Maestra Stephanie visits the 3s and Pre-K classes once a week. She brings a hands-on art activity related to the class curriculum as a means for students to explore speaking and listening to Spanish. She leads all of our familiar daily activities, just in Spanish. Our classroom is an active language learning environment; we do not concentrate on grammar lessons or verb conjugation. Instead, we talk, read, sing, and play in Spanish to cultivate curiosity, connection, and empathy.
We begin the year with concrete concepts that fit into the child’s world (colors of the day, shapes, numbers, parts of the body, common phrases). In the 3s class Stephanie uses both Spanish and English. The Pre-K program is more of an immersion experience. Maestra Stephanie offers instructions and directions primarily in Spanish , then uses English when students have questions or clarification is needed.
Maestra Stephanie’s warm and silly spirit sets a no-pressure tone of encouragement and fun. She emphasizes that exposing preschoolers to Spanish and a variety of Latinx traditions can open the door to a life long interest in other languages and cultures.
When families begin the program, Maesta Stephanie offers these 3 tips:
1. Don’t force it, learning and speaking a new language should be fun and natural.
2. Exposure is a very powerful tool, the more time spent in environments where Spanish is spoken, the better!
3. A child’s motivation is a major factor in learning
