Welcome to a New Semester!

Welcome to a new semester! I have four new students this semester and five returning students, including two who are in their third year! It is so great to have such a mix of ages, experiences and ability levels. I am working hard to present new material at a pace that is manageable for the new students while also challenging the more advanced students to use the vocabulary that they have previously acquired.

We are starting off the year with a new unit on body parts.



We begin with one of our favorite classics: Cabeza, hombros, rodillas y pies (Head, shoulders, knees & toes). You all know the tune, but here are the words in Spanish:

Cabeza, hombros, rodillas y pies, rodillas y pies
Cabeza, hombros, rodillas y pies, rodillas y pies
Ojos, orejas, boca y nariz
Cabeza, hombros, rodillas y pies, rodillas y pies

Another classic is: El Hokey Pokey which goes like this:

Mete una mano
Saca una mano
Mete una mano
Sacúdela

Baila el Hokey Pokey y date una vuelta
Así se bailará

Other body parts that we like to do:
el pie = foot
la cadera = hips
la cabeza = head
todo el cuerpo = whole body
and of course, many others that students suggest....

This means:

Put in your hand
Take out your hand
Put in your hand
Shake it all about

Dance the Hokey Pokey and turn yourself around
This is how we dance


Greetings/Opening Class:
We begin every class with the hola song (see the post for Week 1 BDLC). This semester, we're also incorporating a new song that introduces students to the phrase, me llamo...

Me llamo, me llamo _________.
¿cómo te llamas tú?

My name, my name is __________.
What is, what is your name?

During this song, each child takes turns saying, "Me llamo__________" and then rolling the rag ball to the next child, asking him/her, "¿cómo te llamas tú?"

We also start each class off with a discussion of the weather. For more info, see blog post:

Stories:
At the close of each class, we do a feltboard story. So far, our stories have included:
La chica de nieve and El hombre de jengibre.

La chica de nieve (The Snow Girl) is a wonderful wintertime folktale about an old man & old woman (el viejo and la vieja) who are sad (triste) because they do not have children. One day, the old woman decides to make a snowman in the shape of a little girl. La chica de nieve comes to life. Ask your child to tell you the rest! In addition to teaching the vocabulary above, this story reinforces the seasons vocabulary: el invierno (winter) and la primavera (spring).

El hombre de jengibre is one of my favorite stories for teaching body parts. This story also features an old man & old woman (el viejo and la vieja) who are sad (triste) because they do not have children. This time, a gingerbread man (hombre de jengibre) comes to life and outruns all who try to catch him. The body parts-- back (la espalda), head (la cabeza), nose (la nariz) and mouth (la boca) come into play when the wily fox (el zorro) tries to outwit him. We also use this story to reinforce the farm animals that the gingerbread encounters on his journey: la vaca (cow), el caballo (horse), and tres agricultores (three farmers).