Greeting New Traditions parents,

I’m pleased to inform you that the children have been making major breakthroughs as of last week. Learning about all the different types of food really struck a chord with the children and seemed to make them eager to learn more Spanish! We have done a great job as a class learning the all of the basic components of Spanish and the class is now prepared to start expanding their knowledge by learning more difficult concepts. This week we started learning about common objects found around the house (mesa=table, silla=chair, ventana=window, puerta=door, toalla=towel, cuchara=spoon, cuchio=knife, plato=plate, tenedor=fork) as well as classroom objects ( lapiz=pencil, pluma=pen, papel=paper, borrador=eraser, cuaderno=notebook, tijeras=scissors). The class did several matching worksheets as well as some descriptive artwork to help better understand all of this new vocabulary.

Along with household and classroom objects, we also began to learn about different types of clothing (camisa=shirt, pantalones=pants, falda=skirt, vestido=dress, zapatos=shoes, calcetines=socks, botas=boots, sombrero=hat or gorro=hat/cap, chaqueta=jacket, pantalones cortos=shorts). As you can see, this is a LOT of new vocabulary, so bear with your child and help them practice! We also started learning about our community and the common places that we visit in San Francisco (el museo=museum, parque=park, la tienda=store, biblioteca=library, casa=house, escuela=school). On Wednesday we did a lot of drawings of our favorite places and began to describe our drawings in Spanish in terms of who, what, when, and where (not quite to the “why” stage yet, but we’re getting there).

On Friday I will send home several worksheets that can be completed to your child’s/your convenience that will help reinforce what they have learned so far. Next week we will start to learn about animals and “El Doctor” which should be fun since everyone loves animals (and the Doctor), right? I have also been collecting a lot of the children’s work which I will present to you toward the end of the year, and trust me, you will be impressed! Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful weekend!