Hola familia and amigos! We are proud that Spanish studies is a part of our curriculum here at SMART START. It is evident through research that children learning a foreign language during their preschool development benefit tremendously! Children’s brains are able to absorb information at an impressive rate. Our young learners have welcomed this addition with open arms, ears and eyes and are learning new words daily!
Last year, artists gathered at the table for a lesson focusing on colors and numbers! Each had caddies filled with an assortment of markers, crayons and bonkers. We used this creative opportunity to introduce basic colors being red/rojo, blue/azul, orange/anaranjado, yellow/amarillo, green/verde, purple/morado, black/negro, brown/cafe and pink/rosa. A rainbow of Spanish colors filled the air as pupils chanted them out. Well done/bien hecho, amigo
2018
This year, older Prekindergartners expanded their Spanish vocabulary using our whiteboard. Displayed was an assortment of words placed into categories such as, animals/animales, food/comida, school/escuela and more! Miss Francesca/la maestra described each category as classmates took turns choosing words to be translated. All did an excellent job practicing the pronunciation of each new word. Very good/Muy bien!
2019
SMART START students/estudiantes were excited to learnall about numbers and counting in Spanish in the outdoor classroom. A hopscotch mat was laid out as friends/amigos gathered and sat on a foam number. Each had a turn to practice their hopscotch skills while identifying and reciting numbers aloud in Spanish.
Lastly, los ninos/classmates enjoyed a game of number memory match. Even Charlotte, one of our classroom pet chickens wanted to play! Number memory match provides children with the opportunity to not only develop their social skills with their peers, but challenge their reasoning and problem solving skills. Los numeros son divertidos/numbers are fun!
2018
Currently, our preschoolers are learning to count 1-10 while our prekindergartners are working on numbers 11-20. Young learners recently practiced their counting through a game using a deck of cards and dice. All took turns rolling the dice and then matching the number on the dice to the corresponding card. The class stated the numbers in both Spanish in English. This foreign language and mathematics lesson strengthened students number recognition, memory recall, fine motor skills and more!
Counting in Spanish (1-20) goes as follows: (1) uno, (2) dos, (3) tres, (4) cuatro, (5) cinco, (6) seis, (7) siete, (8) ocho, (9) nueve, (10) diez, (11) once, (12) doce, (13) trece, (14) catorce, (15) quince, (16) dieciseis, (17) diecisiete, (18) dieciocho, (19) diecinueve, (20) veinte!
2019
Espanol Bingo had been a favorite school activity both this and last year. Each player/jugador recieves a bingo card and markers. The cards are filed with a variety of objects and the corresponding Spanish words underneath. La maestra reads a card and estudientes check to see if they can mark it. All repeat each vocabulary word in English and Spanish as they are called. Once a child has five/cinco in a row, they shout, "BINGO!" Players/jugadores are always ecstatic when they marks cinco so they can select an item from our prize bin. So much fun/muy divertido!
2018
2019
UNO is a riveting card game that is fun for all ages! Last year, La maestra taught the estudiantes the rules and object of the game (Be the first to get rid of all of your cards/cartas and when you have one card you say, "UNO"). This is the perfect game to practice colors and numbers in Spanish as well as simply reinforcing number identification. We loved watching them as they concentrated and anticipated their next move. Fun/divertido was had by all!
2018
Twister was the game we selected to play this year! The object is to place your hands/manos and feet/pies on a color according to the spinner without falling over. SMART START amigos paired up to spin or take the mat. This activity enhanced color recognition, gross motor skills and following and giving directions. The most popular move was right hand on red/mano derecho en rojo!
2019
Books are part of our every day routine here at SMART START. We are glad to incorporate Spanish reading into our daily learning. Our Spanish books/espanol libros are filled with all sorts of useful information for our estudiantes. We are reading books during circle time, independently and with amigos. Last year during circle time, the children/los ninos were each given a different colored scarf/bufanda. When la maestra said their color aloud, they had to wave their bufanda around and repeat the color as well. This year, la maestra has been reading some classic children's books in Spanish such as, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", "Little Blue Truck", "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" and more! Los ninos have loved hearing some of their favorite stories read in Spanish and have recognized a substantial amount of the given vocabulary.
2018
2019
This year, estudiantes were given Spanish name plates. Each wrote their first names on the cards. Afterwards, peers practiced introducing themselves using the phrase, "Hola! me llamo es (child's name)/hello my name is. Gran trabajo/great job!
2019
Estudiantes are doing extremely well incorporating the Spanish language into their vocabulary here at school. We hope they are sharing these new words with you at home to reinforce and practice newly acquired skills. Thank you for your support!
