¿Cómo le hacen día homeschool en español?

Lord Epa and I are learning Spanish this year. There are several reasons we are learning a foreign language.

1. Most colleges and universities require a foreign language.
2. I enjoy traveling, I hope my children will too and one day I hope to visit a foreign country where knowing at least some of the language would be nice.
3. Learning a foreign language is a wonderful way to teach empathy for those who come to the United States from non-English speaking countries and who are struggling to learn our language.

We choose Spanish because after Katrina a lot of Hispanics have moved to the area. It would be nice to be able to communicate with them and read the labels on cans at our local Wal-mart. When studying a foreign language I also like to study the culture and the different counties that primarily speak the language. This post will share some of the information we have studied so far - later post will update our discoveries.

First we choose Spanish names Sean is Juan Thomas and I am Sandra Inez (yes, Sandra happens to be a Spanish name - or so a Spanish speaking friend informed me). Spanish speakers usually have two last names, the first surname of both the Mother and the Father so Sean would be Juan Thomas Alawine Jackson

We definitely like the Spanish tradition of siesta, as hot as it is in Mississippi we think this is one tradition Mississippians should adopt.

One of Spain's traditional Dishes is Paella, which we enjoyed eating tonight.

Our first Spanish Holiday to celebrate will be Dia de los Muertos. We will celebrate el 2 de noviembre de 2006, with PEAK. Our plans include making sugar skulls and paper flowers, thanks to Rachael who has volunteered to head up those two crafts. I am hoping to cajole someone into heading up making paper mache mask for the kids to paint. We will also have lots of Spanish food to eat. If I am feeling really brave I may try to make Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead).

You can find a teacher's packet on Dia De los Muertos here.

I'll post how our celebration turned out in November along with new things we have learned and upcoming activities, so stay tuned.

Adiós for now.