Spanish for a 5yo

[Dinsfamily]

My 5yo is chomping at the bit to learn Spanish. We live in San Antonio and are surrounded by a Latin population so I figure it would be advantageous to start studying it. We started Kindergarten this June, I'll be ready to add a foreign language around September or October.

 

I've been looking at La Clase Divertida or The Easy Spanish. La Clase Divertida seems like fun, but The Easy Spanish has an SWR flavor which we'd enjoy. I'm not opposed to doing both in the next few years if that would work. I have a degree in German and several years of Japanese, but very little knowledge of Spanish. I don't need something overly academic, I figure that we have plenty of time to dive into that later.

 

Anyone have any recommendations? I also have a 3yo who will tag along, but I don't really need to cater to him. He loves hanging out with us during school, but his participation is completely voluntary.

 

I would love to hear what has worked for any of you.

[kckamy]

We started out using a Spanish CD by Twin Sisters http://www.twinsisters.com/onlinecatalog/spanishproduct/2133.htm. My daughter learned vocabulary very quickly using this CD. You could also make flash cards for review.

 

Next, we used La Clase Divertida. This is also a fun program. http://funclase.com/Level_1.html

 

Amy

[Haiku]

When I was looking into Spanish for my 5 and 6 year olds, the three programs I liked best were Flip-Flop Spanish (a very easy introduction), Espanol para los chiquitos/Espanol para chicos y grandes (a workbook.cd-based program that looked a bit more rigorous than FF Spanish), and Elementary Spanish (available through Discovery Streaming or for purchase from Northern Arizona University). I decided to go with Elementary Spanish because of its scope. My kids love it and I am very satisfied with what they are learning and retaining.

 

Tara

[psychgal]

My 5yo is enjoying Rosetta Stone Spanish. She really likes that she is finally using Mommy's computer now and it's a break from textbook/workbook activities. We also make games as we are doing it (I'll yell Corriendo!! and she'll start running or saltando!! and she jumps or I'll get her toy versions of the nouns she's learning (airplane, dog etc and do a variety of reinforcing games)

Edited August 1, 2009 by psychgal

[Brooke3193]

My kids are 6 & 8, but started using http://www.ForeignLanguageFriends.com when they were 5 & 7. It's completely online, so good if you travel a lot. It's total immersion, total fun. The whole family can use it for $10 a month or $99 a year.

 

We use it as a supplement to their weekly Spanish class. But, if finances caused us to drop the class, we'd just increase the amount of time we spent on FLF.

 

I believe they have a free weekly trial if you want to take a look.

[Dinsfamily]

Thanks for the info. I'll have to look into these other programs. Rosetta Stone won't be an option for us since I've used it before and didn't like it. It's also WAY too expensive for a program I can't resell.

 

The others look interesting.

[hmschooling]

I like the looks of The Easy Spanish...with your 3yo tagging along, I'd get the Jr. level if I went with The Easy Spanish.

 

I also like La Clase Divertida...That's what I want to use with my two oldest and let my almost 3yo tag along.

 

Those are my top two personal picks. :001_smile: La Puerta Abierta is another one I think I remember liking as well... I've used some of The Fun Spanish as a supplement with my oldest and she LOVES that. I've also added in a workbook, The Everything Book of Spanish, on their grade levels. They find those fun for the days we don't get to more formal lessons. There are also plenty of free online spanish lessons that are pretty great!

 

http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/spanish_for_children

http://onlinefreespanish.com/

 

and I found the spanish alphabet song on youtube as well.

[Terabith]

I think I'm going to get La Clase Divertida for my 5.5 and 4 year olds.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I would definately try Salsa from Georgia Public Broadcasting. It is free online and has about 40 sesame street-like shows that teach spanish. The shows are in Spanish as well but are designed to teach it.

 

 

http://www.gpb.org/salsa

[Dinsfamily]

I like the looks of The Easy Spanish...with your 3yo tagging along, I'd get the Jr. level if I went with The Easy Spanish.

 

I also like La Clase Divertida...That's what I want to use with my two oldest and let my almost 3yo tag along.

 

Those are my top two personal picks. :001_smile: La Puerta Abierta is another one I think I remember liking as well... I've used some of The Fun Spanish as a supplement with my oldest and she LOVES that. I've also added in a workbook, The Everything Book of Spanish, on their grade levels. They find those fun for the days we don't get to more formal lessons. There are also plenty of free online spanish lessons that are pretty great!

 

http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/spanish_for_children

http://onlinefreespanish.com/

 

and I found the spanish alphabet song on youtube as well.

 

I was definitely planning on the Jr. level for The Easy Spanish if I go with it. What was your deciding factor between the two?

 

I would definately try Salsa from Georgia Public Broadcasting. It is free online and has about 40 sesame street-like shows that teach spanish. The shows are in Spanish as well but are designed to teach it.

 

 

http://www.gpb.org/salsa

 

That sounds perfect for them...I might have to get dh to get a cable to hook the computer up to the tv on his way home from work tomorrow. It's been on the to-do list for awhile, but this might be the motivation we need.