This Week in Espanol- (April 18th)

Estimados Padres,

This week in Spanish we learned people words- boy, girl, man and woman.

We played a game similar to duck duck goose where the children had to touch each other's heads and say "boy" or "girl" in Spanish.

We looked at magazines and pointed out men or women.

Finally, we made a booklet with labeled pictures of a man, woman, boy and girl. I recommend reading this with your child and asking questions such as "Show me el nino." Or "donde esta el nino (where is the boy) if you are comfortable using more Spanish. Advanced: Ask "Quien es" (who is it) and point to a photo and have your child tell you the word in Spanish (Es el nino- It's the boy). You may have to remind him/her a few times. Making it relate to you is always fun- ex. Is Daddy an hombre or mujer (man or woman).

As always, I incorporated counting and colors into the class, letting them say which color they wanted of different items. We also practiced our opposites of big/little, up/down, hard/soft. Some classes learned day/night although this was not our focus today.

*Tip- In Spanish the "H" is silent. For example, the word for man is "hombre" but you do not say the letter "h." Simply pretend it is not there.

Focus Words:

The Boy- El Nino (neen-yoe)
The Girl- La Nina (neen-ya)
The Man- El Hombre (om-bray)
The Woman-La Mujer (moo-hair)

This Week in Espanol (April 11th)

Estimados Padres,

This week in Spanish class we counted, sang our opening songs and practiced some opposites (hard/soft), (big/ little), (up/down). Our songs for today included "If you're happy and you know it," "El Baile de los Colores" (the colors dance) and our Spanish ABCs.

With it being spring, we learned the Spanish words for bee and butterfly. They had to act out the parts as I called the word. When I said "bee" in Spanish they had to  buzz. When I said "butterfly" in Spanish, they had to flap their wings. We also focused on the color words, "yellow" and "black."

Focus Words:

Butterfly- Mariposa (mah-ree-pose-ah)
Bee- Abeja (ah-bay-ha)
Black- Negro (neh-groe)
Yellow- Amarillo (ah-ma-ree-yoe)


The children got to make a butterfly or bee craft. They had to tell me in Spanish which one they wanted- either bee or butterfly. They decorated it and put it on a stick with the Spanish word written. *One class, the 3 year olds ran out of time so we will make our craft next week.

Please let me know if you did not receive the brown envelope that I sent home last week with your child's music CD in it. I will track it down or make another! I hope they (and you) are enjoying practicing with the CD.

Hasta la proxima semana!

Senora Mellor
Best Amigos Preschool Spanish
231-3514

This Week in Espanol (April 4th)

Estimados Padres,

This week in Spanish class we sang our opening songs (Spanish ABCs, If you're happy and you know it, and a new color song).

We played with balloons and said the colors and danced to a song called "El Baile de Los Colores," the colors dance.

Our focus word of the day was balloon. Some groups also learned the opposites, "hard and soft."

Focus Words:

Balloon- Globo (globe-oh)
Hard- Duro (dure-oh)
Soft- Suave (swav-eh)

Today I sent home a CD with music for your child to listen to. Music is a great way to learn grammar and complete sentences in Spanish for children. They sing and do not realize they are actually learning what sounds correct to their ears for the foreign language. Please play it as much as you can bear (think in car or at bedtime or while you're cooking dinner). Some of the songs we will sing at our recital so the more he/she hears the songs the more comfortable he/she will be.

Hasta la proxima semana! (Until next week)

Senora Mellor
Best Amigos Preschool Spanish