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!

Martes, 11 de marzo: carnaval y cabalgatas

Next Tuesday we are going to learn about the carnival (carnaval, in Spanish), a tradition that precedes Lent in many Latin cultures.

Some of the world's most famous carnival celebrations include the one in Venice (Italy) the one in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain:) and, of course, the one in Rio (Brazil).

Below you can watch two videos about the carnival in the Canary Islands.  The first one shows clips of the Las Palmas children's parade (cabalgata), the second one is about the work involved in the design of the elaborate dresses for the selection of the Reina del Carnaval de Tenerife  (the Tenerife Carnival Queen).

Please, in preparation for class try to find out where the Canary Islands and  the cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are in a map (clue: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Morocco)

See you!

Carnaval infantil de Tenerife

Reina del Carnaval de Tenerife