Global learning and projects

It´s funny how Google can show yourself and your work with others.



Factorize your diet: External collaborations: Sharing projects



"Ninfa Laurenzo Early Childhood Center is a Houston Independent School District facility located just south of downtown. We have contacted them to share tasks. Our students have made paper cranes and their students show us how they learn healthy cooking. Children give examples by washing the vegetable and picking up the table. We are very happy to be able to collaborate and have found a school with Hispanic ties".

como usamos el libro con nuestro nombre

Anteriormente: como hacer el libro con nuestro nombre



Seguimos aprendiendo con nuestro libro. En esta ocasion mostramos como podemos ampliar nuestro vocabulario con el uso de letras para aprender a leer y escribir.



Elegimos una imagen y vamos separando los sonidos, uno a uno. Por ejemplo, en el video tenemos "jabon" y a partir de ahi vamos sacando en primer lugar los sonidos para poder elegir las letras.



J

A

B

O

N



Cuando las tenemos todas en orden: J A B O N, ya podemos ayudarles a leer la palabra, primero por silabas, luego la palabra completa.



Para terminar podemos escribir la palabra de la imagen, podemos usar lapices, colores, marcadores,... incluso la pueden decorar a su gusto, si lo desean.



Cuando las tengamos todas podremos pasar a la siguiente actividad. Cuantas tienes ya escritas?

Tips to work letters and sounds at home!

How to work letters and sounds at home.

The Internet offers us a great number of possibilities and opportunities to continue learning as at school, but from home, from the office, from where they are located.

Nowadays, the access to videos and applications is easy... Most of videos and apps that we share are meant to review letters, sounds, numbers and other PreK concepts. With our mobile devices we can accelerate our learning, as well as having fun! why not to try with kids, too?

I want to share with you the steps to follow to work them at home.

1. Full video viewing.

First of all, we invite our "campeones" to watch a funny video, the ones that we use at school. We don't need to spend so much time during this activity since most of videos are short.
If this is the first time you see them, please pay attention to the video, since the following activities are related to them.

To check comprehension, we can ask you questions like:

- What's the video about?
- What do you like the most?
- What is your favorite __________?
- Can you draw (and / or write, if they already know) what you liked the most?

2. View by parts.

We'll work with the video little by little. Why pauses? 

Because we will stop to repeat and produce the sounds of the letters or words that appear in the video. In case of difficulty, we will help our kids by inviting them to see it again or we will teach them how to do it.

For example, in the video that we give as an example, we find the first letter: A.






We pause and ask:
- What letter is it?
- What is the name of this letter?
- What is the sound of this letter?

(Let's try to avoid expressions like "you know how ...", since the little ones will respond most of the times and they will not produce them).


In case of presenting difficulties we will use the image (APPLE), and we ask them the following questions:
What fruit do you see?
What is it?
Can you say/pronounce its first sound? (or the last since both are A in this case)

We positively reinforce their answers with the following expressions:
"very good"
"Excellent"

"Great job"

If, on the other hand, we do not have positive answers, we try to offer them other help such as "repeat after me ...". We can teach them how to trace the letters on the screen while we (together) repeat the sound and name it.

For the most advanced students, we can invite them to the following activities-games:

- I see, I see a little thing that starts with the letter ...
And they have to guess what is the one that starts with that letter.

- How many things in the room begin with this letter?

- How many things in the room end with this letter?

- Tell me other words that you know start / end with this letter.

Other variants can be write and read. For example, with one of your favorite book stories you can ask the same questions that we have asked for the room.

3- Again full viewing of the video without sound.

In this last part of the activities we can see the full video again and play to see how many letters and sounds you know. For each one that they know (by themselves) we can make points and those points can be exchanged for things they like. By doing so we motivate them to learn the letters and sounds, it will be very fun! 

Can you try at home? How many points will you get?

Other videos to work with letters and sounds:

Cómo trabajar desde casa las letras y sonidos

Cómo trabajar desde casa las letras y sonidos

Internet nos ofrece una gran cantidad de posibilidades y oportunidades para seguir aprendiendo como en la escuela, pero desde casa, desde la oficina, desde donde estén ubicados.

La posibilidad de acceder a videos y aplicaciones para repasar con nuestros dispositivos móviles amplian y  aceleran nuestro aprendizaje, además de ser otra forma más de diversión. La mayoría de los videos y aplicaciones que usamos en nuestro salón de clase con nuestros campeones y campeonas son muy coloridos, con una melodía pegadiza, con ritmo,... 

Quiero compartir con ustedes los pasos a seguir para repasar las letras.

1. Visionado completo del video.

En primer lugar invitamos a nuestros campeones a ver un video divertido, de los que les gusta cuando aprenden con Mr. Usero. Los videos suelen ser breves, por lo que el tiempo dedicado en este paso es poco y lo pueden hacer ellos solos.

Si es la primera vez que los ven, estén pendientes de que prestan atención al video, ya que las siguientes actividades están relacionadas con ellos.

Para comprobar que han entendido el video, le podemos hacer preguntas como: 

¿de qué trata el video? 

¿qué es lo que más te gustó?

¿cuál es tu _____ favorito?

¿me dibujas (y/o escribes, si ya saben) lo que más te gustó?

2. Visionado por partes.

En este paso realizaremos pausas. ¿Por qué pausas? Porque nos detendremos para repetir y producir los sonidos de las letras o palabras que aparezcan en el video.

En caso de dificultad, les ayudamos bien invitándoles a verlo otra vez o bien le enseñamos cómo hacerlo.

Por ejemplo en el video que ponemos de ejemplo, encontramos la primera letra: A.

Hacemos una pausa y preguntamos:

¿Qué letra es? 

¿Cómo se llama esta letra?

¿Cómo se pronuncia?

(Intentemos evitar expresiones como "sabes cómo...", ya que los pequeños van a responder la mayoría de veces que sí y no las van a producir).

En caso de presentar dificultades vamos a usar la imagen (abeja), y le hacemos las siguientes preguntas:

¿Qué animal ves?

¿Cómo se llama?

¿Pronuncia el primer sonido? (o el último ya que ambas son A en este caso)

Reforzamos positivamente sus respuestas con las siguientes expresiones:

"muy bien" 

"excelente" 

"me gusta lo bien que aprendes"

Si, por el contrario, no tenemos respuestas positivas, intentamos ofrecer otras ayudas como por ejemplo "repite conmigo...". Con nuestra ayuda le enseñamos cómo se traza en la pantalla mientras repetimos el sonido y le nombre.

Para los más avanzados, le invitamos a las siguientes actividades-juegos:

- Veo, veo, una cosita que empieza por la letra... 

Y tienen que adivinar qué cosa es la que empieza por dicha letra.

- ¿Cuántas cosas en la habitación empiezan por esta letra?

- ¿Cuántas cosas en la habitación terminan por esta letra?

- Dime otras palabras que sepas que empiecen/terminen por esta letra.

Otras variantes puede ser escribir y leer. Por ejemplo con uno de sus cuentos-libros favoritos se pueden hacer las mismas preguntas que hemos realizado para la habitación.

3- Nuevamente visionado completo del video sin sonido.

En esta última actividad vemos el video completo y le invitamos a jugar a ver cuántas letras y sonidos saben. Por cada una que se sepan (ellos solitos) podemos hacer puntos y esos puntos al final lo cambiamos por cosas que les guste. Así les motivamos a aprender las letras y sonidos, será algo muy divertido, porque cada vez más querrán más puntos y se sabrán más letras.

Ejemplo de la actividad

Una mamá ensayando en casa con una de mis campeonas. Están realizando el punto 2.

Otros videos que podemos usar para trabajar en casa con letras y sonidos con nuestros dispositivos móviles:

Easy & Simple Indoor Activities to HAVE FUN! (1)

I am pro technology, but children need to develop many other skills than playing computer games or apps... that´s why I decided to share some games with you without using TV, computers, smartphones, or any other digital devices.

As a PreK teacher I know that children always want to play and have fun. However, we can´t find so many games to offer them without spending so much money.

Pop-corn race/Carrera de palomitas

Materials/Materiales:

- straws/pajitas o popotes
- tape/cinta
- popcorn/palomitas

Instructions/Instrucciones:

With the use of straws we blow pop-corns to win our race on the dinning table. We can use the tape to limit our lanes. You can add obstacles when you master the simple races, it will be so much fun! 
Ready, Set, GO!

Con el uso de las pajitas/popotes soplamos las palomitas para ganar nuestra carrera en una mesa. Podemos usar cita para marcar los límites de nuestro camino. Puedes añadir obstáculos (platos, vasos,...) cuando domines las carreras simples, será muy divertido.
¡Preparados, listos, YA!

Movies/Películas

Materials/Materiales:

No materials are needed/No son necesarios.

Instructions/Instrucciones:

Distribute the participants in two teams. One members of the team -in this case a child- thinks about a movie and tells it to the members of the opposing team with mimic for a minute. If after this time s/he has not succeeded, the opposing team scores a point. 

3, 2, 1...Action!

Se hacen dos equipos. Uno de los miembros del equipo  -en este caso un niño/a- piensa en una película y se les cuenta al otro equipo. Solo se puede usar la mímica (no palabras) por un minuto. Si el tiempo se acaba y no lo han acertado, el equipo contrario gana un punto.

3, 2, 1... ¡Acción!

Pictionary

Materials/Materiales:

- Paper/papel
- pencil/lápiz

Instructions/Instrucciones:

Similar to the former activity: Movies. Distribute the participants in two teams. One member of the teams -in this case a child- thinks about something and tells it to the members of the opposing team with drawings for a minute. If after this time s/he has not succeeded, the opposing team scores a point. 

Guess!

Parecido a la actividad anterior: Películas. Se hacen dos equipos. Uno de los miembros del equipo -en este caso un niño/a- piensa en una cosa y se les cuenta al otro equipo. Solo se puede usar dibujos (no palabras) por un minuto. Si el tiempo se acaba y no lo han acertado, el equipo contrario gana un punto.

¡Adivina!

Who is who?/¿Quién es quién?

Materials/Materiales:

- Pictures/fotos

Instructions/Instrucciones:

Distribute the participants in two teams and pictures of the family to each team. One member of the teams -in this case a child- chooses a picture and the members of the opposing team asks questions to guess who´s in the picture. If after this time s/he has not succeeded, the opposing team scores a point. 

Guess who!

Se hacen dos equipos y se reparten fotos de la familia a cada equipo. Uno de los miembros del equipo -en este caso un niño/a- elige una foto y miembros del otro equipo deben adivinar de quién se trata. Si el tiempo se acaba y no lo han acertado, el equipo contrario gana un punto.

¡Adivina quién!

Who am I?/¿Quién soy?

Materials/Materiales:

- Pictures/fotos

Instructions/Instrucciones:

Similar to the former activity. Distribute the participants in two teams and pictures of the family to each team. One member of the teams -in this case a child- chooses a picture that is stick on his/her back and the members of the same team will help him/her with cues to guess who´s in the picture. If after this time s/he has not succeeded, the opposing team scores a point. 

Guess who!

Parecido a la actividad anterior. Se hacen dos equipos y se reparten fotos de la familia a cada equipo. Uno de los miembros del equipo -en este caso un niño/a- elige una foto y se la coloca en la espalda. Los miembros de su mismo equipo, con algunas claves, les ayudarán a adivinar de quién se trata. Si el tiempo se acaba y no lo han acertado, el equipo contrario gana un punto.

¡Adivina quién!

Espero que en los días de lluvia y nieve te ayuden a pasar un buen rato con tu familia. 
¿Cuál es tu juego favorito?

Look, but don´t touch! ...Really?

Why to kill the curiosity in Early Childhood?

Exploring and experimenting are key in our first years of life. Our own nature pushes us to learn by seeing, touching, smelling, listening, tasting,... all our senses are needed in this process.

Everyday in my classroom I can see my students enjoying with the hands-on activities, the materials in the workstations,... They always approach the stations of learning and attracted by the materials begin to use them and admired make comments to others. These experiences are precious since they develop many skills as cognitive, communicative, social,... It´s sad when sometimes we hear just at this moment the voice of the teacher/parents/legal guardian to keep silent and to make a line, indicating "it is not worth touching, just seeing".

Many theories of learning tells us that the child's learning in our early years has to do with our thinking levels; it is necessary to keep in mind the object and not only to observe it but to interact with it if we want them to question, reflect, imagine, generate ideas,... The object, by itself in front of the person who learns about it, does not serve as mediator of learning, it is not through a merely contemplative act (visual) as knowledge is constructed, that is, the object is an instrument whose function is to trigger cognitive development. (see my post about Bloom´s Taxonomy)

The first impulse of children when they are in front of an object is to touch it and ask. These are opportunities to foster the intellectual curiosity that surely leads to cognitive development. Touching the object is synonymous with questioning about it. For this reason, the adult must be close to them to answer their questions, to ask them questions, to explain its characteristics.  The role of the teachers (and educators/parents/legal guardians) is to solve the doubts of children, trying to offer real explanations that stimulate their curiosity and cognitive processes.

Learning from the use of objects (Vigotsky, 2000)

Parents/legal guardians/educators should invite children to manipulate the objects and ask him interesting questions that awake their interest and stimulate their expression (communicative skills), reflection and analysis (thinking levels).

In fact there are those researchers who affirm that intelligence is measured by the use of instruments to solve problems, based on the Latin origin of the word: 

inteligere, composed of intus (between) and legere (choose); 

so we can deduce that being smart is knowing how to choose the best option among those given to solve a problem

When children look at an object they immediately have the desire to understand it, and manipulating it is the best way to do it. The work in the classroom must include the contents within natural situations making connections with situations of real life and this implies the interaction of the children with real objects.

To prevent children from mistreating objects, we are only showing our dark side of the teaching. If it is a very delicate or dangerous object for the child, we must help him with care to touch him and explain the reasons for it.

Interact with the reality is the basis of learning, questioning reality and recreating it to understand it is the body, develop cognitive processes and generate knowledge is its maximum expression. Even adults need to touch objects, for example: to show us a shirt  is not enough to tell us it is cotton, we immediately touch it. To ask toddlers/young children not to touch and only observe is to attempt against their nature and their right to learn. 

Martin Luther King Jr with Prek students

What would happen if we ask about segregation in a Prek classroom?

Social experiment in our PreK classroom: How to learn about MLK and segregation. 

Experimento social en la clase de Infantil Prek: Como aprendemos sobre Martin Luther King y la segregación social.

En este video podrás encontrar sus respuestas y otras actividades.

Please, try to see the world through the eyes of a child!

¡Por favor, intenta ver el mundo a través de la mirada de un niño!

El Invierno - sonidos, letras y escritura

Another episode of letters, sounds, words,... in Dual-Language Prek. In this time we are working on the word "invierno". This word, "invierno" is part of our project with the same name.

Academic goal:
- to recognize letters based on their sounds(phonological awareness development)
- to order the positions of the letters to create a word- to develop reading skills
- to develop writing skills
- to have fun!


Materials and resources:
- PowerPoint
- ABC
- Picture of Winter
- Digital Board
- Notebook
- Pencil/crayons
- motivation to work together and help others!


Steps:
1) Introduce the picture
The teacher talks to the students about the picture.
Q: What can you see?
Q: Is it hot or cold?
Q: Which season is it: spring, summer, fall or winter?
Why?


Then, they draw and color a picture of winter.


2) ABC.

We say the ABC letter by letter in order with the help of all the students in the classroom.


3) Matching sounds with letters.
Now we focus on the word "invierno". We pronounce invierno for them.
Q: What's the first letter?
We start with the first letter: I
We check sounds and letters.
Q: Is this letter I?


Previously they drew 8 squares -as the ones (blue) you can see in the digital board-. One square for each letter of the word we are studying.
When we get a letter is time for them to write. It's important they follow the order of the sounds and writing.


Q: Where can I put the following letter?

We check if they understand the order of pronunciation and writing.

Q: What's the right order/position for this word?

The highest students, who can already read, help others to understand the letter-order-sequence to read and write.
We interact with them, like a game.

Q: What's the following letter?
(At this time I don't say the sound because one student already did it)
In case of confusion like the sound V and B, they have to use their memory.

They DO know that is V and not B.

We are forming a word TOGETHER!
It's a GREAT team!

It's important to read the sounds we are writing to help them understand we are creating the word.

First, the ones already written, and second the ones missing.
In this case we need an I, again we play with the possible mistake of using I or Y. They know well!

Sometimes they say other sounds/letters and we can play with them by trying to pronounce the word with their sounds.

Student: now we need a V.
Teacher: again V?
Do you say *"InviVerno"?
S: No!
Teacher: So, what's the next letter?
Student: Y!
Teacher: *"InviYerno"?
Student: Yes!
Teacher: We say "InvI-E-rno", so what's the next letter?

We must challenge them and help them too when they need it, they ARE learning (so are we, as teachers).
We can not forget that mistakes and errors are important elements in the learning process.


Student: E
Teacher: Well done! "InviErno"!
Working in whole groups help students who can not know something.

With the students' help learning is funnier and easier for them since they might not feel the pressure of being evaluated directly by the teacher.
We invite students to do what we, as teachers, are doing.

As you can see, our students are already trained to help others: positive classroom management, peer-peer relationship included.
First, it's recommended to offer them a model of how to do the activity. Then, they can practice with our guidance and help. This is what happening now during this scene.
The process of reading and writing is slow, so they must feel comfortable and sure of what they are doing.

Their self-image improves, therefore they feel motivated to keep on working by their own.


Thanks to all my Dual-Language Prek Students for their GREAT JOB everyday!
Mr Usero
Roosevelt ES
Houston ISD
2017-2018

Reading before bedtime

What to do after holidays to have our routines back?

After our winter break we need to come back to our habits and daily lives. 

Sometimes, the time to go to bed becomes a real nightmare, especially with the little ones. After a story, they want another and another... The stories are specially designed to make our children yawn and get them to sleep or to close their eyes while we read before bedtime. Here you have a small selection of perfect books to read at the end of the day that will surely help you in this arduous task. The selection of the books are proposed in the article 10 cuentos infalibles para ir a dormir (free and non-commercial translation of some parts)

Some of the stories are played by animals and others by children, some are realistic and others more fantastic, some are longer and others are shorter ... but they are all about emotions (sadness, optimism, hatred, the surprise, the calm, the boredom ...), to help the children to know their feelings and manage them.

Cuentos para ir a dormir para niños

A todos los niños y niñas les gusta escuchar cuentos antes de dormir y más cuando los personajes viven aventuras en barcos o en magníficos castillos llenos de princesas.

All children like to listen to stories before they sleep and more when the characters live adventures on boats or in magnificent castles full of princesses.

Un beso antes de dormir

Todos los bebés animales besan a su madre antes de dormir. Un libro de cartón con tiernas ilustraciones para leer a tu hijo antes de ir a dormir.

All animal babies kiss their mother before sleeping. A cardboard book with cute illustrations to read to your child before going to sleep.

El libro de las buenas noches

Un libro increible para ir a dormir en el que se cuenta al niño cómo duermen diferentes animales.

An amazing book to go to sleep in which the child is told how different animals sleep.

Cómo dormir a tu león

Seguro que a tu león le ocurre lo mismo que a Leoncete: por muy cansado que esté, ¡nunca quiere irse a la cama! No te preocupes, Guille sabe bien cómo hacerlo. ¡Abre este libro y descúbrelo!

Surely your lion is the same as Leoncete: no matter how tired he is, he never wants to go to bed! Do not worry, Guille knows how to do it. Open this book and find out!

Todos bostezan

¡Un libro ideal para los niños que se resisten a irse a dormir! Cada doble página presenta a un animal que, bostezando, nos muestra su enorme boca mediante un mecanismo de solapa, hasta que al final… ¡todos duermen! Un libro de compañía para compartir con tu hijo el momento mágico de irse a dormir.

An ideal book for children who are reluctant to go to sleep! Each double page presents an animal that, yawning, shows its huge mouth through a flap mechanism, until in the end?? everyone is sleeping! 

A companion book to share with your child before the magical moment of going to sleep.

El conejito que quiere dormirse

El cuento de El conejito que quiere dormirse es un nuevo método para que los niños se duerman. Traducido a varias lenguas, este libro revolucionario ha ayudado a miles de padres en todo el mundo a conseguir que sus hijos concilien el sueño gracias a las innovadoras técnicas psicológicas que aparecen a lo largo de la historia.

Escrito en un lenguaje sencillo, este libro logra que los niños se relajen y se queden dormidos antes incluso de que termine el cuento.

Y si quieres más, conoce el nuevo libro de Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin La elefantita que quiere dormirse

The story of The Bunny that wants to fall asleep is a new method for children to fall asleep. Translated into several languages, this revolutionary book has helped thousands of parents around the world to get their children to sleep thanks to the innovative psychological techniques that appear throughout history.

Written in simple language, this book makes children relax and fall asleep before the story ends.

And if you want more, know the new book by Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin The little elephant who wants to fall asleep.

Cuentos bonitos para quedarse fritos

Cuentos bonitos para quedarse fritos es un divertido libro recopilatorio de cuentos que llega para hacer frente a la insistente petición de todos los niños que quieren un cuento antes de acostarse (¡y sobre todo a la de los padres que quieren que sus hijos se duerman pronto!).

Beautiful stories to stay fried is a fun storybook compilation that comes to face the insistent request of all children who want a story before bed (and especially to parents who want their children to fall asleep soon !).

Mi Camita

Mi Camita es un álbum ilustrado que también puede servir de apoyo para vencer o superar otros miedos infantiles, como el miedo a los malos sueños, el miedo a la noche o el miedo a la oscuridad.

Este es un cuento que debería ser contado en el momento de ir a dormir, y preferiblemente en la propia cama del niño o niña. Aunque también puede ser utilizado en la guardería o en la escuela para inducir a los niños a reflexionar acerca del momento de ir a dormir.

Mi Camita is an illustrated album that can also serve as a support to overcome other childhood fears, such as fear of bad dreams, fear of the night or fear of the dark.

This is a story that should be told at the time of going to sleep, and preferably in the child's own bed. Although it can also be used in daycare or school to induce children to reflect on the time to go to sleep.

¡Uno más, por favor!

¡Pídele a tu hijo que escoja su «cuento corto a la carta» girando la rueda mágica de este libro! En ella encontrará sus personajes y sus escenarios favoritos: hadas, niños, ratones, bosques, lagos o castillos... Una vez que haya escogido los que más le gusten, tú podrás leerle el cuento en tres minutos y él, después de escucharlo y disfrutarlo, dormirá tranquilo y feliz.

Ask your child to choose his "short story on demand" by turning the magic wheel of this book! In it you will find your favorite characters and scenarios: fairies, children, mice, forests, lakes or castles ... Once you have chosen the ones you like the most, you can read the story in three minutes and s/he, after listening to it and enjoy it, will sleep calm and happy.