As the Moms Day Out classes focused on colors and shapes in October, I reviewed colors and introduced shapes within the context of the changing seasons.
Because October is a month mixed with warm and cool mornings, we have begun talking about the weather. We do a chant to ask/answer what the weather is for the day:
¿Qué tiempo hace afuera, afuera? ¿Qué tiempo hace afuera hoy? (Hace is pronounced "AH say")
(It's cold: "Hace frío"; It's hot: "Hace calor"; It's windy: "Hace viento".)
In talking about colors, we looked at leaves one day and did leaf rubbings using fall colors like brown (café), green (verde), yellow (amarillo) and orange (anaranjado).
We also sang the classic song, "De colores" and talked about the colors of the objects mentioned in the song and some of the words. The children enjoyed the part of the song that includes three animals and the sounds they make in Spanish:
Canta el gallo, con el kiri kiri kiri kiri kiri kiri kiri. (The rooster sings "kiri, kiri, kiri...")
La gallina, con el cara cara cara cara cara cara cara (The hen, with her "cara, cara, cara...")
Los pollitos con el pío pío pío pío pío pío pi (The chicks with the "pío, pío...)
Here is the version of the song we sang:
There are many other versions available.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Los caballos
To celebrate the WEG competitors in town and parallel the curriculum across the Mom's Day Out classes, the vocabulary, songs and games were related to horses (and some other farm animals) for the last few weeks of September.
We played a lot with little horses, making them jump ("¡salten!"), run ("¡corran!"), turn around ("¡den la vuelta!") sleep ("duerman"), and in some classes the students made them fly ("vuelen"). Along with the commands, we talked a bit about the horses' colors and features.
We also sang a song about lots of farm animals called, "Vengan a ver mi granja". If you purchased the Whistlefritz CD last year, you have this song. We used sign language as we sang some of the words:
Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa (repeat)
Click here for a sample of the song, or to download it if you do not have it already and would like a copy:
We also read the book Salí de paseo. Students held stuffed farm animals as we "found" them in the book. This book has recently been for sale for a few dollars in the discounted children's book section at Joseph Beth. You can also find it here:
Finally, I introduced a new song that the kids have loved called "Bailar rápido, bailar tranquilo." The song has just a few phrases, which say, "I like to dance, I like to dance slowly. I like to dance, and I never want to stop":
A mí me gusta bailar,
me gusta bailar tranquilo.
A mí me gusta bailar,
Y nunca quiero parar.
This song is set to a salsa beat. I taught the children the basic dance step for salsa, and many of them picked it up easily. The song repeats multiple times, getting faster with each round. It is a very fun song and a great way to expend energy! The song comes from a CD that is filled with songs that expose students to the beat and instruments of Latin music. It is available through the Spanish Scholastic book order. If you would like a copy, let me know and I will place an order for you.
We played a lot with little horses, making them jump ("¡salten!"), run ("¡corran!"), turn around ("¡den la vuelta!") sleep ("duerman"), and in some classes the students made them fly ("vuelen"). Along with the commands, we talked a bit about the horses' colors and features.
We also sang a song about lots of farm animals called, "Vengan a ver mi granja". If you purchased the Whistlefritz CD last year, you have this song. We used sign language as we sang some of the words:
Vengan a ver mi granja que es hermosa (repeat)
Click here for a sample of the song, or to download it if you do not have it already and would like a copy:
We also read the book Salí de paseo. Students held stuffed farm animals as we "found" them in the book. This book has recently been for sale for a few dollars in the discounted children's book section at Joseph Beth. You can also find it here:
Finally, I introduced a new song that the kids have loved called "Bailar rápido, bailar tranquilo." The song has just a few phrases, which say, "I like to dance, I like to dance slowly. I like to dance, and I never want to stop":
A mí me gusta bailar,
me gusta bailar tranquilo.
A mí me gusta bailar,
Y nunca quiero parar.
This song is set to a salsa beat. I taught the children the basic dance step for salsa, and many of them picked it up easily. The song repeats multiple times, getting faster with each round. It is a very fun song and a great way to expend energy! The song comes from a CD that is filled with songs that expose students to the beat and instruments of Latin music. It is available through the Spanish Scholastic book order. If you would like a copy, let me know and I will place an order for you.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Welcome back!
I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with the children at Mom's Day Out this year, and I have been especially thrilled to watch last year's students pick up where we left off in the Spring. The children are doing great!
This year our vocabulary, songs and books coincide directly with the themes for the classes. I am also linking to Bible stories or Bible verses that apply to our topics. We started the year by learning some basic commands and by learning how to talk about our friends. Here are some of the songs and activities we have done:
"Hola, amigo"
This comes from the Dr. Jean CD.
Hola, amigo (we wave to say, "hello friend")
¿Cómo está Usted? ("how are you?")
Estoy muy feliz de verlo a Usted. (We draw a smile on our faces, point to our eyes, then point to a friend to say, "I'm very happy to see you.")
Salude su vecino (wave to a neighbor)
Boogie para abajo (wiggle to the floor)
Dese un tope (give two little bumps with our hips)
y de la vuelta (do a spin)
"Yo tengo un amigo que me ama"
I learned this song at a Vacation Bible School in Mexico. It's a very easy to learn and fun to sing. Most of the children can already sing along with me. It says, "I have a friend who loves me; His name is Jesus." The lyrics are:
Yo tengo un amigo que me ama, me ama, me ama
Yo tengo un amigo que me ama
Su nombre es Jesús.
The signs we use as we sing are:
"amigo" (friend): click here to see the sign
"me ama"(loves me): we give ourselves a hug
"Jesús" (Jesus): click here to see the sign
You can download it or just listen to a sample here:
We have done a little bit of descriptions of our ourselves and our friends. We started with how our faces are similar:
Yo tengo dos ojos (I have two eyes)
Yo tengo una nariz (I have a nose)
Yo tengo una boca (I have a mouth)
Y estoy muy feliz (I am very happy)
We sing that quick rhyme to the same tune as a very fun song about hair color. The part the children are learning says:
Cabeza, cabeza (we pat our heads to the beat; this line says, "head, head")
La cabeza tiene pelo (the head has hair)
Pelo, pelo, pelo en la cabeza (hair, hair, hair on the head)
A veces es ______(a different hair color is mentioned each time)
A veces la cabeza no tiene pelo. (Sometimes the head has no hair)
This song is worth a quick listen. My kids love to sing and dance to it at home.
This year our vocabulary, songs and books coincide directly with the themes for the classes. I am also linking to Bible stories or Bible verses that apply to our topics. We started the year by learning some basic commands and by learning how to talk about our friends. Here are some of the songs and activities we have done:
"Hola, amigo"
This comes from the Dr. Jean CD.
Hola, amigo (we wave to say, "hello friend")
¿Cómo está Usted? ("how are you?")
Estoy muy feliz de verlo a Usted. (We draw a smile on our faces, point to our eyes, then point to a friend to say, "I'm very happy to see you.")
Salude su vecino (wave to a neighbor)
Boogie para abajo (wiggle to the floor)
Dese un tope (give two little bumps with our hips)
y de la vuelta (do a spin)
"Yo tengo un amigo que me ama"
I learned this song at a Vacation Bible School in Mexico. It's a very easy to learn and fun to sing. Most of the children can already sing along with me. It says, "I have a friend who loves me; His name is Jesus." The lyrics are:
Yo tengo un amigo que me ama, me ama, me ama
Yo tengo un amigo que me ama
Su nombre es Jesús.
The signs we use as we sing are:
"amigo" (friend): click here to see the sign
"me ama"(loves me): we give ourselves a hug
"Jesús" (Jesus): click here to see the sign
You can download it or just listen to a sample here:
We have done a little bit of descriptions of our ourselves and our friends. We started with how our faces are similar:
Yo tengo dos ojos (I have two eyes)
Yo tengo una nariz (I have a nose)
Yo tengo una boca (I have a mouth)
Y estoy muy feliz (I am very happy)
We sing that quick rhyme to the same tune as a very fun song about hair color. The part the children are learning says:
Cabeza, cabeza (we pat our heads to the beat; this line says, "head, head")
La cabeza tiene pelo (the head has hair)
Pelo, pelo, pelo en la cabeza (hair, hair, hair on the head)
A veces es ______(a different hair color is mentioned each time)
A veces la cabeza no tiene pelo. (Sometimes the head has no hair)
This song is worth a quick listen. My kids love to sing and dance to it at home.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Pinta ratones
Today we read another book about colors-- another wonderful one for a home Spanish library. Actually, you ought to look at the public library for this book and others I have listed on this blog. They have a nice collection of bilingual books, especially at the Village Branch.
The featured book is Pinta ratones, about some white mice who get into primary colors of paint and eventually mix paints to make new colors.
Each child got to select two primary colors of playdoh to mix and see what new colors we get. Another opportunity to have the children practice language by asking for colors and talking about what colors they make.
The featured book is Pinta ratones, about some white mice who get into primary colors of paint and eventually mix paints to make new colors.
Each child got to select two primary colors of playdoh to mix and see what new colors we get. Another opportunity to have the children practice language by asking for colors and talking about what colors they make.
el camaleón
Many of the children know the colors in Spanish now, so we can read books that incorporate the colors and they can talk about what they see on the pages. This week we read another wonderful book that is another I recommend adding to your Spanish library. Some of the vocabulary is a little more advanced, but the vibrant pictures and sweet story make this one very fun to read. The chameleons in this book express some emotions, so I was able to introduce "está feliz" (he is happy) and "está triste" (he is sad). We had fun making the faces for these emotions, but I wouldn't expect your child to remember these words yet. This is vocabulary we will learn next year!
We did an activity where a chameleon changed color according to clothes the children were wearing and colorful foods we have used in recent lessons. Many of the children could look at a yellow lemon, for example, and tell me that the chameleon would be turning "amarillo." It thrills me to hear the children answering questions in Spanish. And their accents are really good!
Here's the book we read:
We did an activity where a chameleon changed color according to clothes the children were wearing and colorful foods we have used in recent lessons. Many of the children could look at a yellow lemon, for example, and tell me that the chameleon would be turning "amarillo." It thrills me to hear the children answering questions in Spanish. And their accents are really good!
Here's the book we read:
Me gusta comer como un arcoiris
To continue to recycle the colors and return to food vocabulary, over the past few weeks we have read the following books and sung the following new song. As always, each week I incorporate at least one past song that the children love ("un elefante" and "tengo hambre").
We have read some really fun books the past few weeks. If you are adding any Spanish books to your collection, these are some must-haves:
We have read la oruga muy hambrienta before. This time we counted how many pieces of food the "oruga" eats each day and emphasized the colors of the food.
A sembrar sopa de verduras is wonderful. It is basic language but very rich, and the children love acting it out:
Our new song the past few weeks was about eating the colors of the rainbow:
Me gusta comer como un arcoiris (repeat 3 times)
Como todos los colores.
(I then say a color and a child's name, and he/she looks for a piece of food that includes that color.)
Comer (koh-mair) means "to eat," so when we say that word in the song, we pretend like we are eating. Arcoiris means "rainbow," and we do the actual ASL sign for that (view it here). Sometimes we will also do a thumbs-up for me gusta, which means "I like ___".
Some of the color words are long and very different from English, so to help with learning the colors, I have an action I now do for each color. Often when a child can't remember the word, if I do the action, the word will come to mind (this is especially true with anaranjado).
rojo (ROE-hoe= red): slap hands on legs twice, as you say each syllable
anaranjado (ah-nah-dan-HA-though=orange): 5 claps, one clap as you say each syllable
amarillo (ah-mah-DEE-yo=yellow): hands on hips, wiggle hips from side to side
azul (ah-SOOL=blue): ASL sign for blue
verde (VAIR-day= green) : move flat (horizontal) hands back and forth\
morado (moh-DAH-though= purple): make an ASL sign for "v" with both hands and touch fingertips together
blanco (BLAHN-koe= white): ASL sign for white
We have read some really fun books the past few weeks. If you are adding any Spanish books to your collection, these are some must-haves:
We have read la oruga muy hambrienta before. This time we counted how many pieces of food the "oruga" eats each day and emphasized the colors of the food.
A sembrar sopa de verduras is wonderful. It is basic language but very rich, and the children love acting it out:
Our new song the past few weeks was about eating the colors of the rainbow:
Me gusta comer como un arcoiris (repeat 3 times)
Como todos los colores.
(I then say a color and a child's name, and he/she looks for a piece of food that includes that color.)
Comer (koh-mair) means "to eat," so when we say that word in the song, we pretend like we are eating. Arcoiris means "rainbow," and we do the actual ASL sign for that (view it here). Sometimes we will also do a thumbs-up for me gusta, which means "I like ___".
Some of the color words are long and very different from English, so to help with learning the colors, I have an action I now do for each color. Often when a child can't remember the word, if I do the action, the word will come to mind (this is especially true with anaranjado).
rojo (ROE-hoe= red): slap hands on legs twice, as you say each syllable
anaranjado (ah-nah-dan-HA-though=orange): 5 claps, one clap as you say each syllable
amarillo (ah-mah-DEE-yo=yellow): hands on hips, wiggle hips from side to side
azul (ah-SOOL=blue): ASL sign for blue
verde (VAIR-day= green) : move flat (horizontal) hands back and forth\
morado (moh-DAH-though= purple): make an ASL sign for "v" with both hands and touch fingertips together
blanco (BLAHN-koe= white): ASL sign for white
Thursday, April 22, 2010
el arca y el barco
The children love the song "Noé hizo el arca." Even the youngest will sing "arca" with me. Today we sang about a small boat.
This gave us a chance to return to words like grande and pequeño (big and small) and to review numbers up to seven. In the song about the small boat, we learn a synonym for pequeño: chiquito. Your child probably brought home a little boat on a popsicle stick. We used that little boat to sing this traditional song called El barquito. You can hear a sample of it here:
If you purchased the José-Luis Orozco CD earlier in the year (see below), El barquito is the third song.
The song is about a little boat (barco chiquito) that can't sail because it is so small. Seven weeks pass and it still can't sail. The lyrics are:
Había una vez un barco chiquitito (repeat 3 times)
tan chiquito, tan chiquito, que no podía navegar.
Pasaron una, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete semanas (repeat 3 times)
y el barco tan chiquitito no podía navegar.
There is another verse that we did not sing this week. We may add it later, but it is linguistically more complex and doesn't include very much practical vocabulary.
In some classes we reviewed a few pages of Corre, Perro, Corre (Go Dog Go) both because there is a scene where the dogs are on a boat (barco) and because we went to see the English version of that play at the Lexington Children's Theater last week.
I have begun to do signs for the children outside of the context of our songs to see if they know the Spanish words just by seeing the sign. Try this sign and see if your child says mis amigos or this one to see if he/she says, ¿Cómo estás? If not, it is fine because we have stressed receptive skills this year. Try again in a few weeks and see if he/she can do it. It will come!
This gave us a chance to return to words like grande and pequeño (big and small) and to review numbers up to seven. In the song about the small boat, we learn a synonym for pequeño: chiquito. Your child probably brought home a little boat on a popsicle stick. We used that little boat to sing this traditional song called El barquito. You can hear a sample of it here:
If you purchased the José-Luis Orozco CD earlier in the year (see below), El barquito is the third song.
The song is about a little boat (barco chiquito) that can't sail because it is so small. Seven weeks pass and it still can't sail. The lyrics are:
Había una vez un barco chiquitito (repeat 3 times)
tan chiquito, tan chiquito, que no podía navegar.
Pasaron una, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete semanas (repeat 3 times)
y el barco tan chiquitito no podía navegar.
There is another verse that we did not sing this week. We may add it later, but it is linguistically more complex and doesn't include very much practical vocabulary.
In some classes we reviewed a few pages of Corre, Perro, Corre (Go Dog Go) both because there is a scene where the dogs are on a boat (barco) and because we went to see the English version of that play at the Lexington Children's Theater last week.
I have begun to do signs for the children outside of the context of our songs to see if they know the Spanish words just by seeing the sign. Try this sign and see if your child says mis amigos or this one to see if he/she says, ¿Cómo estás? If not, it is fine because we have stressed receptive skills this year. Try again in a few weeks and see if he/she can do it. It will come!
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