For my professional bio, please visit my About.Me page.
My name is Monica Olivera and I'm a homeschooling mother of three, as well as a freelance education writer. This blog began as a way to share the many resources for Hispanic homeschoolers that I was slowly discovering through my own journey as a Latina homeschooling mom. Our decision to homeschool our children was prompted by the fact that we lived in a county that was considered to be a failed school district. The state had come in and taken over the district, and two of the schools in our small town were closed down completely. I’ll be the first to admit that I had absolutely NO desire to homeschool my kids, but because their education is so incredibly important to me, I felt that this was the best route to take.
During that first year, I learned so much! Not only about how to teach my children, but also WHAT to teach them, and where to find it.
As a Latina, I also feel the overwhelming desire to raise my children to be bilingual and bicultural. The hard part is that I am 6th generation, and while I understand Spanish perfectly and can speak it well enough, it has been a terrible struggle to pass it on to my children. I think this stems from the fact that I am so rusty from a lack of opportunity. You know the saying, “Use it or lose it!” I hopped on the boat a little late, so to speak, in terms of how to raise my kids to be bilingual. I wish that I had started off using the OPOL method from the very beginning, and so now will be playing catch up.
In addition to learning the language, I also strive to find ways to supplement our curriculum with cultural books, activities, and themes that reflect the richness of our heritage.
When we began our homeschool journey, we lived in a small farming community, with no immersion schools or Spanish programs for small children available. So their bilingualism and biculturalism rested on my shoulders.
The goal of this blog is not how to teach your children Spanish (there are already plenty of blogs and websites for that), but rather to share with you ideas and educational resources in English and Spanish that are available for those of you raising bilingual children.
Regardless of whether or not you are homeschooling your children, I hope that you will find information and ideas that help you to encourage their love of learning or to supplement their education. No one will care more for your children than you will. So take their futures seriously and get involved now!
Since this blog started in 2010, it has become something much, much bigger. The people who follow this blog are not only homeschooling parents, but also parents who want to get more involved in their children's education, and bilingual ed teachers. They speak Spanish or English, sometimes both. Some are Hispanic or Latino, some are married to one, and some are non-Hispanics who simply send their children to a dual-language/immersion school.
On MommyMaestra, my first responsibility is to you, dear reader. So everything you see on this blog is related to our children and their education.
Please take the time to share your thoughts and ideas.
¡Que lo disfruten!
~Monica
