Spanish for 1st grade?

[LisaD]

So I found some old threads and did some further research and I am disappointed to say there is a very limited selection of Spanish software or appropriate curriculum for a first grader. (6 yo)

 

I've found the following (this isn't exhaustive):

Jump start - (age3-6) probably my first choice for an intro

 

Kid speak spanish- (age 6+) probably my first choice for the next step after jump start (although this program has a Castilian accent- from Spain)

 

Early expert- maybe decent, but I didn't like that it's an online purchase you buy, then pay a small annual fee for continued access. (Like a subscription)

 

GSP kids spanish- hmmm....very poor reviews

 

123teach me- free and all online. Has potential- games, worksheets, etc. but, not very user friendly to use on my phone- will have to explore on the computer later. Also, I'm not really sure I want my 6yr old accessing the internet quite yet.

 

Rosetta Stone- well I've heard a lot about this not really being a great choice for young children, plus it is expensive!

 

Am I missing anything? I think I'm most interested in a software route for the first year or two then move into a more pen and paper type curriculum. I'm really disappointed that there aren't more suitable options. :(

[pitterpatter]

Honestly, Song School Spanish is what you're looking for. ;)

 

It's not software-based, but it's easy to use, fun and effective.

[IHaveNoIdeawhatIAmDoing]

We LOVE Song School Spanish. Just started it a couple weeks ago with my first grader. 

[TrulySusan]

La Clase Divertida looks good for first grade. Their website is www.funclase.com .

[craftyerin]

We've been enjoying Salsa Spanish, too. 

[Walking-Iris]

I have the hardest time finding foreign language programs. We just started using Duolingo for French, they have Spanish as well. And it's free. Not ideal or perfect, but you can't beat the price, and my kids are learning a bit. 

[duckens]

There are many basic beginner Spanish programs. 

 

We have used Flip Flop Spanish this year.  It has been a good fit for us.

 

However, whatever curriculum/workbook you choose to go with, I recommend some game suggestions.  Sometimes the 3yo joins us for the games.

 

1) Colors:

Make flashcards to match with the colors.  One set will be black, and the other will be written in the specific color.  Lay them all out face up and have your child match them. 

 

Example: rojo, azul, amarillo, verde, rojo, azul, amarillo, verde.

 

2) How are you?

 

Make faces on index cards to represent different moods.  Tape them to popsicle sticks to make puppets.  We have fine, sad, happy, bored, angry, okay, tired, and sad.

 

My daughter goes first.  She asks me, "Como estas?"  I answer, "Estoy _______."  I ask her to think in her head what the answer is before I answer.  Then I go through the cards with her.  We adjust the words because we are female (feminine form).

 

3) Opposites

Cards with opposites: big, small, tall, short, young, old, fat, thin.  Easy matching game. Sometimes we play charades with these.

 

4) Other adjectives

Use a different color to make these cards.  They can be mixed with the cards from #3 for other activities.

intelligent, pretty, handsome, blond, brunette, serious, funny, fun, silly, etc. 

 

Used with "Soy."

 

5) Little bag of animals.

 

Put 6-10 little plastic animals in a bag or hat.  Take turns picking them out.  Learn the word, "Tengo"  (I have).

 

If you don't know the Spanish word for these animals, you have two choices:

a) Just count them as masculine, and use the English word.

 

Tengo un giraffe.

Tengo un crocodile.

 

or

b )  Look it up.  We use the Usborne Children's Spanish Dictionary, but I have also used the internet.  Search, "Spanish for giraffe."

 

Tengo una jirafa.

Tengo un cocodrilo.

 

Variation:

Use the colors and/or the adjective words to describe your animals.

 

Tengo una jirafa rosa.  (I have a pink giraffe).

Tengo un cocodrilo viejo y anaranjado.  (I have an old, orange crocodile.)

 

6) Dice

 

We use multi-sided dice to  reinforce numbers.  I started with a 10-sided die.  We have moved up to a 12-sided die.  Eventually we will use a 20-sided die.

 

Simply roll the die and say the number.  You will learn quickly that being able to count to 10 is not the same thing as identifying 8 as ocho.

 

This is a good game for when there are just 1-2 minutes left of Spanish time.

 

7) Raid the food from the play kitchen.

 

Put all the food in a pillowcase.  Take turns picking a piece of food out and offering it to one another.

 

"Te gusta unas manzanas?"  (Do you like apples?)

 

The other player answers:

"Si, me gusta unas manzanas!"

 

or

 

"No, no me gusta unas manzanas!"

 

As with the animal game, if you don't know the Spanish word, either look it up or just use the English word.

 

8) Family Names

 

Make flashcards to represent the family names.

 

You could use:

--photos from your own family

--a favorite tv show that has all of the main family members

 

We used Phineas and Ferb.  We have cards for brother, sister, mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, aunt, uncle, cousin (female), cousin (male), friend (male), friend (female).

 

Wordgirl would also have been a good tv choice for making these flashcards.

 

9) We also watch "Salsa" (from Georgia Public Broadcasting) online.  There is also "Oh, Noah"  that is free on PBS.

 

10) Scavenger Hunt

 

We have not done this for Spanish yet; just for French.

 

Use words/flashcards for household items.  Either say the word or give the child the flashcard to find it in the house.

 

la cama (bed)

la mesa (table)

el gato (hopefully the cat won't be hiding!)

 

11) Simon Says/Body Parts

 

Another game we have not done yet, but we will do it soon.

 

Simon says, "Close your ojos."  (Close your eyes.)

Simon says, "Point to your oreja."  (Point to your ear).

Simon says, "Wiggle your foot."  (Wiggle your pie).

 

 

 

****REMEMBER TO HAVE YOUR CHILD SPEAK ALL WORDS ALOUD, when writing or when receiving instructions from you.  The part of the brain that hears/recognizes words is separate from the part of the brain that speaks words.  We want to link those two; otherwise your child could put in five years of Spanish, and not be able to speak a word.*****

 

[LisaD]

There are many basic beginner Spanish programs.

 

We have used Flip Flop Spanish this year. It has been a good fit for us.

 

However, whatever curriculum/workbook you choose to go with, I recommend some game suggestions. Sometimes the 3yo joins us for the games.

 

1) Colors:

Make flashcards to match with the colors. One set will be black, and the other will be written in the specific color. Lay them all out face up and have your child match them.

 

Example: rojo, azul, amarillo, verde, rojo, azul, amarillo, verde.

 

2) How are you?

 

Make faces on index cards to represent different moods. Tape them to popsicle sticks to make puppets. We have fine, sad, happy, bored, angry, okay, tired, and sad.

 

My daughter goes first. She asks me, "Como estas?" I answer, "Estoy _______." I ask her to think in her head what the answer is before I answer. Then I go through the cards with her. We adjust the words because we are female (feminine form).

 

3) Opposites

Cards with opposites: big, small, tall, short, young, old, fat, thin. Easy matching game. Sometimes we play charades with these.

 

4) Other adjectives

Use a different color to make these cards. They can be mixed with the cards from #3 for other activities.

intelligent, pretty, handsome, blond, brunette, serious, funny, fun, silly, etc.

 

Used with "Soy."

 

5) Little bag of animals.

 

Put 6-10 little plastic animals in a bag or hat. Take turns picking them out. Learn the word, "Tengo" (I have).

 

If you don't know the Spanish word for these animals, you have two choices:

a) Just count them as masculine, and use the English word.

 

Tengo un giraffe.

Tengo un crocodile.

 

or

b ) Look it up. We use the Usborne Children's Spanish Dictionary, but I have also used the internet. Search, "Spanish for giraffe."

 

Tengo una jirafa.

Tengo un cocodrilo.

 

Variation:

Use the colors and/or the adjective words to describe your animals.

 

Tengo una jirafa rosa. (I have a pink giraffe).

Tengo un cocodrilo viejo y anaranjado. (I have an old, orange crocodile.)

 

6) Dice

 

We use multi-sided dice to reinforce numbers. I started with a 10-sided die. We have moved up to a 12-sided die. Eventually we will use a 20-sided die.

 

Simply roll the die and say the number. You will learn quickly that being able to count to 10 is not the same thing as identifying 8 as ocho.

 

This is a good game for when there are just 1-2 minutes left of Spanish time.

 

7) Raid the food from the play kitchen.

 

Put all the food in a pillowcase. Take turns picking a piece of food out and offering it to one another.

 

"Te gusta unas manzanas?" (Do you like apples?)

 

The other player answers:

"Si, me gusta unas manzanas!"

 

or

 

"No, no me gusta unas manzanas!"

 

As with the animal game, if you don't know the Spanish word, either look it up or just use the English word.

 

8) Family Names

 

Make flashcards to represent the family names.

 

You could use:

--photos from your own family

--a favorite tv show that has all of the main family members

 

We used Phineas and Ferb. We have cards for brother, sister, mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, aunt, uncle, cousin (female), cousin (male), friend (male), friend (female).

 

Wordgirl would also have been a good tv choice for making these flashcards.

 

9) We also watch "Salsa" (from Georgia Public Broadcasting) online. There is also "Oh, Noah" that is free on PBS.

 

10) Scavenger Hunt

 

We have not done this for Spanish yet; just for French.

 

Use words/flashcards for household items. Either say the word or give the child the flashcard to find it in the house.

 

la cama (bed)

la mesa (table)

el gato (hopefully the cat won't be hiding!)

 

11) Simon Says/Body Parts

 

Another game we have not done yet, but we will do it soon.

 

Simon says, "Close your ojos." (Close your eyes.)

Simon says, "Point to your oreja." (Point to your ear).

Simon says, "Wiggle your foot." (Wiggle your pie).

 

 

 

****REMEMBER TO HAVE YOUR CHILD SPEAK ALL WORDS ALOUD, when writing or when receiving instructions from you. The part of the brain that hears/recognizes words is separate from the part of the brain that speaks words. We want to link those two; otherwise your child could put in five years of Spanish, and not be able to speak a word.*****

[LisaD]

Ok- I'm not good with quoting, which is what I meant to do above! Lol

 

Thank you all for your input. Thank you especially to duckens for your detailed reply. I am going to work on making those items this summer. Which flip flop Spanish items did you use? My upcoming 1st grade reads fluently (3rd gr level) and my new 4 year old does not but is starting to learn sounds.

 

I'm hoping to be diligent to do all my prep during summer this year.....

 

Thanks again!

[duckens]

FlipFlop Spanish has a workbook for age 3-5 (level 1) and a workbook for age 6-9 (level 1).

Due to my incompetence, we are using both. 

I had started the age 3-5 book in Kindergarten for dd, but there was more writing than what she could handle.  So Spanish was put on the back burner for that year while her English writing/spelling skills solidified.

This past year (1st grade, age 6-7), we reopened the age 3-5 book and the learning went well.

Then I lost the book, so I pulled out the age 6-9 book.  Then we found the age 3-5 book.

So now, we are doing both books in tandem.  This gives dd a little extra practice and review of topics because there is not a lot of writing on any one section.  There have been a few pages that are identical in both books, but not a lot.

There is a also a Level 2 book for age 3-5.  I can't remember if I have bought this book yet (and it is in storage).  If I have not, I am not sure if we will use FlipFlop Level 2, or if we will move on to the Complete Book of Spanish or another resource.  Maybe at Rainbow Resource I can find a workbook system that has several years and levels.

Eventually dd will be old enough/mature enough to use Visual Link Spanish (that I have been using to shore up my Spanish; they have good customer service) or Fluenz.

-------------------------

To be clear, the games we play could be used with (or without) almost any beginning Spanish program for kids.

One thing I don't like about the FlipFlop books is their reliance on polling others to answer and use the vocabulary.  This is difficult for us, as we are a small family (2 kids), and we don't have friends or nearby extended family who know what we are talking about when we practice Spanish at this age.  If you choose to go the FlipFlop route, be prepared to have a community (extended family or playgroup) as a resource for these activities in the book; or do as I do and invent imaginary friends for these purposes to ensure adequate practice of the vocabulary.