MrsBasil Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I feel really odd asking this question, but my DS has been watching a lot of Dora and Diego while I've been on bedrest. Lately I've noticed he uses certain Spanish words somewhat interchangeably with English. For example if I say thank you, he'll sometimes say you're welcome and other times say de nada. Sometimes he counts and starts with one, two and other times uno, dos. For up and down he uses arriba? and abajo? much more frequently. I speak no Spanish and DH speaks some from what he remembers from high school. I really don't think a tutor is an option due to funds/transportation/age, but is there some sort of video or other program that can be done at home with Mom or Dad? Is it even worth the effort? Is he too young? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 You're never too young to learn a new language!! In fact, the earlier the better! I'd love to hear what the hive has to say about programs geared for pre-readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Let me start by saying that I don't have any background in teaching a second language to young children except the experimenting I've been doing on my own. :D You don't mention how old your toddler is, but for the years before they are reading and writing in their primary language, oral exposure and repetition are great! Hearing the language really helps develop familiarity with the phenomes of the language. If you are on bedrest, that sounds like a good way to spend some of that time. I wouldn't expect to make a lot of sequential progress, but rather focus on building vocabulary and familiarity. I don't think you can be too young, since many kids grow up in bilingual families and get along just fine. Even if you decide not to pursue Spanish in the long term it seems like some of that vocabulary will stay with him and might be useful later. Our library has a number of board books and some kids' c.d.s in Spanish with catchy (maddening?) tunes for basic vocabulary. They also have books like "My First 1,000 words in Spanish" which are fun to look through. Another great resource is Salsa Spanish from Georgia Public Broadcasting which you/he can watch online here. The episodes we've watched so far start with Goldilocks and then return to the story and characters with follow-on story lines. We've also been enjoying Pocoyo on YouTube. It is t.v. program from Spain (?) aimed for the preschool set. It is very cute. Each episode is about 7-10 minutes. I don't know that there is enough repetition to learn a lot from it, but it is cute and the stories are easy to follow. If you have some funds, you might try to find a used copy of Muzzy in Spanish (very pricey to buy new). We have an old VHS version and it covers a lot of basic vocabulary with breaks once in a while to go into more detail. The idea is that they watch it and watch it and watch it and hear it and hear it and hear it. Along those lines there is also Whistlefritz which is much newer, cheaper, and shorter and can be found on Amazon. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) Thanks for the resources. Many of those look pretty do able and affordable! He's 2 years, 7 months. And duh, we have a large Spanish speaking population here. The libraries all have a nice collection of board and picture books in Spanish. The only thing that would hinder me is that I wouldn't know the pronunciation. Edited September 22, 2011 by MrsBasil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 If you can get Hop, Jump, and Sing Spanish for Kids, it's essentially the same sort of things I do with my preschool music students, but in Spanish. The instructions are in English on a separate track for each song/activity. It's a lot of fun :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarango Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Look into speekee, an online immersion program that is $7.50/month? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceman Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Little Pim videos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker Martin Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 My son learned a ton of Spanish from Hola Amigos DVDs. He can have little conversations with a friend of mine who is semi-fluent in Spanish. I haven't been able to find a series that I like as well as that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker Martin Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) You might see if your public library has online language learning. Ours does, and it allows you to watch Little Pim online for free. Edited September 22, 2011 by Parker Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 So far my library has the complete Muzzy Spanish, 1 Whistlefritz DVD, 3 different Little Pim DVDs, 2 Hola Amigos DVDs, and Tumblebooks in Spanish-online picture e-books with mild animation. Not to mention the selection of easy picture books. A pretty nice selection of free resources to investigate. We watched a Salsa video and I liked that too. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linguistmama Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Sounds like your library is awesome! When watching a dvd we usually put it on the Spanish soundtrack. Youtube has tons of videos. We love Pocoyo since it is originally in Spanish, not translated. You can also search youtube for the Spanish version of English cartoons. We've watched Handy Manny, Scooby Doo etc in Spanish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Cantemos is also a great DVD for this age group. My kids have picked up a lot of Spanish from this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeverFamily Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I have actually been trying to figure out some ideas for my kids as well. I am really enjoying all the posts so far! Here is what we are doing at the moment.... We have Directv and I have just been DVRing the saturday morning cartoons on the Spanish channel (channel 402 UNIe). They have shows like Dora, Diego, and Pocoyo. I don't know if you have satelite or cable, so I am not sure if this would be an option for you. My kids have enjoyed watching them. And like others mentioned you can have them watch DVD's you already own in Spanish. My Dd has been begging me to watch Tinker Bell in Spanish! I was also talking to my Brother, who is fluent in Spanish, about teaching my kids Spanish. He mentioned that the kids in Mexico watch a show called "El Chavo." We looked it up on youtube and they seem to have some episodes or at least parts of episodes. The newest version is a cartoon, the older episodes have real people in them. Just be aware, I have not actually watched any of these myself, so I can't personally recommend them. But you could look it up and see what you think. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linguistmama Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I was also talking to my Brother, who is fluent in Spanish, about teaching my kids Spanish. He mentioned that the kids in Mexico watch a show called "El Chavo." We looked it up on youtube and they seem to have some episodes or at least parts of episodes. The newest version is a cartoon, the older episodes have real people in them. Just be aware, I have not actually watched any of these myself, so I can't personally recommend them. But you could look it up and see what you think. HTH I forgot all about El Chavo and El Chapulin Colorado! We also really like Cantinflas. There is an animated version for kids and movies with real people on youtube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceman Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Nice! I thought of another video (I'm just assuming you were mainly looking for videos for the bed rest), Preschool Prep Spanish versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 Nice! I thought of another video (I'm just assuming you were mainly looking for videos for the bed rest), Preschool Prep Spanish versions. Thanks. I'm slowly being moved off bedrest as a new med combo seems to be working for me, but I'll be giving birth in about month. So for now, I'm thinking videos will be the easiest thing to do. However, I'm open to any suggestions beyond videos if you have them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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