Señora Gose's Homeschool Spanish Blog (aka "Seriously, Suzanne")

You made it to the FIFTH post of FIVE. High five on your dedication to silliness! Can you tell, I am SERIOUS about being silly? We take this homeschooling thing VERY seriously, don't we? And we should! It's important. But sometimes that serious nature overtakes the part of life that should be a little lighter. I keep hounding you on HOW to be silly... After all those pointers on HOW to be silly, maybe you're still wondering WHY? In general, once we remove unnecessary boundaries, the absorption increases. Memories become deeper and more poignant, relational intelligence increases, and endorphins are...

Just here from Youtube, for the worksheet? I do have a worksheet that I'll put in the files there for you.Alright, so I'm doing the thing that I tell everybody I always have these  like big mottos in my life I live by because I learned it from women older than me and smarter than me and they told me stuff and it worked. The first one is, "Better done than perfect." Don't worry about whether or not it's perfect. Just get it done because at least now it's done.  The atmosphere, the mood, all these things that help you to...

We've used FOOD in SO many ways throughout our homeschooling journey spanning more than two decades!Often we make food dishes to show and experience culture, many times to substitute for a fidget device, and regularly just to get something into one of our more talkative kids' mouths so they can LISTEN to the read-aloud! Well, here we are again! How can we create a FUN memory around Spanish learning? Incorporate food! You have a fridge and a pantry and it likely has food in it. Take out six items or so, learn them in Spanish (getting a cheat sheet for...

Method #3 to increase silliness (and thus help your Spanish lesson to be more effective) - this week's prop is CLOTHING!Rather than just naming the items of clothing as you fold them, put them on, or put them away.... Put them on in a SILLY way! Start with, "Yo tengo" (I have) and then add the item of clothing, and then put it on your head (en la cabeza!) Your child will likely need NO encouragement at all, grab the next clothing item, and call it out in Spanish and add it to your head or his own! The memory...

Method #2 to increase silliness - Out of context DRAWING! Adding ANY sort of action to your learning environment increases absorption. Drawing, doodling, coloring, or scribbling gives the hand eye coordination a workout while helping any student with performance anxiety a new focus - looking down at their hands rather than at someone's face, where they may typically look for approval. When you, the parent, leader, and instructor, join in the drawing activity, the relaxation and enjoyment grows exponentially.  You're showing vulnerability, creativity, and dedication to the event. You're MODELING learning in various ways. The truth is, whatever YOU value,...