We are Special!
What makes the Spanish Academy programs so special has everything to do with our standards for high quality education - an academic and social experience that is life enriching and child nurturing.
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Spanish Curriculum
Spanish Academy students receive a unique curriculum designed for foreign language acquisition delivered 100% in Spanish. Key components of our curriculum include: Art - Students have the opportunity to express themselves through art every day of school. We find art to be a great way for kids to relax, share and get comfortable speaking a second language. These projects reflect the traditional monthly theme. Students take two months to complete the eco-art project.
Music - Kids are singing regularly and soon command a repertoire of songs to share at home and at our 2 annual musical concerts for the elderly. We keep wooden instruments on hand for marching and dancing indoors and outdoors.
Structure - Since we are delivering the curriculum in a second language, a solid structure to the day is key for learning at an early age. Students feel safe and can anticipate the order of events. This allows them to trust the environment, know the boundaries and excel in a nurturing space.
- World Cultures - We celebrate all the unique Spanish cultures.
- Nature - Satellite campus students are invited to the Spanish Academy of North Bend on the Farm for really fun events, including Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day and Graduation on the Lawn. During these events, students feed the farm animals, pet and care for them and even take them on walks.
- Respect - We place a big emphasis on helping kids learn to respect themselves, each other, teachers, books, materials, the outdoors and animals. To that end, we take time helping little kids understand the importance of awareness to making good choices that better a situation for all. Students are given responsibilities in the classroom. They take turns washing the snack cups and plates with lots of bubbly water! They learn to be accountable for their actions by cleaning up after playing, making an art project or eating.
- Community Outreach Events - Students and teachers go the park and clean it up.
- Professional Visitors Enrichment - People in the community are invited to our campuses to 'show and tell' what they do and the difference they make.
- All campus wide socials - We love to gather together, let parents meet each other from the many campuses for fun fiestas!
Preschool
Kids enjoy traditional preschool themes and ecology themes each month of school. For example, in September, the traditional theme includes school safety, making new friends, sharing, classroom vocabulary and our ecology theme is the 4R's. Our daily routine includes the pledge, circle time, free play, table lesson (curriculum,) outdoor adventure, snack, manipulatives, art, story time and more.
Student/teacher ratio is 8:1 or lower. This low ratio allows the K-1 teacher to focus on the most important learning goals for each child. During the school day, K-1 students get unique opportunities to 'teach' our preschoolers while being supervised. This inspires leadership at an early age. Our 'little teachers' help preschoolers to read, write and master basic concepts and life skills.
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Ecology Curriculum
Students learn about the global environment and how they can make a difference in maintaining our healthy planet throughout the school year and during summer camps. We study conservation, the 4R's, eco systems, biomes, habitats and water systems. Students participate in a special eco art project every 2 months during the school year.
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Foreign Language Acquisition
| Study after study shows the benefit of acquiring a second language early in life. And kids soak up languages because their brains are receptive. Naturally, they absorb the 2nd language without prejudgment. Longevity studies show that children exposed to a second language at an early age score higher in reading, math and IQ tests. There are many other benefits too: Spanish speaking citizens are on the rise in the U.S. Increasingly, companies will prefer candidates who speak Spanish. Students become aware of different languages and cultures. They think globally seeing the world as interdependent. Spanish is spoken in most industries in the US. It’s also spoken in 21 countries around the world. Knowing Spanish gives you an edge. During the preschool years, while children hear Spanish, we do not expect them to respond in Spanish. This comes naturally and something we don't require. It's not until Kindergarten that we place an expectation on K-1 students to speak in Spanish. |
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Terrifico 2's
| More and more people are becoming aware of the window of opportunity for language acquisition, which is a crucial developmental piece offered early in life. Spanish Academy clients and prospective clients began requesting Spanish immersion classes for their 2 year olds. And to that request, Spanish Academy said, "Yes!" With great enthusiasm and creativity, Spanish Academy staff have developed a special program called "Terrifico 2's." The younger the child is, the more natural the experience is to learn to speak additional languages. Our Terrifico 2's are learning to sing and speak Spanish alongside our pre-k students. Some of these classes are mixed ages and some are for 2 year old students only. It's truly a lovely sight to observe a 4 year old student taking the hand of a 2 year old to show her how to use a manipulative or to help her navigate nature trails. This is a win-win situation we love to see. During the Spanish immersion session, Terrifico 2's spend a good portion of their time doing arts and crafts, sensory discovery, manipulative exlploration and music. They enjoy circle time, outdoor play and farm animal care, indoor free play and reading time. This program is now offered at all campuses. |
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Fantastico 3's - 5's
Your child enters a place of laughter, hands-on learning, socialization and gleeful singing! Students are dressing up, dancing with musical instruments, learning numbers and phonics and having a blast! Students join together for "mesa" learning and dedicate focused time on Spanish curriculum and refining motor skill development in fun and exciting ways. |
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K-1
Students in the Spanish Academy immersion elementary program are reading, writing and talking in Spanish throughout their school day. SA teachers present a fully accredited curriculum in Spanish. Our students respond in full Spanish sentences and enjoy learning in a second language. SA curriculum includes Saxon math and Houghton Mifflin’s Lectura. Other areas of study include geography, science, the fine arts, history, social studies and computer science. All our students have successfully tested into Puesta del Sol, the local Spanish immersion public school in Bellevue, Washington. |
Elementary Enrichment
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We are regularly invited into schools to offer enrichment Spanish classes. The curriculum is designed to be fun, engaging and includes TPR. Areas of study include conversational Spanish, building vocabulary, reading, and grammar. These classes can be immersion or bilingual, depending on the goals of the PTSA.
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Middle School Spanish Clubs
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We are now entering middle schools offering Spanish Clubs! Kids have fun learning cool phrases in Spanish. The Clubs choose a favorite topic to study and at the end of the course present a play to the entire student body. The most recent play was a 15 minute introduction to trash island, called "What Goes Around, Comes Around."
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Summer Camps
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Fun themes we explore during the summer include 4R’s of Ecology: Recycling, Reusing, Reduce and Rethinking, Biomes including Mountains, Deserts, Rivers & Lakes, Tropical Rain Forests, North & South Poles, Grasslands, Oceans, My Footprint, How I Can Make a Difference. Campers learn awesome ways to protect nature’s habitats and our planet. They’ll go home jazzed with new, interesting facts about the intricate and wonderful balance of life in our world! Campers learn Spanish songs, role play, team play, do science and art projects based on the theme of the week and spend lots of time in outdoor play and discovery. Spanish conversational skills are developed each day in fun and creative ways. All Spanish speaking abilities are welcome. Teachers work with students at their level and challenge then to improve and to speak Spanish with confidence. Teachers are caring and love kids.
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