Dia de los Muertos

For the past week we have been learning about the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead. I adapted the content according to age and the result has been amazing. The children understand that for the people who celebrate El Dia de los Muertos, death is not bad, it is a part of life, and that this celebration is not scary: it is like a family reunion, we are happy to be together again with people who have passed away. The upper grades are busy constructing "altares" for famous people who have died (Elvis Presley, anyone?). Third graders got to bring home beautiful sugar-skulls masks. Second, First graders and Kindergarten worked very hard at coloring smaller skulls (practicing colors at the same time) and "altares". Ask your child about the Day of the Dead. For a delicious recipe of Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead) click here.

Herencia Hispana Scavenger Hunt

On October 20 5th graders turned in their Herencia Hispana Scavenger Hunt project. For a description of the project and how are being graded click here. Look on the right side of this blog to see some pictures! During conferences these displays got a lot of compliments from parents and teachers who came to the Spanish room. I am soooo proud of them!!

Good reasons

There are many good reasons to learn a foreign language and for a family to maintain or encourage speaking more than one language. For more interesting information check out the links I provide on the right side of this blog. For Quino's humorous perspective, click here.

Hispanic Heritage Month

From September 15 to October 15 we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. We celebrate the accomplishments of Hispanics in the United States. Everyday two 5th graders read an announcement about one person of Hispanic origin who has done something relevant in his or her field (sports, science, etc.) At the same time, in class, we learn about which are the countries where Spanish is at least one of the official languages. We also reflect on the words that we use in English that have a Spanish origin: patio, mesa, and even names like Los Angeles, Florida and Puerto Rico. Mrs. Lynn Allen, the Director of the Multicultural Resource Center located at Julian Middle School visited us and brought with her artifacts and books related to many cultures of Spanish speaking countries. The children had A LOT of fun learning and manipulating many of the objects. This week we are reinforcing the concepts learned during that presentation.