Santillana USA, http://www.santillanausa.com, also has native language language arts/grammar books.

I was, and still am, Renai. I think I started reading the boards in 2002 and posting somewhere in 2003. Or was it reading in 2003, and posting in 2004?? Hmmm. Nah, I'm sure it was 2002/2003. I stopped posting about a year ago, and recently came back to the boards. Anyway, all the name changes from the old to the new board confused me, but there are folks I certainly miss from "back in the day." There's always some old fogey here to reminiscence about the old days. :D

This made me lol. There is a Mexican actress known as la India Maria. In one of her movies, she comes to the US, and at one point says (translated to English): "I'm forgetting my Spanish, and my English isn't so good either!" I feel that way sometimes. Spanish is my second language, and sometimes I wonder if I speak worse Spanish now than I did 10 years ago, or I'm just more mindful of when I make a mistake. Then again, I'll sometimes forget what I want to say English, but it comes to mind readily in Spanish. I'm so confused. Not to mention the different dialects of English. Yes, I can speak standard English (no one can figure out where I'm from, military brat), but I've just finally come to realize (admit?) that my black family speaks differently from mainstream, and I fall right into line when I"m talking to them. Don't get me talking when I'm in the south :lol:. But, I don't speak "ghetto" very well. I'd be picked out like a booger in the nose. When I speak Spanish, most people guess I"m from the Dominican Republic (although one Puerto Rican woman swore I was from her country, and a Cuban man thought I was from his). Either that or Cuba. I'm from Ohio. Neither parent speaks Spanish. My Japanese teacher says I have a nice Japanese accent. I belong nowhere. It's sad (not really). I think I'll check out that TCK link, maybe I'll find myself somewhere in there. What do I do about my daughter? She's half black and half white. Zilch on her white culture (Scottish/Irish) as it was assault. She's being raised in a culture that she was "born" into (Mexican, but also northern New Mexican), but not in her blood. She's going to be more separated from her black culture than I am. Sorry, started thinking to myself out loud again. I think learning as many languages as one is able, and being able to adapt to different cultures is a wonderful thing. Something that one should take advantage of if at all possible.

My husband is from Mexico, and I'm American, although fluent in Spanish. We weren't planning on homeschooling in the beginning, we just kind of fell into it :). My daughter's birthday was after the cut-off, so we decided to Spanish Kindergarten at home, before placing her in school the following here. She is completely bilingual in both languages. Well, we never put her in school. This is what I've done, am currently doing, and have been advised to do from bilingual homeschoolers who've graduated a child or two. Our first year was K Spanish. I had Shiller math at the time which I translated to Spanish, I taught her reading in Spanish, and supplemental science was in Spanish. I say supplemental, because at the time, she was really into plants, and most resources were English. If I found info in Spanish, it was a bonus. We spent our days in Spanish. But, remember, we didn't plan to continue homeschooling, so our goal was a good solid base in Spanish before moving to English. We didn't enroll her in school for kindergarten the following year :tongue_smilie:. We were having so much fun, and she was learning so much, we decided to continue. Besides, she had social issues and we weren't ready to put her in a classroom with 20 other fools, I mean children, with no real adult guidance. I used SL for half the year, which was English, but started to alternate English and Spanish math daily, which confused the crap out of her, so I just stuck with Spanish. I had materials for Spanish language arts, which I had copied while I worked as a bilingual educational assistant 2 years prior, plus purchased a couple of other books (look up Trillas publishing, Amazon carries some of their stuff), so had Spanish language arts. This was her "official" K year, and we did no English language arts. She's in third grade now, so, instead of relating all of our mistakes the following two years (first and second grades), I'll tell you what I've learned. Firstly, we still do math in Spanish, although she is almost equally comfortable doing it in English (at least counting, and many of the basic arithmetic terms). That's simply because my supplements are English (if she needs extra help), and sometimes I've been lazy about translating. However, I have her Spanish math and teacher guides up through fifth grade for her, and we'll do that, then switch to English completely in sixth grade. I purchased it through Santillana USA (http://www.santillanausa.com), but they no longer carry Mundo Matematico. It was interesting what Cleo said about the schools there switching the language every two years. I would suggest something like that, or just one language, before alternating math languages daily. I found out it's a bad idea, and have been confirmed by others the same thing. Some way, some how, they get it in both languages anyway, especially when each parent speaks a different language. Here's what one woman wrote to me on another homeschool board 2.5 years ago that I've found to be true now: "You're right not to switch languages back and forth in one curriculum. It will just make it more confusing. There is also vocabulary linked to math and she needs to learn it in 1 language. Eventually, she can go into the other language and will pick it up quickly. When my dd was in immersion and the kids had to take the state tests, the teachers would wait until 1 child asked for the word, then put it on the board. They were always asking, "How do you say perpendicular or parallel in Spanish?" ROFL! When she switched into English math (grade 6), there was no language problem whatsoever." The curriculum I have is integrated (Bible, science, history/geography), and in English. Whatever supplements I find, whether books or videos, in Spanish we use. I have readalouds that are in both languages. I purposely purchased both sets so we could do the English reading in the day, and the Spanish at night with dad. We also have atlases, encyclopedias, dictionaries (not bilingual), and science books in Spanish. Have Spanish dictionaries and English dictionaries, we are not teaching our children to translate from one language to another, but how to think in each respective language. It's also a good mind-stretcher for we second-language-speakers. Language arts is in each respective language. The first three years (K-2), I concentrated on her Spanish. I tried each year, beginning with 1st, to introduce English reading. She just was not ready. Some children do fine learning both, and that's ok. Just make sure they have their own time. For example, doing Spanish in the mornings and English in the afternoons. I am just currently switching English to mornings and Spanish later, simply because of certain goals we have in mind for her. In Spanish, she's reading on grade level, and doing writing, spelling, and some grammar. I have native Spanish materials for the most part, although I am using R&S lectura. I'm considering Santillana (native) or Hampton-Brown for next year's writing. Or just continue adapting Classical Writing for Spanish (which is more probably). In English, she's finishing phonics (will be done next week!), 2nd grade spelling, and doing some writing that is integrated in her phonics work. She's feeling more comfortable writing in English now, although her spelling is atrocious. She also does Bible copywork in English, and geography vocabulary (two words a week). I use SL readers as a guide, and she's currently at the end of the Readers 1 schedule. She'd be finished by now, but... she's had so much other stuff to do, ya know? I also periodically pull out Hooked on Phonics for reinforcement. However, I suspect she has dyslexia, and we're having her evaluated. As quickly as she picks up everything else, the reading has been veeerrrrryyyyy ssssslllllooooowwwww. This is what it looks like for us: In English: Bible Geography Phonics Spelling Reading Music Art In Spanish: Math Spelling Writing Reading Grammar In both languages: Read alouds Book basket (science and geography topics, but mostly English) Pledge of allegiance (when I remember :)) There's probably more, but I can't remember anything else anymore, and I've already written a book. I think I probably have some of this information in my blog, too. Hope this is helpful. Renai

Cool! Didn't know they finally changed this board to a bilingual (multilingual?) board. I will reintroduce myself. We are a bilingual English-Spanish family; dh native Spanish, and I am fluent. We've been homeschooling bilingually since the beginning. But, since 1/26, dd has been in ps. She's being evaluated for learning disabilities. We're hoping to pull her out next week. I was able to get her into a bilingual (read, all Spanish) classroom, as I explained to them it was her stronger language. I had been trying to also teach her German (spent 2 years in Germany as a teen and still have a slight ear for it) and Japanese, but without a plan, it was very easy to put aside. Most of what we have done has been in Spanish (I have math texts through the 5th grade), while learning to read and write in English. History and science have been mostly English though, and supplementing with Spanish books when I find them (we have a great library). We use My Father's World, and native materials for Spanish spelling, grammar, and math, and Rod and Staff for Spanish reading. For Japanese, I have Pimsleur and Teach Me/TM More. I don't have German materials for children, but for me so I can study. We also took a college Intro to Japanese class last summer together, and I think we'll do it again this summer.

For worksheets, have you tried http://www.mindsprinting.com? It was suggested to me by someone else on this board awhile back. It's free and it's worked great for us.

Take a look at http://www.spanishtoys.com. They have a lot of Spanish media.

This is what I used to teach my daughter to read (I taught her in Spanish first). LPPV is the second in this two-book series. The problem is, it is very hard to find, possibly OOP (even Amazon shows out of stock). There was a very promising lead, a company that carried the reader, workbook, and $2 teacher manual, but they no longer exist. Glad I picked them up when I did. A (native, Spanish-speaking) woman in our yahoo group checked out Rod & Staff's program and said it looked solid. It is not a translation of their English program, but developed by their Spanish counterpart company. I'm currently using their 3rd grade reading program. Another promising native program available here in the US is one developed by Alma Flor Ada. You can find it here http://www.delsolbooks.com. Hope this is helpful.

Just adding my agreement that it is normal and will sort itself out. They obviously understand the materials if, mixing languages noted, they are using the forms correctly :D. Oh, well, it does right itself, it's a normal process.

By the way, I like your blog.

Yes, I own several different resources for both languages as well, and we have the same goal. We live in a bilingual household, Spanish is my second language. I taught her reading in Spanish first, as it is the "minority" language. Being biliterate is a primary goal- one reason why we homeschool - we want her to speak, read, and write both languages with proficiency. Please remember that these skills transfer readily from one language to another. The research that concludes this only takes into account mostly monolingual children learning a second language, so our children have a distinct advantage. Children in a dual-language learning model appear to be behind in the beginning, but around the 5th/6th grade, shoot up and many times advance ahead of their monolingual peers- in all subjects. This is a reason double the language arts really is not necessary. Learning one thoroughly will make the transition to the other very easy. Reading Spanish in Spanish only requires knowing vocabulary, if they can read well in English already. Writing is pretty much the same. Yes, there are some different punctuation rules, but that doesn't take years to learn, maybe 10 minutes, if they are proficient in one language. But, I could be too immersed to see much of a difference right now. Academic language is different however, and that is where the 5th/6th grade quote comes from above, that's about where both academic languages are learned to proficiency (remember, monolingual children learning second language). What I'm doing with her is working at her level in each language. This means, she's in 3rd grade, doing 3rd grade Spanish language arts, and 1st grade English (her current level). She is getting more intensive direct Spanish grammar and writing instruction (using Classical Writing), but more of a Charlotte Mason approach for the English (I'm using Primary Language Lessons). So she'll working with the same concepts in English, but not getting the names, and not as intensively. I still think it's double the work, but the lessons are very short (5-10 minutes) and doesn't require much writing (I'm cutting out some of the writing as she's getting it in other places in our curriculum, including copywork). She also does spelling in both languages (right now, just in Spanish, but once phonics are complete, she'll get it in English too). I may just cut out PLL altogether, but we'll see. There are two grammar books geared to the 7th/8th grades that will probably work just fine (Applications of Grammar, and something else I can't remember, I'll get it through MFW). I can just do Spanish grammar thoroughly and she'll get the English grammar in 6th and 7th grades. We'll see. Having said that, have you looked at Classical Writing? It is easily adaptable to both languages. I've implemented some with the Spanish. I use native language Spanish materials for models and have a list of skills she should be learning in the 3rd grade (I have a workbook someone gave me, but it's written in). In January, I'll implement it completely, as right now we are working on different skills. It looks like this in our house: mornings are mostly in Spanish- Bible is both, then math, reading, and other writing/grammar instruction. After 10am break, it's mostly in English- geography (although some books are also in Spanish), science (ditto), and right before or after lunch is English phonics and reading. Phonics includes some writing, and will be replaced with spelling (2x a week for now) and PLL (3x a week). I spread out her actual reading times to distinct periods on purpose. Our readalouds (we're reading missionary stories from YWAM) are available in both languages, so I read the English in the daytime, and the Spanish at night with my dh. Well, I've written a book and spoken through both sides of my mouth :tongue_smilie:, do it, but don't :lol:. I think approach will make a difference on how it will work out.

Hi Perla, Have you been over to Educando en Familia? She has a yahoo group and blog (by the same name), and I believe has a lot of resources. She commented on my blog once about a Latin in Spanish website, let me see if I can find it real quick... Here it is http://lengualatina.org/informacion_general.html Hope this starts you off ok. Renai

I don't know where I've been- how'd I miss this thread? I completely agree with Cleo on this: a period is a period, a noun is a noun, a verb is a verb. We are doing grammar study, and the rest of language arts, in Spanish. There is more grammar in Spanish- gender, etc. In English, we read and do spelling (she wants to still spell English using Spanish phonics). I will present the English grammar somewhere around the 6th or 7th grade. Most of our curriculum is in English, so I incorporate as much Spanish into our studies as possible. The memory verse she has in English, is copywork in both languages, but dictated in Spanish (her stronger reading/writing language). Subjects we study are presented in both languages when possible, math is done in Spanish, Spanish is in Spanish :tongue_smilie:. But language arts: full Spanish, then read in English is enough. I've considered what I'd do if we were in Mexico (that's where my dh is from), and figured I'd still do things the same way. Except "maybe" reverse (since Spanish is the dominant language there)- English grammar, read read read in Spanish, then around the 6th/7th grade give the Spanish grammar. It's the same thing: no busywork necessary.

I am making a quilt bedspread (for the first time in my life) for my daughter with all the scraps I have, and if I don't run out of time, throw in a couple of pillows, and curtains to match. This will be her main gift this year, so it has to get done. For dh, maybe I'll make him the pajama pants I promised him last year (I was busy crocheting his scarf and hat, and other stuff). For the first time, I'm giving gifts to family outside our immediate circle (dh, dd, and I), and won't have to buy a thing. I'm going to finish the crochet scarf I started for my MIL 18 months ago ;). Parents and sisters will be getting a basket with cinnamon pancake mix, strawberry syrup, and something else - all made (or at least mixed) by me :D- except the basket. I might even get fancy and cross-stitch a jar cover, but I wouldn't count on it :lol:. I have enough to do.

What did your dh say in the beginning? Maybe he should have been the one to write the first note (unless he's like mine and leaves the writing to me :tongue_smilie:)? I know I said I wouldn't be shocked over the quiz wording (over my initial shock), but the attitude of purposely wanting to be worldly is beyond me :confused:. We're in the world, not of it.

Hello Betty, The above scenario does sound bad- but she clarified it (somewhere in this thread), so it's a little better than you described it. They would sell the doublewide, buy another in the city where they want to live (with better job prospects), and have the out-right purchased trailer on family land where they do not have to pay rent (in the same city). So, there'll be no housing payment while he continues the job search. Hope that helps :).

Why just boys? My dd was 8 last year in 2nd, and just-turned-9 (September) this year in 3rd. We followed what she would be in public school, but as it turns out, she's right where she should be. She's doing 3rd grade work.

What is the incidence of women carrying the gene actually contracting breast cancer? I've also been friends with those who had breast cancer (one died). I'm just wondering what the percentage is. Renai

Warning: this method does not work with everyone. Once out of sight, out of mind. Once in the bag (or box, or whatever), you will NOT want to see it again. You'll begin to collect bags (or boxes, or whatever). You may say, I'll deal with it later. Or, you'll start, then after awhile, whatever is left is thrown back in the bag. Ask me how I know. I finally started throwing a few coins in each so I knew I'd have to go back and sort. But then, that worked against me- I figured if I hadn't looked for anything in that box for xxx amount of time, I could throw it away. But, I couldn't, cuz there was money in it! :tongue_smilie:

Just to update: Our school district uses the DIBELS test to find out where children are in regards to reading in the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. I found this out when I picked up the (very thick packet of) special ed evaluation paperwork from them. A perusal of the state site showed all the evaluation materials (including progress monitoring stuff) is available free online. It's all available in English and Spanish. So, I did the evaluations with her in both languages- Spanish on her grade level, and English for where she is (1st). This info may come helpful if I go with the special ed evaluation, as they ask for the info. I I've created a plan to work on her weak areas, which included using MindSprinting- thanks for the link!- continuing her phonics instruction with MFW, and my own program for Spanish. The Spanish includes some ideas in this thread- reading the same story everyday to help with fluency, and some other stuff. I'll see if there is any improvement in about 8 more weeks.

What type of disability did she have, and in what way did Sylvan help? Was the disability already diagnosed, or did Sylvan assessments/methods help root it out? Thanks for your comments.

Thanks for clarifying so much, it really changes the equation a bit, I think.

It is a guideline. I've heard him talk about 20 yr and 30 yr mortgages (with the goal of paying it off faster), but the ideal is a 15yr, fixed rate, etc. A person able to do this is in a very good position to buy and keep the home. And, if you're debt-free, how much further would your income stretch? It is very hard not to buy a mobile home in this area, so I hear you. All around my dh's job, they are asking why doesn't he just buy a trailer? But, we'd still have to rent the space. It's not easy (or comfortable) to go against what seems "normal." But normal is also being neck-deep in debt and we don't want that either. And, fwiw, 900sqft sounds good to me right now- we're living in 659sq (3 humans, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and a fish tank :D). We live in a tourist area, and where lots of rich folks settle down, so prices are very inflated here. And no, $110,000 might buy someone a condo here (a one bedroom at that). I do hear what you are saying. But, aside from all that, please do not confuse Dave Ramsey with anyone else you may hear on the radio.

No, he would not. He is all for stay-at-home moms, homeschooling moms, and not having to place children in daycare or ps- every family is different and respects each families choice to make that decision. He does teach that families should live within their means; so if mom was in the workforce and came home, the family should not still be living like they still have that $30K (or whatever amount) mom was bringing home. If mom has always been home, he gives tips on how the family should create a budget so mom can stay at home. As stated above, he very much supports SAHM. He also talks about having a home mortgage, and knows realistically most people will have one. Nothing in what he teaches comes close to what you've posted. I don't know where the information came from that you posted above, but it might be helpful to listen to him at least once to get a fair assessment of what he believes and considers. None of what was posted above comes even close. Hope this helps. This is a bunny trail, I know, but just wanted to clarify.

Just remember to remove the dollar before you sell it on the boards ;).