DECEMBER 9, 2021

Kindergarten students embraced the opportunity to practice their Spanish language skills in a recent art class with Ms. Pentecost. Working on their color mixing and composition skills, students painted various forms of fruit, cut them out, and then arranged them into beautiful fruit baskets—"a great subject matter for an introductory composition lesson, due to the various shapes and sizes that can exist in any one bowl," Ms. Pentecost explained. The exercise dovetailed with their Spanish curriculum, as they were also learning colors and fruits in Spanish class.

This art class served as fun and accessible way for our students to use their newly acquired Spanish words in a familiar setting—a goal of the Spanish curriculum at this grade level. Lower School Spanish Program Coordinator Annalise Porras shared, "The opportunity for students to use their developing language skills within a variety of contexts not only allows for additional linguistic exposure, but the language learning is also deepened, which then allows it to become more meaningful. By sharing their new skills through as many real world interactions as possible, our youngest language learners can more easily develop a strong sense of pride as confident, independent speakers."

Ms. Pentecost added, "We has such a great time challening ourselves while mixing colors. I would ask, 'What colors do you mix to create purple?' and they would respond "Rojo y azul!' This drawing and color mixing lesson is a great way to emphasize their new vocabulary words, as well as their foundational art skills."

This additional language exposure helps to instill a love of learning world languages and lifelong curiosity about other cultures, which are both foundational elements of the Lower School Spanish program. Ms. Porras continued, "By integrating curricular themes and collaborating with other teachers, my goal is always for students to see that Spanish lives and breathes in many places outside of the Spanish classroom and helps us to connect our learning to the real world by communicating our ideas within it."