Report cards are done which indicates that I am officially ready for parent-teacher conferences. If you still have not yet met with your child’s teacher, I suggest you take a look at a previous post of mine (full of tips to make sure you have a great conference).

While I have to admit that the past two weeks have been crazy busy, this week’s post is not about conferences, or teaching, but rather about your child and another observation/realization I had this week (and I think it was a big one). So here it goes:

My students are well aware of conference time and what that means – ‘report cards’ are going home. Personally, I am not really good with surprises. If you ask anyone in my family, they will be the first ones to tell you that they can ‘never’ surprise me because I either find out before the surprise takes place or because I annoy them tremendously that they end up telling me. So, I apply the same rules to my students: no surprises. I show them their report cards before conferences (they see it before their parents) and we talk about their progress and whether or not they have reached their goals.

I know children react differently: some are dying to see their grades; others would rather pretend that grades do not exist, but in the end everyone gets to see them and read my comments (which I take a while to write). This is something I have done for a while especially because I teach upper grades and children are well aware of the process and goal setting. What I was not prepared to see was the reaction of some of my students when they saw their report cards: tears. The truth is I was actually taken by surprise.

No, I did not give them horrible grades, and the comments were truly positive. At first I was worried thinking “Oh no, this child is not getting the grade he/she was expecting and his/her parents are not going to be happy.” So, after asking a few questions, the couple of answers I got were that ‘they were tears of joy.’

Now I am really confused. How much stress can a 4^th grader have? I am not torturing them about tests and/or grades. YES, I have high expectations, but it is not just about a grade/number or letter.

It was here that I had another ‘a ha!’ moment. How much pressure are we putting children under? How much anxiety is too much?

These events had made me think harder about my role as a teacher, but also the roles parents/caregivers play in how children feel. The truth is that children are put under pressure earlier and earlier each year. From test scores, to being ‘college-ready,’ to participating in ten different after school activities because that is what they need to be competitive. How much is too much?

Bilingual and multilingual children are already working harder as is, but where do we draw the line? I hear of middle school students having panic attacks and spending countless hours doing homework. Is this how we are preparing our children to be world citizens?

My question to you SpanglishBaby parents: How do you make sure your child has a balanced childhood? How do you find the perfect balance for your child as a student and you as a parent?

I am left without answers, but I know many of you do great and unbelievable things. I would like to know, and I am sure other SpanglishBsby members want to find out too.

Much love,

Kelly

Photo thanks to woodleywonderworks

I cannot believe it is that time of the year already! Parent-Teacher Conferences are just around the corner. It seems like it was yesterday when I was running around trying to set up my classroom and getting ready to start the new school year. But, time flies. It is already November and before we know it, a new calendar year is upon us.

Parent-Teacher Conferences are a great opportunity to check on your child’s progress and mastery of academic standards. With Common Core implementation already rolling in many schools, it is always helpful to be proactive and know what the new changes/expectations in curriculum are. For example, with the new standards, there is a major emphasis on reading informational text (not just narrative), writing opinion pieces, and supporting both reading and writing with textual evidence. When it comes to math, children are now spending more time on major concepts; therefore, giving children the opportunity for more practice and understanding.

So, do you know what specific questions to ask during this precious time? Conferences do not last more than 20 minutes. Actually on average parents and teachers meet for about 15 minutes.

Below I have compiled a few tips to help you navigate this time with ease and more importantly – success:

• Have a discussion with you child prior to attending the conference. Ask him/her about his/her academic progress. What are the areas he/she feels successful? What areas have room for improvement? As a parent, you want to make sure you walk into the conference informed of your child’s strengths and weaknesses. Educators WANT parents to be involved. If you have an honest understanding of where your child stands, it will be a much more productive conversation

• Draft a list of questions you want to ask. If you have them written down, chances are that you will ask them.
  • Ask about your child’s reading level and what that means
  • Is his/her reading at grade level?
  • What about your child’s fluency and expression?
  • Homework. How long should it take to complete?
  • Mathematics. How is your child performing? (Fact fluency, number sense, geometry, problem solving, etc.)
  • How is your child’s writing? Is he/she writing fluently?
  • What genres is he/she most successful and what genres should he/she spend more time practicing?

• Leave the conference with a plan of action. Discussing progress is great, but what next? Make sure you discuss a plan of action with your child’s teacher. What do you and him/her commit to do and how is progress going to be determined? If your child needs help mastering multiplication tables (for example), what are you going to do at home to help?

• Request to see work samples. Your child’s teacher will most likely have plenty of samples for you to see. But, what does an exemplary paper look like? What should your child be aiming at? I am not saying this for you to compare your child to others, but to rather see where he/she should be

• Assume always the best intentions. This applies to every aspect of our lives. Assume positive intent and keep in mind that teachers wan the best for your child

• Give your child feedback about the conference. Children want to hear how they are doing. Do not forget to share the major points of your conference with your child

The truth is that I could draft an infinite list, but ‘keeping it short and sweet’ is always a plus. Remember that you and your child’s teacher are a team – together you can work great things.

Happy conferring,

Kelly

Photo by U.S. Army Corp.

I am amazed at how many children have a deep love for writing. They are the ones who take their writing journals to recess, lunch, and even home to record their experiences – they want to make sure they ‘capture’ that special moment that will inspire them to write even more. However, we all know that NOT all children have an innate passion for the written word.

After years of trying strategy after strategy, I believe I have compiled a list that has worked for most of my students. And trust me, whether you are a parent or educator, threats, taking privileges away, or getting upset WILL NOT make them write or want to write more.

1- Make the experience enjoyable. It sounds like a ‘no brainer’ but it is easy to get frustrated and go from “Let’s find something to write about today” to “You are not leaving your room until you have at least a page of writing in your notebook.” With the latest one, you will see that children WILL get the page filled, but with giant words. You requested it, and they delivered (they got the page filled!).

2- Start Small. Writing does not have to take hours and does not need to happen sitting at a desk. Start small. Maybe you want to have your child start with an illustration/picture and then move on to having him/her add information about that picture. Sometimes it is not about baby steps, but rather ‘ant steps.’

3- Let them write in a ‘special notebook.’ Before starting to add words on the page, spend time with your child decorating his/her notebook. Look for photos of family, pets, special events, vacation/trips and/or pictures of things that he/she loves (from ponies to Minecraft). This will really decrease the chances of his/her journal getting lost and, most importantly, they will have a ‘special place’ to record those thoughts.

4- Give them freedom of choice. As long as they are writing, let them write. A word of caution and this applies especially to boys – they love to write about topics that for many adults are just too much to handle. Examples? Bodily/physiological functions, gross things, and violent events (on this last one, you can definitely set boundaries), but keep in mind that boys will be boys.

5- Writing is everywhere. Encourage your child to take his journal everywhere he/she goes and devote a few minutes to writing. You will see that slowly, he/she will see how writing is not as difficult and they first thought.

6- Use mentor texts. Have a special picture book you love? Then share it with your child and try to have your child imitate a craft the author is using. There are plenty of great ideas under the “31 Days of Reading in Spanish.” You will surely find something you both love.

7- Stop being the editor. No one likes to write when we know we will get back a page full of red marks. Editing skills are necessary, but too early in the process can stop your child for wanting to write because of the fear of just doing it ‘wrong.’ Let them become fluent writers first, editing will come later.

8- Know that frustration is part of the process. Writing in another language can be a bit more frustrating than writing in the language your child feels more comfortable in. He/she needs to think harder to find the right words. Don’t discourage them by saying, “Look for that word in the dictionary.” Do you know how long it would take him/her to finish a paragraph? Have them circle the words they are not sure about, you can later meet and chat about those words. An authentic teachable moment indeed.

Writing can be both exciting and fun, but remember to start small. You will be amazed at how your child can soon become an amazing author. And as always, I am looking to expand my repertoire of strategies. What have you done that has proven to be effective? I would love to hear.

Much love,

Kelly

Photo by WellSpring School

As a teacher, I found these 3D Magnetic alphabet and number cards very appealing. They are very sturdy and durable and feature bright, fun colors (great for kid-appeal!). I love the way they identify the number as well as provide the number-to-object correspondence. When the child moves the card, he can identify the quantity that corresponds with the number on the card. As a parent, I knew my child would find these magnetic cards fun because of the colorful illustrations and the promise of interaction. When he’s engaged with them, I know that he is having fun and learning all in one and I often catch him going over to our magnetized cabinet where we keep them and he sits there to play. I hear him reciting the alphabet and identifying the objects on the card as well as identifying the numbers! This enables him to expand his vocabulary and identify the numbers in isolation as well and I couldn’t be more proud of my preschooler for working so hard with them.

As a bilingual parent I was delighted that the cards arrived with a Spanish guide so we could continue to reinforce the spanish language in our household. This serves as a wonderful addition to place beside the cards so the children can see the numbers while I can verbally recite the numbers and letters to them in our second language. Encouraging him to repeat the numbers in Spanish is a great way to introduce another language to those parents who want their children to become familiar with or even master a second language.

The magnetic alphabet cards included the same guide with English, French, and Spanish names for the animals on the cards. It was great to hear my son recite the names of the animals and use correct pronunciation in English and Spanish. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the products themselves and how my kids chose to use them both together and independently.

As I think about the different learning styles of children, I know that this works best for visual and tactile learners like my boys. They love to touch and see visuals of certain concepts so these magnets are a perfect fit in our household. These magnetic cards are an ideal extension and tool for reinforcement for what my preschooler is now learning in school. I encourage all parents to have a set of these cards in their home. With the new Common Core State Standards in place, we want our children to receive a strong foundation for early learning and these can be a great asset to get there!

The Giveaway!

We are giving away the 3D Magic Magnets- Animal Alphabet and the 3D Magic Magnets- Numbers to one lucky winner. Just leave us a comment telling us who you’d like to share this giveaway with and enter the Rafflecopter below.

There’s more! If you enter this giveaway and the two upcoming Ingenio giveaways you will also be entered to win a $100 gift card from Toys R Us! Giveaway 2| Giveaway 3

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You are probably wondering what happens inside a dual-language classroom and how similar or different it is from an all-English classroom.

In every school that I have had the pleasure of working at, the first few days go in a predictable manner: excited and nervous students walking through the doors of new classrooms, parents worried about what the new school year may bring, and teachers wondering what his/her new class will be like. Teachers prepare for weeks by brainstorming ways to present new material and writing lesson plans. As a matter of fact, I spent countless hours trying to cover all areas before diving into my dual-language adventure. I survived my first week and I am both happy and excited for the days to come.

While many of my posts have been geared towards what parents can do at home to support their children in their bilingual and bicultural adventure, I thought it would be interesting to share something that happened in my classroom this week. I call it confirmation of an “a-ha moment.”

Coming back from lunch on Wednesday last week, my class was getting ready to work on science. Since I am a fourth grade teacher, I teach 60% of the day in Spanish and the remaining 40% in English. I have divided my schedule so that English instruction takes place after lunch.

After all my students settled in, I told them in English what our next hour would look like. All of a sudden, one of my students raised her hand and shared how relieved she felt about switching to English. While I did not ask my student to elaborate, her comment was definitely something that stuck in my head. Once school was over, and my students were getting ready to go home, I chatted with my student and asked what she meant by being relieved of receiving instruction in English. She did not hesitate for a second and replied, “Well, when we are learning in Spanish I just feel that my brain needs to work twice as hard… it is hard to explain, but I just feel like I am working really, really hard.” I asked a few more questions and our conversation ended.

However, I could not stop thinking about the way she felt and how she described her ‘brain’ being in overdrive. Honestly — I loved it. If learning in two languages means her brain is working harder than it would just learning in one, then I have confirmed once again that dual-language is the way to go. Which takes me to my next couple of questions:

Have you thought for a moment what it is like to learn in a two-way immersion program?

Has your child shared with you how she/he feels about learning in this type of environment?

I would love to hear from parents/guardians/other family members about this. I am really curious about your experiences and conversations with your child.

Much love,

Kelly

{Photo by departmentofed}

I could not be any happier to join the SpanglishBaby community. Actually I am ecstatic to share my new journey with all of you. My name is Kelly Serrano. I was born and raised in Ecuador, South America and moved to the United States when I was 18 years old. I am also a classroom teacher. While I have taught in the general education classroom setting for seven years including 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grade, this year I made a big move as I will be teaching 4^th grade at a Dual Language Immersion School.

Teaching has taken me many places and with it I have explored unknown territories. This time the ‘territory’ will be the Dual Language Classroom. As soon as I knew that I would be in a bilingual classroom, I started to gather information and materials to better prepare for the upcoming school year. Unfortunately, I did not find many reliable resources. They were either written in Spanish with an awful translation or were too high of a reading level. The solution? If I wanted high quality materials, I had to create them.

That is how my blog got started. I wanted to reach, talk, and share with other teachers involved in the dual language setting. I was sure I was not the only one out there trying to better reach students and their families. My weekly contributions to La Maestra’s Corner will offer readers an insider look at the bilingual classroom. I will cover topics ranging from educational strategies with proven success in the dual language classroom, what teachers do to make bilingual content come to life, what it is really like to be a student in a two-way immersion classroom, to answering parents’ questions/concerns about this schooling method.

As a lifelong learner, I always welcome your suggestions/questions/comments/concerns. Again, I am excited and honored to be part of this amazing community.

Much love,

Kelly

As a Spanish teacher and mother raising bilingual children, I am always searching for resources to support my children and students’ language abilities.  I was absolutely thrilled to be given the chance to review Whistlefritz’s newly released Educator’s Collection!  This comprehensive collection includes the Spanish for Kids DVD series, music CDs, a Spanish Immersion matching card game, and an extensive book that contains original Spanish lesson plans for kids and innovative activity pages.  The collection is indispensable for providing children and students with educational activities to further their knowledge and understanding of Spanish.

My children absolutely loved the captivating and enchanting DVDs!  These award-winning episodes are well made and fascinated my children!  They are their favorite DVDs, and my boys want to watch them repeatedly.  The immersion method, which is essential for the learning of a new language, is used.  I especially appreciate the consistent use of comprehensible input throughout the video.  The Spanish is clear and easy to understand, with the repetition of new words and phrases guaranteeing that children will learn while watching.  The songs in the videos encourage the children to participate and sing along, but for my boys the fun and loveable mouse Fritzi was the star of the show.

We very much enjoyed the up-beat songs on the CDs, which include some traditional Latin tunes as well as some new songs.  The award-winning singer and songwriter Jorge Anaya create music that is easy to learn and fun for singing and dancing along with.  A songbook is included which contains the lyrics and translation for the songs in the DVDs and on the CDs.  Music is one my family’s favorite ways to learn Spanish, and the Whistlefritz CDs are our favorites!

The memory matching cards game was great fun for the whole family!  My boys loved the cleverly illustrated action cards, and my five year old took great pride in reading the verbs under each drawing.  Playing together was a fun way to learn and review new words all while interacting in Spanish.

By far my favorite part of the educator’s collection is the compilation of Spanish lesson plans.  The activity-based curriculum will be invaluable for teaching both my sons and my students.  The content-based units and cross-curricular lesson plans provide excellent ideas for furthering the understanding and speaking abilities of the students in my classes.  I especially love the materials and worksheets that can be copied and used in the classroom and at home.

I highly recommend Whistlefritz’s Educator’s Collection for parents and teachers who are committed to raising bilingual children.  This multi-media collection provides interactive, hands-on language-learning activities, video, and music that will significantly enhance the learning in the classroom and in the home.

The Giveaway!

We are giving away one complete educator’s collection to one winner — a value of $175! All you have to do is visit the Whistlefritz website and tell us how you would be using the Educator’s Spanish Collection. Then enter the Rafflecopter below.

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Editor’s note: In the next months, we’ll be bringing you interviews with those who have first-hand experience with dual language immersion schools or programs: the parents who have their kids enrolled in them. The idea is to give you a closer look at what these programs are really like, how and why they work, as well as some of the challenges they face. Thanks to our contributor Elsie for coming up with this great idea!

Today, I’m happy to share my second interview with a Jackson Elementary Spanish Immersion parent, Liliana Awori.

Jackson Elementary is located in Pasadena, California on a lovely campus which includes an outdoor classroom and school garden. As Liliana notes, the biggest challenge for this school is perception as its neighborhood is mixed socioeconomically and they have been increasing test scores. Upon my visit to the campus, the students seemed happy and the community feeling was quite warm and inviting. It was one of the schools in our district with a library and part-time librarian (many do not have librarians at all). It can also boast it’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program which sets it apart from other immersion programs.

SpanglishBaby: Many of our readers are bilingual themselves, and hope to pass this legacy on to their children. However, there are also many Spanglishbaby readers who are monolingual. When did you become interested in bilingual education and why? Is it an old or new tradition for your family?

Liliana: My oldest daughter attends Jackson ES DLIP Kindergarten. My husband is Kenyan and is bilingual (English and Swahili). I am a first generation immigrant from Honduras. My parents were bilingual (English and Spanish) but I was never taught Spanish. My mother’s mindset was along the lines of “You are in America. You speak English.” As a result I’ve always felt disconnected from my heritage. I want my children to have a connection to some portion of their heritage. I heard about Pasadena Unified School District language classes back in 2008; I was intrigued and excited. After much research and speaking to other parents participating in the program we felt like it would be a great option for our family.

SB: What is your school’s educational philosophy? (Ex. play-based, traditional, developmental, etc.)

Liliana: Jackson’s educational philosophy is traditional with a particular focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The STEM program was one of the major draws for us. The science classroom and science teacher are impressive. Half the kindergarteners go to the science lab once a week, where the focus is mostly on life science. During science the other half of the class is in our community garden. In the garden they plant seeds, weed their bed and water the rest of the garden. Our classroom has a fire-belly newt named Panchito, they’ve also raised caterpillars/butterflies and a worm farm. In addition to the STEM program, Jackson has a partnership with the Center for Arts at the Amory. My daughter is thriving and loving learning.

SB: What was the transition like for your child when they started school? How did you notice their language ability evolve over time?

Liliana: My daughter has friends who are bilingual, she was anxious to learn Spanish “so I can talk to Mateo”. We participated in the Pasadena Educational Foundation summer program, which was an introduction to kindergarten DLIP. After the first two days in the program, she cried and refused to go to class. Complaining that her head hurt and she didn’t know what the teachers were saying. However after the first week she happily went to class all summer and even taught her younger sisters some of the Spanish she was learning. When the school year began she was ready to go, there was still some talk about not understanding her teacher but it wasn’t much. As to her language ability an excellent example occurred during the class holiday/Christmas party. I and another Spanish speaking mom were serving the children, and I needed the mom to pass me a plate. My daughter saw me searching for the Spanish words and came to my rescue and translated the request. I was completely floored, I knew she was learning Spanish but I had never heard her speak naturally and spontaneously.

SB: Language is not only an intellectual skill, but also a social skill. How has learning Spanish enriched your student’s social experiences and friendships?

Liliana: My daughter has always been an outgoing person, we call her the mayor of Jackson and now with Spanish she is even more able to make friends. She has even offered her translating service to our elderly neighbor, Mrs. Harris. When she found out that Mrs. Harris had to let go of the Latino pool guy her response was “You know I can communicate with him, if Mrs. Harris needs me too.”

SB: How does your school incorporate Latino/a culture and celebrate the diverse backgrounds of its students?

Liliana: Acknowledgement of diversity has been woven throughout the curriculum by using authentic folklore, fieldtrips and special classroom guest. During Hispanic Heritage Month we had a fun slide show of our own school staff from Latino countries, the DLIP teacher, M. Tovar, was even included in the El Salvador slide. Our staff is a mirror of our student population, from diverse backgrounds and ethnic groups. The staff works to model positive interrelations so that the students will do the same. Our class also participated in the Cesar Chavez Essay and Art Contest.

SB: What is the experience like for parents at your school? How much parent involvement is encouraged?

Liliana: When the school year started, I was ready to jump into volunteering and helping anyway I could. It was obvious to me that the administration was very supportive of parent participation. There is a parent group that runs the garden and leads garden classes. The DLIP kindergarten also has “Friday Fun Day” every week, which is planned and executed solely through parent volunteers. The PTA even sponsored a volunteer challenge, the class that had the most volunteer hours would win a fieldtrip, and the participation was astounding.

SB: No school is perfect. What are some of the challenges, budgetary or otherwise that prospective parents should be aware of?

Liliana: Perception is Jackson’s greatest challenge. People assume because of the socioeconomic make up of our neighborhood and our past test scores that Jackson is a failing school. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our test scores have been on the rise the past three years. Our faculty is dedicated and innovative in their approach to teaching. Our students compete and participate in district wide programs with the support of their families. A modernization of the campus was completed in the spring of 2012. I believe if we could get more perspective parents to visit Jackson they would be pleasantly surprised with all the great things happening there.

SB: What is your child’s daily schedule?

Liliana: Our schedule is pretty straight forward we have school 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., after school she has about an hour of downtime for snack and play, then it’s homework time for 30 to 45 minutes. Once a week she has gymnastics, we also make a weekly visits to the Altadena Public Library and Altadena Farmers Market.

SB: What does your child love most about your school?

Liliana: My daughter loves recess like most kids, but academically she loves the science essaylab.org with all the live specimens.

SB: How can a prospective parent learn more about your school and enrollment?

Liliana: Please feel free to call the front office and arrange a tour (626) 396-5700.

{Photo courtesy of Liliana Awori}

The Latino Children’s Summer Reading Program from Latinas for Latino Literature — I am so happy that our friend over at L4LL have put together this program and I can’t wait to get started with my two kids. Besides summer reading lists divided by age groups, there are also several useful resources and printables. The challenge is for your kids to read at least eight books from now to Aug. 12. To reward them, L4LL will be giving away prizes such as picture books and tablets. So get on over there and register!

Arne Duncan Touts Advantages of Bilingualism from Education Week — U.S. Secretary of Education makes very clear comments about the importance of bilingualism and why educators should not forget that English learners “come to school with a major asset” — their native language, which needs to be maintained so they can become bilingual.

North Carolina school a standout for bilingual education from La Prensa — I love reading about successful DL programs. In this case,  it’s a North Carolina school which has become a national model for its bilingual program and curriculum. Bravo!

The Questions People Get Asked About Race from NPR’s Code Switch — Funny, ridiculous, surprising, ignorant, frustrating, insulting… just some of the adjectives that come to mind when reading about the questions people get ask about their race, culture, ethnicity, etc.