Twin Cities School Blends Academics With Love On Valentine's Day
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Of course, you don't have to spend a lot of money to show your love and appreciation.
At schools across the Twin Cities, Valentine's Day celebrations aren't about the lavish gifts. Inside Richard Green Central Park School, a classroom of kindergartners are about to celebrate Valentine's Day.
"A day of love and friendship, St. Valentino is dia de Amor y Amistad a day of love and friendship," said Assistant Principal Beatriz DeSantiago.
DeSantiago says this classroom includes academics into the celebration. For these kids, that means a mixture of two worlds.
"The kids do learning here 80 percent in Spanish and 20 percent in English so they can become bilingual from the start," said DeSantiago.
These 5 year-olds are learning their letters. They've learned the "Q" and the "U," always go together and on this Valentine's Day, they celebrate their union.
"The idea of getting married so they are never going to separate, they are always going to be together so whenever they hear Q immediately they thing of U," DeSantiago said.
They then celebrate friendship. Each student has to use full sentences to thank their classmates for being their friend.
Parents also get the chance to express love for their children and community.
"It really means a lot to me for him to be in here," said Anely Martinez.
Anely Martinez was once a student here. Now her son, Mason, benefits from learning in both English and Spanish.
"We put them in English class and then they kind of forget where they come from, the Spanish-speaking, and they just go speaking English and then in the future it's harder for them to speak Spanish," Martinez said.
These kindergartners also get a lesson in the arts, making their own goodies bags so treats can be shared by all. Teacher Loraina Alejandro does a wonderful job celebrating Valentine's Day and making sure lessons are taught during the day as well.
Richard Green School has now incorporated bilingual teaching from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. Teachers incorporate more English into the curriculum each year.
