Thursday, June 14, 2012
Ensalada de fruta
Fruit Salad!Kindergarten, first, and second grade students learned the names of fruits and polite expressions...
por favor = please
gracias = thank you
...and we put it all together by making and eating fruit salad. What a tasty way to learn!
la pera = the pear
la manzana = the apple
la naranja = the orange
el plátano = the banana
Me gusta ___ = I like ___
la piña = the pineapple
la fresa = the strawberry
la uva = the grape
¡Buen provecho!
Mariposas Return!
In May, our first graders received paper butterflies from Mexico! This concludes our Journey North Monarch Migration project, which we began in the fall (see previous blog entries). Like our own first graders, students from all over Canada and the USA made paper butterflies in the fall and sent them to the children who live near the monarch sanctuary in Mexico. The Mexican children took care of them during the winter--just like they took care of our REAL monarchs that seasonally migrate to their winter home. When the live monarchs began to return north, the Mexican students mailed the paper butterflies to participating Canadian and USA schools.Mrs. Craft's and Mrs. Kamb's students each received small paper mariposas. Each class also received a butterfly made by a Mexican student with a special message of friendship written in Spanish. It was fun to have the monarch migration cycle come full circle in a very tangible way and celebrate the end of this exciting project in a way that was personally meaningful.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Fiesta!
We had a fantastic Fiesta on May 2. The multipurpose room was decorated beautifully with the help of many parents, guardians, grandparents, friends, and students. Delicious foods were prepared by our families, and adults were on hand to help with piñatas and clean-up. It was truly a community event.
The students put on a stellar performance: songs and poems in Spanish, drumming from third graders and fourth graders, and inspiring (and wacky!) tunes from our grades 4/5 chorus. I am still singing "Guacamole." Gracias to all of our students for their hard work! I am proud of you all!
We had a fantastic Fiesta on May 2. The multipurpose room was decorated beautifully with the help of many parents, guardians, grandparents, friends, and students. Delicious foods were prepared by our families, and adults were on hand to help with piñatas and clean-up. It was truly a community event.
The students put on a stellar performance: songs and poems in Spanish, drumming from third graders and fourth graders, and inspiring (and wacky!) tunes from our grades 4/5 chorus. I am still singing "Guacamole." Gracias to all of our students for their hard work! I am proud of you all!
4/5 Chorus |
San Severino -- El Cantante |
San Severino -- El Bombero |
San Severino -- El Carpintero |
4th Grade Drumming |
Tumbas |
La Tía Mónica |
3rd Grade Drumming |
Friday, April 6, 2012
Mark Your Calendars for Grades 3-5 Fiesta!
Our annual Fiesta for students in grades 3, 4, & 5 and their families will take place on Wednesday, May 2, at 5:00 pm.
The Fiesta is a special tradition in our primary-level Spanish program. With decorations, food, music, and games, this is an event our older students look forward to each year. Students have the opportunity to showcase their language learning at a venue that is fun for the whole family.
Students put on a performance that includes Spanish songs and poetry, drumming groups from all three grades, and a concert by our 4th/5th grade chorus. Ms. Bernstein, our music teacher, and I coordinate the show.
This year, our Fiesta is being organized by parent Leah Hinckley who is generously donating her time to make this a wonderful school community celebration. Leah is looking for parent/guardian volunteers to help with decorating and set-up, clean-up, and games. We will have a piñata for each 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade class to swing at! In addition, we invite families to bring a potluck dinner item (or dessert). Every year we are overwhelmed by the variety and deliciousness of the contributions. Many families choose to bring a Mexican-style item.
If you can help out in any way, please contact Leah. If you have any questions about the Fiesta, feel free to stop by or email me.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Symbolic Monarch Migration Update!
Since the time our first graders made paper monarch butterflies and sent them off to Mexico in a "symbolic migration," we have been waiting to find out where and when they would be delivered to Mexican school children. Back in October, I had blogged about first graders' participation in the Journey North project. This program builds friendships between the USA, Canada, and Mexico via our shared conservation of monarchs, which annually migrate from north to south each year in order to winter in Mexico. Each spring, the monarchs return from Mexico to Vermont and other northern locations. Hartland first graders have been learning about butterflies and Mexico in conjunction with Journey North program.
Our latest news is that our students' paper monarchs were recently delivered to children who live near the Mexican monarch sanctuary! Now, you can go online and see photos of those students holding our butterflies (mariposas)!
Mrs. Craft's class mariposa was delivered to a 6th grade class at Colegio Vasco de Quiroga School. In the photo, our butterfly is front and center, right above a pink backpack and held by a girl in a purple jacket. Click on this link to see the photo: Colegio Vasco de Quiroga School
Mrs. Kamb's class butterfly was sent to 18 de Marzo School, also near the El Rosario Monarch Sanctuary. It is a large school, and our butterfly arrived there along with lots of other North American butterflies. Unfortunately, it's hard to see exactly where our butterfly is hiding out in the photo...but you can still see the name Hartland Elementary School listed on the page. Click here to see the photo:
18 de Marzo School
How exciting!
Our own students should receive paper mariposas later in the spring when the real monarchs make their journeys northward. We will keep posting information about this great project as it becomes available.
Our latest news is that our students' paper monarchs were recently delivered to children who live near the Mexican monarch sanctuary! Now, you can go online and see photos of those students holding our butterflies (mariposas)!
Mrs. Craft's class mariposa was delivered to a 6th grade class at Colegio Vasco de Quiroga School. In the photo, our butterfly is front and center, right above a pink backpack and held by a girl in a purple jacket. Click on this link to see the photo: Colegio Vasco de Quiroga School
Mrs. Kamb's class butterfly was sent to 18 de Marzo School, also near the El Rosario Monarch Sanctuary. It is a large school, and our butterfly arrived there along with lots of other North American butterflies. Unfortunately, it's hard to see exactly where our butterfly is hiding out in the photo...but you can still see the name Hartland Elementary School listed on the page. Click here to see the photo:
18 de Marzo School
How exciting!
Our own students should receive paper mariposas later in the spring when the real monarchs make their journeys northward. We will keep posting information about this great project as it becomes available.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Student Work Coming Home This Week
Students in third, fourth, and fifth grades made packets of their first semester Spanish work. These packets are coming home this week in students' homework binders. Please do take a look at your child's work.
A letter will go home next week describing our first semester activities: what we studied, practiced, and learned in Spanish. Be on the lookout for it in Friday folders.
Remember, we do a lot of oral language activities in the classroom, so the written work is only a small portion of what your child experiences during Spanish class. Take this opportunity to ask your child about what he or she does in Spanish lessons! Your child will enjoy telling you about it. If you are not a Spanish speaker, let your child take on the role of "teacher" ("maestra" or "maestro") and show you a few new things.
A letter will go home next week describing our first semester activities: what we studied, practiced, and learned in Spanish. Be on the lookout for it in Friday folders.
Remember, we do a lot of oral language activities in the classroom, so the written work is only a small portion of what your child experiences during Spanish class. Take this opportunity to ask your child about what he or she does in Spanish lessons! Your child will enjoy telling you about it. If you are not a Spanish speaker, let your child take on the role of "teacher" ("maestra" or "maestro") and show you a few new things.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Mexican Pen Pal Letters are Sent!
Fifth graders received the names of their Mexican pen pals at Escuela Urbana 889 in Guadalajara. Each HES student wrote a letter to a pen pal using Spanish and English. These letters were mailed off in December. We are hopeful that we will soon receive letters in return. I am very impressed with the thoughtfulness and effort our students put into writing their letters.
In class we were able to look at our pen pals' school via Google Earth and our classroom SmartBoard. It was very interesting to compare the building, neighborhood, and cityscape with our own Hartland Elementary School area. We have lots of questions about Guadalajara that we hope our pen pals can answer for us.
Stay tuned for more!
In class we were able to look at our pen pals' school via Google Earth and our classroom SmartBoard. It was very interesting to compare the building, neighborhood, and cityscape with our own Hartland Elementary School area. We have lots of questions about Guadalajara that we hope our pen pals can answer for us.
Stay tuned for more!
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