This Week in Espanol (Jan. 31st)

Estimados Padres,

Today we finished our self introduction unit. The children should now be able to introduce themselves in Spanish and answer the question "Como te llamas (What is your name)?"

Occasionally, preschool children have the tendency to repeat the question "Como te llamas" instead of answering by saying their name. The best resolution to this is practice! Ask them, "Como te llamas?" and if they are silent or repeat the question, tell them to say "Me llamo _______." Once they have it right, ask again 3-4 more times and praise them when they answer correctly.

We did a craft today- Me llamo masks. On the back part of the stick it says "Me llamo _____" and the child's name. They turned out great!

The children decorated them and we added wiggle eyes, a button nose and yarn for hair. I told them the body parts in Spanish and had them say the words several times. Although we are not officially learning body parts right now, it never hurts to incorporate more Spanish because sometimes they remember!

Each child also got to pick what color hair he/she wanted. We said the colors in Spanish and they had to tell me which color they wanted in Spanish.

You can practice the body parts with your child at home by asking him/her to point to the body part and you say it in Spanish. Start with one or two and when they have those down, move on to others. You can even play "Simon Says!"

Today's Focus Words:
Negro (Black)
Amarillo (Yellow) ah-ma-ree-yoe
Cafe (Brown) cah-fay
Eyes (Ojos) oh-hose
Nose (Nariz) na-reese
Pelo (Hair) pay-loe

January General Vocabulary: (words we used last week and this week- this list will grow)

Hola (Hello)
Adios (Good-bye)
Como te llamas? (What is your name) ko-mo-tay-ya-mus
Me llamo (My name is) may ya mow
Maestra (Teacher)
Mono (Monkey)
Espanol (Spanish)
Salta (Jump)
Silencio (Quiet)
Manos arriba (hands up)
Baila (dance) bye-lah
Hasta luego (see you later)
Listos? (ready)
Rojo (red)
Azul (blue)
Uno
Dos
Tres
Cuatro
Cinco
Seis
Siete
Ocho
Nueve
Diez

This Week in Espanol (Jan. 24th)

Estimados Padres (Dear Parents),

I apologize for not having this week's review up earlier. Normally I have it up by 2 p.m. or so but today I missed my usual mid-day break so I had to type it this evening.

Today we continued to review self-introduction and next week we will finish this unit with a craft. The children practiced introducing themselves to each other and to our class puppet, Senor Mono. They also practiced answering "What is your name" in Spanish and we sang our "Hola Como te Llamas" song (see previous updates for video). Each child got to take a turn playing the rhythm sticks and being the leader and answering "Como te llamas?"

I touched on colors more today. Although colors are not officially part of this unit, I try to incorporate them as the opportunity arises. For example, when picking out flags or rhythm sticks, I ask the children which color they want and they have to tell me in Spanish. When turning in class items, I usually call each item by color.

We also continued our weekly counting. This week we are still counting to ten. Most of the children can at least count to five; some to ten. Sometimes they miss numbers between 6-10, so we are working on solidifying their counting skills. I have written the numbers below so that you can practice with your child if you wish.

Finally, we did our freeze dance and the children had to reply to the commands, "Jump" "Hands up" "Dance" and "Stop!"

Today's Focus Words:

Listos? (Ready everyone)
Listos! (Ready!)
Uno 1
Dos 2
Tres 3 (trace)
Cuatro (cwah-troe)
Cinco (seen-co)
Seis (sace)
Siete (see-eh-tay)
Ocho (oh-choe)
Nueve (new-eh-vay)
Diez (dee-ehs)

January General Vocabulary: (words we used last week and this week- this list will grow)

Hola (Hello)
Adios (Good-bye)
Como te llamas? (What is your name)
Me llamo (My name is) may ya mow
Maestra (Teacher)
Mono (Monkey)
Espanol (Spanish)
Salta (Jump)
Silencio (Quiet)
Manos arriba (hands up)
Baila (dance) bye-lah
Hasta luego (see you later)
Listos? (ready)

This Week in Espanol (Jan. 17)

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Estimados Padres,

This week in Spanish we continued to work on self introduction as our overall theme.

We reviewed saying "hello" in Spanish, as well as practiced answering "what is your name" in Spanish. This week I encouraged the children to answer in a complete sentence saying "my name is...." They spoke to our class monkey puppet in Spanish and at the end of the class were rewarded for good behavior by getting to feed him bananas!

I also touched on colors a bit at the beginning by letting them choose which color flag they wanted to hold while we sang our opening song. They got to choose from red, blue or yellow and had to tell me the color they wanted in Spanish.

They also danced to our commands song again and this time had three commands to listen for- "jump (from last week)," "hands up," and "dance!"

As they left class, they had to tell me "Adios, hasta luego" which is "Good-bye, see you later."

I encourage you to use any words from our list at home. You do not have to use them all; perhaps pick a word or phrase that you could work into your normal routine. For example, at breakfast you could ask your child, "Do you want platanos (bananas)?" You can hold up bananas and show him/her as you ask. If you have experience with Spanish, you may want to use a complete sentence and say "Quieres platanos (key-air-es pla-ta-nose)" (do you want bananas) and allow your child to answer with a "si" or "no."


Today's Focus Words:
Como te llamas- What is your name (koe-moe tay ya-mus)
Me llamo- My name is (may-ya-mow)
Platanos- Bananas (pla-tah-nose)

January General Vocabulary: (words we used last week and this week- this list will grow)

Hola (Hello)
Adios (Good-bye)
Como te llamas (What is your name)
Maestra (Teacher)
Mono (Monkey)
Espanol (Spanish)
Salta (Jump)
Silencio (Quiet)
Manos arriba (hands up)
Baila (dance) bye-lah
Hasta luego (see you later)

I have received payment from most parents; if you have not yet paid for the winter session, please drop a check at the front office made out to "Best Amigos" and also write your child's name on it. Gracias!

Finally, don't forget to fill out the parent survey (see link at top)! I will be drawing a name next Wednesday night and will announce the winner in next week's weekly update.

Hasta la proxima semana (Until next week)!

Senora Mellor
231-3514

This Week in Espanol (Jan. 10th)

January 12, 2012

Estimados Padres (Dear Parents),

This week in Spanish we are focusing on our greetings unit for January. Our focus for the month will be learning to greet others and introduce oneself in Spanish.

The children met the class puppet, Senor Mono and introduced themselves to him in Spanish. We also practiced saying "Gracias" whenever I gave them something (a name tag, maracas, stickers, etc.).

We danced to a song where we count to 10 in Spanish and then follow a command. Today's command was "salta" which means "jump."

Finally, some groups started on a book called "Say Hola to Spanish." This is one of my favorite books and is great for ages 4-5. It is in English but introduces many Spanish words and has wonderful pictures. If you know a little Spanish, it would be a good book to read to your child. It is available at the public library as well as here on Amazon.

Also, see this cute video that reinforces self introduction in Spanish (lyrics below). Show it to your child as many times as they will bear to watch it!





Hola como te llamas, (Hello what's your name)
Hola como te llamas,
Hola como te llamas
Me llamo Miguel  (My name is Miguel)

Me llamo Javier, (My name is Javier
Me llamo Javier,
Mucho gusto (Nice to meet you)
Podemos ser amigos (We can be friends)
Te llamas Miguel (Your name is Miguel)
Me llamo Javier (My name is Javier)


Parent Tip:

Throughout the class I throw in many Spanish words. The best way to learn a foreign language is through repetition, so I use the words as often as possible. The more your child hears these words, the better! So feel free to throw in any of these words that you feel comfortable using at home. It is fun to throw in "gracias" when your child gives you something and have them say back "de nada" and vice versa.

We also have focus words each week. These are phrases that I plan to focus on each week so I use those words more than the other general Spanish vocabulary. In addition, I have the children say the focus words as much as possible throughout the class.

At the preschool age, I do not recommend flashcards or rote memorization- usage is the best way to encourage language with them.

Please see our general vocabulary and focus words for today:

Today's Focus Words:

Me llamo- My name is (may-ya-mow)
Hola- Hello (oh-lah)
Gracias- Thank you (gra-see-us)

January General Vocabulary: (words we used today- this list will grow)

Hola (Hello)
Adios (Good-bye)
Como te llamas (What is your name)
Maestra (Teacher)
Mono (Monkey)
Espanol (Spanish)
Salta (Jump)
Silencio (Quiet)

Hasta la proxima semana! (Until next week)

Senora Mellor
231-3514
Best Amigos Preschool Spanish

Spanish Class Starts Tomorrow!

I am excited about meeting all the children tomorrow for the first day of Spanish Class!

Be sure to check back here tomorrow for a review of what we did and tips for how you can support and encourage your child at home with Spanish.

Also, I request that parents complete the parent survey. You have ten days to complete it and as a thank you, once you complete it I will enter your child into a drawing for a Spanish related prize.

As always, please contact me at 231-3514 or bestamigosnc@gmail.com with questions, suggestions or concerns!

Senora Mellor
Best Amigos Preschool Spanish

            Click here to complete the parent survey