Hola todos,
Click here to see photos of Dr. Collins' visit to Whittier.
http://www.op97.org/curriculum/worldlang/whitterstory/index.html
hasta pronto, Sra. Deaton
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Noticias de octubre
Estimadas familias/Dear families:
Ha llegado el otoño con los días más cortos y un clima indecisivo. Un día es muy bonito, calientito con cielo azul y un sol brillante, árboles de muchos colores, pájaros y ardillas alistándose para el invierno, y niños jugando -- sus chaquetas y suéteres tirados por todas partes. El próximo día es oscuro, hojas caen del cielo, y un viento frío ruge. Espero que gozen de los días fresquitos antes de que llegue el invierno.
Fall has arrived with its shorter days and indecisive climate. One day is lovely, warm with sunshine and blue sky, trees of many colors, birds and squirrels getting ready for winter, and children playing -- their jackets and sweaters strewn everywhere. The next is dark, leaves fall all around, and a fierce wind roars. I hope you are enjoying the cool days before winter arrives.
Special guest:
We have been having so much fun in our language learning. Last week we had a very special guest. Our district superintendent, Dr. Collins, came to Whittier to read to our K-1 students in Spanish in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. She read one book in both languages, Dulces Sueños, by Pat Mora and another in Spanish only, Spot va a la escuela (Spot Goes to School). The students were very attentive and enjoyed learning the new vocabulary that came with those stories. They made beautiful class thank you cards to send to her. Watch for photos on the Whittier and D97 websites. It turns out that Dr. Collins loves to read in Spanish, especially to her little granddaughter. We hope Dr. Collins will come back again.
Enrichment ideas:
Don't forget to take advantage of all the opportunities the Chicago area offers for cultural and language enrichment. The National Museum of Mexican Art, located in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, has a wonderful permanent exhibit on Mexicanidad and offers multiple temporary exhibits that are definitely worth the trip. At this time of year, it features the Día de Muertos, a celebration in which Mexicans remember family and friends who have passed away. The museum store itself is like a trip to a mercado in Mexico.
If you want to work on your own language skills, log on to the Oak Park Public Library research page, find Mango languages and start your multilingual adventure from home -- all you need is your library card. Great for helping get those language channels that have been dormant since high school or college working again -- and for starting another language! If you're in the market for something more, Rosetta Stone offers great language learning.
Don't forget all the other exciting things around the Chicago area. My favorite Mexican restaurant, Oak Park's own New Rebozo, was just featured on WTTW's show, Check Please! ¡Delicioso! ¡Dios mío! Check it out at www.wttw.com/checkplease.
Summer camps are already starting to fill up, so it's not too early to think about it. If you'd like your student to have an immersion experience and would consider a summer camp (1 week, 2 weeks, or a month), check out Concordia Language Villages, offering 15 languages!!
¡Leer! Read! ¡Leer! Read! ¡Leer! Read!
A great way to promote language learning (yours or your child's) is to read en español. If you studied Spanish at any time, dust off those brain cells and read to/with your child. If you are a native speaker, all the more!! And encourage your child to try, too! Start with easy board books, progress to simple or familiar stories, and more. Our school and local libraries have many books as do area book stores. If you need more guidance or suggestions, let me know.
Check out the Fun Links section for more info and ideas!
Here's a taste of our learning in octubre:
K, MAP K-1: We continue our work with body parts and just added two new songs to our repetoire: Tengo comezón (I'm itchy!) and Mi cuerpo hace música. In addition to calendar, numbers, shapes, and colors, we've started on a new theme, food!! Yum! ¡Delicioso! This week we've been getting acquainted with fruits (and of course, learning a song to go with them!!) We'll also be learning some seasonal words along the way.
MAP K-2: We are finishing our animales theme and are drawing our animal favorito. We continue with basic expressions, calendar etc. We have begun with a bit of seasonal vocabulary and will soon turn to food and expressing our likes and dislikes.
2, 2/3, 3: We have finished our work on places in the community and have begun our food unit. In addition to learning basic vocabulary for food names, we will categorize things (like "fruta", "no fruta"), will learn about different meals (desayuno, almuerzo, cena), make our own menus, and practice ordering and buying foods.
4/5: We are hard at work on our verb unit. One of the most important concepts we are trying to master is that verbos = palabras de acción (verbs = action words). Among our activities are drawing and acting out verbs. Now we are making collages about ourselves and the things we like to do. Once we finish our collages, we will make oral presentations to our class. We still have a ways to go before we finish our verb unit and will do lots of work in class to learn the words -- playing games, doing puzzles, and more. In early November, we will have a quiz.
Words! ¡Palabras! Words! ¡Palabras! Words!
Some of our fruta vocabulary: la manzana (the apple), la pera (the pear), la fresa (the strawberry), el limón (the lemon), la naranja (the orange), el plátano (the banana), las uvas (the grapes), el melón (the melon.) We also learned el teléfono (the telephone -- Why? What can you do with a banana!!!) and "Sí, me gusta." "No, no me gusta." (Yes, I like. No, I do not like.)
Algunos verbos importantes: If you had Spanish in high school or college, hopefully some of these will sound familiar! If you want to practice at home, say the verb and see if your student can act it out (or vice versa -- act it out and see if your student can say the verbo en español.) We've had fun doing this in class. [pronunciation tips: j in Spanish sounds like h in English; h is silent, and we pronounce all vowels - a =ah. e =ay, i=ee, o=o (so), u =oo (moo)]
caminar (to walk), correr (to run), saltar (to jump, to hop), brincar (to hop, to jump), hablar (to talk), escuchar (to listen to), mirar (to look at), gritar (to yell), jugar (to play), tocar (to touch, to play an instrument), abrir (to open), cerrar (to close), escribir (to write), dibujar (to draw), pintar (to paint), leer (to read), nadar (to swim), reir (to laugh), llorar (to cry), beber (to drink), comer (to eat), dormir (to sleep), levantarse (to get up, to stand up), sentarse (to sit down), cantar (to sing), bailar (t0 dance).
Conferencias/Conferences:
I enjoyed meeting and talking with so many of you at conferences. Fue un placer conocer a tantas personas en la ocasión de las conferencias. Keep those language channels humming! ¡Mantengan los "canales españoles" corriendo! Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time. Favor de comunicarse conmigo por cualquier cosa.
¡Hasta pronto y gracias por todo! Sra. D.
Ha llegado el otoño con los días más cortos y un clima indecisivo. Un día es muy bonito, calientito con cielo azul y un sol brillante, árboles de muchos colores, pájaros y ardillas alistándose para el invierno, y niños jugando -- sus chaquetas y suéteres tirados por todas partes. El próximo día es oscuro, hojas caen del cielo, y un viento frío ruge. Espero que gozen de los días fresquitos antes de que llegue el invierno.
Fall has arrived with its shorter days and indecisive climate. One day is lovely, warm with sunshine and blue sky, trees of many colors, birds and squirrels getting ready for winter, and children playing -- their jackets and sweaters strewn everywhere. The next is dark, leaves fall all around, and a fierce wind roars. I hope you are enjoying the cool days before winter arrives.
Special guest:
We have been having so much fun in our language learning. Last week we had a very special guest. Our district superintendent, Dr. Collins, came to Whittier to read to our K-1 students in Spanish in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. She read one book in both languages, Dulces Sueños, by Pat Mora and another in Spanish only, Spot va a la escuela (Spot Goes to School). The students were very attentive and enjoyed learning the new vocabulary that came with those stories. They made beautiful class thank you cards to send to her. Watch for photos on the Whittier and D97 websites. It turns out that Dr. Collins loves to read in Spanish, especially to her little granddaughter. We hope Dr. Collins will come back again.
Enrichment ideas:
Don't forget to take advantage of all the opportunities the Chicago area offers for cultural and language enrichment. The National Museum of Mexican Art, located in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, has a wonderful permanent exhibit on Mexicanidad and offers multiple temporary exhibits that are definitely worth the trip. At this time of year, it features the Día de Muertos, a celebration in which Mexicans remember family and friends who have passed away. The museum store itself is like a trip to a mercado in Mexico.
If you want to work on your own language skills, log on to the Oak Park Public Library research page, find Mango languages and start your multilingual adventure from home -- all you need is your library card. Great for helping get those language channels that have been dormant since high school or college working again -- and for starting another language! If you're in the market for something more, Rosetta Stone offers great language learning.
Don't forget all the other exciting things around the Chicago area. My favorite Mexican restaurant, Oak Park's own New Rebozo, was just featured on WTTW's show, Check Please! ¡Delicioso! ¡Dios mío! Check it out at www.wttw.com/checkplease.
Summer camps are already starting to fill up, so it's not too early to think about it. If you'd like your student to have an immersion experience and would consider a summer camp (1 week, 2 weeks, or a month), check out Concordia Language Villages, offering 15 languages!!
¡Leer! Read! ¡Leer! Read! ¡Leer! Read!
A great way to promote language learning (yours or your child's) is to read en español. If you studied Spanish at any time, dust off those brain cells and read to/with your child. If you are a native speaker, all the more!! And encourage your child to try, too! Start with easy board books, progress to simple or familiar stories, and more. Our school and local libraries have many books as do area book stores. If you need more guidance or suggestions, let me know.
Check out the Fun Links section for more info and ideas!
Here's a taste of our learning in octubre:
K, MAP K-1: We continue our work with body parts and just added two new songs to our repetoire: Tengo comezón (I'm itchy!) and Mi cuerpo hace música. In addition to calendar, numbers, shapes, and colors, we've started on a new theme, food!! Yum! ¡Delicioso! This week we've been getting acquainted with fruits (and of course, learning a song to go with them!!) We'll also be learning some seasonal words along the way.
MAP K-2: We are finishing our animales theme and are drawing our animal favorito. We continue with basic expressions, calendar etc. We have begun with a bit of seasonal vocabulary and will soon turn to food and expressing our likes and dislikes.
2, 2/3, 3: We have finished our work on places in the community and have begun our food unit. In addition to learning basic vocabulary for food names, we will categorize things (like "fruta", "no fruta"), will learn about different meals (desayuno, almuerzo, cena), make our own menus, and practice ordering and buying foods.
4/5: We are hard at work on our verb unit. One of the most important concepts we are trying to master is that verbos = palabras de acción (verbs = action words). Among our activities are drawing and acting out verbs. Now we are making collages about ourselves and the things we like to do. Once we finish our collages, we will make oral presentations to our class. We still have a ways to go before we finish our verb unit and will do lots of work in class to learn the words -- playing games, doing puzzles, and more. In early November, we will have a quiz.
Words! ¡Palabras! Words! ¡Palabras! Words!
Some of our fruta vocabulary: la manzana (the apple), la pera (the pear), la fresa (the strawberry), el limón (the lemon), la naranja (the orange), el plátano (the banana), las uvas (the grapes), el melón (the melon.) We also learned el teléfono (the telephone -- Why? What can you do with a banana!!!) and "Sí, me gusta." "No, no me gusta." (Yes, I like. No, I do not like.)
Algunos verbos importantes: If you had Spanish in high school or college, hopefully some of these will sound familiar! If you want to practice at home, say the verb and see if your student can act it out (or vice versa -- act it out and see if your student can say the verbo en español.) We've had fun doing this in class. [pronunciation tips: j in Spanish sounds like h in English; h is silent, and we pronounce all vowels - a =ah. e =ay, i=ee, o=o (so), u =oo (moo)]
caminar (to walk), correr (to run), saltar (to jump, to hop), brincar (to hop, to jump), hablar (to talk), escuchar (to listen to), mirar (to look at), gritar (to yell), jugar (to play), tocar (to touch, to play an instrument), abrir (to open), cerrar (to close), escribir (to write), dibujar (to draw), pintar (to paint), leer (to read), nadar (to swim), reir (to laugh), llorar (to cry), beber (to drink), comer (to eat), dormir (to sleep), levantarse (to get up, to stand up), sentarse (to sit down), cantar (to sing), bailar (t0 dance).
Conferencias/Conferences:
I enjoyed meeting and talking with so many of you at conferences. Fue un placer conocer a tantas personas en la ocasión de las conferencias. Keep those language channels humming! ¡Mantengan los "canales españoles" corriendo! Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time. Favor de comunicarse conmigo por cualquier cosa.
¡Hasta pronto y gracias por todo! Sra. D.
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