It is our nation’s birthday week and and I want to tell you I get sentimental ever 4th of July. I am an immigrant; I came to the U.S.A when I was 6 years old in 1976. I remember getting out of church that sweltering July day; being that we lived in a beach town the humidity was off the charts. As we were driving home for some much needed afternoon swimming in my uncle’s pool all of a sudden people starting honking their car horns. I noticed all the cars on the road had their lights on even though it was 12 p.m. I asked my uncle what was happening and he said as he kept honking his horn that it was our country’s 200th birthday. I was amazed because I had just come to live in the U.S. a couple of months before and I had never heard of a country that celebrated its birthday. That night we swam late, we ate lots of water melon and watched fire works light up the summer sky and I have loved celebrating Independence Day ever since. It is one of my favorite holidays…have a great 4th!
Tag: United States
Unlock Treasure
My 3 girls attend dance lessons at an academy. They have teachers they learn a lot from and other teachers they don’t learn much from. Do you want to know what is the difference? I will be more than glad to tell you! The teachers my kids consider good and they can’t wait to see week after week are teachers who impart to them in a noble spirit; they are patient with the students and supportive. When they correct the students they don’t tear them down with harsh destructive criticism; they use constructive criticism to build up the student thusly, the student grows. The other teachers are the complete opposite and they wear down the kid’s morale. Oh I’ve heard it from other grown ups that at times harsh critical words can aid the student in toughening her up and giving her a back bone. I disagree. ” No one has yet to fully realize the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of true education should be to unlock the treasure.” –Emma Goldman This quote shows me that in order to bring out the best in our children we need to value them and nurture them , it doesn’t work any other way.
Part Three
Who is up for some States/ World Capitals Bingo? This game I came up with to teach my kids U.S. States and World capitals. Using some plain white card stock I designed a two sided board; on one side are the names of U.S. Capitals and on the other side are various capital cities from around the world. For chips I cut up red card stock paper into small squares.
The object of the game is to get a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row of capitals and then you call out Bingo! I have written then names of all the states and different countries on small cards. Once I call out the state or country the first student to raise their hand can answer and if he is correct, he has to look up the city he said as his answer on our Rand McNally Classroom World Atlas. Then we continue until the first player calls Bingo!
The Heyday of The Blood
One day during the last school year, my daughter Esther read this story as an English class assignment. I found the following excerpt from The Heyday of The Blood to be relevant to our times. I hope you enjoy the excerpt and I encourage you to find this short story and read it in its entirety.
THE HEYDAY OF THE BLOOD
” I tell ye Joey, I’ve lived a long time and I’ve learned a lot about how folks is made. The trouble with most of ’em is that they’re ‘fraid-cats!”…..
” The only way to manage this business of living is to give a hoop and let her rip. If you’ve just about half lived, you just the same as half die. And if you spend your time half dying, someday you turn in and die all over;without rightly meaning to at all, just a kind of bad habit you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“Some live and some die; but folks that live die happy anyhow…Live while you live and then die and be done with it !”
Homeschooling on a Shoestring Budget
Greetings!
I wanted to share with you today some ideas that I have used over the years as I have grown in this field. I believe home schooling families can attest to the fact that it doesn’t take a whole lot of money to give your children a good education. If you have a good imagination and a little bit of $$ then you are on your way! For starters, books and curriculums cost and they cost more when you purchase your materials brand new. I am fortunate to live in a city where the local libraries sell their discarded books to the public. I have found the majority of my kid’s text books there and I’ve paid very little for them. I also go to thrift stores where I have found a complete volume of A Beka and Rod & Staff books for my kids at a crazy price. So ask around at your local libraries and see what they do with their discarded books. I want to leave you with a list of books that I have found to be valuable tools for teaching over the years. Adios!
–PEARABLES Character Building Kingdom Stories (Volume set of 3)
-McGuffy Readers Set of 6
– America‘s Providential History -Mark A. Beliles
– The Gift in You -Dr. Caroline Leaf
-The Parables of Peanuts – Robert L. Short
Eva Santiago 