SMART START

‘French by Five’™ is a multi-sensory approach to learning a foreign language. It teaches through movement, music, art, puppetry and drama. The Creative Arts are an excellent way for children to learn a second language because the activities are ‘physical’ and easy to relate to. Madeleine Kando, M.Ed., Educator, Movement Therapist, Director of the Children’s Arts corner and co-author of “The Kando Technique”(Harper Collins, 1993) is sharing her highly successful ‘French by Five’ ™ program in a 2-weekend training. Through teaching French to hundreds of children, Madeleine has developed this unique method that facilitates the acquisition of a foreign language at a very early age. Physical action is the doorway to learning a foreign language. By moving, singing, touching, acting out the words, a child begins to integrate new verbal information. Through repetition the information is retained and future learning is built upon this. Children learn through their bodies, not their minds. They l...

Edutopia: An explanation of Multiple Intelligence Theory. LTTA: This site provides examples of how to teach academics through dance, music, etc.

Does your child love to dance to music, to sing, to pretend and to tell stories? The Children’s Arts Corner takes full advantage of this characteristic. Through dance and music, puppetry and drama, French and Spanish, children are given rich opportunities to explore the world and themselves. Dance develops coordination, muscle strength and grace; music teaches rhythm and pitch; puppetry allows children to communicate unselfconsciously; and our French and Spanish classes enrich their minds. Putting on shows encourages children to open up in front of others and our toddler classes will give your child the best possible start in life. Young children see the world in a complete and whole way. For them, there is no difference between learning and playing. Please go to THE CHILDREN'S ARTS CORNER to find out more..

Esto es el cuento de un conejo extraterrestre que ha aterrizado en la Tierra. ¡Se llama Carlos! Carlos necesita combustible para regresar a su planeta pero su transbordador espacial corre con palabras en vez de gasolina. Carlos conoce a María, una niña, que le ayuda a encontrar palabras para su transbordador espacial. Él también necesita tu ayuda para encontrar más palabras y llenar su tanque para despegar de la Tierra y regresar a su planeta. ¡Buena suerte! This is the story of a space bunny that has landed on earth. His name is Carlos. Carlos needs fuel to return to his planet but his space ship runs on words, not on gasoline! He meets María, a little girl who helps him find words to put in his space ship. But he also needs your help to find the words so he can fill up his space ship’s fuel tank and return to his planet! Good luck! Continue the story... EL ATERRIZAJE (the landing)

Carlos aterriza en el jardín de María. “Hola, conejo, ¿Cómo estás?” dice María, pero el conejo no responde. Va tener que aprender español para poder regresar a su planeta. Carlos lands in Maria’s garden. “Hi bunny, how are you?” says Maria, but the bunny does not reply. He has to learn how to speak Spanish before he can return to his planet. Continue the story... LA FAMILIA (the family)

Carlos conoce a la familia de María.”¡Qué conejo tan grande!,” dice la abuela. Carlos meets Maria’s family.“What a big bunny,” says grandma. Continue the story... LA COMIDA (the dinner)

Carlos tiene mucha hambre. Todos se sientan a comer. Hay pan, frutas, sopa y mucho más. Carlos is very hungry. Everyone sits down to eat. There is bread, fruit, soup and a lot more. Continue the story... EL DORMITORIO (the bedroom)

Carlos tiene sueño y quiere dormir.”Éste es mi cuarto,” dice María. “Buenas noches Carlos.” Carlos is tired and wants to sleep.“Here is my bedroom,” says Maria.“Good night, Carlos”. Continue the story... LA GRANJA (the farm)

“Cora, quiero que conozcas a mi amigo.”“¿Cómo te llamas?” pregunta Cora, el caballo. “Cora, I would like you to meet my friend”.“What is your name?” says Cora the horse. Continue the story... LA ESCUELA (the school)

Llegan a la escuela de María. Los niños están leyendo y tocando la guitarra.La maestra está escribiendo en la pizarra. They arrive at Maria’s school.The children are reading and playing the guitar.The teacher writes on the blackboard. Continue the story... LA CIUDAD (the town)

Hay tantas cosas que ver en el pueblo.”¿Quieres café?” pregunta María. There are so many things to see in town.“Do you like coffee?” says Maria. Continue the story... EL MERCADO (the supermarket)

Mira toda la fruta que hay en el supermer-cado. Manzanas, peras, naranjas y plátanos. Mami está comprando pan. Look at all the fruit in the supermarket. Apples, pears, oranges and bananas. Mom is buying bread. Continue the story... LA TIENDA (the store)

¡Qué guapo luce Carlos con su sombrero y su bufanda! María se ve muy linda en su traje. Oh, how handsome Carlos looks with his hatand his scarf. Maria is wearing a dress. Continue the story... EL PARQUE ZOOLIGO (the zoo)

A María le encanta visitar el zoológico depués de la escuela. “Mira el oso polar. Al elefante le gusta el maniz y a la jirafa le gusta las hojas de árbol, “ le dice María a Carlos. Maria loves to visit the zoo after school. “Look at the polo bear. The elephant likes peanuts and the giraffe likes tree-leaves”, Maria says to Carlos. Continue the story... LA PLAYA (the beach)

“Vamos a la playa caliente el sol,chi biri biri, poron, pon, pon!” cantan Carlos y María. Carlos and Maria are singing a song: “Let’s go to the sunny beach, trala la..” Continue the story... LA SALIDA (the departure)

Carlos ha aprendido tanto español que su transbordador espacial ya puede despegar. Aunque va a extrañar mucho a María y su familia , regresará pronto para continuar las aventuras de Carlos Conejo. Carlos has learnt so much Spanish that his space ship can now fly again. He will miss Maria and her family very much but he will soon come back to continue his adventures on earth.

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Smart Start was created by Madeleine Kando, M.Ed. Madeleine, who is a registered Movement Therapist and former dancer discovered very early on that intelligence is not only in the mind, but also in the body (as in sports and dance), in the eyes (as in art), in the ears (as in music) and in the hands (as in building things). Smart Start is a culmination of her teaching experience and is attempting to fill a growing need for a more successful approach to learning than the traditional approach.