The original 4-Part Series, “Acorns to Trees with St. B’s,” is an opportunity for St. Benedict’s Episcopal School (STBS) to introduce Spanish to families of early learners in the broader community using music, song, and interactive lessons. Initial Lessons will range from numbers, weather, and time of day to the days of the week.

Hosted by St. Benedict’s Native-Speaking Spanish Teacher Marta Caamano (Señora Marta), families will explore new fun and simple topics each week. Weekly worksheet activities will accompany each lesson. After each show’s initial airing, parents can go back and replay the episode as often as they’d like. The 60-second mobile (vertical) content will air every Tuesday in July and will be available to watch via Instagram Reel, Facebook, and Tiktok.

Señora Marta, a native of Colombia, is a graduate of Javeriana University. She is a 12-year teacher at St. Benedict’s and is known by her colleagues and administration as expressive, caring, and dedicated to student success. Señora Marta makes learning interactive and fun – even through remote and hybrid learning.

A study by Common Sense Media, an organization dedicated to helping families use technology wisely, reported that 75 percent of children under the age of 8 have access to tablets or mobile devices. St. Benedict’s aims to create a simple, fun way of using digital technology that also allows parents to engage with their children in the learning process. According to the Office of Educational Technology, most research on children’s media usage shows that children learn more from content when parents or early educators watch and interact with children, encouraging them to make real-world connections to what they are viewing while they are viewing and afterward.

“St. Benedict’s shares a long Episcopal tradition of diversity, community, and faith,” stated STBS Head of School Father Brian Sullivan .”As educators of preschoolers to 8th graders, St. Benedict’s is setting the foundations of learning the language. By adding Spanish as a core curriculum offering, we are deepening a child’s understanding of neighbors, cultures, and individual points of view. When our children graduate, they are not only ready for advanced Spanish placement, but they do work together for a better future.”

At St. Benedict’s, students are taught by native-speaking faculty, and the Spanish curriculum is a core class at every grade level. Through songs, stories, and interactive lessons, students build a strong vocabulary foundation that allows them to understand key commands and phrases. Students begin to read and write in Spanish through conversation, literature, and grammar and continue fine-tuning those skills throughout middle school. Because of the emphasis placed on Spanish in Preschool-8th grade, our graduates typically enter high school Spanish as second-or-third year students.

For more information or to stay updated on upcoming episodes and other summer activities with Acorns to Trees with St B’s, visit www.stbs.org.