Miércoles 23 de Octubre, 2013

Buenos días padres,

We started this week’s session with a quick rehearsal of Los Colores – the song we learned last week. As it turns out, only 1 of our seven students practiced the song during the week, as they were assigned to do. Thank you Ari for your hard work; as for the remainder of the class ¡Solo puedo confirmar que son muy honestos! (I can only confirm they are very honest!) At any rate, after our quick rehearsal, we made our way to the school office to serenade the office staff. Everyone sang beautifully, impressing their audience and, on our way back to the classroom, even insisted on performing a verse to a teacher and his colleagues working on a bench, much to their delight!

Ask your child to teach you the tongue-twisting chorus:

           

Paco guarda las pocas copas que poco a poco Pepe sacó…

         Paco guarda las pocas copas que poco a poco Pepe sacó…

Día de los Muertos - 2 de Noviembre 

We began our Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) projects this week. Many of you may be familiar with the traditional Mexican celebration honoring the memory of departed loved ones, by assembling Ofrendas or Offerings which attempt to capture the spirit of their time with us. Last Wednesday we decorated the receptacles which will be used to hold the traditional sugar skulls made for this holiday. They will be delivered next Wednesday 10/30th, be decorated in very festive colors, and sent home with your student.

As a homework assignment I asked students to search for items which in any way may represent someone they care about, but who is no longer physically among us. An old picture, a piece of ribbon, a bead, stamp, a bit of their favorite treat, or any other item they can add to their creation.

Gracias a la muerte y...

Gracias a la vida - por Violeta Parra -World recognized Chilean Poet and Composer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW3IgDs-NnA

. 
Hasta el próximo Miércoles,

Señor Lobo

Miércoles 16 de Octubre, 2013

Buenos días padres,

This week we had a special treat as a result of circumstance. The teacher who uses room # 34 before us, needed her classroom a bit longer to finish an art project with her students. So both classes – Los Chicos and Los Chicos 2 – took a short excursion to the mini forest outside to learn and play a new game together:

- Juguemos en el bosque mientras el Lobo no está… ¿¡¡LOBO ESTÁ!!?

- Let’s play in the forest while the Wolf isn’t there… WOLF, ARE YOU THERE!!?

The students sing the song ending with the resounding question, which the hiding Lobo answers, describing a morning chore he is busy attending to. After two or three times Lobo comes out ready to run after the kids much to their surprise and wild excitement. Whomever Lobo tags in the forest becomes the Wolf, ready for the next round. Please keep in mind it is simply a coincidence that my name is Wolff a.k.a. Señor Lobo. Everyone got a chance to be the Wolf and had a lot of fun…Try this game to get your Lobo/a ready for school in the morning!

                           Juguemos en el bosque, mientras el Lobo no está... ¿¡¡LOBO ESTÁ!!?

                                            ¡¡¡¡SÍÍÍ!!!!, VOY A COMERLOS A TODOS..

                                              YES!!! I AM GOING TO EAT YOU ALL...

Once back in the classroom, we had a chance to follow up on colors and learn the new song – Los Colores by Luis Pescetti. Everyone should have the lyrics in their binder and is expected to learn the song by next Wednesday. Have your child pay close attention to the tongue twisting chorus, which they found hilarious.

Some students insisted in writing sentences for next week (others complained of time management issues). Those motivated to write, using any topic and vocabulary we learned so far, will certainly get a chance at the podium to present their work to the rest of the class.


Hasta el próximo Miércoles,

Señor Lobo

Miércoles 9 de Octubre, 2013

Greetings everyone,

During this lesson we covered:

- The two forms of the verb to be: Ser and Estar. The first form can be thought of as a permanent state, whereas the second is a temporary one.
For example:
1) Yo soy Señor Lobo. I am Señor Lobo.
2) Yo estoy escribiendo. I am writing.

- We also learned colors using various examples of fruit as models. Your child should have a vocabulary list, from which she/he should compose three sentences to be read in class next week.

- Lastly we played a card game called Escoba del Quince (Broom of Fifteen) using a Spanish deck. It provided a chance to review numbers up to 15 (quince) and also to practice basic sum skills. It is not necessary to play with a Spanish deck, so if you have a standard deck at home, have your child teach you the game.

Hasta el próximo Miércoles,
Señor Lobo







o

Miércoles 2 de Octubre, 2013

Buen Día Familias,

 

This week we opened with our song, La Mar Estaba Serena, including the 5 different vowel versions to reemphasize vowel sounds. If you have not heard the song yet, please ask your child to sing it to you. The kids like singing it so much; they would not end the class without an encore performance!

 

We also covered La Familia, learning the various family member titles, including several names for mother and father ranging from the formal to the very endearing versions. Your child should have a list of these names in her/his binder. They are assigned to write 3 sentences using the vocabulary we learned this week about the family. They will read them to the class during our next class.

For example:

Mi prima se llama ______. _______tiene __ años y vive en _______.

 

My cousin (female) is called ______. ______ has __ years and lives in ______.

 

Saludos y hasta el próximo miércoles,

Señor Lobo