Estimadas Familias,

Los estudiantes de kindergarten are working diligently on their Libro de Puerto Rico. This is the students first foray into the world of research in la clase de Español. Your children are being asked to step outside of their comfort zone and create artwork that challenges their skills and that proves that the picture drawn is IN Puerto Rico. In order to achieve this, they have to include key elements that we have studied over the past few months. It is exciting to see them expand beyond their familiar and grapple with the concept of proving your point. Thus far, they are being resourceful and generating artwork that they are incredibly proud of.

Recently, a family gifted our class with a wonderful book called, La leyenda del Coquí, (The Legend of the Coquí). It is a wonderful story that teaches about the importance of doing our personal best and caring about our environment. The children really enjoyed it and I have been able to reference the story many times to instill in kindergartners the enduring understanding that how much effort we put into something is directly related to the results we get and how we feel about them.

Below is a typical song of Puerto Rico that the children have been singing... you may have heard it at home :)

El coquí

El coquí, el coquí a mi me encanta

Es tan lindo el cantar del coquí

Por las noches al ir acostarme

Me adormece cantando así

Coquí, coquí, coquí quí quí quí

Coquí, coquí, coquí quí quí quí

We have also been learning the days of the week. Click on this link to practice los días de la semana with your kindergartner, http://www.spanishspanish.com/days_spelling.html.

I wish you all a feliz mes de abril.

Atentamente,
Claudia Sanhueza

Estimadas Familias,

With only about two months left of school, second graders are working diligently on their Perú projects. This year, they have been given the opportunity to pick from a variety of projects. I encourage you to talk with your child about the one they picked. It would be great if you could take them to the public library to get an age-appropriate book to read together. Then, you can ask them what information they believe is most important to include in their project. This is a great way for students to practice extracting vital information as they learn to do research projects. Spending a little time with them now engaged in this kind of learning, will benefit them hand over fist as they continue their education.

Below is the conversation we are currently working on. Ask your child to teach it to you.



We have been having a lot of fun learning a song called La iguana y el perezoso, (The Iguana and the Sloth).





Below are the lyrics.



I wish you all a feliz mes de abril.

Atentatmente,
Claudia Sanhueza

Estimadas Familias,

As you may have heard from your second grader, we are deep into the study of Perú, a geographically diverse country that is divided into three regions; the coast, the mountains, and the jungle. Did you know that the Inca Empire spanned over 2,500 miles from Ecuador all the way to Chile? Before the invention of the wheel, the Inca built incredible roads, irrigation systems that still function today, and temples that have survived earthquakes that completely destroyed the churches built by the Spanish conquerors. Check out this Peruvian timeline:http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/specials/goplaces/0,12405,354768,00.html

Peruvians have two official languages, español y quechua. To listen and learn some quechua click on this link:http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/specials/goplaces/0,12405,362066,00.html

It is exciting to witness second graders as they broaden their foundation of Spanish language acquisition. Students’ speaking, reading, writing and spelling skills reflect their academic growth this year. They are becoming effective communicators, more fluent readers, and persevering learners of new vocabulary. All of these skills will benefit them in ways they have not yet imagined, as they continue their academic careers. Below is the vocabulary los estudiantes are practicing with our Perú unit.

Below is link to a film I made while visiting Chinchero, a small Andean village that has held on to its Inca roots through the ancient art of weaving. Enjoy!

http://moodle.breckschool.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=13076

It is interesting to note that the people of Chinchero's dying and weaving methods are completely earth-friendly.

I encourage you to spend some time in your local library with your child researching modern Perú or the history of this incredible country. Below is one final link that provides a wealth of kid-friendly information about Perú.

http://moodle.breckschool.org/course/view.php?id=319

Atentamente,

Claudia Sanhueza

Estimadas Familias,

It was wonderful to meet with many of you during parent/teacher conferences to discuss your children! I appreciate your time and insight.

In the last month, los estudiantes de Español have learned a considerable amount about Puerto Rico. We have talked about the people, the geography, the ecology, the history, the culture, the weather, and the music.

The Taino’s are the indigenous people of Puerto Rico. When they first lived there, the isla, (island) was called Borinquen. Did you know that the word canoe comes from the Taino word canoa? The indigenous people of Borinquen made canoasfrom the wood of the Ceiba tree, the arbol de Puerto Rico.On average, Ceiba’s grow to be 130 feet tall!! They have seeds called kapok, which blossom into fluffy cotton-like fibers that are buoyant and water resistant. Many years ago, kapok was used to stuff life jackets and life preservers, as well as sleeping bags and pillows. The students and I discussed how much more earth-friendly kapok is than materials we currently use to make these items today.

Cristobal Colón, (Christopher Columbus) and his men, sailed to Borinquen thinking they were headed for India. When they arrived on la isla, the Taino’s were friendly and willing to help them. However, Cristobal Colón made the Taino’s slaves. He discovered that they had gold, which he sent to the king and queen of Spain, and he changed the name of the island to Puerto Rico, which means rich port. The Taino’s started to die from malnutrition and from the diseases that the Españoles brought with them. That is why the Españoles sailed ships to Africa, where they kidnapped people and brought them to the island to also work as slaves. Today, los Tico’s y Tica’s, (that’s what people from PR are called) are known as the rainbow people because the Taino’s, the Spanish, and the Africans began to marry each other and have children.

When Spain lost the Spanish American War to the U.S., Puerto Rico became a commonwealth of our country. Tico’s y Tica’s are considered U.S. citizens, however, they don’t have to pay taxes and are not allowed to vote in federal elections.

Ricky Martin is a famous singer, dancer and musician from PR. He has been performing since he was thirteen. As you may already know, he is an internationally famous performer. The children and I enjoyed watching his latest video called Tu y yo, You and Me. Enjoy!

Below is the same video en ingles.

Puerto Rico has the only tropical rainforest in North America. It is called El Yunque. You may have heard your children singing a song called El Coquí.

The Coquí is a tiny rana(frog) with a BIG voice.
Coquí’s are nocturnal and like to sing from sundown to sunup. Unlike other frogs, Coquí’s skip the tadpole stage! The Golden Coquí is one of few ranas in the world to give birth to live young! Unfortunately, they are currently feared to be extinct due to the destruction of their habitat.

Below is a video of Cristian Nieves, a famous musician from PR playing some of the typical instruments used on his islato make musica. They include; el guiro, (which is made out of a gourd!) el cuatro, (a small guitar with twelve strings) and las congas.

Kindergartners will shortly begin to create their very own Libro de Puerto Rico. I encourage you to spend some time at your local library with your child learning more about la isla del encanto, (the island of enchantment).

Atentamente,

Claudia Sanhueza

Estimadas Familias,

¡Feliz año nuevo! I wish you all a healthy, joyous, fun-filled 2011.

Kindergarten students are fast becoming skilled language learners. Their attention, listening, speaking, (and for some) reading skills are developing beautifully. In diciembre we spent some time talking about los continentes – the continents. We focused on América del Norte and focused in on the país México. Los estudiantes learned about a famous artist, Frida Kahlo, and colored their own version of one of her paintings. We learned a song about Chiapas, México. Enjoy the video below.

Your children are finishing up a unit of study on El Cuerpo, (the body). They have been working diligently on their book to produces their personal best work. We have assessed their comprehension and retention skills together. When your child brings the libro home, be sure to have them read it to you.

I hope this letter finds you well. I look forward to meeting with many of you at parent/teacher conferences in February.

Blessings,

Claudia Sanhueza

Estimadas Familias,

As of two days ago, the people of Chile, and many others around the world, have been celebrating the successful rescue of the treinta y tres (33) mineros (miners) who were trapped half a mile under the earth in the Mina San José, near Copiapó en el norte de Chile. It is wonderful when people come together to help one another.

Los estudiantes de segundo grado have been working diligently on their listening, speaking, reading, writing and spelling skills. We have been learning vocabulary about the classroom and la familia. Ask your child to read the attached vocabulary list to you. You might even wish to put it up where all of you can practice the words.

En el continente de África, this past verano (summer), se jugó la Copa Mundial (the World Cup). Did you know that the United States is the only country in the world who calls this sport soccer? The rest of the world calls it fútbol. Shakira, a bi-lingual famous musician de Colombia, sang the anthem for the tournament. It is called Waka waka…. You may have heard your second grader singing it… a lot.

Feliz mes de octubre.

Atentamente,

Claudia Sanhueza

Estimadas Familias,

I am looking forward to another year (my fifteenth!) teaching kindergarten and second grade. I hope you all had a great summer.

I am enjoying catching up with second grade students and excited to be meeting kindergartners. I look forward to seeing all of you at Back to School Night on Thursday, September 16th.

As you may have noticed, fall conferences are at the end of this month. If you desire to meet with me be sure to sign up as soon as registration opens.

Kindergarten parents: You will have an opportunity to gain a solid understanding of the Spanish program at the parent coffee scheduled for Thursday, October 7th at 8:45 a.m. at the Anderson Ice Arena.

Second grade parents: Be sure to find out how to access the Breck Moodle Site with your second grader, as there are online Spanish activities that will support their learning at home. If you have questions get in touch with our Academic Technology Coordinator, Dave Kust at dave.kust@breckschool.org

¡Feliz mes de septiembre!

Claudia Sanhueza