last post of the year!

Hola padres! It is crazy to think that this will be my last post of the year! We are deep into December and finishing out the second quarter! I have so enjoyed your scholars and the energy and enthusiasm that they have for Spanish. I am very lucky to be able to share my love of this language with them.

In second and third grade this week, we learned how to say what fruits we like and dislike in Spanish with a fun in class worksheet. I have also caught up those classes that were behind in our Spanish speaking countries so that we can all start on the same page when we return from break in January. We ended the week with learning about las posadas and the legend of the poinsettia and how it became known as the Christmas flower.

We also discussed tamales and their importance at get togethers this time of year, which worked out well as the Tamale Festival is happening this weekend at Cesar Chavez plaza. Not sure if I will get a chance to go, but if you are looking for something to do, it might be fun to check out!

In Kinder and first grade this week, we drew an alien following very specific color, number and body part directions in Spanish. It was great to integrate all three sets of vocabulary together and see how the scholars were able to decipher what to draw. These grades also began their study of Christmas traditions with the legend of the poinsettia. We will continue with las posadas and the three wise men or dia de los reyes next week.

On Sunday, I am going to the Botanical Garden for their Luminaria event. I am so excited as it seems like a beautiful way to celebrate the holidays and am hoping to share all about it with the scholars next week. Have a wonderful weekend!

Sra. Hamilton

disclipline, flash cards, finishing chapter books and wrapping up Spanish speaking countries

Hola padres! I am writing a day early as with the first grade concert tomorrow morning, I'm not sure I will have time for everything tomorrow.

One thing I didn't want to forget to address this week is discipline. Praticularly in third grade, the scholars are getting comfortable in class and beginning to shout out more than they have previously as well as not being as diligent in completing in class work. Because there is no homework or study for tests or quizzes, I do expect scholars to listen well in class and complete activities that I give them. They know that if they are quiet and diligent, they will have more than enough time to complete their work. For those that interrupt class frequently or who don't complete what is being asked, I will keep them in at morning or lunch recess for about 5 minutes or as long as it takes them to complete what wasn't finished in class.

For our fruta or fruit vocabulary, we have made flashcards and the scholars have really enjoyed quizzing each other. It has been a neat way for them to practice!

This next week or so, we will be finishing our chapter books on Frida Kahlo and the Panama Canal as well as catching up those classes which haven't studied the Spanish speaking countries that I've introduced.

I am looking forward to the first grade concert tomorrow and hope that you enjoy it all as well. Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Sra. Hamilton

the next few weeks....

Hola padres! I am so sorry for my late post. Let me catch you up on what we've been doing. Last week in second and third grade, we combined our vocabulary of fruits and prepositional phrases into one activity and worked on describing where one fruit goes in relation to another. The scholars are so persistent in their quest for mastering the tasks I put before them and I am so grateful for their perseverance.

In kinder and first, we are continuing learning the vocabulary of the body and practicing learning it with various games in class. We really have a lot of fun with this and I love seeing the scholars' faces light up when I see that they are understanding what each Spanish word means. We will continue with these concepts in the next few lessons.

In the weeks to come, our schedule will become pretty different than it has been due to concert rehearsals and field trips. Due to this change, I am going to keep Spanish class fun and simple as well as doing any catch up that needs to be done to make sure each class ends up in the same place as the others.  I find this works best with the young scholars as the changes in their routines along with all the hype of the holidays and activities that go along with that wears them out, so keeping Spanish light gives them a bit of a break in their day and lets us all enjoy the rest of our day a little more. There will be review, reading of books and we will also study three Christmas traditions that prevail in Spanish speaking countries: las posadas, el dia de los reyes and the story of the poinsettia. I present these traditions using a beautiful book by Taomi de Paola and enjoy sharing these traditions with the scholars and hope that it gives them a better understanding of the Hispanic culture and what makes these holidays special for them.

In this short week, we are working on getting every class caught up to the right spot in second and third grade and also reading a Thanksgiving story if time allows. In Kinder and first, we are practicing our numbers with a dice game that helps us draw a turkey and we are also reading a Hispanic version of the story of the Little Red Hen. The scholars have really enjoy these activities and it is a fun way to end our short week. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

Sra. Hamilton

palo bonito, wrapping up prespositional phrases, body parts and more letters of the alphabet!

Hola padres! I was so proud of the second and third graders this week as they tackled a harder task using the prepositional phrases we learned to describe a drawing they had to their partner. We also learned the importance of writing our vocabulary down in our notebook and referring to it when working on an in class exercise. I told them that I would never give them something I didn't think they could do and although many started out confused and unsure, they persevered, worked through it and were very successful in understanding how to describe where an object is (behind, in front of, under, to the right, etc.) I was so proud of them! Next week, we will learn some fruit vocabulary and see how it relates to our study of the tropical rainforest.

In all classes this week, I taught the scholars a fun rhyming song called "palo bonito". I explained that it is just a rhyming song and it doesn't really mean anything. In class, I will mostly be using it as a brief brain break to transition from one activity to another.  Have them sing it for you with the hand motions! They all really seemed to enjoy it!

In first and kinder this week, we continued with our study of the alphabet and body parts of the face. We practiced this vocabulary and our color vocabulary with a fun fly swatter game! Next week, in order to help us work through the alphabet a bit faster, I plan on introducing 2 letters, instead of just one. Hopefully since they already have a hang of what to do with the worksheets we are doing, this won't be too much for them. At the end of the week, we will continue with learning more words for the different parts of the body. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Gracias!

Sra. Hamilton
ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org

The Heard Museum, body parts and prepositions

Hola padres! It has been a good week of getting back to work! First, I would like to let you all know that the Heard Museum just opened a photographic exhibit of Frida Kahlo's life. First and third grade have both been studying this famous Mexican artist and I am so excited that there is a tangibe activity for them to visit! I do have a bit of a disclaimer though. I have not been to the exhibit yet myself, so I don't know any specific details. There are a few aspects of Frida Kahlo's life that are iffy and not appropriate for children. The book I read to them about her life is child appropriate and only shares those aspects of her life that are appropriate for younger children. That being said, I called the Heard Museum and asked them if the exhibit would be ok for children ages 8 and younger. I was told that there is a nude photograph and also some blood in one of the photos. The scholars are aware that Frida's life was mostly lived in pain due to a terrible bus accident she was in when she was 18. Due to the pain she endured for most of her life, many of her paintings are bloody and not very pretty. This was the way she expressed the physical pain she was in for most of her life. I hope to get to the Heard Museum soon and can let you know more when I visit. I would still encourage you to go see it as I love being able to give the scholars a true life experience of someone we have studied in class. The exhibit runs through February, so we have plenty of time to check it out!

In Kinder and first this week, I introduced the phonogram "CH" as part of the Spanish alphabet and let them know that not everyone considers this phonogram a true letter of the alphabet. I still want them to be aware of it and know that it is a difference from our own alphabet. I also introduced them to the body part words of the face and the "head, shoulders, knees and toes" song. What a fun way to learn the vocabulary!

In second and third grade this week, we learned some prepositional phrases and learned how to use them in a sentence. This is harder for them, but I know they can do it, especially since they are working in partners. Next week, we will continue with this concept.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sra. Hamilton
ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org

word searches, masks and review

Hola padres! We have had another wonderful week in Spanish! For second and third grade, I had them work on a Day of the Dead word search that contained both English and Spanish words having to do with the holiday.  They always enjoy this and it is a fun way for them to understand some of the vocabulary. We also used the week to review and catch up on the tropical rainforest vocabulary in our cuadernos or notebooks. I was so happy to see how much of the words they remembered and was glad to give them this week to catch up on writing any of the vocabulary that they may have missed the first time around. This enables us to jump right back in next week with our tropical forest lessons and add to our vocabulary lists.

We continued this week with our Spanish speaking country lessons with second grade learning about Guatemala and third grade learning about Ecuador.

For Kinder and first this week, I was excited to introduce them to our lesson on the Day of the Dead and its meaning and significance in the Hispanic culture. For this lesson, we made colorful Day of the Dead masks that should have come home yesterday and also today. The scholars really enjoyed using bright, beautiful colors and we worked some on our fine motor skills with cutting the eyes out. This can be a difficult task for them, but I am so glad to see them all tackle it with gusto and give it their best effort! They did such a great job. We also got a few minutes to review the Spanish alphabet and we played a short game of memory with the picture cards to review. Next week we will start with our first Spanish phonogram of "ch" which can be considered a letter and we will talk about how this is different from our own English alphabet. We will also start our lessons on the body parts and learn the song "head, shoulders, knees and toes" in Spanish, which is always a hit with this age group. Thank you so much for your time and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sra. Hamilton
ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org

project week, holidays and conferences

Hola padres! It was so nice seeing some of you at conferences! I was glad to learn that some of you read my blog and that it was helpful. I am having the teachers send the link out again in their next newsletter, so hopefully more of you are checking it out.

This week was such a great week as scholars delved into different projects in their classrooms, recited poems, performed readers' theaters and got to take part in each grades' festivities. To go along with the theme of the week, I began introducing each class to the holiday of the Day of the Dead, its different aspects and reasons for why it is important in the Hispanic culture. Of course, the movie "The Book of Life" was mentioned and I let the scholars know how much I liked the movie due to its story and beautiful and colorful animation. If your scholar hasn't gotten a chance to see it, I do recommend it. To go along with this, each class also got a chance to make some papel picado which is a fun and festive way to decorate for celebrations and holidays. Please ask them about it! I think we all enjoyed making it!

Due to the half day schedule this week, I wasn't able to have any classes with Kinder. Next week, will start their study of the day of the dead and they along with first grade will be making day of the dead masks.

Second and third grade will also be doing other day of the dead activities which will expand their vocabulary of the holiday and its celebration.

I hope everyone enjoyed this week as much as I have. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns. Gracias!

Sra. Hamilton
ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org

reading, "donde" and review

Hola padres! I am so sorry this post is late. Last week got away from me! So last week, in second and third grade we learned the names of different habitats that animals live in in the rainforest. The scholars caught on very well and enjoyed working through this as a class. We then worked on a new game called the add on game where scholars one by one give me a Spanish vocabulary word and as we go down their row, they have to tell me the words everyone else has used plus add on their own. They really enjoyed this and I felt it gave them a great way to practice what we have learned so far.

This week we are working on review as well as continuing our reading on the Panama Canal or Frida Kahlo. I love seeing the scholars excitement when I pull these chapter books out and am glad for this week do to this with them.

In Kinder and first this week we are mostly working on review with games. When we return from break, we will be jumping into our holiday lessons in all grades, mostly learning about dia de los muertos and how and why it is important to the Hispanic culture. This is an exciting time of year and I am eager to share it with your scholars. Thank you all for a wonderful first quarter, I look forward to seeing some of you at conferences!

Sra. Hamilton

adjectives, interviews, feelings and "en todo el mundo"

Hola padres! Our week started out a bit rocky in second and third grade as the adjective lesson I presented didn't go quite as well as I was hoping. Thankfully, yesterday and today I was able to reexplain and model what the scholars were to do and I think it all became much clearer and I was happy for amazing results at the end of class. After introducing adjectives, the scholars were paired up and asked to interview their partner about their favorite animal. Once they were done, I had those that wanted, present the finding from their interview by telling us who their partner was, what animal was their partner's favorite and why. It was a great exercise for all of them and I was so proud at how brave they were doing their first Spanish presentation in front of the class. Next week, we will begin talking about animal habitats and how to describe where an amimal lives in Spanish.

In kinder and first this week, we continued with the alphabet and practicing our concert song. I also introduced how to say how we are feeling (tired, happy, sad, angry) and taught them a fun game that helps the scholars practice using their vocabulary called "en todo el mundo". We will use this game from time to time as a way to change things up and have the scholars shine in terms of their vocabulary knowledge. Their excitement is always so fun to see.

I so enjoy learning with your scholars and hope they are also enjoying Spanish class. If you ever have any concerns or questions, please email me. Thank you!
ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org

Sra. Hamilton

partner work, concert song, and new concepts for next week

Hola padres! Another week has flown by! In Kinder and first grade this week, I have introduced a song that we will hopefully be singing in the winter concert with Mrs. Harding. It is a short, sweet song which should be familiar to you all, just sung in Spanish. I sang it to my own children when they were little, so it is exciting to be teaching it to the scholars for the first time. In both grades next week, we will be working on expressing our feelings. This is always a fun concept to work on with them!

This week for second grade, I was able to pass out the letters I had them write to themselves at the end of last year. It was so exciting to watch them read what they had written and hear their reactions. Some were pretty disappointed with how sloppy they had written or in words they have misspelled. I told them that they had grown so much already in second grade, they it was ok to notice how much they had already improved from last year. I hope to do this again with them at the end of this year.

In second and third grade this week, we learned how to ask "who has" and answer with "I have..." all in Spanish of course. We practiced this by using our animal vocabulary and by doing partner work which is new for all the scholars so far this year. It was a bit intimidating for them, but we will continue with partner work here and there and I think they will get more comfortable with it. I told them that speaking with each other in Spanish is a good way to practice!

Next week with second and third grade, we will start working on adjectives and describing the animals we have learned about and discussing our favorites.

Next week we will also move on to new Spanish speaking countries. Third grade will move on to Ecuador while first and second will start looking at Guatemala. Have a wonderful weekend!

Sra. Hamilton

formas, el alfabeto, colores y animales

Hola padres! I hope you have all had a good week! This week in first and kinder, we have continued with our shapes and colors, by playing a fly swatting game to see who can first identify the shape and/or color that has been called out and by drawing a clown by using instructions that use our shape vocabulary. The scholars have really enjoyed this and I can see that the vocabulary is starting to stick. With Kinder this week, I have also started working more with them on the Spanish alphabet. Yesterday, we started with "A" and I hope to work our way to "Z" by the end of the year. This will be my first attempt at this and I hope it doesn't get too mundane for them, but hope it broadens their Spanish vocabulary and helps them to better see the differences between the English and Spanish alphabet. I started this with Kinder last year and wasn't able to finish, so I am contemplating starting it with them again this year in first grade and hope to make it through the end by the end of the school year. We'll see.  First grade started their study of Mexico this week and we mainly talked about the flag and what the design meant. We also studied its geography and what surrounds this vast countrty. Mexico celebrates its independence this month, so I hope to emphasize this with the scholars as well.

I was able to finally pass out the third grade Spanish notebooks from last year! If your scholar is new, I just had them start a new notebook or folder depending on what they had available. In this notebook, we wrote down the vocabulary we've learned so far, mainly animals and colors.  I told them that this notebook is mainly for their reference and for them to see the progress we make by the end of the year. I don't have any special format for them to use as they write their vocabulary; they can write it however is best for them. We set up a notebook as well in second grade and hope that they can carry this notebook on with them next year to third grade. Again, it is more for them to see our progress throughout the year and also just to practice writing which I think helps them remember each word better. Second grade is also studying Mexico this month, while third grade is looking at Colombia.

One concept I've been able to work on with the second and third graders is question words. We've learned "what" and "which" so far and next week will work on "who". Working these individually into the lessons has worked really well in helping the scholars understand the meaning of each word and when it is used.

I have so enjoyed working with your scholars. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know! Have a wonderful weekend!

Sra. Hamilton

late post

Hola padres! I am so sorry this post is late, but with our inservice on Friday, I didn't get a chance to write. Let me fill you in on both this week and last and I will plan to post again on Friday, September 11th.

Last week in kinder and first, we continued with colors and started working on our shapes. This week, we are continuing with the shape theme where I had them use their crayons to form the shape on their desk that I would call out. This is a very tactile and fun way for them to learn their shapes in Spanish and gets them moving just enough to keep them engaged. I always enjoy seeing the creative ways they come up with forming their shapes.

In second and third last week we finished our worksheet on el bosque tropical or the tropical forest and this week moved into using sentence strips to describe the colors of the animals. Again, it may seem that this is repetative and simple for the scholars, but with all of class being taught in Spanish, it  takes them a little more time to decipher what I am saying or asking them to do. I am still getting some questions of "what are you saying???" or "I don't know Spanish!!!" but as class moves on, they realize they know more than they actually think they do. Overall, I think we are all enjoying this new format and think the scholars will pick up more than they have in the past.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org
Gracias!

Sra. Hamilton

Our first weeks!

Hola padres! It is hard to believe that we are at the end of the second week of school! These few days have been filled with excitement, learning, and lots of patience by all of us as we got to know our surroundings and routines. It is so good to be with the scholars again, many of whom I have had in years past and some since Kindergarten. It is such a comfort to walk in to class and see so many familiar and eager faces. The scholars new to Trivium have added so much to each class and have kept me on my toes in terms of remembering names, etc. Thank you for all the support you have given the scholars and teachers these last couple of weeks. This is draining for all of us and knowing that you are behind us spurs us on. So thank you!

I have decided to divide the curriculum in two to start off the year. I will be keeping the Kindergarteners and first graders about on the same lessons and doing the same for the second and third graders. There will be a slight variation between grades, but not a whole lot. 

For the kinders and first graders, we are going to concentrate mainly on getting the basics down: greetings, numbers, colors, the alphabet, days of the week, months of the year, etc. I will also be reading to them quite a bit as this is an activity they truly enjoy and look forward to. It is also a wonderful way to become familiar with a language. I have been concentrating these last two weeks mainly on getting our beginning routine of class going. This is where we sing songs, work on our counting, colors and shapes. Just yesterday, we used pipe cleaners to form the shape of different numbers that were said in Spanish. It was a fun was to practice our numbers. 

For second and third, I have the same sort of routine as I want to solidify those basics of the days of the week, greetings and we will always do some sort of counting: by 5s, 10s, 2s, or all the way to 100. For these grades though, I have a thematic unit on the tropical forest that we will be following. Many of the scholars last year said they wanted to learn more about animals in Spanish and this unit that I have is a great way for them to do that. Since I only have them every other day, I think it will take us a while to work through, but really think it is a unit they will enjoy. 

To add to all that we are doing, when I see your scholar's class on a Wednesday, we will be studying a Spanish speaking country. I will be working my way through Central America with Kinder, second and first and through South America with thrid grade. I really enjoy these lessons as the scholars learn how big the Spanish speaking world is and what interesting facts each country holds. 

Lastly, I have a Who Was book on Frida Kahlo and a What Is book on the Panama Canal that I will be reading to the scholars from time to time. Frida Kahlo was a well known Mexican artist who was  very infulential in art and the Panama Canal was a tremendous undertaking that impacted our world in so many ways. I believe these two subjects to be important for the scholars to have some knowledge of as we study Spanish speaking countries. 

I am sorry for the length of this post, but wanted to give you a thorough overview of what we would be studying. Please let me know if you have any questions. I can always be reached by email at ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org or I will also be available on Thursday, August 27th at curriculum night. Hope to see you there! 

Sra. Hamilton  

¡bienvenidos!

Hola padres!! Welcome to our first year on our new campus! I am so excited and honored to be a part of this historic event for Archway Trivium West. For those of you who don't know me, I am Sra. Hamilton. This is my 5th year here at Trivium. My first two years at Trivium I was an assistant teacher and the last two years I taught Spanish and PE for both Kinder and first grade. I so enjoyed the little ones, but decided to teach only Spanish for K-3 this year. I am so excited to be able to specialize in just this subject as it is dear to my heart and really where I want to be.

For this year, we are trying something new in that Spanish will be taught in an immersion style which means that the majority of class will be taught in Spanish. For those scholars that have been here in years past, this shouldn't be too much of an issue. For new students who haven't had any Spanish this could be a bit intimidating. Please reassure your scholar in letting them know that my instructions and teaching will be very simple and easy to follow if they just look around them and observe what the other scholars are doing. I will make sure everyone understands and that no one feels like they have no idea what is going on.  I have given the scholars a few key phrases that will help them along in class and we will be doing quite a bit of repetition so that they phrases become familiar to them. I also let them know that asking for help is always ok. We learn best from each other, so I am hoping that they will feel comfortable looking to their classmates when they need to.

Along with this, it may seem at times that we are going at a very slow pace, but in order for us to get used to this new format, going slowly will be the best way to acclimate ourselves. This is all new for me as well, so we are all learning together.

Our curriculum this year will not only include the Spanish language but also quite a bit about the Spanish speaking culture and Spanish speaking countries. Please be sure to ask your scholar what they are learning so that you will understand the scope of our studies. I hope that you will grow in your knowledge just like I hope the scholars do.

I will post to my blog weekly on Fridays and hope that you will check here often for what we are doing each week. I will add the widget that allows you to have my posts emailed to you each week. Until then, please bookmark this page. Thank you so much! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org

Sra. Hamilton