Three-Legged Race

For the next few months, C.E.I.P. Lope de Vega will be participating in a Kiddie Olympics put on by one of our sister schools in the U.S. Along with C.E.I.P. Lope de Vega, schools from all around the world have joined in to compete - Belgium, France, Italy, England, Germany, and Canada. We will be participating in a range of activities that each school is submitting. For the month of January, we participated in the "Wellie Wang", where each student had to toss a rain boot (or 'wellie') and measure the distance. For February, we are partaking in the Isle of Man Three-Legged Race!

Now, learning just how to compete in a Three-Legged race is MUCH harder than one would imagine.  Think back to the first time you ever ran one - maybe at summer camp or after school or at a family reunion. A lot of falling, sidesteps, and befuddled communication was involved, no? It's just the same for the kids here at C.E.I.P. Lope de Vega! In the first grade, we've been practicing all month during P.E. and have come up with a few key rules to follow during a Three-Legged race:

1. Always step together, not apart!
2. Communicate! Talk to your partner to make sure you both know where you're headed!
3. Hold hands with your partner while you run.
4. Help your partner up if they fall (because falling is inevitable!)
5. Remember that everyone is a winner, because whether you came in first place or last place, Three-Legged races are a challenge!

If you want to learn more about the Kidlympics, as well as see photos and videos from all the different schools participating, check out this great webpage put on by our sister school. Keep up with our stats and try some of the games out for yourself! Go Spain!

- Robyn

Día de Andalucía

Here at C.E.I.P. Lope de Vega, we're already  gearing up for Día de Andalucía (Andalusia Day).  As an auxiliar, I've been looking forward to this holiday since my arrival in the autonomous community.  Every February 28th, students throughout Andalusia practice traditional dance, games, and songs. They even cook up traditional Andalusian food!

One such game that they play, Pañuelo, has become a first grade favorite during bilingual P.E.  I thought I'd share the rules so that you all can participate along with us this year!

You'll need the following:
- one old scarf, cloth, or piece of fabric
- one field, gym, or open space for running
- two teams of eager, energetic, and genuinely adventurous people
- good counting skills

1. Elect one person to be the "caller".
2. Divide those remaining into two teams of equal numbers.
3. Each team should count-off, making sure that each number is matched across the field (for example, each team should have a 1, 2, 3, etc.)
4. The "caller" stands between each team, who have all lined up on opposite sides of the filed.
5. The "caller" raises the pañuelo loosely, at an arms distance away, and calls out a number.
6. For whichever number called, that person runs to grab the pañuelo before the other team. This is when the "caller" needs to brace themselves and remember to let go!
7. Whoever grabs the pañuelo first must turn around and run back to their side, with the pañuelo-less person chasing after.
8. If they make it to their team, they win. If not, they don't!
9. Repeat until the "caller"'s voice gives out, team members forget their number, or general exhaustion sets in.

I love pañuelo because you can always change the rules a bit - from numbers to colors to animals. It offers hours of fun!

Happy Día de Andalucía!

 - Robyn

Carnival!

It is Carnival season in Spain! Unlike Spain, the United States doesn't celebrate Carnival much, but many Americans would love Carnival. The US city of New Orleans is famous for its Mardi Gras party, a French-inspired celebration of Carnival, which includes a street party, a parade, and plenty of drinking and crazy costumes. Some American cities and bars host one-day or weekend Carnival events, but they are never as huge as the Spanish celebration.

This was my first time experiencing Spanish Carnival and I didn't realize that the celebration was so big. Throughout the week, I experienced Carnival in school and in different pueblos and cities across Andalucia. Carnival was incredibly fun! It will always be a great memory for me and I'm thankful for it.

On Friday, our school celebrated Carnival with a short play, songs and full costumes! After practicing all week, two teachers played the music while the older students sang for all of our school. It was a special and fun performance. I really loved the costumes! Here are photos from our celebration. Happy Carnival! :)

Happy President's Day!

Feliz día de los Presidentes!

 "True friendship is a plant of slow growth." - George Washington

Today at C.E.I.P. Lope de Vega, we're celebrating the American federal holiday of President's Day.  We're reading legends about George Washington and his wooden teeth and Abraham Lincoln's log cabin, plus some interesting facts about U.S. presidents (did you know that President Hoover had a pet opossum?!).  We're also learning about Mount Rushmore, the White House, and other cool presidential monuments in the U.S. What exactly does it take to be a president?

Leer un poco sobre los presidentes!

- Robyn

My Daily Routines

While most of us are trying to avoid the pitfalls of daily routines, in the fourth grade we are embracing them! We've been working on some key vocabulary this year - time, food, places, and action verbs - and we're finally putting them all together to talk about Our Daily Routines.  Like one big English vocab puzzle, it's nice to see everything we've learned so far fall into place.  We're brushing our teeth at 8.45 after eating breakfast at 8.30.  We do our homework at 17.00 and eat our dinner at 20.30.  The most-loved routine seems to be when we head home after school at 14.00.

However, when talking about our daily routines, a discussion on differences in routines between Spain and the U.S. is inevitable, with a classroom of perplexed students to follow.  There's always an audible gasp when I tell the students when I eat lunch back in Oregon (What?! TWELVE THIRTY IN THE AFTERNOON?!) or at what time I go to bed (TEN THIRTY?! HOW EARLY!). Quite possibly my favorite daily routine to talk about is when I eat dinner (6.30pm). I sometimes feel like I might as well be speaking Pig Latin when my students sit in disbelief at just how strange my own daily routine is. 

Check out our finished artwork! Que chulo, no?

- Robyn

St. Valentine's Day

I never would have guessed it, but St. Valentine's day seems to be much more of an American holiday than Spanish.  Now, that's not to say that everyone in Spain has a Grinch-sized heart, but that they take love and romance much more seriously.  When I think back to my time in elementary school, I have (fond) memories of making valentines for all of my classmates, teachers, and relatives (sorry, Mom, for all the glitter I must have spread through the house). At school, we would make little mailboxes out of lunch bags and spend time going from desk to desk, or class to class, handing out our cards, chocolates, and the ever-amusing conversation hearts.

This, however, is not the case in Andalucia.

While discussing the story of Cupid (fact: sometimes Cupid makes bad decisions because he's a baby! Why had this never occurred to me before?!), one fourth grader asked how many valentines I usually receive each year.

'Tons!' I exclaimed. 'We pass them out to everybody - our classmates, our workmates, our teachers, neighbors, mailmen.' 

In Spain, according to my students, love is taken a bit more seriously, with only one or two valentines given out, perhaps to your best friend, your teacher, and your significant other. There aren't conversation hearts, Hershey's Kisses, or the onslaught of Valentine's Day cards, stickers, teddy bears and balloons. Perhaps the Valentine's Day images that live in my head come straight from Hallmark, but I still love it. And so did the kids!

Check out our Valentine's Day cards!

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!

- Robyn