fun element such as the parachute, scooters, earth balls, etc.) To finish up this week, we are reviewing greetings and numbers. Next week, I hope to really introduce classroom objects and solidify that vocabulary so that I can use those words during class and have them know what it is I want them to use as we go through the lesson (pencils, crayons, scissors, etc.)
The scholars have all done so well and I am so excited getting to know them. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sra. Hamilton
Friday, August 8, 2014
Our first week!
Hola padres! I am so sorry for the late post! Yesterday totally got away from me and I realized late last night that I had forgotten to let you know how this week has gone! Please forgive me as it has been a week of schedule adjustments and getting to know each other and how the school day will run. Let me tell you what we have been up to.
There have been a few specific ways I have integrated Spanish into our PE class. First off, I have green and red polyspots that indicate where each class should line up at the beginning (green) and end (red) of class. Mr. Hume so kindly wrote "hola" (green) and "adiós" (red) on each respective polyspot. It is so nice to have a specific place where the scholars know to line up while adding a bit of Spanish in!
The most important change for us has been my attention getter. I struggled last year with a way to indicate to the scholars that I needed their attention when they got a little loud. There is a very fun rhyme in Spanish that they have caught on to very quickly and that is a great indicator to them that I need their attention. It goes like this: I say " ¿qué pasa calabaza?" and they respond with "nada, nada limonada". Directly translated this means, "what's up pumpkin?" and their response is, "not much, lemonade!" Of course this makes no sense in English, but rhymes beautifully in Spanish. The scholars really enjoy it and know that when I say it, I need for them to look at me and be ready for new directions.
Also in PE, I have discovered that a great way to have the scholars follow directions is to say "when I say go...." but last year I struggled with a good way to say this in Spanish, as there is no good translation for "go". I finally decided that "vamanos" is probably the best translation. So now when giving them instructions, I say "when I say 'vamanos....' " and they know what to do when. I'm so glad to have found these new ways to instruct them.
In Spanish we have been working on greetings and why Spanish is important to learn. We have read "I love Saturdays and domingos" by Alma Flor Ada which talks about a bilingual family and also "Margaret and Margarita" by Lynn Reiser which talks about two little girls one who speaks Spanish and the other who speaks English who meet at a park and become friends. Both are sweet stories that show the power of languages and the worlds that can open up if you know more than one.
This week we also started our study of Spanish speaking countries. Last year we started with Cuba and Mexico and continued south through Central America ending at the very north of South America with Colombia. I decided to continue on through South America this year in the hopes that if the scholar is here at Trivium for both Kinder and first grade, that they will have covered most of the Spanish speaking countries through North, Central and South America by the end of first grade. We'll see where we end up this year, but for now, we began with Venezuela. We talked about where it is on the map, what their flag looks like and some special characteristics it has. These lessons are given on Wednesdays. Please ask your scholars what they learned about this beautiful country. This week, Mrs. Baird's class and Mrs. Mason's class received this lesson. I am excited to hear what they tell you about it!
All for now, thank you so much for your patience this week as we are all trying our best to get a handle on things and give your scholars the very best instruction we can while making necessary adjustments as everything is still so new. I hope you all have a restful week and I look forward to continuing to get to know your scholars!
Sra. Hamilton
There have been a few specific ways I have integrated Spanish into our PE class. First off, I have green and red polyspots that indicate where each class should line up at the beginning (green) and end (red) of class. Mr. Hume so kindly wrote "hola" (green) and "adiós" (red) on each respective polyspot. It is so nice to have a specific place where the scholars know to line up while adding a bit of Spanish in!
The most important change for us has been my attention getter. I struggled last year with a way to indicate to the scholars that I needed their attention when they got a little loud. There is a very fun rhyme in Spanish that they have caught on to very quickly and that is a great indicator to them that I need their attention. It goes like this: I say " ¿qué pasa calabaza?" and they respond with "nada, nada limonada". Directly translated this means, "what's up pumpkin?" and their response is, "not much, lemonade!" Of course this makes no sense in English, but rhymes beautifully in Spanish. The scholars really enjoy it and know that when I say it, I need for them to look at me and be ready for new directions.
Also in PE, I have discovered that a great way to have the scholars follow directions is to say "when I say go...." but last year I struggled with a good way to say this in Spanish, as there is no good translation for "go". I finally decided that "vamanos" is probably the best translation. So now when giving them instructions, I say "when I say 'vamanos....' " and they know what to do when. I'm so glad to have found these new ways to instruct them.
In Spanish we have been working on greetings and why Spanish is important to learn. We have read "I love Saturdays and domingos" by Alma Flor Ada which talks about a bilingual family and also "Margaret and Margarita" by Lynn Reiser which talks about two little girls one who speaks Spanish and the other who speaks English who meet at a park and become friends. Both are sweet stories that show the power of languages and the worlds that can open up if you know more than one.
This week we also started our study of Spanish speaking countries. Last year we started with Cuba and Mexico and continued south through Central America ending at the very north of South America with Colombia. I decided to continue on through South America this year in the hopes that if the scholar is here at Trivium for both Kinder and first grade, that they will have covered most of the Spanish speaking countries through North, Central and South America by the end of first grade. We'll see where we end up this year, but for now, we began with Venezuela. We talked about where it is on the map, what their flag looks like and some special characteristics it has. These lessons are given on Wednesdays. Please ask your scholars what they learned about this beautiful country. This week, Mrs. Baird's class and Mrs. Mason's class received this lesson. I am excited to hear what they tell you about it!
All for now, thank you so much for your patience this week as we are all trying our best to get a handle on things and give your scholars the very best instruction we can while making necessary adjustments as everything is still so new. I hope you all have a restful week and I look forward to continuing to get to know your scholars!
Sra. Hamilton
Monday, August 4, 2014
¡bienvenidos!
Hola padres and welcome to a new school year! I am so excited to begin my second year of teaching Kinder and first grade Spanish and PE. I have added some new and exciting ways to integrate Spanish into our PE classes and will be implementing these through all of Kinder and first grade so that even the half day kinders will be learning Spanish from day one and all through the year.
For the first week, especially in PE we will be working on procedures. We will practice how to enter and leave the classroom, how to line up in our squads, how to pass out and return equipment and just learning the general rules for the PE classroom. These are all very important to learn and practice for us to have a safe, fun and productive year in PE. Most importantly, we will be learning most of these procedures in Spanish! I hope the scholars will quickly recognize my cues and will be able to understand each part of the class and what they are to do.
For Spanish the first week we will be mainly reading books that give us some ideas as to why it is important to learn Spanish and how we can apply it to our daily lives. Some of my favorite Spanish children's books deal with this subject and really open the scholars lives to why Spanish is important, especially here in Arizona.
For those of you who read my blog regularly, if you could please pass it on to those new parents or just to those parents who are looking for regular updates, I would really appreciate it. I will be updating again on Thursdays, giving an overview of the week as well as a peek into the next week. The blog should also be posted to the school website, so it will be easy for parents to check. If you ever have a question, please feel free to email me at ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org
I look forward to seeing all of you later today at meet the teacher!
Sra. Hamilton
For the first week, especially in PE we will be working on procedures. We will practice how to enter and leave the classroom, how to line up in our squads, how to pass out and return equipment and just learning the general rules for the PE classroom. These are all very important to learn and practice for us to have a safe, fun and productive year in PE. Most importantly, we will be learning most of these procedures in Spanish! I hope the scholars will quickly recognize my cues and will be able to understand each part of the class and what they are to do.
For Spanish the first week we will be mainly reading books that give us some ideas as to why it is important to learn Spanish and how we can apply it to our daily lives. Some of my favorite Spanish children's books deal with this subject and really open the scholars lives to why Spanish is important, especially here in Arizona.
For those of you who read my blog regularly, if you could please pass it on to those new parents or just to those parents who are looking for regular updates, I would really appreciate it. I will be updating again on Thursdays, giving an overview of the week as well as a peek into the next week. The blog should also be posted to the school website, so it will be easy for parents to check. If you ever have a question, please feel free to email me at ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org
I look forward to seeing all of you later today at meet the teacher!
Sra. Hamilton
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