As we approach the end of our first year of virtual schooling, it's getting creative. We have completed JM's curriculum for Social Studies, Science, Math, Art and PE. When I saw on the daily schedule this was coming down the pike, I asked his teacher if we could sign up for an elective, and she said "of course" (you can't if your student is struggling or has outstanding issues of some kind).
The hubbie thought we should do French, because that is his favorite language. I disagreed. Why? When was the last time you met someone on the street speaking French? However much you agree or disagree with the politics of this land, it is very helpful to know Spanish. I, on the other hand, took 3 years of Latin in my early years. And the same question applies, when was the last time you saw someone speaking.....
For the past month we have been working pretty dilligently on Spanish. I am learning it too, and kind of enjoying it. This class is all online. So it's listening to little recordings of someone telling a story and inserting Spanish words (a lot like Dora the Explorer shows). It also is worksheets. Culture lessons on Mexico and Spain. We also get a Power Point presentation from JM's Spanish teacher and we go through those as well.
One thing I have noticed....I have to drill the vocabulary into my kids' head. So today as I am drilling the words for colors into JM's head, BH joins in and, surprisingly, is picking it up fast.
BH likes to be quizzed in his Spanish colors and has asked me several times today, "Ask me my colors!" And here is my car conversation with BH while JM had his piano lesson:
Me: What is the Spanish word for "yellow"?
BH: Amarillo (that double "l" is a /yuh/ sound remember, BH said it right)
Me: What is the Spanish word for "blue"?
BH: Azul.
Me: What is the Spanish word for "green"?
BH: Verde
Me: What is the Spanish word for "white"?
BH: Hmmmmmm........hard.
It is actually "blanco".
4 comments:
The funny part of reading this for me... your rationale for Spanish is the same rationale I used when I took four years of Spanish in high school. Outside of high school mission trips to Mexico with my youth group, where did I go for my first solo mission trip?
Yup, France. Ah the irony of God.
No NT Greek? That's the most practical language of all.
Oh yes, the Greek. We will be doing Greek. One interesting thing when requesting languages from a state charter school, "Do you offer New Testament Greek?" You lost them at "New Testament".
However you are THE lady to go to. What Greek are you using for your girls for kids? I know you gave it to me once....
The first "foreign" country that I visited was Quebec, Canada. I speak not a lick of French and I could feel the disdain of the waitress as we ordered in English. I wanted to scream, "I'm not really a US-centric American who only speaks English! I speak Spanish!!" but it didn't matter much in that situation... Oh well. I have thoroughly enjoyed putting my Spanish to use, it just didn't help me in Canada.
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