The 2012 World Water Day

This Thursday, on March 22nd, the world will be celebrating World Water Day. Each year we take time to focus on the importance of freshwater and promote the responsible management of our freshwater resources. This year's campaign theme is "Water & Food Security."

With 7 BILLION people to feed on this planet, the shortage of freshwater is a world-wide problem. So many people don't know the importance of maintaining freshwater resources. Many don't even know how valuable water is or how we use it for more than just drinking. Take a look at this graphic displaying how much water is need to produce various products that we consume:

Did you know it takes 7000 liters of water to produce ONE steak? ¡Guaca! Or even that it takes 170 liters of water to produce ONE glass of orange juice??

Using our earth's resources wisely is a lesson we all need to teach our children. One of the ways we can do this is with the education materials available on the WWD website. Scroll down and download the games, posters, or other materials they offer for free.

Other excellent materials include these, which I shared last year for World Water Day. Especially take a look at these neat interactive sites on the water cycle: Scholastic's Study Jams and Aprende y diviértete con el agua. 

And check out these water-themed books while you're at it!

English:

• One Well: The Story of Water on Earth (CitizenKid) by Rochelle Strauss

• Water, Water Everywhere: A Book About the Water Cycle (Discovery Readers) by Melvin Berger and Gilda Berger

• Why Should I Save Water? (Why Should I? Books) by Jen Green and Kyouko Kitazawa

• Watch over Our Water (Cloverleaf Books - Planet Protectors) by Lisa Bullard

Spanish:

• Soy el Agua (Hello Reader) by Jean Marzollo and Judith Moffatt

• El Ciclo del Agua (Cambios Que Suceden en la Naturaleza) (Spanish Edition) by Bobbie Kalman

• Océanos y mares (Masas de Agua) and Lagos y estanques (Masas de Agua) by Cassie Mayer

• El Agua/Water: Arriba, Abajo Y En Todos Lados/ Up, Down, and All Around (Ciencia Asombrosa) (Ciencia Asombrosa (Amazing Science)) by Natalie M. Rosinsky (Also available in English)


Con mucho cariño...

¡Viva la Primavera! Bilingual Calendars {PRINTABLE}

Happy First Day of Spring! Today was just beautiful where I live. We spent a lot of time outside doing a few science experiments, gardening, and playing.

I suddenly realized I hadn't posted my bilingual spring calendars yet, so here you go!

Like the other sets, this calendar pack comes with...

• six calendars (three in English, three in Spanish) of the spring months March, April, and May
• six headers (three in English, three in Spanish) of the same months for use in pocket charts or calendar boards
• two cards listing the months of the year (one in English, one in Spanish)

Spring leaves me so happy and inspired, so be ready for many more printables. But as I mentioned last year, I offer these to MommyMaestra readers first. They are free for you but only for a day or two! After that they will be available in my online store. So be quick and get them while you can...

DOWNLOAD CALENDARS HERE

Enjoy!

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Un besote!

The 2012 Doodle 4 Google Contest

There is one week left to enter this year's Doodle 4 Google Contest! Actually, the deadline is this Friday, March 23rd, but the submissions must be postmarked no later than tomorrow (Tuesday), March 20th, 2012.

When I read about the competition this weekend, it reminded me of how last year, my daughter had a Doodle 4 Google birthday party where she invited all her guests to create their own masterpieces. Then the kids took home their creations, had their parents register them, and mailed them in. I noticed that this year, however, the process is even easier as students are no longer required to register to enter. Instead, all you have to do is fill out the entry form and include it with your submission.

This year's theme is: "If I could travel in time, I'd visit…" The competition is open to all U.S. students in K - 12, including homeschoolers (YAY!). AND all the information is available in Spanish (double YAY!)! You can find all the information and guidelines here, or watch this short video. Last year, they received over 107,000 submissions from students coast to coast.

This year's winner will receive a 30,000 scholarship, and $50,000 for their school, and have their artwork featured on the Google home page? AND this year's winner will also have their artwork printed on Crayola's box of 64 crayons.

I'm super bummed I didn't get this to you sooner, but perhaps you can do what I plan to do today: throw today's lesson plan out the window and rewrite it to include an hour or two of art/history. I wonder what period(s) of time my kids will choose? Or you can plan it for tomorrow, though you'll need to get the the post office ASAP before they close!

And if you need a little inspiration, be sure to watch the video at the beginning of this post introducing last year's winner, Matteo Lopez, a second grader at Monte Verde Elementary School in South San Francisco, California.

¡Buena suerte a todos!

St. Patrick's Day Bilingual Activity Pack {PRINTABLE}

St. Patrick's Day is quickly approaching and to celebrate the holiday, you can now download my St. Patrick's Day Bilingual Activity Pack that I created for preschool and kindergarten students.

For additional resources be sure to check out my post Bilingual Activities to Celebrate Saint Patrick's Day!

This post contains affiliate links.

St. Patrick's Day Bilingual Activity Pack

My kids are secretly planning ways to celebrate the holiday. And so I thought that I would share this new downloadable file with you!

It is a little bilingual activity pack for el Día de San Patricio that I've put together for preschoolers, kindergartners, Spanish and English language learners. So if you are looking for something to keep the kids busy, you can download it here from my TpT shop.

Printable Activity Pages for St. Patrick's Day

This download includes the following activities in English or Spanish. You just choose the language that best suits your needs and print those pages.

- Number recognition (1-10)
- Finish the pattern
- Find the difference
- Size sequencing
- Montessori nomenclature cards (English & Spanish)
- Beginning sound recognition (Bilingual)
- Graphing
- Alphabet (English & Spanish)
- Bingo cards

Supplies You'll Need

The activities in this pack don't require anything extraordinary, and you probably have all of the supplies at home. Here's what I needed to use the packet with my 5 year old:

• printed copies of the activity pages
• plain printer paper 
• colored (yellows & greens!) printer paper (optional)
• pencil
• crayons or markers
• a brad or pushpin (for the spin it activity shown above)
• a paperclip
• scissors
• glue stick

 

Comandante John Riley bust in the Plaza San Jacinto, San Angel quarter, Mexico City.
Osioni, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Reading Passage for Older Students

If you have older kids, they may be better suited for something more challenging, such as this Brief History of Los San Patricios. They'll learn some fascinating history, as well as something new about the Hispanic culture that they may have not known before. Who were the San Patricios? They were Mexico's Fighting Irish! Learn more by clicking the link above.

Want to find this post again? Pin it!

Other Posts that May Interest You...

• Bilingual Activities to Celebrate Saint Patrick's Day
  
  
• Free Spanish St. Patrick's Day Printables
  
  
• 3 Fun St. Patrick's Day Activities

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St. Patrick's Day Activities

We're just a couple days away from St. Patrick's Day! If you are looking for a few activities or some fun crafts, don't forget to take a look at my article dedicated to bilingual activities for families (or classrooms) to celebrate the holiday.

Also, be sure to check out my Pinterest board on St. Patrick's Day. You'll find links to activities in both English and Spanish. There's a lot of great resources out there, but I've tried to narrow them down to some of the more fun ones.

Come back tomorrow for a special surprise!

Con mucho cariño...

The Hope Tree Project

Last Friday I mentioned that author Meg Medina had won the 2012 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. Today on our sister blog, the Latin Baby Book Club, I've shared a review of the Libro del Mes (Book of the Month) for March: The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind.

This young adult novel is Meg Medina's third book to hit the market and it releases today. You can read the review on the LBBC, but I wanted to share with you one of the ways that Medina is creatively launching her newest title.

The Hope Tree Project is a celebration of art, reading, and culture. About 500 high school students will be working with Medina and The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia, to create their own milagros "that symbolize a hope or dream that they have for themselves or for the community." Milagros are religious folk charms commonly used in Latin America as an offering or a gift to a particular saint, or to symbolize a specific need, wish, or problem.


photo by Urban Woodswalker

Medina wants the project to encourage the young adults to think about their future and what they want out of life. By creating a small charm that reflects their wishes and goals, she hopes the kids will be motivated to make their dreams a reality. On her blog, Medina says, "If you don’t make a dream for yourself, others are only too happy to rush in and fill in the vacuum."

The milagros that the high schoolers create will be used to decorate five crepe myrtle trees in the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. On April 30th (Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros), at 5 p.m. the trees will be unveiled in a celebratory event, and visitors are encouraged to add their own milagros to the display. This project will be featured through July 4th, and afterward, certain milagros will be chosen to be placed on display in the City Hall for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Con mucho cariño...

The 2012 New York International Children's Film Festival

The 15th New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) is underway. With 100 new films, it is considered the nation's largest film festival for kids and teens. I thought last year's films looked incredible. How I wish I could take my kids to see some of them! Fortunately, we are able to watch some of the previous years' films online.

For four weekends, the festival presents films, workshops, Q&As, and other events around New York. This is such a great opportunitiy to take your kids to see some thought-provoking films created for children ages 3 - 18. I especially love that the NYICFF also provides Family Guides for families to download online. Centered around some of the films, the guides provide activities and questions for parents to ask their children.

Here are a few shots from this year's international line-up:

A Monster in Paris (FRANCE)

First Position (USA)

The Monkey King (CHINA)



Tales of the Night (FRANCE)

Tía Isa Wants a Car Wins the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award

Congratulations to new author Meg Medina, who is the 2012 winner of the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award for her children's picture book, Tía Isa Wants a Car. Every year, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation presents the EJK Book Award to an outstanding new writer and illustrator of children's picture books. To be eligible, writers and illustrators must have published no more than three books.

We are happy to see this year's Writer Award go to Meg Medina. We reviewed her book, Tía Isa Wants a Car on our sister blog, The Latin Baby Book Club last year. A Spanish version of her book, Tía Isa quiere un carro, has now been released...yay!!

If you haven't already read this wonderful book, here is a short book trailer to introduce you...

Where Are All the Latino Homeschoolers?

I know you're out there. You have emailed me, tweeted me, messaged me on Facebook. When I first started homeschooling, I couldn't hardly find any Latino/a homeschoolers online. But today, that is changing. I know more and more of you have chosen to take your children's education into your own hands and that many of you are starting to write about your experience.

I want to know numbers. To give encouragement to other Latino families who are considering homeschooling. To show publishers and other education companies that they need to be thinking about us when they are creating their education materials. To show publishers that they need to create Spanish and bilingual curricula to help bilingual families successfully raise bilingual children without having to sacrifice academic achievement.

So...

Bilingual Dr. Seuss Activities and Crafts



Via: 30 Dr. Seuss Quotes to Live By



Feliz cumpleaños, Sr. Seuss!!

Today, families and individuals all over this country will be celebrating Read Across America...and Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday! There are not a lot of bilingual activities available that I can find, but here are a few in Spanish or English that I really like. If you happen to have a favorite, please share it with everyone in a comment so that others might benefit, too.

Printables, Crafts, & Activities

• First and foremost I have to share this incredible Spanish Dr. Seuss activity pack from KinderLatino. The set includes alphabet matching cards, letter Ss activities (for letter, syllables and words), rhyming cards, a word sorting activity, read and color, emergent reader and some number cards.

•For craft ideas, there is simply no better resource than The Crafty Crow!

• Ingles 360 has several cute Dr. Seuss-themed printables in English.

• Last week, I shared some great resources for The Lorax.  I still think they are fabulous! :)

• And last, be sure to check out the awesome Dr. Seuss poster created by Mamiverse featuring "30 Dr. Seuss Quotes that Can Change Your Life." (Shown at right.)

Online

• PBS KIDS Lab has some great online Cat in the Hat games and activities based on their popular TV show in both English and Spanish.

• Seussville.com is, of course, without compare, though it is available in English only.

• And don't forget SpanglishBaby's giveaway of a Lorax gift bundle.

Teacher Feature: Lidia Barbosa from KinderLatino

Today I would really love to introduce you all to my new friend, Lidia Barbosa, and her wonderful blog, KinderLatino. If you haven't already discovered her, you are in for a treat. This mother of two, is a Bilingual Ed teacher who creates excellent printables and shares them through her website. Lidia's products are fun, vibrant, and educational. While she has created some in English, her primary focus is Spanish, and her materials are valuable additions to any preschool or kindergarten student's lesson plan. For those of you who are homeschooling, be sure to check out her site and look through her downloads.

In addition, Lidia has recently created and launched the new site, Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse, which is filled with Spanish resources for teachers. This site boasts a number of talented contributors, most of them Spanish teachers.

Lidia was kind enough to share part of her story with me, and in turn, I am happy to share it with you...

Can you tell us when you learned to speak Spanish and why?

I come from a large, Hispanic family. I spoke Spanish first and did not learn English until I attended public school.


Why have you chosen to blog about bilingual resources for Kindergarten
teachers?

As a bilingual Kindergarten teacher, I have always had a very hard time finding resources for my students. This results in working late hours translating and creating material for my lessons. It seems that regular education teachers have an abundance of material. These teachers simply have to go to any teacher store to find wonderful activities for their classrooms.

I chose to create my Kinder Latino blog as a way to share ideas and printables with teachers in bilingual education. Most of my resources are in Spanish. I do include some English printables. These can be used during our ESL teaching block or used by teachers who teach in a dual language classroom.

It is my hope that the content provided on Kinder Latino will always be useful to others. The positive comments from teachers always motivate me to keep creating more resources.


Your website says you’ve been teaching for 15 years. Can you tell us a little more about your teaching background?

My major was in Speech-Language Pathology. I worked as a Speech Therapist in a school setting for two years. Every time that I would pick up students from their classrooms, I wondered about what wonderful things they must be learning in there. Curiosity got the best of me. I finally decided that I should work in the classroom for a couple of years to become familiar with learning expectations. I took the classes and became certified in Bilingual Education. I loved working in the classroom a lot more than I anticipated. Those 2 years turned into 15. As a Speech Therapist, I worked with students from Early Childhood to Middle School. As a teacher, I have worked with Pre-K, Kindergarten and Second grades. Most of my experience has been acquired in a Bilingual Kindergarten classroom.

At the moment, I am staying home with my two youngest children. This decision was made because my little boy’s arm was pulled out of his elbow in daycare twice with no explanation. I had to take him to the emergency room with a dangling arm. The first time that this happened was very scary. He was lying limp in his teacher’s arms and looking into space. He went into shock and did not even recognize me. Long story short, I decided to stay home shortly after when my youngest was born. Both just had a birthday recently. Angel just turned five and will be in Kindergarten next year. Isabella just turned two.

Where do you find the inspiration for your printables?

My inspiration? Well, I have been creating activities that I always wished for, but never had. I go back to all of my saved files to re-do and improve them with fonts and graphics. Many creations have been teacher requests. The printables cover current themes and reading. Literacy center activities have been the main focus of my thematic units. I try to make them colorful and interesting enough for students. Initially, I made my own graphics. As soon as I began to receive teacher requests, I decided to start buying graphics to get the printables done sooner.
I create Spanish printables first. From there, I translate the activities to create the English ones. I try to provide activities in both languages whenever I can to accommodate Dual Language teachers.

I have used many of these ideas with my own students. They were the inspiration for such activities when I was in the classroom. Now, I am creating complete and attractive activities that will make my life a lot easier when I return to work. I love the feedback that I receive from teachers who have used my printables. Their wonderful comments validate that even though I am not in the classroom right now, these ideas and resources do work.


What are some of your favorite resources for bilingual ed teachers?

1) I love, love, love the Estrellita reading program. It has many components that can be used throughout the day. Some lessons work well during guided reading groups. This program is especially useful for struggling readers.

2) Jose Luis Orozco has CD’s with Spanish songs. These are great to use daily during calendar time or at any time throughout the year.

3) Readinga-z.com has some wonderful emergent readers in Spanish. Best of all, they are already leveled.


What are your thoughts on the current education system and the lack of
bilingual education programs across the country? Why do you think they are important?

I truly believe in Bilingual Education. It is important that children build a strong foundation in their primary language. This allows for an easier transition when learning new concepts in English. The lack of bilingual education programs affects the entire family. The child has a difficult time catching up to native English speakers and may fall behind at school. Parents who are Spanish dominant struggle in helping their children with homework and communicating with teachers. This is especially true with families that are new to the U.S. There are many districts that do not provide bilingual education. I truly hope that the nation takes notice of the needs of our population, embrace it and provide quality resources and education for all.

Do you think that more and more teachers will turn to sites like KinderLatino for materials to use in their classrooms? Why or why not?

Yes. Teachers are always in search of ideas and resources. There is a lack of these resources for bilingual education. I believe that once teachers find our sites, they will be relieved to finally have somewhere to turn to for information that is relevant to their classrooms. This will also cut down on working late hours translating and making their own material. I have created another site, the Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse, for this reason. This is a new site with collaborating authors who share a common goal in bilingual education. My vision is to provide a central location where we can find online Spanish resources quickly and easily.

Thank you for your interest in Kinder Latino. I hope that you were able to get to know me a little better.

¡Hasta pronto!


Do you know a great teacher (or website) who should be featured on MommyMaestra? Please contact me!