Señora Gose's Homeschool Spanish Blog (aka "Seriously, Suzanne")
How to Keep Going?
This is updated from another time - back in 2019, but it's hitting home hard again. So, I'll use the same story and apply it differently to Suzanne today (Seriously, Suzanne) and hope it helps you too! (Aff links included - they'll help me fill the stockings for our five! Thanks for clicking!) How do we keep going? Honestly, back in 1999, (in the pre-baby times - do you remember those times?) when I was asked this question in my second (maybe it was third) interview for becoming a public school teacher after our move from Waco, Texas to Bryan,...
Christmas Gift Ideas for Homeschooling Kids, up to Teens (Updated!)
Homeschooling parents always face a harrowing choice at Christmas (or any gift) time... Do we give our children experiences, educational, life enriching items and events? Or do we stick with the items we know they will like for the moment. In short: are we looking for a great reaction? Or a great long term effect? Can we do both? I don't know. I'm seriously asking. We keep trying. Our five being of a newly transitional ages (but really, is there an age that's NOT transitional?...ages 14, 16, 18, 19, 21... new teenager, new adult... new - new - NEW) we...
When is failure good for you?
Failing feels AWFUL. No one wants to fail, and we certainly don't want our children to fail. But truly, failure is QUITE good for us! It's showing us that we're trying something very new and different. As SOON as we fail, we re-evaluate - what happened? WHY did I fail? It's the number one, best moment with the most potential for learning than we get in the entire week, maybe even in the month. Celebrate failure! Don't let it crash down on you. As soon as you see - that did NOT go as planned, be sure to recognize that this...
When is it time to change?
This is often the portion of the year when there are hiccups... The "new smell" of Homeschooling has worn off, and we've arrived at some maintenance points. Being together all the time is becoming a little too "all the time," and we're wondering what we signed up for. The kids are changing, some too fast, others not fast enough, and they all want to eat EVERY SINGLE DAY. It's just all so DAILY. And gosh, the next holiday isn't soon enough! So... what to do? Let's change it up. Here are some GREAT changes you can make inside or outside...
How to Avoid Time wasters while learning a foreign language.... (or anything!)
None of us like to waste time - we fast forward through commercials, and hit SKIP as soon as we can on YouTube videos. If you'd rather hear me rant about this topic via video, you can find me on Seriously Suzanne.Wasting time is SUPER easy to do when learning ANYthing, not just a new language. What are the main time wasters to avoid?1) BREAK IT DOWN: Do not waste time looking at the WHOLE project. Before you sit down to learn or teach anything, break the lesson down into 20 minute slots, tasks, or bits of information. For Spanish,...