The New Century School was fortunate to welcome Señora Begoña Bredberg to teach the 2018 2-week Spanish immersion camp this summer. Read about Sra. Bredberg in TNCS Spanish Immersion Camp 2018 Features Talented Guest Instructor from Spain!.

This post, titled by one of the camp attendees and a huge fan of both Spanish immersion camp and of Sra. Bredberg, will explore what campers actually did during their 2 weeks of Spanish-speaking fun! Camp started July 23rd and ran through August 3rd, with 9 students (including TNCS’s first-ever camp raffle winner) attending Week 1 and 16 in Week 2. They ranged in age from 4 years to 11 years, and the level of Spanish spanned from none to quite proficient. This meant that Sra. Bredberg had to determine how to differentiate classroom activities right away. “They can all follow instructions, and I use some English only when it’s essential, along with the instructions given in Spanish. But to get this many different children to speak,” she explained, “means having enjoyable activities to do at all times, that do not take very long, to keep their interest.”

Habilidades Fundamentales

Her approach was to first give campers a chance to get to know her as well as each other so they could acclimate to the environment and feel comfortable. This also included explaining the differentiated areas of the classroom so they know the structure and also for classroom management, given the age and proficiency ranges. On Day 2 and henceforth, she moved into her curriculum, introducing more learning-related activities now that the students were familiar with expectations. Mornings meant convening in a circle to get an overview of the day’s events; from there, the day progressed quickly from one activity to the next.

For practice work, she used Aprendo jugando—actividades de español para niños de 6 a 9 años (I learn playing—Spanish activities for children 6 to 9 years) and Español para ti—Iniciación en ambientes comunicativos multiculturales (Spanish for you: initiation in multicultural educational environments). These workbooks of games and other activities provided the foundational vocabulary campers would need for application in real-world settings—from sports, to clothing, to food, and so on.

“I also used this YouTube video to show the students some of the popular songs I used to learn at their age,” said Sra. Bredberg. “At that time there were a group of clowns—all family—who created a television program, ‘Había una vez un circo,’ and all the kids loved them. This video shows a modern animated video of their most popular songs. The kids learned two of them: ‘La gallina turuleca’ (the first camp) and ‘Susanita tiene un ratón’ (second camp).”

Susanita Has a Mouse
Susanita has a mouse
A little mouse
She eats chocolate and nougat
And balls of anise
Sleep near the radiator
With the pillow on your feet
And dream that you are a great champion
Playing chess
He likes football, cinema and theater
Dances tango and rock ‘n’ roll
And if we arrive and notice that we watch
We always sing this song

The Hen Turuleca
I know a neighbor
Who has bought a hen
That looks like a canned sardine
It has the wire legs
Because she is very hungry
And the poor thing is all plucked
Put eggs in the room
And also the kitchen
But she never puts them in the corral
The hen Turuleca
It is a singular case
The hen Turuleca
She really is crazy
The hen Turuleca
She has laid an egg
She has put two
She has put three
The hen Turuleca
She has put four
She has put five
She has put six
The hen Turuleca
She has put seven
She has put eight
She has put nine
Where is that little hen?
Leave her, poor thing
Let her put ten

Desfile de Moda

One day in Week 2 saw many of the foundational lessons being put into practice. On this day, students made muñeca de papel (paper dolls), dressed in all of the various clothing they had learned to identify and name in Spanish. “With clothes, it’s a lot of words to learn, so we have been practicing to say what they are wearing,” said Sra. Bredberg.

“When they are active, it’s good. I can do Spanish with them individually or in groups because I see that that helps a lot. They are able to say many more things and understand many more things now. Even those who had no Spanish on entering camp have picked up an amazing amount.”

The muñeca de papel exercise was then followed by a highly anticipated event—a desfile de moda! Fashion Show!

Each student had the opportunity to walk the “catwalk” and describe what he or she was wearing. It was a hoot!

Al Final del Día

At the end of each day, campers once again convened in a circle to debrief the day’s events. They reviewed and reinforced vocabulary, and everyone had the chance to contribute.

Said Sra. Bredberg of Spanish immersion camp:

The experience to teach Spanish immersion camp at TNCS has been great—to work with kids in this way. I had worked with kids before, but only for private lessons. Spending the whole day with them is a lot different. A lot of what I’ve been doing is improvisation but also getting to know them. To see what’s important to them allows me to adapt as I go along. I get them engaged in an activity, and I keep the classroom very dynamic at all times. They come together in groups, then we stop, disperse, and do something else. We come back together, and the day flows like this to they will not get bored or tired, which will not help them speak or learn.

Her and her husband have loved their time in Baltimore, as well. “This area is so great,” she said. “We love to look at the architecture and take in all that Fell’s Point has to offer.” TNCS hopes to welcome you back soon, Sra. Bredberg!