ADAMS, Mass. — Four classrooms of kindergartners sang, danced and demonstrated their knowledge of Spanish for an auditorium full of parents at Hoosac Valley Elementary School's Spanish Fiesta last Friday.

 

Robin Poirot was the organizer but added that the other teachers she worked with were integral to the event. 

 

"I have a great team of teachers," Poirot said. The other teachers practiced with their own classrooms, and Poirot said this extra practice "helped beef up" the students' language knowledge quickly. 

 

Not many of the other teachers came in speaking Spanish, so "we definitely had to listen and learn and practice along with them," teacher Emily Saville said. 

 

Poirot does not have a degree in Spanish but all children who come through her kindergarten classroom leave with a rudimentary understanding of the language. Poirot has been working in the school system for more than 30 years and started incorporating Spanish into her classroom when she learned about the long-term benefits of speaking even a few phrases of a second language at a young age. She was astonished that her students "were picking it up so quickly." 

 

Despite the ease with which the students learned Spanish, Poirot said some people did not think teaching them so young was helpful, because kids, at that age, were supposed to be learning English. Poirot did not see it that way. 

 

Learning a second language helps with acquisition of the primary language, according to Poirot. "If they can learn all the names of Pokemon and everything else, they can learn how to speak Spanish," she said. 

 

Poirot has been teaching long enough that many of her previous students, after taking Spanish in high school, told her that they remembered what they had learned in her classroom. "It's so cool that it sticks with them," she said. 

 

Not only does learning Spanish have long-term benefits for the kids, but so too does the performance itself. 

 

"It's a big thing for even an adult to get up and in front of somebody and do something like that," said Karissa Kingsley, a parent of a kindergartner performing. "It's not only teaching them the language but it's teaching them what's to come."

 

The teachers also see it as a "self-esteem booster" and an exercise in teaching stage presence. Poirot mentioned how some kids were initially timid, but through practice, and encouragement grew to enjoy performing. 

 

The show drew an audience of over a hundred parents and family members. Kingsley has seen increase in parental attendance at events recently. Events like these "seem to bring a lot of family and community together," she said.

 

The kindergartners demonstrated counting and saying their colors in Spanish, and answering the question ¿cómo estás? with a few different phrases. Each part of the show incited loud applause. 

 

The children also sang and danced. Kingsley McDonald, a pupil who participated in the fiesta, said his favorite part of the show was doing the chicken dance. A few other students noted singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" ("Maria Tenía Un Pequeño Cordero") was a highlight. 

 

Both parents and teachers were pleasantly surprised at the event's success. Four classrooms of 5-year-olds had to work together. 

 

"It started off crazy but they really pulled it together," teacher Taylor Wotkowicz said. 

 

"To see them collaborate as classrooms is really awesome," Kingsley said, "I'm kinda surprised as to how much they learned in the little bit of time, and how great they did together."