Pre School Spanish
Where To Start
When I started with pre school Spanish this was the million dollar question for me as I am sure it is for you.
Of course it all depends on your child. Kids learn Spanish and retain more information if the lesson connects with them on a fun level. My little one loves singing and dancing around so I began with lively Spanish children's songs and played them constantly in the background whatever we were doing at home.
The secret of teaching pre school Spanish for me was finding fun ways to learn, keeping in mind my little one's favourite pastimes and learning styles. If your child loves books then go for bilingual books, if like Lachlan he loves singing then start with songs. To teach pre school Spanish all you need is a little imagination and you are off!
For the purpose of this page I will be focussing on finding fun ways for a pre schooler, but do not regard this as solely for those little ones. I got started by listening to kid's CD's, watching dual language DVD's and reading bilingual books..I really liked (and still do) the books with the accompanying CD..helps when singing along.
Teach Kids Spanish Pre School Spanish to 6 years
Top Tips For Teaching Pre School Kids Spanish
Products I Recommend For Pre School Kids
Teach Kids Spanish...Pre School Spanish to 6 years
What a great age to teach kids Spanish, they are so receptive and open to everything around them that a few minutes a day will have him babbling away in Spanish in no time. It has been proven that a child can be reading by the age of 2 years old by using flash cards. (When I say reading I mean a child can recognise words if he or she has been exposed to that word repeatedly). For more information on this have a look at The Glenn Doman Method. If the card has a word and or picture on it, by saying the word out loud while showing him the card the child eventually recognises the word and is, in effect reading.
My own experience is proof of how teaching pre school Spanish can be successful. I feel a little every day sets the foundations for learning the language, however depending on your lifesytle as much as you can as often as you can!
Top Tips For Teaching Pre school Kids Spanish
- My golden rule to teach kids Spanish is make it fun, fun and more fun!!
- Make up a colourful chart of Spanish lesson plans, ie Monday we will be using flashcards, Tuesday we will be watching a Spanish DVD together
- Depending on the age of your child, encourage him or her to participate in lesson plans..offer lots of choice.
- Incorporate many different learning methods such as bilingual books, Spanish nursery rhymes, DvD's, CD's, online dictionaries etc.
- As early as possible with pre school Spanish introduce basic greetings such as buenos dias, tienes hambre?, buenas noches etc.
- Place colourfully labelled cards on items of furniture
- Don't be hung up on corect pronunciations or translations, give the little one time to figure out those for themselves..remember when you were little? Probably not but you were able to learn your native tongue natually by listening and repeating.
- Immersion is beneficial in that kids repeat everything they hear. If possible take them to Spanish speaking restaurants. If thinking of holidays then take them to the less tourisy parts of Spanish speaking countries.
- Finally, enjoy yourself with pre school Spanish. Sing the songs, read the stories, go online, and explore your own learning styles..be a role model for your little one. As I said earlier I thought that to teach my son Spanish then we would have to struggle through grammar books and have a tutor on hand 24/7, not so. It warms my heart when I hear lachlan telling people 'I know how to say that in Spanish' (with a big cheesy grin on his face). Take a look at fun ways to learn Spanish for kids if you are looking for ideas. I have used all of the recommended ways to keep the fun in our learning.
Products I Recommend For Pre School Kids
Here is a list of the best products I have found and used to teach kids Spanish and give great, fun Spanish lessons. With these products and using them consistently then it would be difficlt for kids not to learn Spanish.
Speekee
Well, what can I say about Speekee? This is fantastico. Speekee is a puppet teaching kids to learn Spanish throughout the whole programme. He is colourful, friendly and fun.
There is dialogue as well as great catchy tunes and songs making this one of my little one's favourites. He has watched it so often we could practically read the script from memory. This product suits parents perfectly also as it was designed for parents learning with their children. Be prepared for a lively and dynamic dose of Spanish.
When you buy Speekee you will receive 3 DVD's with 10 episodes, a DVD of Spanish songs and an audio CD which includes Karaoke tunes and a learning guide for adults. The guide covers all points covered in every episode.
There is also a pack designed for use in schools and is receiving fantastic reviews!
Kids love Speekee
Kidspeak
I have to say that as this is a total immersion method then a basic knowledge of Spanish is helpful, although I have noticed my little one finding things on the download that even I couldn't find! As there are interactive games and quizzes I feel it has enough to keep a little one stimulated for 30 minutes or so.
The animation, songs and cartoon like characters make this great fun for little ones. Works well at grabbing their attention.
With this your child will learn how to say hello and goodbye, telling the time, colours, parts of the body, alphabet and word recognition and much more! Great value for money, this one! Two bundles available..Spanish only or a 6 in 1 pack with Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Hebrew.
Muzzy
Muzzy was the first product I bought to teach Lachlan Spanish and we are still impressed with it today. Muzzy is the central character, El es un monstro..He is a monster. He comes from space and lands on earth with a bump not sure what is going on. He enjoys eating clocks which amuses kids no end!!
This product comes with 2 DVD's, an audio CD of the DVD's, a script book, vocabulary builder CD and an intractive CD Rom. The characters are delightful, the story is full of humour and the amount of vocabuary and grammar learned by little ones is astounding. Every lesson builds a foundation on which the next lesson continues.
Muzzy uses modes of learning for visual, kinaesthetic, musical and logical learners through a multisensory teaching method. It is, in effect a natural immersion approach to learning.
With this, kids learn Spanish phrases, days of the week, opposites, people and places, family and friends and much more. I have been using this since Lachlan was 1 year old and he still asks for it now, 3 years later. When I first toyed with the question.. How to teach kids Spanish, this was the perfect solution.
There are two levels available, level 1 and level 2. If both levels are bought together then a discount is given
Another great investment!
Interactive CD Roms are now available complimenting each level
Bilingualfun.com
This is a fantastic site with a variety of products to get those little ones speaking Spanish. You will find music cd's, dvd's, books combination packs and a huge amount of information on teaching kids Spanish.
The tunes and characters are lively and fun, just what kids love and need for preschool Spanish!