About the Teacher
My journey with the Christ the King community began as a parent during the pandemic. From the very beginning, our family felt warmly welcomed, and we discovered a caring and enriching educational environment for our children. I later had the wonderful opportunity to join the early education team as an assistant teacher. With more than 10 years of experience working with children in preschool and elementary settings, I find great joy and fulfillment in helping young students learn and grow. I hold a bachelor’s degree in special education and a Washington State certificate in early childhood education from North Seattle College.
Outside the classroom, I love reading, crafting, and spending quality time with my family.
I believe every child deserves a loving, safe, and nurturing environment where they feel valued and inspired to learn, explore, and grow. I am grateful to partner with families and help each child build confidence, discover their unique strengths, and feel truly at home in our school community.
Teaching Philosophy
I take an immersive approach to teaching, grounded in comprehensible input. Students are encouraged to listen actively and respond in Spanish—even when their knowledge is still limited—because confidence and fluency grow through continued engagement over time.
Rather than rushing to move through content, my goal is to help students build a durable foundation that will serve them well for years to come. We continually spiral and reinforce core speech patterns (introductions, greetings, asking how someone is doing, etc.) so students are always strengthening what they already know before incorporating new material.
In the higher grades, we place special emphasis on verbal fluency. Vocabulary is important, but verbs are the beating heart of the language.
Rather than rushing to move through content, my goal is to help students build a durable foundation that will serve them well for years to come.
Seredy Valentin
Early Childhood Education and Kindergarten
We build familiarity with Spanish primarily through movement, music, and games. We focus on developing listening skills while encouraging verbal participation whenever possible.
Elementary School
Students continue to strengthen their listening comprehension while producing Spanish more regularly. We focus on careful listening, core language, and everyday conversation patterns.
Curriculum: We use Calico Spanish for K–5.
Middle School
We strive to move students towards greater independence in speaking. Listening and reading comprehension form the bedrock of our study, while encouraging active verbal participation in Spanish. Students practice speaking in complete sentences, listen for meaning, and learn to navigate the language from the inside. I love it when students realize they can understand without needing to translate.
Curriculum: We use SOMOS for Grades 6–8.
Highlights
Thus far this year, we have assembled to observe important or significant events with a gathering or other enjoyable activities. We commemorated “Mexican Independence Day” in September and “The Day of The Dead” in November breaking Pan de Muerto bread (mexican bread). In December, we celebrated “Las Posadas”, a Christmas tradition in Spanish speaking countries, with a pinata.
