Mystic Toad Press Blog

1. It’s not boring as all get out.

I spent the first 5 and a half years of my education in public schools. There were, of course, times when I enjoyed learning things and talking to my friends. On the flip side, though, there were long stretches of monotony and boredom. And that was just grade school! I can’t even imagine what it would have gotten like in middle and high school. I vaguely remember a class I took in 6th grade before I began to be homeschooled. “Conflict resolution” they called it. It was an entire class we had to sit through for 50 minutes a day on how not to get in a fight. Instead of teaching us something useful like math, history or science, we had to sit and learn that getting in a fistfight wasn’t good for anybody.

I think it goes without saying that homeschooling was far more interesting. I was either doing something and learning, or I was enjoying my free time. I never had to sit through extended periods of monotonous lectures or stare at a chalkboard while a teacher catered to the slowest student in the classroom. I was able to learn at my own pace and enjoy it.

2. No one gives you wedgies.

Unless, of course, you have an older sibling and then you might get more wedgies than you can handle. One of the fantastic things about being homeschooled is that there is no awkward social structure that you have to fit yourself into. Unless you live in a very complicated family, there are no bullies, no drug addicts and so forth.

Again, the advantage is more than what you don’t have to deal with, but also in what you do get. Being homeschooled enabled me to develop much stronger relationships with my parents and my siblings, and I did find a variety of friends through our homeschool group and church and so forth. I found that when I got to college I was able to comfortably communicate with everyone from the older students (some who were even grandparents, coming back for their education) to the younger students and even the professors and staff. None of these people ever gave me a wedgy.

3. Odds are your teacher will probably like you.

I didn’t personally ever have issues with a teacher that didn’t seem to like me or treat me well, but I do know that those experiences are out there. The odds increase, I think, as you get into high school that you might run into a teacher that you either don’t like or who doesn’t like you for some reason. I wouldn’t say that it’s anything personal, just sometimes there are personality clashes.

On the other hand, I think you benefit from homeschooling because you’re able to develop a much deeper relationship with your parents. Instead of coming home from school and simply telling them what you did (if you can even remember all the details) you live it with them.

To learn much more about homeschooling, particularly, homeschooling the high schooler, please visit homeschool to college.

Homeschool Spanish! 3 simple keys to liven up the lessons
Are you interested in making the Spanish learning in your home more exciting?

If your kids are studying outside the home, do you feel they need a more lively approach to keep them interested?

Homeschool Spanish can be tough. Many levels to teach, boring and repetitive materials and no connection to the language all make for a tough going.

The thing is, as a Homeschooling parent, you’re used to making things come alive.

You bake a cake and make a math lesson out of it. You walk in the park,
discover plants and learn about science.

But fear not. I’m about to show you how you can add three tricks to your homeschool Spanish atmosphere that will get your creative juices flowing and help you liven up your lessons.

Key #1 - Bring Spanish to life in your home

Any child wants (and needs) to feel connected to what they’re learning. That’s why homeschooling is such a blessing. Those connections are real easy when you’re the one in charge.

Well, why not start to incorporate some common expressions into your daily routine and see how things go. Here a starter list of phrases you can use with your child.

- No me digas! - You’re kidding!
- Qué va! - No way!
- No quiero - I don’t want to (a biggie with the younger ones)
- Qué pasa aqu? - What’s going on here?

Naturally there are more but, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. One expression every couple of days will be enough to get them involved…and you too.

In fact, the whole family can start creating typical phrases that can be used day in and day and allow your homeschool Spanish experience to grow like a freshly watered plant.

Key #2 - Serve it up in ways your kids like it.
Most kids love music, TV or reading. So why not try to include a little
of each into your Spanish lessons.

For example, for the little ones, there are educational programs (ex. Dora The Explorer)
on TV that attempt to use Spanish in a fun and informative way.

If your children are in their teens, you can find Spanish music that’s similar to their
tastes. You can find any type of music online or ask in your local music store. Then,
once you have the music, you can use the lyrics to study the words,
the expressions or the tenses.

Reading is no different. You can find bilingual texts of Dr. Seuss’ series or
Clifford the Big Red Dog for the little ones and similar titles for the older kids.
Just go online at Google or check your local library.

Key #3 - Find a great idea and copy it
This is important because it saves you the most time and money.

If you’re the teacher and the material is a little…dry,
go out and look for resources that have innovative, “outside-the-box” approaches to learning. They don’t have to be language texts. The idea is to find an approach you like and copy it.

Go browse some local bookstores or libraries. Go surfing on the internet. If you like what you see, study it a bit and think of ways to use the same technique in your Spanish lessons.

Here’s an example: Vocabulary Cartoons is a wonderful book that uses mnemonics and visuals to memorize SAT words. Well, why not use the same technique to memorize Spanish words?

If you think you like the resource, make sure it has a guarantee (the longer the better) so you can try it at home.

This whole process doesn’t have to cost any money and will certainly save you time thinking up new ways to inject excitement into your homeschool Spanish lessons.

As a Homeschooling parent, you have options a public school teacher doesn’t have. Why not take advantage of them?

And remember, if your kids are learning outside the home, you can find something fun to use with them so that they maintain their interest through the year.

Jim Sarris, author of Comic Mnemonics, has created a resource for homeschool families that makes learning Spanish fun and easier using visuals and mnemonics. For free samples and video tutorial, visit http://www.learnspanishfaster.com/homeschoolspanish.html

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A lefty scholarship may seem out of the ordinary, but it’s worth considering this: Benjamin Franklin was a lefthander, so is the president of the United States, Barack Obama. Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Jimi Hendrix and Winston Churchill were lefties as well. An estimated eleven percent of the population are southpaws. Frequently believed to be more artistic and more intelligent, lefties have frequently suffered from discrimination. Today, lefties are no longer stigmatized or thought of as odd, as a matter of fact they are sometimes linked with the great individuals mentioned above.

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