Recently, the kids and I were given the chance to review a wonderful Spanish program for homeschoolers. Michael has been wanting to learn Spanish for awhile now, so he was thrilled to use the Starter Set 1 from Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids.
Do your kids want to learn Spanish?
Well, let me tell you all about this fun Spanish program for kids!
For this review, we received the Starter Set 1.
The Starter Set 1 includes....
DVD with videos for Levels 1-3
Teacher Guides for Levels 1-3
Flash Cards for Levels 1-3
Card Games for Levels 1-3
Workbooks for Levels 1-3
Stickers for Levels 1-3
The kids were very excited when the package arrived in the mail. I immediately opened it when we arrived home. Inside, we found lots of goodies. The kids looked through the workbooks and opened up the flashcards.
I headed straight for the guide for teachers and parents. The teacher's guide is essential! It starts off with a 3 page How to Get Started Section. Here you will read all about the program overview, the program goals, and how to use the teacher's guide.
The guide is broken up into lessons. The lessons last between 5 -30 minutes depending on the day. Foreign Language for Kids by Kids recommends working on one lesson at least twice a week. Of course, if you child isn't grasping the material, you can spend as long as you want on a lesson. You should never move on unless, the child knows the material from the lesson. You wouldn't want to send them into panic mode. All you have to do is work at you child's pace.
The teacher's guide is great for busy moms. I was able to review it before each scheduled lesson and know exactly what I needed to do with the kids. The vocabulary words are presented, the video section being taught is given, and a fun activity is given for the kids to do.
We started with Level 1 since none of us know any Spanish.
Level 1 is Basketballs aren't for Breakfast. In this level, we are introduced to 3 boys and their dogs) eating breakfast. The kids are introduced to common Spanish words and phrases. For example in lesson 1 of this level, the kids are taught
Desayuno
Hola
Mama
Donde esta?
Gracias
De nada
Aqui esta
Mazana
The video lesson is broken up into small lessons so children will not become too overwhelmed with all the new words. This is important since the video is entirely in Spanish. The first time watching the video is a little confusing since you don't know the language, but the more the kids watch it the more fluent they become.
To go along with the videos, the program comes with workbooks to go along with each level. The workbooks have word searches, crossword puzzles, simple matching, word scrambles, etc. A review page is also included to see what the child has mastered!
Flashcards and a card game are included as well. The flashcards have graphics and words. They are great for a memory matching game. You can really test your child's knowledge!
How we used it?
Since we were new to Spanish, we started with Level 1 Basketballs aren't for Breakfast. We started with lesson 1 of course and worked on from there. The first lesson we did three times our first week. From there, progress has varied. Some lessons we have spent 2 weeks o, while others we spent 4 on. It depended on how many times we worked on it during the week. The kids could put in the video themselves and sit down to watch it. It required very little guidance from me. They worked on the workbook together. Micheal did most of it since he was more eager to learn Spanish, but Therese was right there with him.
My kids are older, upper elementary and middle school, so they could work a little more independently. Younger kids may require more assistance.
What we thought?
We really enjoyed the program. We have started back to school already and plan on continuing with the the Spanish Starter Set 1. The program is a 20 week program. We have plenty of material left to cover. I especially liked how the program is explained and divided up. It makes it very easy to work through.
Both kids liked the videos. They were concerned at first that the videos may be a little to "babyish" for them. They both agreed the videos are great. We kept feeling sorry for the grande dog in the video. The poor dog was going to get a complex from being called grande all the time.
Foreign Language for Kids by Kids is a fantastic way to introduce kids to a new language. It's fun, well laid out, and easy for kids to grasp.
I know my kids have learned a lot so far.
Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you.
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