Corazon y Luna LLC

Our Teachers

Keren Castro Luna

Philosophy

Corazón y Luna LLC preschool’s philosophy revolves around the immersion in Hispanic culture, as well as the celebration of other languages such as Mandarin and Japanese. Their play-based approach to learning emphasizes the belief that play is vital for fostering meaningful and interactive learning experiences. The name “Corazón y Luna” reflects their dedication to cultivating a love for learning with humble hearts, emphasizing that everyone is a lifelong student. Their educational philosophy prioritizes learning from and with one another, meeting children and families where they are to understand each other better, discover strengths, and grow together.

About our program

We are a Spanish immersion program that has it’s roots in Mexico. We are passionate about sharing Mexican culture and the Spanish language in our community, as well as learning about cultures and languages from all around the world. I’m sure you’ve heard of the many benefits that come with being bilingual and raising bilingual children, such as:

· cross-cultural communication

· better attention and task-switching capacities

· better performance on tasks that require conflict management

· better processing of information in the environment

· better memory, visual-spatial skills, and even creativity

· easily access newly learned words, leading to larger gains in vocabulary

Did you know that some of these benefits aren’t exclusive to people who were raised bilingual, but they are also seen in people who learn a second language later in life?

The majority of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual. And in the US, which is considered monolingual, one-fifth of those over the age of five speak a language other than English at home. And that number is only growing. That includes our area of Central Oregon, which is becoming more and more diverse. We not only welcome it, but celebrate it.

Corazón y Luna LLC has adopted a play-based approach to learning with notes of Montessori practices for independence. Play based learning consists of both free play and guided play. Both are pedagogical tools for children to learn through in joyful and conceptually rich ways. Guided play encourages a child’s autonomy while an adult scaffolds new concepts in order for the child to reach a specific learning goal, whereas free play is unstructured and independent. Research shows correlation between play and development in various areas such as language (Toub et al. 2016), executive functions (Tominey & McClelland 2011), mathematics and spatial skills (Fisher et al. 2013), scientific thinking (Schulz & Bonawitz 2007), and social and emotional development (Dore, Smith, & Lillard 2015).

Our teachers speak with the children 100% in Spanish. All class activities and material are in Spanish. We also do cultural activities and learn about holidays from Mexico such as Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and Día del Niño (Children’s Day). As well as learn about traditional foods, traditional dance, plants and animals that are native to the country. etc.

Outside play and being active is highly encouraged, children will have access to natural play material such as sticks, flowers, rocks, etc. in the backyard. Mountain View Park is a walk less than 2 minutes away, so children will be taken to the park to play for part of their day.

We believe that one of the best ways to learn is through reading and storytelling. Children will learn how to read letters in Spanish in order to discover new stories and worlds. Everyday will consist of reading, storytelling and spending time diving into books.

​