Summer Fun!

Wow! Another year has come and gone and we're already 2 weeks into summer! I love the end the school year not only because it means a bit of a break from routine and busyness (and alarm clocks) but also because I love to look back and see how students have grown. I trust that as you consider where your student was 10 months ago and look at him or her now, you can see growth...probably physical, but hopefully spiritual, emotional, and academic growth as well.

I imagine that for some of us parents, summer is a welcome change from thinking about academics, while others have already been thinking about how to combat that "summer slide" that teachers often talk about. I wanted to compile a few suggestions here as you consider what (if any) academic practice you want to include in your family's summer vacation.

1. Focus on love of learning (and the Spanish Language.)

Don't worry too much about constantly having your child practice Spanish, or drill flash cards, or complete worksheets. Instead, encourage him or her to explore and learn naturally about what interests them. Take a walk, visit a new place (maybe a restaurant or store where Spanish can be heard and practiced), provide for social interactions, and read books on topics that are connected to what they are asking questions about. Maybe you can watch a favorite movie together in Spanish or with Spanish subtitles or search specifically for Spanish books at your local public library. The most important thing you can do is continue to hold learning and Spanish in high regard in your home.

2. Take the summer months to practice those English skills.

When your family chose Spanish Immersion, one of the trade-offs you made was to give up that direct English instruction in phonics, spelling, and grammar at the younger grades. So, if you do want to do some overtly academic work this summer, consider working on English sight words and spelling words. Have your child keep a journal about his or her day. Check out the websites of our English track teachers for lists of spelling words and sight words, or purchase and work through a workbook like the the Daily Summer Activities book we sent home information about.

3. Read...Yes...we're mentioning that again!

If you haven't gotten the RAZ Kids (Reading A-Z) app/website up and going yet I encourage you to make that a priority. And when your child is using the program, make sure they are regularly choosing books in the "Spanish Leveled Readers" section. Instead of blowing through story after story, you may consider focusing on one story for a few days. Maybe you have your child listen to the story the first day and summarize what he or she has read. On the next day, ask your child to read the story aloud, and on the third day ask him or her to read it again (to practice fluency) and then answer the comprehension questions that go along with it.

4. Come to a "Spanish Immersion Meet-Up" with our immersion teachers. Join us at school on Thursday, June 28 and/or Tuesday, July 24th from 9:30-11:30 for stories, crafts, a snack, and some games . These will be fun, rich mornings for students to reconnect with classmates and practice using those Spanish reading and speaking skills so they don't get too rusty. Please e-mail me to RSVP at least one day prior to the event if your child plans to attend and bring $5 each per child/per day to pay at the door to help cover the cost of supplies and snacks.

Finally, let me just say what a privilege it has been for the last year to get to know so many of you better and join you as a teacher, but also a parent on this journey. All of your kids are amazing gifts from the Lord, and I'm looking forward to another great year in the fall.