Homeschool Prime Day Deals 2022

Hi there!

Today I am sharing the best items I have been using in my homeschool!

You can sign up to get ink sent to your door right before you run low. Also, HP’s customer service is wonderful! You can use this printer and ink to print worksheets, animal posters, etc!

We have loved this pencil sharpener! It holds up and it works very well!

Pencils – These are the best pencils! They sharpen very well!

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We have enjoyed this “game” to make sentences. It works great as a story starter as well!

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Glue:

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Graph Paper Notebooks – These are my favorite notebooks for math!

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Printable Spanish Emergent Readers

This is a set of printable readers in Spanish. These readers are great for practicing vocabulary, sentence structure. In addition, learners will get to interact with the books by coloring, drawing, answering questions, and going on scavenger hunts.

Click on the picture to be taken to the Bilingual Educator’s store on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Librito imprimible la mascota – Spanish emergent book

Another book is to learn the names of the colors. This bundle includes four different booklets.

Let’s connect!

Happy Reading in Spanish!

4 Ways to Make Writing a Creative Activity

Writing can be a lot of fun! We can encourage writing from a young age. From the moment a child makes his/her first scribbles, they are writing. Oh and how fun it is to look back at those first pieces of writing, mispelled words and all!

Today, I am sharing FOUR ways to make writing a creative activity. These tips can also be used in the regular classroom.

Use fun pens – Sometimes kids decide they want to write because they have found “the perfect pen” in their “favorite color”. Whenever there are new pens, the kids want to get them out and write, draw, and scribble.

Draw and Write Journal Notebooks – Earlier this year, I designed notebooks to help kids to write. These notebooks have a blank page on the left side and a page for writing on the right. The goal is for children to use their creativity and find that writing can be a nice way to give words and meaning to their drawings.

There are currently three different designs: Llamas, mermaids, and rainbows, You can order them directly from Amazon. Each notebook has 120 pages, glossy cover, and white paper. Perfect for writing and drawing!

Keeping a notebook for their writing and drawings (it will also keep all papers in one place, yay!). Find a notebook with a cover they like such as their favorite animal, their favorite saying, etc.

Scrapbooking scissors – Yes! Cut out papers in fun shapes with scrapbooking scissors. Label the cutouts, make up a story with the cutouts, etc. Making writing a creative activity takes the pressure off of “having” to write.

Create a funny story – I keep a basket for “Fun Educational Books” (such a creative name, haha). This basket has different books that are educational. The book Mad Libs gets used a lot! The kids get to practice filling in the sentences with nouns, adjectives, and verbs. This way they can practice grammar and writing at the same time.

Let us know how you are making writing a creative activity in your homeschool!

Happy Writing!

Reading about Egypt in Spanish in the Bilingual Homeschool

Reading about Egypt in Spanish

This is our second time since we started homeschooling that we are studying Egypt. This time we are going more in depth as everyone is a bit older and I think we can complete more projects from Susan Bauer’s Story of the World.

Listen to the Story of the World Vol. 1 CDs (in English)

Related Post: Activities to keep busy while reading books aloud (Morning Time / Morning Basket)

Like every subject in our bilingual homeschool, I try to provide as many resources we can in English and Spanish so that we can continue growing in our language skills while learning a subject we are interested in.

FREE Fun Printable: Teaching Geography in the Bilingual Dual Language Classroom or Homeschool Plus FREE Geography Signs Printable

 

Books about Egypt in Spanish for the Homeschool:

 

Egipcios / The Egyptians: Explora los secretos de la vida en el Antiguo Egipto (Spanish Edition) 

When you read this book, you will find that Tut will walk alongside you by the Nile River to tell you all the secrets of Egypt.

Diario de Pilar en Egipto (Spanish Edition)

Pilar, Breno, and their cat Samba are transported to Egypt on a magical carpet. They meet Tutankamon who teaches them about Ancient Egypt, the culture, and life way back when.

Quien fue el rey Tut?

The well-known series of Who Was? books is available in Spanish! Thanks to the fellow mom who shared that tip with me!

This book sounds like such a fun adventure! It’s the story of a boy who is given a key to a secret room where all kinds of maps are stored! Also he is given a mysterious necklace that will allow him to travel all around the world. This time he is traveling to Egypt with a dragon. Together they will go explore the pyramids! 

Los pendientes de Nefertiti: El jeroglífico mágico

This story is about discovering the tomb of Queen Nefertiti. Pitin, a young boy, goes on an adventure to discover the tomb.  It is also available for Kindle Unlimited. 

 

Hope this list is helpful to you!

Cuéntame, ¿ qué libros están leyendo en tu hogar?

Sigue nuestras historias en Instagram @TheBilingualHomeschooler

Activities For Read Aloud Time – Ways to Keep Children Busy and Listening

 

Read Aloud can be a beloved time during the homeschool day, it is all about making sure the children are staying occupied while listening and understanding the book read to them.  I used to think that in order to listen to a book, it was best to sit still and just listen. 

Well, I have come to find out that children actually do need to move around WHILE they focus, listen, and comprehend a story.  Today I am sharing my Top 7 activities to keep children busy while listening to books read aloud.  

Activities to Keep Children Busy and Listening to a Story – Read Aloud Time 

 

Read Alouds we have previously done: 

The Trumpet of the Swan 

 

Tips to Keep Children Busy and Listening to a Story - Read Aloud Time

1. Playdough: You can get playdough from Amazon or quickly make your own at home. There are some very easy and simple recipes to follow. Choose molds and rollers and let them create away with playdough while listening to a book.  They may even recreate the story, characters, and setting with playdough! how fun is that! 

Playdough tools and molds to use with playdough and develop fine motor skills in younger kids and preschool while also working on creativity with older kids. 

Everyone loves playdough! yeah?!

2. Slime: Make your own slime or get some already made at the store. It is way more fun making your own, though! You can customize your playdough as you wish. 

3. Puzzles: The kids complete puzzles individually while listening to books. Usually I get the puzzles at Dollar Tree for a $1 each. The puzzles are full of color and some more detailed than others.  We usually do a puzzle related to a theme we have been studying in one of our units. 

Shop puzzles from Dollar Tree here. 

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4. Draw and color or just color: There are many coloring books out there, we particularly like this style because it is just so creative! The kids can color while I read a book. The first book with the cupcakes is just so cute! There is one picture of a pig holding an umbrella shaped as a cupcake and guess what! it is raining cupcakes! Very adorable!  

 

      

Grab a set of Prismacolor Coloring Pencils to go with the new coloring book! This set has the most vibrant and best quality coloring pencils I have ever seen!

5. Eat food: Put together a special snack and read away! It could be something like Poetry Tuesday where the kids have tea and a treat while listening to a book. 

 

6. Legos: Build away with legos while listening to the book. This one is my personal least favorite activity to do while reading aloud. But every now and then it does work.  

7. Rubix Cube: Solve a color, two colors, or ALL the colors!  

 

Hope these activities are helpful to you!

I’d love to hear what you do for read aloud time! 

Hasta la próxima! 

Why I Use Abeka Phonics and Language Arts to Teach Reading K through Second Grade – An Honest Review

Abeka Review Phonics Teaching Reading.png

(This post includes affiliate links to resources that I trust and use. )

I have been using Abeka’s Language Arts program for each of my children for five years. I have been very impressed with Abeka, it is a solid curriculum! It is very complete with books, consumables, lesson plans, scope and sequence, charts, you name it. They have it. To be honest, you don’t need anything beyond it, but just like with any curriculum, you can use the curriculum as you see it best.  You can add or take as you wish! 

Related: How I Supplement Abeka Arithmetic Curriculum with a Living Math Charlotte Mason Style – Going Beyond the Textbook

Related: How to Organize ABeka Homeschool Assignments and Papers for the Year

For K4 I have only used Abeka’s readers and hands-on activities where we used stamps, foam letters, stickers, and did plenty of tracing activities with flour and markers.  

Abeka’s books are very colorful and cute. My kids really like the pictures and the characters that were once presented in K4 continue throughout the books in K5, 1st, and 2nd. One of my kids gets a smile whenever he notices one of the old characters is in  the illustrations in his first grade book. 

Abeka’s program is very thorough, it uses a spiral approach meaning that the same concepts will be practiced throughout while introducing new ones and reinforcing the old concepts. I believe using this method helps students to develop mastery and confidence in their work.  This same approach is also used in Abeka’s Arithmetic, which my kids also love. 

Reading textbooks / consumables:

It is a phonics based approach. Children are taught the short vowel sounds and long vowels. Long vowels are introduced when presenting the silent ‘e’. 

Teaching Tip: I teach my kids to say that the ‘e’ gives all its power to the vowel before and therefore it now has a long vowel sound. Since the ‘e’ gave all its power away, it is now silent.  This explanation has worked very well for my kids. 

There is plenty of practice throughout the workbook for children to circle the special sounds and mark the the vowels short or long.

Teaching Tip: I find this practice really helps with spelling. There is ample practice looking and circling the special sounds, which helps children to hear, recognize, and learn to write the special sounds (blends) when thinking of the words they need to write. 

Vowel combinations are presented in such a way that it comes really natural to learn when to use them. Often times I ask my kids how to spell a word and they just know exactly what the two vowels are going to be. 

Teacher Manual:

The teacher manual tells you exactly what and how to teach every special sound. It also tells you which flashcards to use and what to write on a whiteboard (or notebook if you are short on space). 

Abeka’s Teacher Manual is detailed and thorough. Honestly, going through the concepts takes about 10 minutes approximately.  Some lessons are really quick, so you could totally do two lessons in one day. Like I said, it is totally up to you. 

Tests

Abeka has a book for tests. It is totally optional to use it  (if unaccredited). Tests are a page each. They have an oral examination where they have to hear the sounds you say and they need to write them down. The written part of the test is both sides of the page. 

Abeka’s Flashcards: (this is gold!!!) 

Abeka has a great set of flashcards and charts to use to teach reading. Personally, I only use Abeka’s Basic Phonics Flashcards which are to be used from Kindergarten through Second Grade.  This website has a list of all their flashcards/charts available. 

Abeka’s flashcards are really all the hype! I know some moms who only purchase the flashcards to use with their chosen reading program because they are so complete, colorful, and a great addition to reading lessons. 

Abeka’s Basic Phonics Flashcards are my favorite! A really great resource to have in your homeschool to teach blends, special sounds, spelling! 

 

Find Abeka’s flashcards and ALL homeschool materials through Christianbook.com
Abeka Homeschool

Binder: Heavy Duty Binder

Sheet protectors: These are very durable and great for marking on! 

Dry Erase Markers: These are the ones we use and erase well.

How to store Abeka’s Basic Phonics Flashcards?

I store mine in a heavy-duty 3-ring binder in plastic sleeves. They come in different colors according to the special sound. Some are only used in Kindergarten, others in 1st, and so on. Eventually you use all of them. If you notice your child has mastered a set, go ahead and move on with the flashcards and review the old ones when he/she completes the pages on the book. 

How to use Abeka’s Basic Phonics Flashcards? 

Since we have been using them for several years now, these are some of the ways that I use the flashcards in my homeschool. 

  1. I select the ones we need for the blends we are learning in the week and use it for a center time. I give my kids their favorite color dry-erase marker to mark the blends and vowels. Then they just erase them once we check the work.
  2.  Another way I have used them is to have my children read the blend, the clue word, read all the words in the back. Then on a notebook write down the special sound and three words (including the clue word) below it. 
  3. The third way we can use them is to put the words in the back in ABC order. We can write the number on the back or copy the words in alphabetical order.
  4. The fourth way I have used them is in dictation. I choose the words and read them and my children have to write the words. 

Throughout the workbooks (known as the consumable in their website) there is plenty of practice for recognizing and marking special sounds, splitting syllables, splitting double consonants, and writing rhyming words. 

Readers

K4 and K5 readers were good. Second grade readers are also really nice, we especially liked one about animals and one book with Bible stories. We supplemented reading time with books we checked out from the library in English and Spanish to match the themes we have been studying in our homeschool. 

The stories are simple and silly, but engaging to young readers. It is all about the surprise the child gets when reading their first sentences! You are definitely encouraged to look for additional books to read beyond the readers from Abeka.  

For K4 and K5, we enjoyed Biscuit books. There is a lot of repetition. 

I have a post with ideas for books to read for Kindergarten and First Grade. 

Conclusion

In Conclusion, Abeka’s reading program is very thorough, offers lots of practice, and fairly quick to do. There are days we can do two or three lessons in Kindergarten.  Like any other program, you can adjust the textbooks to suit the needs of your child and your own teaching style. Definitely feel free to add more activities, or practice skills in a way that you see fits your style best. 

I have been able to see in my own kids how much they have been learning with Abeka. They can even recognize how the spiral approach works and they tell me that doing an exercise a few weeks ago prepared them for a new challenge in the book. 

Most people I know who have used Abeka score really well in tests and are well prepared for college. I feel very confident with our decision to use Abeka and plan to continue using their books.  If you have any further questions on the program, please send me a message or comment below. 

Happy Homeschooling!

How to Order Abeka Homeschool Curriculum

–> To order Abeka Homeschool curriculum, use Christianbook.com they offer great prices, quick shipping, great customer service!
Abeka Homeschool

Homeschooling and Learning about the World with the World Cup

As huge soccer / futbol fans, the World Cup is quite the occasion.  I cannot pass on the opportunity to watch great games with the best players around the world while learning facts and geography of the different countries that will be represented. 

Jamie Martin’s book Give Your Child the World is a wonderful resource to have in your homeschool! It is a book with curated book lists of the best books to read for different countries and zones around the world. I love having this book in my teacher’s library! 

You might also like to check this post: 

Teaching Geography in the Bilingual Dual Language Classroom or Homeschool Plus FREE Geography Signs Printable

My goals are pretty simple: 

  1. Watch games (yay!)
  2. Learn the basics of soccer
  3. Learn the location of the country (what continent is it in?)
  4. Learn the capital city of the country
  5. Famous landmark
  6. Language spoken and listen to a video on YouTube with simple phrases in said language 
  7.  What would you add to the list? 

Since World Cup 2018 will be held in Russia, we are going to read a couple of picture books about Russia. 

These are the picture books on Russia that I am requesting from our local library. 

Russia ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Russia (Country ABCs)

 

Luba and the Wren 

Babushka’s Doll

Crafts:

Creating Onion Domes – this website has an easy tutorial 

 

What ideas do you have to include the World Cup 2018 in your homeschool / readings / summer plans? 

 

 

Free Addition Game for the Doubles Hands On with Free Printable

FREEAdditionFactsFamiliesGame

Today I am sharing a FREE Printable game I made for my Kindergartener to use.  My kids really enjoy games and puzzles and putting things together, so I created this addition printable where the bee card will have to go to the sunflower to get the pollen. 

Each addition card also has a ten-frame where the kids can color each of the spaces necessary OR they could use any other counting manipulative available to find the correct the sum. 

Related Post

Printable Counting Books in Spanish

Adding Doubles Muffin Tray Activity

Favorite Books Series to Teach Math 

How I Supplement Abeka Arithmetic Curriculum with a Living Math Charlotte Mason Style – Going Beyond the Textbook

How to Use the Double Addition Free Printable 

Print and laminate for durability. Cut the cards in the center lines (this is my preferred paper cutter), and then shuffle the cards. Have fun adding and finding the sum! 

Preview:

AdditionFactsFamilies

To get your FREE printable (2)

Teaching Geography in the Bilingual Dual Language Classroom or Homeschool Plus FREE Geography Signs Printable

Bilingual Geography

 

We love, LOVE, Geography. As a language learner and world traveler, a world map makes my heart beat. Although these days, most of our traveling happens by looking at our world map and finding travel videos on YouTube to help us see the world.

Until we travel again, we are getting to see the world from home and it is so exciting. We are learning the names of capitals, countries, directions, oceans, continents, and so much right from our home. There are a couple of resources that I want to share with you that we use as well as a FREE Printable that we are using in our home.

As we are learning Spanish through content, it is very important that we provide our children with plenty of input in the target language, Spanish. We also want to make this input accessible in print at all times, so we are labeling our home with plenty of signs in Spanish, including signs around our world map for Geography class. 

This month we are focusing our attention on studying Africa’s geography since we recently partnered with Trades of Hope to be a Compassionate Entrepreneur. As world changers we have the opportunity to empower women out of poverty all around the world and send cloth diapers to women in Uganda who don’t have access to any diapers for their babies. Imagine, that.  I would love to tell you more details (leave a comment) or simply visit my website at Trades of Hope to learn more.

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How to Teach Geography Bilingually in English and Spanish in your Homeschool 

Read in English:

One of the favorite books that we use is a fantastic resource, written by fellow homeschooler Jamie Martin. She wrote Give Your Child the World, a book,  filled with lots of picture books and books to read as a family (or read aloud) about different countries in the world.  It is divided into continents and countries.  She also gives a brief description about each book and the ages it targets. 

Although her book is written in English, any family would greatly benefit from it. If I want to read a book in Spanish, I simply go to google and search the name of the book and add the word Spanish next to it. In doing that I can usually find the title of the book in Spanish, if it has been translated. 

This is an excellent book! It is available in paperback (what I have) or also in Kindle format. 

 

Give Your Child the World – paperback

Give Your Child the World – Kindle 

Another fantastic book is The Lonely Planet Kids Travel Book: Mind-Blowing Stuff on Every Country in the World. Just by reading this book, you get to go on a world trip, reading facts, seeing pictures, and learning so much about every country. Every country gets a whole page. Love it!!!

The Travel Book – Hardcover

The Travel Book – Kindle 

One last resource in English is Child’s Introduction to the World: Geography, Cultures, and People – From the Grand Canyon to the Great Wall of China . I love that this book gives an intro to basic terminology used in Geography. This book will be a great companion to use when using the FREE Printable I am sharing with you at the end of this post. 

Reading in Spanish

This is the one book I am very drawn to because I have heard so much about it through different homeschool groups. This one is in my wish-list, hoping to get it soon.

In my home we grew up with a world atlas in Spanish, it is a must have. I really like that this one is in Spanish. It is so important to read in Spanish and build up our knowledge in Spanish. 

 

Keep a Wall Map Accessible (or Visible) 

We spend a lot of time looking at our world map, noticing the countries, names, locations, and pretty much everything in the map. We keep it on the wall as a reference, so that whenever we read a book  and a country or language is mentioned, we can quickly reference it on our wall map. 

Use a World Map for Reference 

For example, a few months ago we read The Family Under the Bridge. This book is set in France where Paris is mentioned all throughout as well as a major river that runs through part of France. During our read aloud, we stopped a few times to find Paris, France and the river on our map. 

Talk about the Terms used for Referencing a Place on a Map

We talked that France is to the East of the United States, across the Atlantic Ocean. We also talked about the countries neighboring (limítrofes) France.  

  • Talk about directions (direcciones) 
  • Talk about neighboring countries
  • Talk about oceans, rivers
  • Talk about location (how far or close to the Equator a country is)
  • Talk about their current season and your own. 
  • Show where the North and Southern Hemisphere are located and its implications to the seasons of the year and the weather. 

Our World Map

This is what ours looks like.  It is so simple, but it has sparked so many conversations around our table.  At some point, I would like to get this scratch map, looks really nice and I think the kids would have fun scratching the places we have read about through our read alouds, places visited, family locations, etc.  

Geography Homeschool Bilingual English Spanish
This is how we label our map in our homeschool using bilingual labels / signs. 

Look at the Globe – El Globo Terráqueo

Having a globe is so important, too. We talk about “El globo terraqueo” (the globe) and that the “tierra es redonda” (the earth is round). It gives us a good reminder of what the earth looks like.  I also really like that we can clearly see La Línea del Ecuador (Ecuador Line) in the globe and follow it all the way around. 

 

Video –

What is Geography? Qué es la Geografîa? Video for children in Spanish.  Thanks to YouTube we are also able to go on world tours. Search the name of a country or city and type in virtual tour. Definitely preview videos before showing them to your kids, just in case. 

Cooking World Foods

Another interactive, hands-on way to learn Geography is by making food recipes from a different country. We have made Dutch food, Chinese, Chilean, Mexican, and Italian food so far.  It has been a joy to share the kitchen with my kids while they learn Math and Geography at the same time. 

This cookbook is fantastic!!!! Eat Your Way Around the World is a cook book with recipes from around the world. Each section is divided by continent and by country. You could easily pair it with Give Your Child the World. 

Bilingual Geography Signs – Free Printable 

So far I have only put up the north, south, west, and east signs. I will be adding more signs as we encounter more Geography terms in our readings. One curriculum I would love to try is Beautiful Feet Geography.  It would be a study on Geography through literature. 

Get Your Bilingual Geography Signs Free Printable for your homeschool or classroom. Let me know in the comments if it is useful for you or if you would like to see more resources like this one.  

Download your free printable below:

Bilingual Geography Signs

 

Have fun learning Geography! 

 

Authentic Materials to Teach American Culture through Music

Authentic Materials to Teach American Culture Through Music

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own and I only post about courses that I use and love. 

Music is an authentic, natural way to get to know a country’s language and culture especially the music related to national holidays and special celebrations that occur throughout the year.

Music is the easiest way language learners can make a connection or association with a country’s language and culture. This is why in our bilingual homeschool, we make the study of music such an essential element to discover new cultures and languages. Becoming aware of the world around us, helps broaden our perspectives and see there is a whole world out there created by God.

Today, I am sharing about a brand new course released by Gena Mayo that we will be using in our bilingual homeschool that will benefit English Language Learners (ELL), as well as Americans who live outside the US, and even Americans who live in the US. This course is for anyone who wants to learn about American Holidays and Special Dates. 

Music to learn about Holidays and Special Dates in the United States

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Who is this course for?

English Language Learners – This course provides authentic materials, already laid out for the teacher or homeschooling parent. It teaches the special dates that are celebrated in the United States, along with music and culture that is associated to it. As an ESL teacher, this course will save me hours of research!!! 

American Students – There are brief descriptions, biographies, and information presented along with videos and activities to further enhanced the study of American holidays.

Bilingual Homeschool – The bilingual homeschool is constantly looking for ways to learn about the culture related to the languages we are learning to speak. 

Music is a unifying component in the study of language, culture, and tradition. Language Learners and those who already speak the language as a first or second language will benefit greatly from this course. What I love about teaching music is natural way to pass-on tradition and teach culture. 

What about extension activities?

The course comes with quizzes that we can do together, it also encourages learners to do more research if desired. Learners can also make observations on the differences of style and instrument used to approach a holiday or special occassion.  Using short videos and reading the biographies could be used in an ESL classroom or a bilingual homeschool where English is the second language to teach relevant and authentic aspects of the culture. 

Why study music about another country while learning a language?

Basically, it broadens one’s worldview and helps you appreciate culture and traditions from your own home country and others around the world. 

Babies and toddlers begin learning language or many languages through music long before learning to talk or read. Preschoolers and school age kids begin associating music to holidays from a very young age. For example, Christmas music is played from November or December as Christmas comes closer.  Or Irish music is played in March as we near St. Patrick’s Day. 

Understanding the culture, the music, the language used in the country’s target language helps deepen the level of proficiency in that second language. 

 

What is included in the course?

The course includes videos, activities, quizzes, and everything I need to pull a music lesson that is relevant to teach my kids about America through music. The course is self-paced, online, all at the ease of a click!

How to learn the culture of another country while learning the language?

  • Learn the names of the holidays of the year
  • Learn the dates of the holidays or approximate times (i.e. just the month or semester)
  • Read picture books or living books about the holidays
  • Study history related to the holidays or special dates
  • Dress in colors/clothes related to the holiday. For example: red and green for Christmas, green for St. Patrick’s Day, red for Valentine’s Day, yellow for New Year’s, blue and red for 4th of July.
  • Practice activities or traditions per the holiday: cookout (hamburgers and hot dogs) for Labor Day, Memorial Day, and Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Dinner with turkey for Thanksgiving, ham for Christmas. 

Right now the course is 40% off through March 28th, 2018. After that the price will be going up.  Today we are going to start the section on Easter since we are getting so close to it, coming up on April 1st this year. 

What kind of special dates does it include?

In the United States, May 4th is a big day because it is Star Wars Day. It comes from May the Force be with you. It is just a fun day, but honestly language learners would appreciate knowing about this day when coming to live in the United States. Same thing with April Fool’s Day.

Will this course help English Language Learners?

Yes!!!! I personally didn’t know about April Fool’s Day, it wasn’t taught in textbooks or language school. I learned about it from living here. So as you can see culture is an aspect of language learning that is best taught and learned from authentic materials.  

Hope you find the course as helpful as I have! Let me know in the comments how you are using it with your homeschool or ESL classroom. 

Get the course when you click on the picture below: 

 

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Hasta la próxima!

For older students:

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