¡Felices Fiestas!

Marzipan: Dr. Who, anybody?

Today we reviewed la familia in Spanish.

 We also made some marzipan figurines, we had caracoles (snails), serpientes (snakes), fruta (fruit), verduras (veggies) and all kind of creatures and objects.

If you want a better flavor and consistency, you can glaze them with egg white and bake them in a toaster oven for a few minutes before you eat them, otherwise they are ready to eat as they are.

Snake and some Kirby characters?

Next session we will start with a quick review of what we have learned these past few months and then we will venture into new material.

Felices Fiestas/Enjoy the Holidays!

La familia y figuritas de mazapán

Today we reviewed the days, months and seasons in both classes. Some of you brought to my attention that the lady in the videos was sometimes differentiating between V/B. (Good ear Jana!). You are right, she does in some of the videos, but believe me, NO native speaker of Spanish does. For right now do not worry too much about it. We will explore those and other sounds some more next year, after the break.

We also explored how to refer to family members and made a chart with the most common relationships. Please go over the chart we created in class and watch the two videos below.

During the second half of the class we will make some traditional frutas de mazapán (marzipan figurine candies shaped like fruits), a traditional dessert that many in Spain enjoy to celebrate the holidays. We will be using a commercial confection. List of ingredients: sugar, blanched almonds, water, sorbitol, corn syrup, potassium sorbate (preservative) and food coloring.


VIDEO: mijahgi: - La familia

In this video you will hear Este/esta es mi papá/mamá (This is my dad/mom) or Estos/Ellos son mis abuelos (These/They are my grandparents)





VIDEO: FluencyProf - La Familia: Basic Spanish Lesson

This video is a little bit more involved than the one above so please watch it a couple of times. Some longer sentences; much of it already covered in class.



See you at the winter festival and in class.

¿Qué fecha es hoy?

Today in intro Spanish we learned about the days (día) of the week (semana), the months (meses) of the year (año) and how to write a date (fecha): number + de + month

Tuesday, December 2nd = martes, 2 de diciembre.

Next week we will reinforce what we learned today. Please, in preparation for class, watch the three videos below to practice how to better pronounce the days, the months, AND the seasons (las estaciones).

Also, please take a look at pages 16 and 87 in our book. Thanks and see you on Tuesday (Hasta el martes)!


VIDEO: Mahalodotcom- How to say the Days of the Week in Spanish




VIDEO: Mahalo- How to say the Months of the Year in Spanish




VIDEO: Mahalodotcom - How to say the Seasons in Spanish

Today in Intermediate Spanish we practiced our present tense conjugations.  We also started learning about the Inca. I was impressed to see that some of you had gone to the library and done research on the Maya and the Aztec. We also talked about Tintin :)

Please watch these two links in preparation for class: The Inca Empire 1 and The Inca Empire 2.

Also, if you could, after watching the English version, please watch the Spanish version of the Time Compass (Exploradores de la Historia) and see if you can recognized any words or expressions. (It will take you an extra 14 minutes, but you may find it interesting as an exercise, even if you only recognize a few words).



VIDEO: Exploradores de la Historia - Imperio Inca

Me gusta el chocolate. Yo quiero chocolate

Intro Spanish:

Today we continued practicing how to express likes and dislikes in Spanish. We also started learning about the verb to want (querer). Next week we will learn how to say dates (las fechas) in Spanish: days of the week (page 14) and months (page 15)

Also, please review your numbers from 1-30 (page 9) and watch the video below in preparation for class (you only need to learn to 30 (treinta) but since numbers after that are quite easy and mechanical to learn, go ahead and see if you can reach 40 (cuarenta) or even 50 (cincuenta):

treinta y uno, treinta y dos.....
cuarenta y uno, cuarenta y dos.... cincuenta

Do not worry if you cannot learn all the numbers, we will go over them in class little by little.

VIDEO: Rockalingua: Numbers in Spanish

Intermediate Spanish:

Today we learned about the Aztecs, the main political power in Mesoamerica at the time the first Europeans arrived to the continent.

We also practiced our subject pronouns with regular verbs in the present tense. Next day in class we are going to continue working on our present tense AR ending verbs.

Please go over pages 35-37 in your book and watch the two videos below in preparation for class:


VIDEO: Christy Land - Conjugating AR verbs -Present tense.



VIDEO: Sr. Keldsen - O, As, A, Amos, An

Me gustan los aztecas

Intro to Spanish:

Today we practiced Me gusta and no me gusta in class. Please have your students go over pages 17--20 in their books. Remember that gusta becomes gustan when referring to more than one think being liked: eg. Me gusta el perro (I like the dog) vs. Me gustan los perros (I like dogs). Also please complete watching the video we started in class, with Tina, fruits and juice.


VIDEO: Spanish for kids - me gusta no me gusta



Intermediate Spanish:

Today we learned about the Maya in our class and took a look at a facsimile of the Dresden Codex (a 12th century pre-Columbian Maya book). Please in preparation for next class watch the video below and think of the similarities and differences between the Maya and the Aztecs. Aslo, go over the personal pronouns in  pages 22 and 23 of your book (and yes, you will have to learn the vosotros, vosotras informal plural second person (think y'all, if that helps).

VIDEO: Brain POP: The Aztecs

Me gusta: I like

Poor piñata...

Today we built some Mexican paper flowers (our older group served as guinea pigs, as we practiced with them ahead of the younger ones). Some turned out beautiful and several students took extra supplies to make some more at home. Those of you who could not make it to class today do not worry, your pals made some additional ones for you :) See you next week, J and J!

Oh, I almost forgot, we also whacked three piñatas today (I felt sorry for the piñatas, those kids meant to hit them! Just see above)

Next week we will resume with grammar. Please go over the video below to learn how to say I like and I do not like in Spanish (This videos is a favorite of my classes every year so I hope you enjoy it).

VIDEO: Sesame Street: No me gusta/ Me gusta

That is a lot of layers. Good work!

Looks nice on a braid.

He looks fabulous...

Nice big flower

Pulling the petals up

Another beautiful yellow flower

Papel picado and cempasúchil flowers

Paper cempasúchil

Today we worked on decorating our skulls and set them in an "altar". Our "sugar glue" worked out quite well, I thought, and most of the cracked skulls got mended handsomely. Give them time to dry and they may stay whole for a long time. I saw lots of wonderful work.

Enjoy the picture below and watch the video on how to make "papel picado", one of our two projects for our next class.

Our other project will consist on making paper flowers similar to the cempasúchil, or flor de muertos ("flower of the dead"), depicted to the left. These flowers are named like that in Mexico because they are traditionally used during All Saints' Day, the day most families in the Hispanic world visit their cemeteries with flower arrengements.

Our skulls on display.

VIDEO: Happythought- How to make papel picado calaveras: Sugar skull decorations to make for Día de los Muertos!

Baking our "calaveras"

Today we built some "calaveras"  or "calacas" (skulls) with sugar, corn starch,  and vanilla extract (we used some lemon in our morning class). I have them in the oven drying as we speak and I will bring them to class on Tuesday for you to decorate. Some have cracked, but do not worry, we will fix them in class with "glue" (sugar paste) and I will make some extra ones in case you want to decorate those too.

Please check this link and this link for some ideas from last year.

Also, take a look at the two videos below and see you on Tuesday (¡Hasta el martes!)


VIDEO: Day of the Dead - Calaca Face Painting.




VIDEO: How to make a Mexican paper flower for Day of the dead.

Día de los muertos

Introduction to Spanish:

Today we had six short "presentations" using marionetas or hand puppets. We had some fun introducing our characters and developing some basic conversations.  I was quite impressed at how hard everybody tried and how well it all went.

Next week we are going to change gears and study a little bit of Hispanic Culture by making some traditional sugar skulls for our "celebration" of the Mexican Día de los muertos (Day of the Dead).

Roughly coinciding with All Saints day, Día de los Muertos is a celebration of the memories of those departed.  The celebrations consist, among other things, of elaborate costumes, painted faces, and masks, flower arrangements, foods and sweets, and all kinds of colorful decorations.

Below you will find a couple of videos that your child/ren can watch in preparation for class (we already watched the first one, but I really think they will enjoy watching it again). See you next Tuesday!

VIDEO: Day of the Dead (animation)



VIDEO: Gobierno de México - Día de los muertos



Intermediate Spanish:

Hi, older students! In addition to the videos above, please watch the two videos below that explain in further detail the historical background of this celebration and emphasizes the importance of remembering those who are no longer among us (hence the characters in the songs carrying pictures or the pictures in many of the "altars"). Yes, in the first video they made a mistake by placing Mexico City in the American Southwest, but otherwise it offers very good information.

¡Gracias y hasta el martes próximo!

VIDEO: National Hispanic Cultural Center - Día de los muertos



VIDEO:  El-Haru Kuroi - Día de los muertos

¿De dónde eres? and ¿Cuántos años tienes?

BEGINNERS SPANISH

In beginners Spanish we started our puppet presentations today. We barely had time though to develop our dialogue so we will continue our "mini plays" next week.

We covered wo new concepts: origin and age. Please review them with your child so we can integrate them into our play on Tuesday.

EL ORIGEN/ORIGIN

* ¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?) is normally answered with Soy de followed by a country, state or province, town or neighbourhood.

eg. ¿De dónder eres?
     Soy de los Estados Unidos, Soy de Nueva York, Soy de Camillus, etc.)

LA EDAD/AGE

* ¿Cuántos años tienes? How old are you? is normally answered with Tengo followed by the number and the word for years (años)

eg. ¿Cuantos años tienes?
Tengo 20 años.

Watch the two short videos below for practice and see you next week!

VIDEO: Calico Spanish - ¿De dónde eres tú?




VIDEO: Calico Spanish - ¿Cuántos años tienes?

INTERMEDIATE SPANISH

In intermediate Spanish we finished our presentations. The "Google Translator" was strong in some of the sentences but it was fun all the same.

Next day we are going to start reviewing our ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) Watch the "weird", yet educative, video below and enjoy :) I really liked it.

Please notice that ordinal numbers in Spanish are masculine and feminine!!!

VIDEO: Angry Family - Ordinal Numbers in Spanish.

Buenos días, ¿Cómo estás?

Today in BEGINNER's Spanish we continued practicing our numbers and colors.

We quickly covered how to tell time: es la una (it is one o'clock), son las dos (it is two o'clock), son las tres (it is three o'clock), and so on. We learned new adjectives such as grande (big), pequeño (small) and bonito (beautiful), as well as some new names for animals: el burro (donkey), el camello (camel), el caballo (horse), el lobo (wolf) and el dragón (dragon).

Next week we will continue with introductions and greetings: Buenos días (Good morning/Good day/Hello), buenas tardes (Good afternoon/Good evening), buenas noches (Good evening/Good night), ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?), etc.

Please go over pages 1 and 3 in our book (Rose Thomas) and watch the two videos below in preparation for class. You will notice that in the video by Sr. Howard he uses new words and expressions such as enfermo (sick) or Me duele (It hurst) followed by body parts (eg. Me duele el brazo: my arm hurts, etc.). They also use ¿Por qué? (Why).

It is important you come prepared so we can put a puppet show together during class. We will have a dragon (el dragón), a butterfly (la mariposa), a witch (la bruja), a boy (el niño) and maybe a few more characters. ¡Hasta el martes! See you on Tuesday!

VIDEO: Muzzi: Buenos días.




VIDEO:  Sr. Howard: ¿Cómo estás?




Today in INTERMEDIATE Spanish we talked about Lacrosse, numbers and AR ending verbs. Please go over page 36 in you book (Cynthia Downs), finish your sentences for your presentations and watch the video below to learn more about conjugations in the present tense (Yes, D and J, I know it is about six minutes long, but please watch it a couple of times, if you could, to reinforced all that we have covered in class today).

VIDEO: Practiquemos: Verb Conjugations



¡Hasta el martes!

Los números/Numbers

Today we explored numbers in both of our classes.

BEGINNERS:

Beginners continued practicing colors and we learned some basic cardinal numbers (1-12).

Please have your students practice numbers 1-15 (or if they are very ambitious, go ahead and have them learn up to 20). You can do this by watching the videos below, using this interactive link, or simply going over page 9 in your activity book (Rose Thomas).

Notice that after 15, numbers 16-19 are a combination of previously learned numbers with minor spelling variations: 16 = 10 y (and) 6 (dieciséis), 17 = 10 y (and) 7 (diecisiete) and so on.


VIDEO: 1-10 Rosita (Sesame Street)




VIDEO: 1-10 Doki (Discovery Kids)




VIDEO: 1-20 (Howcast):  typo: 19 should be diecinueve instead of diecenueve!




INTERMEDIATE SPANISH

Today some forgot their composition while others forgot their display items (or both).
I know however, that you are all going to be "super-ready" for class next time, right?

Please, go over numbers 1-100 at this site. You already know those numbers. Please practice to improve your pronunciation.

Also, go over page 12 in your activity book (Cynthia Downs) and watch the video below. Please pay attention to irregular: quinientos, setecientos and novecientos.

VIDEO: Numbers 100-1000



¡Hasta el martes!

Hola

Hola, and welcome to a new year at HLACNY Academy!

Today in INTERMEDIATE SPANISH we talked about what we did this summer (el verano). Among other topics, we covered Lacrosse and Legend of Zelda. We learned about the verb  to play (JUGAR)


Please come prepared to next class with a brief composition (about 10 sentences) describing what tools you use for your favorite activity: eg. Lacrosse sticks, 3DS games and player, etc. Use a dictionary to find the ten most important terms or attributes to describe the objects you bring to class madera: wood, pantalla: screen, etc.

Ejemplos:

El palo/bastón de lacrosse es largo y de madera (The lacrosse stick is long and made out of wood)
Juego la "Legend of Zelda" en mi pantalla  (I play Legend of Zelda in my screen)

Please bring some samples of what you use in the games you play for your presentation.

¡Gracias y hasta el martes!

Today in BEGINNER'S SPANISH we learned how to introduce ourselves:

¿Cómo te llamas? What is your name?
Me llamo... My name is...

¿Cómo se llama? What is his/her name?
Se llama... His/Her name is...

Please watch the video below to reinforce what we learned (the video ends with Mucho gusto, Marta and Igualmente: Pleased to meet you, Marta and The pleasure is mine)


VIDEO: ¿Cómo te llamas?




We also used colors to describe some stuffed animals: eg el perro es negro (the dog is black) or el pato es rojo y anaranjado (the duck is red and orange). Please have your students go over the list of colors we completed in class. You can visit this interactive site for practice. You can also watch the video below.

VIDEO: Colores en español



Thanks, and see you next week!

Yesterday we watched some videos explaining how the 5 de Mayo celebration came to be and started working on our piñatas. Lots of wonderful designs, including rainbows, giant sweets, and pyramids.

Next week we will finish them and we will fill them with candy so we can use them for our end of year celebration.

See you on Tuesday and start thinking how you would like to cover them as you finish them. I will bring all kinds of crepe and tissue paper, as well as the decorations we used for our chicken hats.

Pollito Sombreros y Cinco de Mayo

Hi, below (just before the four Cinco de Mayo videos) you will find pictures of some of the beautiful caps we did yesterday.

I will bring them to class for practice and then again at the Festival.

Next week in class we will talk about Cinco the Mayo, a date many Chicanos, or Americans of Mexican descent, celebrate.

Enjoy the videos below.

Some of the pollito caps

More pollito caps

Another view.

We also made pollito rings

Why do we celebrate Cinco de Mayo? (CNN)




Cinco de Mayo: 5 facts that you probably didn't know.




5 Cinco de Mayo Myths




Cinco de Mayo (History Channel)

Arts and Crafts/Manualidades

Yesterday we had a super heavy duty Geography session in Spanish class. We visited and traveled to a bunch of countries all over the world.

Next day in class both groups (older and younger) will meet to create our hats for the festival. I will have everything you need to make a cool chicken hat, so just come ready to work on your hat AND help others.

Perhaps I will assign each of you (older students) to supervise and help a younger one with their project?

Also, don't forget that soon we will start our already legendary tradition of piñata building for this year's 5 de Mayo.  Below is a simple idea that perhaps we could try in class. We pull a string instead of whacking it with a stick.

Hasta la vista.

Mini piñatas





See you soon.

Semana Santa/Holly Week.

Every year, some communities in Spain celebrate the Passion and Easter with processions that last for about a week. This period is called Semana Santa or "Easter Week" and Seville (Sevilla) is well know for its festivities. Please watch the video below in preparation for class. We will discuss its content in detail, so please come prepared with questions, if you have any.

Next Tuesday we will try to cook monas de Pascua (Easter cake). Please read this link and watch the video below to find out more about this dessert. If I can figure it out, I will try to have a gluten/lactose free version of this recipe available, we will see.

Also, remember to find out the names and location of the ten largest countries in  Western Europe, (you should already know where Spain/España and Portugal are located). And, yes, please learn their Spanish translations: eg. Germany/Alemania, Italy/Italia, etc.

Hasta el martes.

Semana Santa de Sevilla



Mona de Pascua tradicional.

Sombreros y pollitos/Hats and chicks

 These are our chicken hat "prototypes" for the festival. Easy to make but not the only way to make them,

Each of us will be making our own hat in class, so come prepared with ideas.

I will bring feathers and other decorations that we can hot glue gun to them.


Also, we got some chicks for our singing skit. Aren't they adorable?! Maybe we can all pretend to be hens/roosters while singing and take care of our little chicks. I know, right?

Continue enjoying your break and see you next week!

Spring Break!

Spring Break!

During the next few weeks, we are going to cook some dishes (monas de Pascua, a tradicional Spanish Easter pastry and cocas, a Spanish variation of pizzas).

We will also make a piñata for Cinco de Mayo and decorate a sombrero in preparation for our festival.

Enjoy your break and please watch the videos below. The cooking ones to learn about our dishes and the song, to memorize it (so please watch it as many times as needed):

The lyrics are as follows,

Los pollitos dicen, pío, pío, pío
cuando tienen hambre, cuando tienen frío

La gallina busca, el maíz y el trigo
les da la comida y les presta abrigo

Bajo sus dos alas, acurrucaditos
hasta el otro día, duermen los pollitos.

Los pollitos dicen (cancion tradicional)





Mona de Pascua




Cocas de verduras

Vamos a estudiar el futuro

Please watch the two videos below in preparation for class.

The grammar is strong with the first one. The second one is more fun. Pause and use the dictionary as needed.

Gracias

El futuro



IR + a + infinitivo.

Los pollitos dicen: traditional vs rock.

Please for next class, make sure you study the verb to go (IR) in the previous post (near future).

Once you are done, please come back here and start practicing these two versions of the Los pollitos dicen songs.

We will sing them at the Spring Festival: act 1 (traditional) and act 2 (rock). The traditional version will be accompanied by piano or ukulele. For the rock one we will use canned music.

Please start learning the lyrics as you can.

Act 1 Los pollitos dicen...(traditional)



Los pollitos dicen, pío, pío, pío
cuando tienen hambre, cuando tienen frío

La gallina busca, el maíz y el trigo.
Les da la comida y les presta abrigo

Bajo sus dos alas, acurrucaditos
hasta el otro día, duermen los pollitos

Act 2 Los pollitos dicen... (rock)



Los pollitos dicen pío, pío, pío
cuando tienen hambre, cuando tienen frío

La gallina busca el maíz y el trigo.
Les da la comida y les presta abrigo

Los pollitos dicen pío, pío, pío
Los pollitos dicen pío, pío, pío
Los pollitos dicen pío, pío, pío
cuando tienen frío

Martes, 1 de abril: Near Future

Today we further practiced the present tense of the verb tener (to have/to be). We also covered expressions and verbs dealing with weather: hace frío (it is cold)  hace calor (it is hot), llueve (it rains) etc.

So far we have just explored the present tense in class. Next week we are going to start expressing ideas in the future tense. To do so we are going to learn the present tense of the verb IR and use it as follows:

Ir (present tense) + a + infinitive

Examples:

(Yo) voy a viajar a Cuba en agosto (I am going to travel to Cuba in August)
Isabel va a estudiar italiano (Isabel is going to study Italian)
Dora y Boots van a comer plátanos (Dora and Boots are going to eat bananas).
Mañana (nosotros) vamos a cocinar  un pastel (We are going to cook a cake tomorrow)


Please watch the videos below in preparation for class. We will practice this concept at Academy during the next few weeks so do not worry if you do not understand everything you hear at first.


IR- to go, Present Tense




Ir + a + infinitivo

Martes 25 de marzo: Pío Pío Pío, tener

On Tuesday, March 25th, we will continue our exploration of the verb TENER (to have).

Normally we use tener in Spanish the same way you would use it in English (possession, need, obligation):

Tengo un coche pequeño (I have a small car)
Tenemos que estudiar español (We have to study Spanish) 
Pedro tiene los ojos azules (Peter has blue eyes)

However, sometimes we use tener to express physical and emotional states or for some other expressions (where English speakers would use to be):

Tengo 14 años (I am 14 years old)
Tengo frío (I am cold)
¿Tienes calor? (Are you hot?)
Tengo hambre (I am hungry)
No tengo miedo (I am not afraid)
Tengo vergüenza (I am ashamed)
Ellas tienen razón (They are right)

Please study the conjugation above so we can practice these expressions in class. Also, watch the nursery rhymes below that use this verb. They are about little chicks that complain when they are hungry and cold (...cuando tienen hambre, cuando tienen frío....)  and how their mom provides for them corn and wheat (...el maíz y el trigo...) and keeps them warm. You have three very different versions to choose from! Maybe we can all dress like chickens and sing that song for our upcoming festival? I think you would look truly adorable ;)

¡Hasta el martes!

18 de marzo: El día del santo: San José

Every March the city where I grew up, Valencia, celebrates Las Fallas, a festivity that lasts several days with music, parades, flower offerings to the Virgen de los Desamparados (Our Lady of the Forsaken), fireworks, and the erection of huge cardboard sculptures called fallas. These bonfires provide social and political commentary and are burned on March 19th in honor of Sant Josep (San José in Spanish/Saint Joseph in English), the city's patron saint.

Las Fallas can be quite fun and noisy (because of the constant explosions of firecrackers) and the cardboard and wood structures are quite spectacular. You can learn more about this festivity by watching the video below (about 15 minutes long). 

Many people in my family are named after Saint Joseph: my grandfather (Josep), my  mom (Josefina), my sister (Josefa) and my son. Traditionally, in Spain, people used to celebrate their día del santo or "saint's day", instead of their birthday. Families would make a cake or cookies and friends would come over the house as they could and be offered a piece of cake and something to drink.

In celebration of Josep's saint's day, I thought we could cook a traditional cake made with crushed almonds, sugar, confectionery sugar, eggs, cinnamon, and lemon peel (not vegan but gluten free). This cake is called Torta de Santiago (St. Jame's cake, and yes, I have a cake named after me). To learn how to make it watch any of the two videos below (They are in Spanish but they are quite self explanatory). Pay attention to the final decoration and see if you can guess what it is, as we will talk some more about it in class.

I figured we could cook it during class and share it with group two later for lunch...¡delicioso!

See you next Tuesday!

Las Fallas de Valencia




Tarta de Santiago 1



Tarta de Santiago 2

Martes 11 de marzo: Máscaras de Carnaval.

Behold the beauty of the masks (máscaras) we made for our Carnival (Carnaval) class!