Sparkling gold balloons in the formation of “aloha” and brightly colored leis set the stage for a cheerful end of the year performance for kindercare highlighting a range of language skills Friday, May 24 at Monterey Hills Elementary.
A crowd of parents, families and teachers gathered as both the morning and afternoon classes showed off their linguistic skills in English, Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL) by singing and signing a multitude of songs across the language span. Songs included “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” “Familia La Comunidad,” “Colors” and the ever popular “ABC’s.”
Kindercare lead teacher Amy Soto-Jimenez and assistant teacher Melissa Aguirre helped guide the students in their language work. Soto-Jimenez said the class practiced ASL and Spanish over the year, so the performance served as a highlight of their work. The students signed the “ABC’s” along to music, keeping in collective time to the beat.
“This is the perfect time for them to learn,” explained Soto-Jimenez. “This is such a good time to teach them different languages. They’re so little, they’re like little sponges and they absorb so much.”
In the audience, Maribel Acuna looked on with her son Andres who attends TK.
“It was so cute,” said Acuna. “They’re so cute. I think it’s so important to be bilingual because living here in southern California, you have to know several languages and be open to so many cultures.”
Kindercare student Alexis Lim smiled with a lei around her neck after the performance.
“It was really good,” said Alexis. “I really liked the sign language one.”
