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Spanish – so confused
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I have read all the threads here and I am more than ever confused on doing a Spanish program with my boys. So once again I’m going to try and tell you by narrowing down my thoughts and maybe you’ll be able to guide me to a few suggestions that fit my idea:
1. I don’t know spanish so can’t be of much help. 2. I have all types of learners. 3. I would like there to be writen work, DVD/CD (or both). 4. They need to be able to do it daily “independently”. (except we could listen in the car also) 5. It needs to be able to be used by multiple ages/grades and used yearly (meaning I can’t buy something new yearly). 6. I would like my children to be able to talk, ask questions etc in spanish by doing this program, not just tell me the names of colors, numbers etc. 7. Cost .. has to be reasonable, I may have to ask for it for Christmas as a family gift for my children from the grandparents.
OK so I think that’s my thoughts. What have you used that fits this list and why do you like it? What makes it work for your family? AND what parts don’t you like (please everyone who loves anything still has a few bits that you don’t like be honest for me).
Thanks and God Bless, Misty
Well, we are using the German version (just started), and I’m not sure it fits all your requirements, but here is a little FREE online program you can use to get some exposure going to Spanish while you look at other options. My kids love the German version, and the different languages look pretty similar (I had a look at the first lesson in all of them.)
http://www.knowitall.org/instantreplay/content/LanguageIndex.cfm
First Step Espanol
There isn’t any written work. It would work well for various ages (you don’t mention the ages of your kids) and there are 3 or 4 different levels. It is all online (it does mention a CD in the teacher’s notes, but darned if I know where you would buy that….
As I said, it might not fit all your requirements, but I think it is worth looking at, and maybe using while you look for something that fits your requirements, or use it as extra practice/exposure.
My boys are 12 to 6 that I would be looking to use it with. ALSO…being we don’t have high speed in our area using an online option is really “not” an option for us.
Thanks for the idea though. Misty
Misty,
I am purchasing The Easy Spanish for my boys. It is a 3 year program. It has 2 cd’s plus a 400 page book. The cd’s also have worksheets that you can download and print. It covers grammar (written work), speaking the language conversationally. The big plus for me is that it is formatted in a Charlotte Mason style. Also the people speaking on the cd’s are native Spanish speakers. There are also scripture verses that they will learn and some songs. There is also an extra grammar ebook you can get where you can print off more worksheets for your kiddos. It says (and from the reviews) that it can be used for large families (the homeschooling family who put it together is a large family), works well with different ages. Also works well for the mom who doesn’t know spanish.
For me $140 for 3 years for multiple kiddos is a great price. Check out the sample lessons that are available on the site.
http://www.theeasyspanish.com/catalog.0.html.0.html
Carrie
Carrie, did you purchase Level 1 or the one for K-3? What is the 400 pg book? I have dial up so I thought I’d ask, because it will be awhile before I get to the library. No worksheets/workbook then other than the option to print the ones from the CD? Thanks for the follow up questions Misty
We also have The Easy Spanish. It is good, conversational, useful right away. We have level 1 for our 12, 10, 9 year olds. I can’t write much now because I’m trying to get a birthday cake done, but I will later on today or tomorrow. I also have a sample cd-rom I could send you, if you want.
Misty,
I’m honestly not sure which I will purchase. My boys will be in 2nd and 3rd grade in the fall. I’m not really ready to start a lot of grammar with them though, so I may go with the Junior Level (K-3).
Level 1 is the one that I explained in my earlier post though. The book contains lesson plans and activities. Maybe houseofchaos can tell us what else it contains. Since it is a 3 year program it has a lot in it. I think I remember seeing some worksheets (that you would copy and print) in the sample lesson plans, but I could be wrong.
Hope that helped some Misty!
Houseofchaos.. I would love to see the sample CD if you could part with it. Also could you tell me in a nut shell how you use this program? Like they listen/watch for 20 min a day only or and do a worksheet? etc. Thanks Misty
Okay, I’ll give this a go and hope that I do the program justice.
The program comes with an instruction book of 414 pages, and two discs. The two discs contains the printables you will need for the students (activity sheets, illustrations for those who like coloring, memory verses), and the lesson recordings, vocabulary, spanish alphabet, numbers 1-10. Each lesson has vocabulary and a short conversation. It is about five minutes long. From the book: “We use primarily a Spanish sentence construction with English words added to aid comprehension.” We listen to the story and vocabulary every day of the week (so one lesson lasts a week). There is also a scripture verse to listen to (every day is best). The conversation, vocabulary list and scripture verse are printed in the instruction book so you can follow along. I get them to copy out the scripture verse and vocabulary list through the week. There are a few activities to do (mostly for younger kids); I find I need to be involved in getting them started, but my involvement is not time consuming at all. Then there are activity sheets for the kids to complete. On Fridays, I have the kids narrate the story to make sure they understand it.
We are in our first year. It is going well. For the years two and three, you use the same lessons (audio recordings), but the activities progress in difficulty. Your older kids could just do the more advanced activities the first year, if they are fast learners.
One thing I do not like is that the scripture verse for the week is not in the same place as the conversation and vocabulary in the audio recordings. Not a big deal, but I would have put them together for less searching.
So, to answer the concerns from your original post:
It is easy to learn; I don’t know Spanish either and we are doing fine. I have all types of learners and the program appears to be working for them all. There is written work and audio helps. I think you need to be involved somewhat for maximum effectiveness, but most of the work is independent.
I’ll glady send along the sampler disc if you pm me your address. We are in Canada so it might be a little slow.
Gaeleen
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