Kindergarten-Second Grade

Spanish Newsletter

Volume 4

December 20, 2009

We have been so busy in our Spanish classes.

In kindergarten, we have been practicing counting up to 10. We did an activity and

students had to label their mano izquierda (left hand) and their 5 deditos (5 little

fingers) with the words for each number 1-5. They practiced saying the numbers and

reading the numbers in Spanish. We will be doing our mano derecha (right hand) in

2010.

The students love being the volunteer to be maestro or maestra(teacher) for el

calendario. They use the dedo (finger) pointer to cuenta, cuenta, cuenta(count) up to

the current number of the date. They have to say ¡PARA! when the class reaches the

number.

The kindergarten students have been learning about elephants (los elefantes) in Spanish

class. They are also making elephants in art class with Señora Murphy. Señora Murphy

taught them how to make the color gray by mixing black and white paint; and we talked

about that in Spanish. We are singing a lovely song called Los elefantes by José Luis

Orozco. The children love singing it and watching it on the Smartboard. The students

can describe an elephant in Spanish and name the parts of the elephant. They are so

inteligentes!

We have been making Muñecos de jengibre (moo-nyay-kohss day hen-hee-bray)

gingerbread men. The students listen as I tell them what parts to put on el muñeco in

Spanish. They put on los ojos (eyes), la nariz (nose), la boca (mouth), las orejas(ears)

and 4 botones (4 buttons). They colored in their muñeco once they put all the parts on.

To practice their Spanish at home ask them to tell you the parts of the muñeco’s face in

Spanish. They could even sing our daily song, ‘Cara, Cabeza’.

In first grade, we have been talking about the French artist Claude Monet in Spanish.

They know so much because they are learning about Monet with Señora Murphy. We

talked about where Monet is from and about his famous bridge painting La Puente. The

students described the colors of the painting, time of day, the season, and the overall

feeling of the painting ~ all in Spanish.

In first grade and second grade we have been talking the holidays that occur during

December. We asked each other ¿Qué celebras tú? What do you celebrate? And

students responded, “Yo celebro.. Januká/Navidad/ , Januká y Navidad, Kwanzaa, or Yo

no celebro nada (I celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas ,Hanukkah and Christmas, Kwanzaa or

I do not celebrate anything).

We did a Venn Diagram and then counted how many students and teachers celebrate

each holiday.

We have been singing some holiday songs in Spanish and playing las maracas. The

students have been learning the Dreidel song, Cascabel (Jingle Bells) and Feliz Navidad.

¡Feliz Januká!

¡Feliz Navidad!

¡Feliz Kwanzaa!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

¡Felices Fiestas!