Christmas time

As you can imagine, Christmas time in the kindergarten is a wonderful opportunity to redecorate every inch of the classroom. Here are just some of the activities of group 7:

   Since the kids were busy learning new songs for the Christmas show (including a really hard Croatian one - but I'll write about that later), I had decided to try and teach them some easy new vocabulary that wouldn't get in the way of memorizing festive tunes. So, we learned how to say parts of the face in Croatian! Considering this part of Croatian vocabulary is extremely similar to Polish, it was a breeze for the kids to remember and recognize everything within minutes. We also created a lovely new face:

 

 

Pani Marzena suggested I lay down on a paper and let the kids draw a life-sized outline of me, and these were the results (I think group number 7 will produce quite a few artists):

           

Group 7 worked really hard to prepare the Christmas show for the parents. They practiced with pani Marzena every day, and we could see them becoming better and better each time :) One of the songs they sang was the Croatian Zeko i potočić, which is about a bunny trying to find a small stream covered in snow. It's pretty long and there's not a lot of verse repetition, but due to language similarities (or just because they're genius), the kids learned it super fast with me and pani Marzena. They also presented the Spanish Feliz Navidad and demonstrated that they are, in fact, multilingual! Here are some of the photos taken before the show:

    

Group 5 in action

Pani Gosia did another crafty project with the kids in group 5, this time arranging amazing decorations (that they mostly did themselves)!

Aida helping with the packages

Pani Marzena had the idea to decorate the classroom with a depiction of the Nativity scene, so she asked me if I was willing to try my hand at drawing one. She gave me a postcard which I used as a reference, and you can see the process here :)

 

Aida brought Turrón from Spain and shared it with class number 2 and pani Dorota. Turrón is a traditional Christmas dessert in Spain, containing roasted almonds and other nuts, and the kids enjoyed tasting a new kind of confection :)

Walking and drawing with class number 2 :)

Playtime in group 7

Matea

The second month!

Weeks have passed and they have been filled with activities! Teachers have worked hard to keep the kids happy, and they've returned the favor :)

On the 20th of November, Group 7 did a small project for Światowy Dzień bez Papierosa, and, as you can see, it turned out quite gorgeous

The kids also had a lot of fun learning body parts in Spanish - by singing with Pani Aida!

On the 25th of November, the whole kindergarten celebrated Dzień Pluszowego Misia. Everyone had a teddy bear that day, and the kids of Group 7 worked in pairs to draw and paint a teddy together! These photos prove they're great at teamwork ;)

We also took advantage of the "warmer" November days to go for a walk around the neighborhood

Group 7 worked hard to make a lot of snowmen, reindeer, and Santa Clauses, and pani Marzena arranged them in a display of winter wonderland. The class is now in full Christmas mode!

Last week, Group 5 was busy making wonderful Christmas decorations using the découpage technique. Pani Gosia was working with no more than three kids at a time so she could help them focus, and the results were amazing! Each kid made their very own bombka :)

We spent a lot of time playing, drawing and talking with the kids - even though the conversations didn't always make sense, we like to think we understood each other :) 

Matea

  

First month in photos

Cześć!

It has already been a month and a half since Aida and I started working in Przedszkole 176. Time flew by, and we have a lot to share with you! But first, let us shortly introduce ourselves. 

Our names are Aida and Matea - Aida is 22 years old and comes from Spain, and Matea is a 25 year old Croatian. Aida studied early childhood education, while Matea studied English and Croatian, and is a teacher and a translator. We are both very excited to be here, and Kraków already feels like home!

Matea and the kids

Aida and the kids

These first days have been full of activities. We taught the kids how to say names of colors in Spanish and Croatian, told them a fairy tale in our native languages, played with them, laughed with them, and learned with them. They became our unofficial teachers of Polish!

Learning colors in Croatian

Learning colors in Spanish

Instead of continuing to write a lot, here are some photos (which are worth a thousand words) :)

Coloring and drawing together!

Waiting to get on stage and sing

 Group 6 on stage! They were very calm and confident, and did an amazing job!

Playing with Matea's drawings after listening to the story of Three little pigs in Croatian

  

They made their own show :)

Painting with

leaves 

in 

Group 7!

  

Enjoying a warm day outside

Until next time,

Matea