Homeschool Spanish:
3 Ways to Liven Up
Your Lessons

by Jim Sarris

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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 aquí? - 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 www.learnspanishfaster.com/homeschoolspanish.html.

send feedback to: feedback@sherriallen.com.