Feliz Cumpleaños GRANDMA!

¡Feliz Cumpleaños, abuela!

There are few things I love more in this world than letting my students imagine what they'll be like when they are older.  A lot older.  So we're kicking off the new school year GRANNY STYLE, and learning Spanish while we're at it.  That's right, every Friday we're learning Spanish here at One Magic Classroom INC, and this week we are learning about numbers.  READER BEWARE....you might just enjoy learning another language after seeing these kids celebrate their senior citizen birthdays!!!

Numbers in Spanish from 1-30 are unique, meaning that you have to learn them all by heart (you can find a list of them here).  After that, you can CHEAT.  That's right!  I'm teaching my students how to cheat at learning Spanish by using this here short cut:

First, you learn the numbers in tens:

30 = trienta

40 = cuarenta

50 = cincuenta

60 = sesenta

70 = setenta

80 = ochenta

90 = noventa

You add an "y" (pronounced "ee"), then add the number, and BOOM!  Now you can wish your granny:

¡Feliz Cumpleaños! = Happy Birthday!

Grandma = Abuela

Happy Birthday Granny!
Feliz cumpleaños, abuela!

If you can't tell, granny doesn't like getting her picture taken.

Tengo noventa años  =  I'm ninety years old 
(Literal translation in Spanish: I have 90 years)

Granny turned 90! (and she doesn't look too happy about it)

Tell a kid to "get fierce" and this is the face they will give you.

"Granny, do you have any friends who also have birthdays?"

"OF COURSE I DO MY LITTLE SUGAR DUMPLINGS!"
(translating this is a little too advanced for us right now)

Meet my cousin Mildred! 
"Conoce a mi prima Mildred"

"Tengo noventa y nueve años."  =  "I'm ninety-nine years old."
(She's still the queen of Scrabble on Fig Newton and Game Night….at the elderly home that is, and still rockin' that headband from prom 82 years ago!).

"Don't forget my mailman, Mr. Dinkletter!"
"No te olvides mi cartero, Sr. Dinkletter"

"Tengo cuarenta y siete años"  =  "I'm forty seven years old."

Rumor has it Señor Dinkletter even sleeps with his eyebrow up like that.  

In case you're wondering how to ask how old someone is, it's:

¿Cuántos años tienes?  =  How old are you?

REPURPOSED JOURNAL FUN

Every foreign language student needs a journal to write down everything they learn.  And you're in luck kids, because your teacher struck gold in the free pile at work!  That's right, somebody didn't want these Spanish picture flash cards from 1972…..what were they thinking?  My cousin Kimi and I spent countless hours cutting out paper and tying knots for all these journals this summer (while watching reality t.v. shows…but you didn't hear that part).  

"Dad, I can speak Spanish!" -- Papá, yo hablo español!

Gage really knows how to draw some miniature legs on a grown man.

"Meat Boy loves Español!" -- "Meat Boy" ama español!

"And writing his Spanish vocabulary facts in his journal!"

The wise Yoda Hayden says: "If you learn one thing children, it's that "la carne" means "meat" in Spanish.

Introducing…..the first ever…..MAN-GIRL JOURNAL!

I'm not exactly sure how to translate this one...but I think it might be: 
DIARIA CHICA-HOMBRE

And lastly, the most sophisticated journal of all:

POOP! 
(That's CACA en español, in case you were wondering)

Sorry, but I had to put this one on here. 
 I still have a 3rd grade sense of humor.  
Besides, poop and airplanes go together, right?

WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM TODAY'S LESSON:

1.  How to say happy birthday in Spanish (¡Feliz Cumpleaños!).

2.  Think twice before you throw away some Spanish flashcards from 1972 in the garbage.

3.   Poop jokes are still funny.

TEACHER CRAFT OF THE DAY!

You heard right my friends.  Ms. Sprengelmeyer will be sharing a neat-o-burrito teacher craft every blog entry as well.  This week I repurposed some old records that were about to go in the trash.  These once "golden oldies" are now magic name plates!

Well, there you have it, our first blog entry with a new super MAGIC bunch of really creative and inspiring kids.  Until next time my friends.  

Let the magic begin.

     "A different language is a different vision of life" - Federico Fellini