Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Christmas Break Activity Ideas!

If you're looking for some fun, Spanish-related activities to do over break, check out some of these ideas:

  1. Try a new recipe!
    1. Mexican Hot Chocolate
    2. Mexican Christmas Eve Salad
    3. Spanish turrón
  2. Try a craft!
    1. Poinsettia ornament
    2. Farolitos (Luminaries)
    3. Piñata ornament
  3. Read a book (All are available through the Herrick Library or library loan)
    1. The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie dePaola
    2. The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola
    3. Uno, Dos, Tres, Posada! by Virginia Kroll
    4. The Gift of the Poinsettia by Pat Mora and Charles Ramírez Berg
    5. Feliz Navidad:  learning songs and traditions in Spanish by Anna Maria Mahoney

4/5/6: December 18, 2013

Today, we read the Legend of the Poinsettia in class.  For more information about this unit, click HERE.

Ask your student:
  • What was the moral of the story?  (A gift isn't important because it's expensive.  It's important because it comes from your heart.)

Today's vocabulary (words with a * are review from previous units this year):
  • *le da - he/she gives to him/her
  • *le dice - he/she says to him/her
  • *mira - he/she looks at
  • *tengo - I have
  • el regalo - the gift/present
  • pobre - poor
  • el dinero - the money 
  • está triste - he/she is sad
  • llora - he/she cries
  • el pesebre - the manger
  • la planta - the plant
  • la flor de nochebuena - the poinsettia
  • la iglesia - the church
  • el corazón - the heart 
  • recoge - he/she picks up
  • ¡Qué vergüenza! - How embarrassing!
  • habla en voz baja - he/she whispers
  • *el ángel - the angel
  • el milagro - the miracle
  • ¿por qué? - why?

Homework:
  • Sing along with Christmas songs in Spanish!  
  • Check out these ideas for some fun activities over break!
  • Christmas Bible Verse:  Isaiah 9:6.  Each year, in 4/5/6 grade, this will be our Christmas Bible verse, so we'll memorize more and more each year!  This year, everyone should memorize Part A.  If they want to,  5th graders may memorize Part B as well, and 6th graders may memorize the entire verse.  
    • AUDIO VERSION
    • Part A:  Porque nos ha nacido un niño, Dios nos ha dado un hijo;
    • Part B:  el gobierno descansará sobre sus hombros, 
    • Part C:  y su nombre será:  Consejero admirable, Dios fuerte, Padre eterno, Príncipe de Paz. 

2/3: December 18, 2013

Today in class, we talked about a Christmas tradition in Mexico:  Las Posadas!  For more information about our Christmas unit, click HERE.

Ask your student:
  • What is "Las Posadas"?  (Posadas means "inns".  In Mexico, people organize parties for the 9 days leading up to Christmas.  They walk from house to house asking if they can go in...just like Mary and Joseph had to look for a place to stay.  Finally, they get to the "right" house that will let them come in and have a party.  In Mexico, they always plan out who will host the parties in advance!  We did this in class!  Some students "hosted" parties, others were Mary, Joseph, or the Angel.  Ask your student what his/her role was!)  

Today's vocabulary (review from last week):
  • María - Mary
  • José - Joseph
  • el Niño Jesús - the Baby Jesus
  • el establo - the stable
  • la estrella - the star
  • Belén - Bethlehem
  • los ángeles - the angels
  • los pastores - the shepherds
  • los reyes magos - the magi/wise men
  • el pesebre - the manger
  • la posada - the inn
  • hay - there is/there are

Homework:
  • Sing along with our Christmas song:  Hoy es Navidad (to the tune of Jingle Bells)
  • Check out these ideas for some fun activities over break!
  • Practice our Bible verse:  Genesis 1:1.  CLICK HERE.

1st Grade: December 18, 2013

This week in Spanish class, we started our Christmas unit!  We'll be reviewing basic Christmas vocabulary words and talking about some of the animals that may have been at Jesus' birth.  It's a great way to review the animals we learned about earlier this year.  We're also learning a Christmas song that is very popular in Mexico!  For more information about our Christmas unit, click HERE.

Ask your student:

  • Can you show me some of the actions from the Burrito de Belén song?  (Burrito: make floppy donkey ears with your hands, el camino:  make a path with your hands, Belén:  outline the tops of houses and other buildings with your hands.)

Today's vocabulary (review from last week):
  • María - Mary
  • José - Joseph
  • el Niño Jesús - the Baby Jesus
  • Belén - Bethlehem
  • el establo - the stable
  • la estrella - the star
  • los ángeles - the angels
  • los pastores - the shepherds
  • los reyes magos - the magi/wise men
  • el burro - the donkey
  • las ovejas - the sheep
  • el camino - the path/the way (This word is in both our song, El Burrito de Belén, and our Bible Memory verse!) 
Homework:
  • Sing along with our Christmas song:  El Burrito de Belén (The Little Donkey of Bethlehem)
  • Check out these ideas for some fun activities over break!
  • Practice our new Bible memory verse:  Psalm 119:105 (Listen HERE)
    • Tu palabra es una lámpara a mis pies, y una luz en mi camino.
    • Salmos ciento diecinueve, versículo ciento cinco
  • To review calendar/weather vocabulary at home, you can sing along with these songs...

Kindergarten: December 18, 2013

This week, practiced our Christmas vocabulary words by playing games and .  (For more information about the Christmas Unit, click HERE).

This week's vocabulary (and review from last week):
  • José - Joseph
  • María - Mary
  • el Niño Jesús - the Baby Jesus
  • los ángeles - the angels
  • Belén - Bethlehem
  • el establo - the stable
  • la estrella - the star
  • los reyes magos - the wise men
Homework:
  • Listen and sing along with our two Christmas songs!
  • Check out these ideas for some fun activities over break!
  • Practice our Bible verse and actions:  Proverbs 3:5  (Click verse for Audio).  We'll have a new verse in January!
    • Confía = trust = take open hands, and clasp them shut, as if you're grabbing on to something.
    • en el Señor = in the Lord = point up to heaven
    • de todo = with all = hold arms out wide
    • corazón = heart = bring your arms in, and make a heart with your hands

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Bible Memory: 4/5/6 grade, Isaiah 9:6

I'm having some technical difficulties with VoiceThread.  This isn't quite the same, but you can pause and replay as much as you need to!


Bible Memory: 1st Grade, Psalm 119:105

I've been having some technical difficulties with VoiceThread, the site I usually use to make Bible Memory audio slide shows.  This isn't quite the same, but feel free to press the pause button as much as you need to!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

4/5/6: December 11, 2013

In class today, we began our Christmas unit.  We'll be learning about the Mexican Christmas legend of the poinsettia.  Today we learned the vocabulary for the story, and next week, we'll read the story in class.  For more information about this unit, click HERE.

Ask your student:
  • What is a poinsettia called in Spanish?  What does it mean?  (In Spanish, the poinsettia is called la flor de Nochebuena.  That means:  the flower of Christmas Eve.)

Today's vocabulary (words with a * are review from previous units this year):
  • *le da - he/she gives to him/her
  • *le dice - he/she says to him/her
  • *mira - he/she looks at
  • *tengo - I have
  • el regalo - the gift/present
  • pobre - poor
  • el dinero - the money 
  • está triste - he/she is sad
  • llora - he/she cries
  • el pesebre - the manger
  • la planta - the plant
  • la flor de nochebuena - the poinsettia
  • la iglesia - the church
  • el corazón - the heart 
  • recoge - he/she picks up
  • ¡Qué vergüenza! - How embarrassing!
  • habla en voz baja - he/she whispers
  • *el ángel - the angel
  • el milagro - the miracle
  • ¿por qué? - why?

Homework:
  • Sing along with Christmas songs in Spanish!  
  • Quia activities to practice our vocabulary words from class today.  (Practice Activity #1, Practice Activity #2)  **If you have problems getting Activity #1 to work, try #2.  It's a different format, but it shouldn't have any "Java" problems.  
  • Quia homework assignment, worth 2 pegatinas. 
  • Christmas Bible Verse:  Isaiah 9:6.  Each year, in 4/5/6 grade, this will be our Christmas Bible verse, so we'll memorize more and more each year!  This year, everyone should memorize Part A.  If they want to,  5th graders may memorize Part B as well, and 6th graders may memorize the entire verse.  
    • Part A:  Porque nos ha nacido un niño, Dios nos ha dado un hijo;
    • Part B:  el gobierno descansará sobre sus hombros, 
    • Part C:  y su nombre será:  Consejero admirable, Dios fuerte, Padre eterno, Príncipe de Paz. 

2/3: December 11, 2013


Today in class, we began our Christmas unit!  Today, we reviewed some basic Christmas vocabulary. Next week, we'll use that vocabulary to talk about a Christmas tradition in Mexico:  Las Posadas!  For more information about our new unit, click HERE.

Ask your student:
  • Do you remember the actions you did for María, José, and el Niño Jesús?  (María-pretend to hold a baby and pat him on the back, José-pretend to carve something out of wood, el Niño Jesús-rock a baby in your arms).  

Today's vocabulary:
  • María - Mary
  • José - Joseph
  • el Niño Jesús - the Baby Jesus
  • el establo - the stable
  • la estrella - the star
  • Belén - Bethlehem
  • los ángeles - the angels
  • los pastores - the shepherds
  • los reyes magos - the magi/wise men
  • el pesebre - the manger
  • la posada - the inn
  • hay - there is/there are

Homework:
  • Sing along with our Christmas song:  Hoy es Navidad (to the tune of Jingle Bells)
  • Practice our vocabulary words with this QUIA ACTIVITY.
  • Practice our Bible verse:  Genesis 1:1.  CLICK HERE.

1st Grade: December 11, 2013

This week in Spanish class, we started our Christmas unit!  We'll be reviewing basic Christmas vocabulary words and talking about some of the animals that may have been at Jesus' birth.  It's a great way to review the animals we learned about earlier this year.  We're also learning a Christmas song that is very popular in Mexico!  For more information about our Christmas unit, click HERE.

Ask your student:
  • What was Joseph's job?  What action do we do when we say Joseph's name?  (He was a carpenter.  When we review our vocabulary words, we pretend to be carving something out of wood for Joseph.) 
Today's vocabulary:
  • María - Mary
  • José - Joseph
  • el Niño Jesús - the Baby Jesus
  • Belén - Bethlehem
  • el establo - the stable
  • la estrella - the star
  • los ángeles - the angels
  • los pastores - the shepherds
  • los reyes magos - the magi/wise men
  • el burro - the donkey
  • las ovejas - the sheep
  • el camino - the path/the way (This word is in both our song, El Burrito de Belén, and our Bible Memory verse!) 
Homework:
  • Sing along with our Christmas song:  El Burrito de Belén (The Little Donkey of Bethlehem)
  • Practice our new Bible memory verse:  Psalm 119:105 
    • Tu palabra es una lámpara a mis pies, y una luz en mi camino.
    • Salmos ciento diecinueve, versículo ciento cinco
  • To review calendar/weather vocabulary at home, you can sing along with these songs...

Kindergarten: December 11, 2013

This week, we learned some new Christmas words!  Next week, we'll play some games and sing songs to review the new Christmas words.  (For more information about the Christmas Unit, click HERE).

Ask your student:
  •  Can you name all of the people in this family?  (José/Joseph=el papá, María/Mary=la mamá, el Niño Jesús/The Baby Jesus=el bebé)
This week's vocabulary:
  • José - Joseph
  • María - Mary
  • el Niño Jesús - the Baby Jesus
  • los ángeles - the angels
  • Belén - Bethlehem
  • el establo - the stable
  • la estrella - the star
Homework:
  • Listen and sing along with our two Christmas songs!
  • Practice our Bible verse and actions:  Proverbs 3:5  (Click verse for Audio). 
    • Confía = trust = take open hands, and clasp them shut, as if you're grabbing on to something.
    • en el Señor = in the Lord = point up to heaven
    • de todo = with all = hold arms out wide
    • corazón = heart = bring your arms in, and make a heart with your hands

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

4/5/6: December 4, 2013

In class today, we finished our unit:  Mi Tiempo Libre/My Free Time.  We learned about a few more sports-related words.  For more information about our new unit, click here:  Mi Tiempo Libre.

Ask your student:
  • What is are the two meanings for the word "el equipo" ?  (El equipo can mean "the equipment," but it can also mean "the team.")

Today's vocabulary:
  • el entrenador - the coach/trainer
  • el equipo - the team/the equipment
  • el partido - the game/match
  • el campeón - the champion (boy)
  • la campeona - the champion (girl)
  • ganó - he/she won or earned
  • perdió - he/she lost

Homework:
  • We sang two new Christmas songs today!  Ay, del Chiquirritín (Oh, the Little Baby Boy), and Ángeles Cantando Están (Angels We Have Heard on High) 
  • Our final assignment for this unit was handed out in class.  If you misplaced the paper, you can print a new copy HERE.
  • Christmas Bible Verse Coming Soon!!  Based on Isaiah 9.

2/3: December 4, 2013

Today in class, we finished our unit:  Feliz Cumpleaños/Happy Birthday. Today we celebrated Pedro's birthday!  For his "party," he chose to follow some Mexican traditions and some traditions from Michigan!   For more information about our this unit, click:  Feliz Cumpleaños.

Ask your student:
  • What was the most surprising thing you learned about birthday parties in Mexico?  
  • What did Pedro tell you about tacos in Mexico?  (They usually have just meat, onion, and cilantro...no cheese!  If they do have cheese, it's a white cheese, not a yellowish cheddar.)

Today's vocabulary:
  • Review~No new vocabulary

Homework:
  • Sing along with our new song, a traditional birthday song from Spain:  Feliz, feliz en tu día.
  • Practice our Bible verse:  Genesis 1:1.  Be ready to say the verse by November 20.  CLICK HERE.

1st Grade: December 4, 2013

This week in Spanish class, we finished our unit:  Ayudo a mi familia (I help my family).  We looked at some pictures of different houses in the Spanish speaking world.  We also read a short story about a boy who helped his mom with a lot chores around the house.  Finally, we watched a silly video to review a lot of the words we learned.  For more information about this unit, click here: ¡Ayudo a mi familia!/I help my family!

Ask your student:
  • What room of the house did you learn about in class this week?  (Our new words were "la sala" - the living room, and "el jardín" - the yard.) 
Today's vocabulary:
  • Review~No new vocabulary
Homework:
  • Here's a link to the fun video we watched in class.  LINK
  • Sing along with our song:  Si en verdad eres salvo (If You're Happy and You Know It)
  • Practice our new Bible memory verse:  Psalm 119:105 
    • Tu palabra es una lámpara a mis pies, y una luz en mi camino.
    • Salmos ciento diecinueve, versículo ciento cinco
  • To review calendar/weather vocabulary at home, you can sing along with these songs...

Kindergarten: December 4, 2013

This week, we finished our family unit!  We played a few games to review everything we learned in the unit. Click HERE for more information about our "Family" unit.

Ask your student:
  •  How did you surprise Mrs. Klingenberg after Spanish class?  (We surprised her when we all said our Spanish Bible verse together!)
This week's vocabulary:
  • Review~No new vocabulary
Homework:
  • In class, we watched THIS video to review a lot of our vocabulary words.
  • Watch this video.  It reviews many of our vocabulary words. 
  • Listen and sing along with our song:  Soy Yo (Spanish version of "Standing in the Need of Prayer")
  • Practice our Bible verse and actions:  Proverbs 3:5  (Click verse for Audio). 
    • Confía = trust = take open hands, and clasp them shut, as if you're grabbing on to something.
    • en el Señor = in the Lord = point up to heaven
    • de todo = with all = hold arms out wide
    • corazón = heart = bring your arms in, and make a heart with your hands