Your Language Connection:

Rainy weather prevented the campers from venturing outside today, but that did not stop them from having yet another great dat at camp! 

Today, the kids focused a great deal of time on reviewing for their parent performance on Friday. Farm (granja) vocabulary words were further reviewed by playing some fun games, including our “now mandatory” game of musical chairs and fly swatting game. We worked on perfecting Friday’s dialogues, seeing as some of the campers are still mixing their “peas” with their “qs” (a little farm joke there, please forgive me). The culture of Spain was explored today through a mini-lesson on abstract artist Joan Miro. The kiddos made their own versions of the Barcelona-native’s works of art using brightly colored construction paper and markers. Everyone left camp today with a handmade tissue paper carnation and a smile on their faces.

Today was a very busy day at camp! 

 As usual, the kids started out by coloring farm-themed pictures. Not only did they work on their writing and reading skills, but also started up some interesting conversations with their camp-mates. Next, we ventured from flora to fauna and learned the spanish words for some common farm fruits (frutas) and veggies (vegetales). Everyone was very excited when a basket full of “real” foods was pulled out, the now-broken plastic ear of corn (maíz) getting the brunt of this delight. These words were practiced through matching games and the hands-down favorite game of the week, musical chairs. The campers also started practicing the dialogue that they will perform for the parents on Friday. Finally, The kiddos made rainmakers out of paper towel rolls and pasta. We discovered that this group is enamored with glitter!

Today we did a lot at Spanish camp that it’s hard for remember everything! We continued with our theme of la granja (the farm) and learned even more vocabulary words about the farm animals and what they eat. We finished our books and shared them with one another. Maybe sometime I could say mine with you! We played plenty of games like Spanish tic-tack-toe, pato-pato-ganso (duck, duck, goose), teacher vs. class (which we lost!), and a game like pin the tail on the donkey. We ended class by making animals and food out of playdough and having our classmates try to guess the word. For our culture activity we learned about Hogueras, which is a Spanish tradition. During the festival the Spaniards make huge fallas (statues) and jump over fires. They even have parades and fireworks every day! I can’t wait to see what we’re doing tomorrow 

Our second day at camp was a blast, even with the rainy weather!

 The pigs (cerdos) that we started yesterday were finally finished, complete with curly tails and googly eyes. The campers really enjoyed learning new farm vocabulary through a series of matching games and even a special version of “musical chairs.” Most of the time today was spent making burro (donkey) puppets out of paper bags and paper cut outs. Many creative looking burros were made! The room was full of song as the campers practiced and perfected their greeting songs. We ended the day by making a stack of vocabulary cards that the campers will bring home at the end of the week.

Bienvenido, or welcome, to Spanish camp!

Today, the kids started out by introducing themselves to fellow campers through a coloring activity. Friendships were formed almost as quickly as hands got messy!  This was followed by a sing-along session that taught the campers how to say basic greetings, such as “hello” and “goodbye,” in Spanish. With voices all warmed up, we moved right along to the theme of the week, The Farm (La Granja en Español). The kids enjoyed learning the Spanish words for their favorite barnyard animals! After story time and a snack, the kids went outside and played on the playground (a hands-down favorite part of the day). The day was all wrapped up with a craft, where the kids made pigs (in spanish, cerdos) out of plastic bottles and tissue paper.

 Tomorrow, the kiddos will finish their pigs and learn more spanish words! A great day overall.