Hola todos,
Es julio y espero que se estén disfrutando de todo lo que ofrece el verano. It's July and I hope that you enjoying everything that summer offers. Be sure to check out my earlier posts and links for festivals and other ideas, including the "fruitful learning" of Mango languages.
World Music is all about town -- and much of it with a Latin flavor. This Thursday, July 9, at Millennium Park there's an Afro-French-Brazilian twist. And this weekend the Old Town School of Folk Music sponsors the Roots and Folk festival with lots of Latin artists. There's also a Peruvian picnic in Schiller Woods sponsored by the Peruvian Cultural Center -- sure to be music and food there!
Check out the links for more info.
Have fun! ¡Diviértense!
hasta pronto, Sra. D.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Festivals, fútbol, and "fruitful" learning!
Hola todos,
Another festival --El Festival Orgullo Mexicano -- Mexican Pride Festival -- takes place this week Thursday (jueves) June 25 to Sunday (domingo) at Toyota Park (home of the Chicago Fire Soccer team). Thursday through Sunday: "Carnaval" each day; Friday/viernes: dance, 7 pm, & movie in the park, 8:30 pm; Saturday/sábado: Chicago Fire vs. Tigres UANL (Mexico), 7 pm; Sunday/domingo: Lucha Libre Mexicana, 4 pm. Toyota Park is located in Bridgeview, right down Harlem to 79th. For more information: chicago-fire.com
¡Viva el fútbol! If you are a soccer fan, the Inaugural Mayor's Cup will be played at Toyota Park on Sunday, July 5, 6pm. Sure to bring out lots of Chicago soccer fans -- it's Mexico (Rayados de Monterrrey) vs. Poland (Cracovia Krakow)! Check out chicago-fire.com for more details, including ticket info. I just went to my first game in Toyota Park on Saturday -- the Chicago Fire vs. San Luis. McBride scored the lone (and winning) Chicago goal on an assist from Cuahtémoc Blanco. A real treat! Great fun and lots of Spanish practice!
"Fruitful learning:" If you haven't tried Mango Languages avaliable through the Oak Park Public Library site (see my link section), you definitely should, especially if you are thinking of taking a trip to Spanish-speaking country any time in the future! It makes for fruitful learning! I am working on my Italian and Japanese and am at about Lesson 7. Each language has 100 lessons! So far, I am learning to introduce myself, order in restaurants, say good morning, evening, good-bye, and ask and answer basic questions. At the start of each lesson, there is review of the prior lesson.
Even if it might not be the most exciting or useful conversation for kids because it tends to focus on social situations that involve adults, like asking for the bill in restaurants, it's good because it introduces and reinforces basic vocabulary (some of which they already know) and offers a chance to see written Spanish as well as hear the oral. Maybe the youngsters will even be the ones introducing themselves or doing the restaurant ordering!
As I said in my last note, everyone in the family can work with a language of his/her choice at his/her own level. It's a great free resource -- we are so lucky that our library supports language learning. The way to help keep it available is to use it -- and encourage others to do so.
Hope you are having a verano fantástico! Don't forget to check out the other festivals happening around town this summer.
hasta pronto, Sra. D
Another festival --El Festival Orgullo Mexicano -- Mexican Pride Festival -- takes place this week Thursday (jueves) June 25 to Sunday (domingo) at Toyota Park (home of the Chicago Fire Soccer team). Thursday through Sunday: "Carnaval" each day; Friday/viernes: dance, 7 pm, & movie in the park, 8:30 pm; Saturday/sábado: Chicago Fire vs. Tigres UANL (Mexico), 7 pm; Sunday/domingo: Lucha Libre Mexicana, 4 pm. Toyota Park is located in Bridgeview, right down Harlem to 79th. For more information: chicago-fire.com
¡Viva el fútbol! If you are a soccer fan, the Inaugural Mayor's Cup will be played at Toyota Park on Sunday, July 5, 6pm. Sure to bring out lots of Chicago soccer fans -- it's Mexico (Rayados de Monterrrey) vs. Poland (Cracovia Krakow)! Check out chicago-fire.com for more details, including ticket info. I just went to my first game in Toyota Park on Saturday -- the Chicago Fire vs. San Luis. McBride scored the lone (and winning) Chicago goal on an assist from Cuahtémoc Blanco. A real treat! Great fun and lots of Spanish practice!
"Fruitful learning:" If you haven't tried Mango Languages avaliable through the Oak Park Public Library site (see my link section), you definitely should, especially if you are thinking of taking a trip to Spanish-speaking country any time in the future! It makes for fruitful learning! I am working on my Italian and Japanese and am at about Lesson 7. Each language has 100 lessons! So far, I am learning to introduce myself, order in restaurants, say good morning, evening, good-bye, and ask and answer basic questions. At the start of each lesson, there is review of the prior lesson.
Even if it might not be the most exciting or useful conversation for kids because it tends to focus on social situations that involve adults, like asking for the bill in restaurants, it's good because it introduces and reinforces basic vocabulary (some of which they already know) and offers a chance to see written Spanish as well as hear the oral. Maybe the youngsters will even be the ones introducing themselves or doing the restaurant ordering!
As I said in my last note, everyone in the family can work with a language of his/her choice at his/her own level. It's a great free resource -- we are so lucky that our library supports language learning. The way to help keep it available is to use it -- and encourage others to do so.
Hope you are having a verano fantástico! Don't forget to check out the other festivals happening around town this summer.
hasta pronto, Sra. D
Friday, June 12, 2009
¡Celebrar el verano! Celebrate summer!
¡Hola! Ya llegó el verano. Por fin, hoy hace calorcito y brilla el sol. Espero que se estén disfrutando del tiempo con la familia y los amigos. Aquí comparto unas ideas para gozar del verano en Chicago. Hay tantas cosas que hacer para celebrar nuestra diversidad.
Summer has arrived! Finally, today it's feeling warmer and the sun is shining. I hope you are enjoying time with family and friends. Here are some ideas for enjoying summer in Chicago. There are so many things to do to celebrate our diversity.
Celebrations abound in Chicago, especially in summer. Just browsing Metromix's list of festivals comes up with scores -- 18 pages of listings! There are festivals for a multitude of ethnic groups -- Japanese, Greek, Thai, Celtic, Scottish, Swedish, Irish-American, Chinese, Korean, Armenian, Croatian, Mexican, Puerto-Rican, African-American, Caribbean, French, Peruvian, Ukranian, Italian, and more. Be sure to check out the "Fun Links" for Metromix for all the details and many more ideas for Chicago fun. Below is a sampling of some "Spanish-flavored" festivals.
Stretch your brain and your world: You can also work on building your family's language skills over the summer. Brain research shows that it helps our brains grow in ways different from any other learning. Plus our world just keeps getting smaller.
First, keep speaking, reading, singing your heritage languages. Many students' families speak a language other than English! Some that I know of are Spanish, Greek, Polish, Serbian, Russian, German, Norwegian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, .... It's important for your children to be surrounded by these languages. They are proud of their heritage, love to know words in different languages, and love to make comparisons between them and our Spanish learning.
Second, the Oak Park Public Library offers an on-line language learning service called "Mango Languages." All you need is your library card number and your pin (usually the last 4 numbers of your phone number.) Each person in the family can choose a different language and work at his or her own speed. Go to the main oppl page and then click on the "research" section. Mango Languages will be one of your choices.
Nine languages are offered including Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and 3 separate English programs (for speakers of Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, or Polish). I tried Spanish, Italian, and Japanese last night. Because of Spanish, my Italian lessons go much quicker and more easily than my Japanese, but I'm even making progress there. Check out "Fun Links" for the Oak Park Public Library and have fun!
Festivals
For a Spanish-language flavor, here's just a taste:
Fiesta Back of the Yards: June 12, 5-10 pm, June 13, 10am -10 pm, Mexican music, food, ...
Chicago Summer Dance Festival: Begins June 12 runs for 11 weeks, Grant Park, 1 hour dance lesson, 2 hrs live music & dance of all kinds and many cultures; A few "Latin dance" dates: June 18, tango; June 19, salsa & cha, cha, cha; other dates for more salsa, rumba, mambo
Fiestas Puertorriqueñas: June 16, 4-10:30 pm, June 17, 4-10:30 pm; Puerto Rican food, salsa, merengue
Peace Festival: June 19, 20
Puerto Rican Day Parade: June 20, 12:00 noon, steps off from Columbus & Balbo, up Columbus to Monroe
African-Caribbean International Festival of Life: July 3, 4
12th Annual Chicago Folk and Roots Festival: July 11, 12
Fiesta del Sol: (Pilsen), July 30, 31
Peruvian picnics: July 12, Aug 16 (check out Peruvian Cultural Center link for more details)
Chicago Carifete: Caribbean festival, August 15, 16
¡Viva Chicago! Latin Music Festival: August 29, 20
Mexican Independence Day Parade: Sept. 13
Sin más por el momento, ¡Feliz verano! Happy summer!
Sra. D
Summer has arrived! Finally, today it's feeling warmer and the sun is shining. I hope you are enjoying time with family and friends. Here are some ideas for enjoying summer in Chicago. There are so many things to do to celebrate our diversity.
Celebrations abound in Chicago, especially in summer. Just browsing Metromix's list of festivals comes up with scores -- 18 pages of listings! There are festivals for a multitude of ethnic groups -- Japanese, Greek, Thai, Celtic, Scottish, Swedish, Irish-American, Chinese, Korean, Armenian, Croatian, Mexican, Puerto-Rican, African-American, Caribbean, French, Peruvian, Ukranian, Italian, and more. Be sure to check out the "Fun Links" for Metromix for all the details and many more ideas for Chicago fun. Below is a sampling of some "Spanish-flavored" festivals.
Stretch your brain and your world: You can also work on building your family's language skills over the summer. Brain research shows that it helps our brains grow in ways different from any other learning. Plus our world just keeps getting smaller.
First, keep speaking, reading, singing your heritage languages. Many students' families speak a language other than English! Some that I know of are Spanish, Greek, Polish, Serbian, Russian, German, Norwegian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, .... It's important for your children to be surrounded by these languages. They are proud of their heritage, love to know words in different languages, and love to make comparisons between them and our Spanish learning.
Second, the Oak Park Public Library offers an on-line language learning service called "Mango Languages." All you need is your library card number and your pin (usually the last 4 numbers of your phone number.) Each person in the family can choose a different language and work at his or her own speed. Go to the main oppl page and then click on the "research" section. Mango Languages will be one of your choices.
Nine languages are offered including Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and 3 separate English programs (for speakers of Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, or Polish). I tried Spanish, Italian, and Japanese last night. Because of Spanish, my Italian lessons go much quicker and more easily than my Japanese, but I'm even making progress there. Check out "Fun Links" for the Oak Park Public Library and have fun!
Festivals
For a Spanish-language flavor, here's just a taste:
Fiesta Back of the Yards: June 12, 5-10 pm, June 13, 10am -10 pm, Mexican music, food, ...
Chicago Summer Dance Festival: Begins June 12 runs for 11 weeks, Grant Park, 1 hour dance lesson, 2 hrs live music & dance of all kinds and many cultures; A few "Latin dance" dates: June 18, tango; June 19, salsa & cha, cha, cha; other dates for more salsa, rumba, mambo
Fiestas Puertorriqueñas: June 16, 4-10:30 pm, June 17, 4-10:30 pm; Puerto Rican food, salsa, merengue
Peace Festival: June 19, 20
Puerto Rican Day Parade: June 20, 12:00 noon, steps off from Columbus & Balbo, up Columbus to Monroe
African-Caribbean International Festival of Life: July 3, 4
12th Annual Chicago Folk and Roots Festival: July 11, 12
Fiesta del Sol: (Pilsen), July 30, 31
Peruvian picnics: July 12, Aug 16 (check out Peruvian Cultural Center link for more details)
Chicago Carifete: Caribbean festival, August 15, 16
¡Viva Chicago! Latin Music Festival: August 29, 20
Mexican Independence Day Parade: Sept. 13
Sin más por el momento, ¡Feliz verano! Happy summer!
Sra. D
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
¡Es fin del año! The year's over!
Hola todos,
The school year is coming to a close and we are down to the last few hours. It has been a great year and I will especially miss my 5th graders who are moving on to middle school. Watching them grow in their understanding and use of Spanish has been wonderful. Please encourage them to continue language study as they move on through middle school and beyond. And as I told them today, it doesn't matter which language. It's good for their brains, it's good for them, and it's good for the world. (More on this later.)
Coming up this weekend is the Peruvian Cultural Center picnic. The Peruvian Cultural Center is relatively new and centered in Oak Park. Its goal is "Educating our community to understand Peruvian culture and heritage." If you saw the dancers at the Ethnic Fest and felt their energy, you might enjoy checking out the picnic. It's Sunday, June 7, from 11 am to 7 pm at Schiller Woods Area #12, Schiller Park, IL (Irving Park Road and Cumberland.) There will be Peruvian food, dances, games, music and more. Check out the Peruvian Cultural Center website for more info: http://www.peruvianculturalcenter.org
Once school is out and there's a bit more time, I will be back on-line with an update on the year, suggestions for further enrichment, and events around town.
sin más por el momento,
Sra. D.
The school year is coming to a close and we are down to the last few hours. It has been a great year and I will especially miss my 5th graders who are moving on to middle school. Watching them grow in their understanding and use of Spanish has been wonderful. Please encourage them to continue language study as they move on through middle school and beyond. And as I told them today, it doesn't matter which language. It's good for their brains, it's good for them, and it's good for the world. (More on this later.)
Coming up this weekend is the Peruvian Cultural Center picnic. The Peruvian Cultural Center is relatively new and centered in Oak Park. Its goal is "Educating our community to understand Peruvian culture and heritage." If you saw the dancers at the Ethnic Fest and felt their energy, you might enjoy checking out the picnic. It's Sunday, June 7, from 11 am to 7 pm at Schiller Woods Area #12, Schiller Park, IL (Irving Park Road and Cumberland.) There will be Peruvian food, dances, games, music and more. Check out the Peruvian Cultural Center website for more info: http://www.peruvianculturalcenter.org
Once school is out and there's a bit more time, I will be back on-line with an update on the year, suggestions for further enrichment, and events around town.
sin más por el momento,
Sra. D.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
¡Feliz Primavera!
¡Hola! ¡Feliz primavera! Ya llegaron los días de béisbol y fútbol, de flores y pájaros, del sol y del aire calientito. Nos queda un poco más de un mes del año escolar. ¡Va volando el tiempo! Espero que su familia disfrute de esta época tan bonita. Es el momento perfecto para aprovechar de todas las experiencias del idioma y de la cultura que ofrece la área metropolitana de Chicago -- y muchas son gratis.
Hello! Happy Spring! The days of baseball and soccer, of flowers and birds, and of sun and warm air have arrived. We have a little more than one month left in the school year. The time is really flying. I hope that your family is enjoying this lovely time of year. It's a perfect time to explore all the language and cultural options in the Chicago area -- many of them free!
Check out the poll this month and vote for your favorite video podcast. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) held a contest for the best video podcast about all the good reasons for learning another language. There were categories at various grade levels and here are the winners. Be sure to watch them all and vote for your favorite. Everyone in the family gets to vote!
More fun links: We love the music of José Luis Orozco (Juanito cuando baila, El barquito, ...) and Charlotte Diamond (Soy una pizza, Somos como las flores...). I've included links to their websites. For language games, videos and other materials - French, Spanish, German and others-- check out Carlex and Teacher's Discovery. A great catalogue for Asian language and cultural materials is Asia For Kids.
6th & 7th graders summer enrichment: Ms. Susan Walsh, Brooks Spanish teacher, is offering a Summer Daze class for 6th & & 7th graders. Accelerated Spanish I is for current 6th and 7th graders who would like to advance their language learning. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be recommended to take Spanish II for the 2009-10 school year. Questions about the class? Please contact Sra. Walsh at swalsh@op97.org. Questions about registering? Check your School Daze catalogue or contact Ms. Stephanie Avila @D97 Central Office. ¡Muchas gracias!
Other local language resources and more: A multitude of languages is offered through the Language and Music School, right in Downtown Oak Park. See Fun links for more info. Interested in Mandarin Chinese? Mr. Hai-Tao Huang, who has taught in our WISE program, offers lessons for individuals or groups, adults, children and families. Contact him at (708) 445-7387. Check out the Concordia Language Villages link for information on summer International Days. If you're trying to figure out a fun destination for a family trip, you might consider heading north to Minnesota to coincide with one of these. They are fabulous, fun, and moving experiences. CLV also has a variety of language learning opportunities for the whole family.
Here's a taste of our learning:
MAP K-1: Spring themes: plants, seeds, animals, weather. We are talking about what plants need to grow and the stages they go through. We've added some new songs: "Somos como las flores" and "Que Buena Suerte." Here are some of the words we're working on: sol (sun), luna (moon), lluvia (rain), tierra (earth/land), semilla (seed), brote (sprout), planta (planta), flor (flower), fruta (fruit.) We continue to learn and review basic words and phrases and revisit some of earlier themes and vocabulary.
MAP K-2: Our spring sing was fabuloso! Thanks for joining us! Now we've started spring songs and themes. Next week we're hopping into insectos. We will learn names, characteristics, and action verbs (the way insectos move.) We continue to review and add basic words and phrases. And of course there will be games, movement, and music along the way.
2, 2/3, 3: Gracias for joining us in spring sing -- it was magnífico. You wouldn't know that some of those songs were pretty new to us. Students worked very hard getting ready and we had such fun with "La Vuelta" and "Rock del reloj". Now we are working on telling time and heading outside on good days to practice by playing "What time is it Mr. Fox?" en español. We will also be working on spring themes and continued review of earlier themes and vocabulary.
4/5: Gearing up for Spring Sing on May 5. Please join us for a great evening of music with canciones en inglés y español by the classes and chorus and instrumental performances as well. It promises to be wonderful and emotional. En español, we are working very hard on two new songs-- one from España and one from a chicana songwriter from San Antonio. We continue to work on our Inca, Aztec, and Maya projects. We will finish our English research in early May. We will then write and present in Spanish. We will wind down the year with review of basic words and phrases -- of course with games and music mixed in.
¡Gracias! Thank you for your support of language learning for your children. I feel so fortunate to be able to share this love of language and culture with them -- to help them grow in so many ways. Please continue to encourage them in their learning in any language of their choosing. It's great for the brain! (Adults out there -- you're never to old to start!)
A special thanks to Rocío Muñoz and Gabriel Dunbar who have donated Spanish learning toys to our library and to Paul Johnson and family for the book from the Field Museum Aztec exhibit.
Summer is coming. Viene el verano. Keep watching Deaton Noticias. I will update the blog throughout the rest of the school year and in the summer. Be sure to check for fun things going on around town, interesting facts, and useful links and resources.
As always do not hesitate to contact me at any time. Watch for más noticias. Gracias por todo, Sra. Deaton
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
¡Hola y bienvenidos!
Bienvenidos a "Deaton Noticias!" Welcome to Deaton Noticias!
Time sure flies! March is here and spring just around the corner. I am very much enjoying spending time with your children and seeing how much they have learned. We have spent much time dancing, singing, reading, doing math and social studies and more. Our room is truly a mini-Hispanic world, with Spanish words all around and souvenirs and flags from various countries. If you haven't visited, please come by. The main rule is "No English." Even the map is in Spanish. Truly this greatly facilitates the use of the Spanish language. Within this environment, the students challenge themselves and use more Spanish each day. Every day there is something new and exciting.
¡Cómo vuela el tiempo! Ya llegó el mes de marzo y pronto viene la primavera. Me alegro mucho pasar el tiempo con sus hijos y ver cuanto aprenden. Nos divertimos mucho cada día bailando, cantando, leyendo, haciendo matemática y estudios sociales y más. Nuestro salón es un verdadero mini-mundo hispano, con palabras en español por todas partes y recuerdos y banderas de varios paises. Si no han venido todavía, favor de vistarlo. La regla número uno es "no inglés." Hasta el mapa es en español. Realmente facilita mucho el uso del idioma. Dentro de este ambiente, los niños intentan usar su español cada día aún más y en tomar el riesgo, siguen creciendo. Cada día hay algo nuevo y emocionante.
I enjoyed seeing many of you during parent teacher conferences and look forward to the rest of the year. Gracias to all those who donated books to our "biblioteca de español" during the book fair. We look forward to reading them.
Here's a taste of our learning in February:
MAP to grade 3: Transportation words -- having lots of fun playing charades, Heads up 7 up, matching games, and movement and music. Among our new vocabulary words are coche, carro, avión, barco, barco de vela, nave espacial, helicóptero, moto (motocicleta), bicicleta, camión, autobús. MAP (K-2) just finished learning about the sistema solar and planetas en español: Mercurio, Venus, La Tierra, Marte, Júpiter, Saturno, Urano, Neptuno, Sol, Luna, estrella, Vía Láctea. We will finish transporte and then head to seasonal themes such as spring and animals.
Grades 4 & 5: Practicing our reading skills and acting out mini-books "Vamos, pinguinos, vamos" and "Día de Nieve." We are about to begin our unit on the Inca, Azteca, y Maya.
Please visit this blog regularly for updates on our learning, upcoming events, language and cultural enrichment and family fun. Check out the fun links and the slideshows will take you to faraway places. In March we travel to Peru!
Favor de comunicarse conmigo con cualquier cosa. Please contact me at any time.
Gracias por viajar con nosotros. Thanks for traveling with us.
Sra. Deaton
Bienvenidos a "Deaton Noticias!" Welcome to Deaton Noticias!
Time sure flies! March is here and spring just around the corner. I am very much enjoying spending time with your children and seeing how much they have learned. We have spent much time dancing, singing, reading, doing math and social studies and more. Our room is truly a mini-Hispanic world, with Spanish words all around and souvenirs and flags from various countries. If you haven't visited, please come by. The main rule is "No English." Even the map is in Spanish. Truly this greatly facilitates the use of the Spanish language. Within this environment, the students challenge themselves and use more Spanish each day. Every day there is something new and exciting.
¡Cómo vuela el tiempo! Ya llegó el mes de marzo y pronto viene la primavera. Me alegro mucho pasar el tiempo con sus hijos y ver cuanto aprenden. Nos divertimos mucho cada día bailando, cantando, leyendo, haciendo matemática y estudios sociales y más. Nuestro salón es un verdadero mini-mundo hispano, con palabras en español por todas partes y recuerdos y banderas de varios paises. Si no han venido todavía, favor de vistarlo. La regla número uno es "no inglés." Hasta el mapa es en español. Realmente facilita mucho el uso del idioma. Dentro de este ambiente, los niños intentan usar su español cada día aún más y en tomar el riesgo, siguen creciendo. Cada día hay algo nuevo y emocionante.
I enjoyed seeing many of you during parent teacher conferences and look forward to the rest of the year. Gracias to all those who donated books to our "biblioteca de español" during the book fair. We look forward to reading them.
Here's a taste of our learning in February:
MAP to grade 3: Transportation words -- having lots of fun playing charades, Heads up 7 up, matching games, and movement and music. Among our new vocabulary words are coche, carro, avión, barco, barco de vela, nave espacial, helicóptero, moto (motocicleta), bicicleta, camión, autobús. MAP (K-2) just finished learning about the sistema solar and planetas en español: Mercurio, Venus, La Tierra, Marte, Júpiter, Saturno, Urano, Neptuno, Sol, Luna, estrella, Vía Láctea. We will finish transporte and then head to seasonal themes such as spring and animals.
Grades 4 & 5: Practicing our reading skills and acting out mini-books "Vamos, pinguinos, vamos" and "Día de Nieve." We are about to begin our unit on the Inca, Azteca, y Maya.
Please visit this blog regularly for updates on our learning, upcoming events, language and cultural enrichment and family fun. Check out the fun links and the slideshows will take you to faraway places. In March we travel to Peru!
Favor de comunicarse conmigo con cualquier cosa. Please contact me at any time.
Gracias por viajar con nosotros. Thanks for traveling with us.
Sra. Deaton
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