*I received the Whistlefritz Spanish program in exchange for sharing my thoughts with you. All opinions are my own.*
My son begged me to teach him Spanish last year when we started Homeschooling. But, it was Kindergarten and I really didn’t want to overwhelm him (or me!). So, I knew once we started First Grade this year, that I wanted to add in a Spanish class once a week. One where he could learn the basics, and have fun! That’s where Whistlefritz came in.
Whistlefritz creates “high-quality French and Spanish language immersion programs that enable children to learn in a fun, educational environment.” In their own words, they “teach children Spanish and French in the same way they learned their first language: through words used in context by live speakers in fun skits, games, catchy music, and dance.”
I love this programming- because I took Spanish for 6 years. And my first 2 years were spent mostly conjugating verbs and reciting the same few key sentences over and over again.
Whistlefritz is totally different!
Each lesson is broken up into English and Spanish. As the instructor, I say one sentence in English, then repeat it in Spanish. That way he’s hearing words in context. It’s also really helping me with my speaking (it’s been 12 years since I had a Spanish class- and it’s all coming back to me, a little more each week!)
Our Educator’s Collection is great, because the lessons are broken up into each week for me. There are 40 lessons, and 36 weeks of school. So, on Monday’s we do Spanish! I’ll fit the remaining 4 lessons in throughout the year.
Each lesson corresponds to DVD’s and CD’s that have fun songs, skits, animation and live action videos that are great for visual learners. Especially at the age we’re at now. (It’s made for ages 3-7, and my 6 year old loves them!) Are the videos going to seem a little over the top for an adult? Yes. But, they’re perfect for kids. Even I think they’re really fun. And again, really helping me with my Spanish as well.
I feel like we’re taking a class together!
My favorite part about it, is that each lesson has had a lot of different elements to them. Art projects, language learning, music, and the videos. Making it feel like a complete class instead of just an add on.
Like the first lesson, where we made puppets to help us talk about emotions. We learned how to ask people their names, ask how they’re doing, and respond.
The second week we colored balloons and learned all of our colors. Then this week we learned to count! All practical parts of learning a new language, that I didn’t learn until much later in my own Spanish lessons as a kid!
It’s conversational- we’re learning how to actually speak to Spanish speakers.
Whistlefritz is a great, affordable tool to add to your Homeschool curriculum if you’re looking to teach a Spanish (or French!) class. {Some foreign language classes are VERY pricey.} It’s super fun and makes teaching so easy. Even if you just want to supplement what your kids are already learning, you can buy the DVDs and CDs separately as well.
Have you thought about teaching your kids a foreign language? I’ll update you on on our journey at the end of the year and let you know my final thoughts!
