Spanish for Children

I love Classical Academic Press. We've used Latin for Children A, Song School Latin, and Greek Alphabet Code Cracker, and I've been really impressed with the quality of these products. When I was given the opportunity to review Spanish for Children Primer A, I was thrilled.

I received the Basic Bundle, which includes Primer A, Answer Key, Tin Bot, and the DVD & Chant CD set. This set did not disappoint, and I cannot recommend it enough. For starters, the quality of the books is wonderful, and the covers are bright and eye catching. They make me want to pick them up and open them.

The layout of the Primer is very straightforward. There are 32 chapters, so it will take about 1 school year to get through. The text is written to the student and doesn't require a lot of time to teach (though it is recommend that the teacher learn along with the student). Each chapter begins with a memory page, and this is followed by a grammar page. These two pages include all the teaching for the student. Following the lesson are two worksheets, and each chapter ends with a quiz. Five of the 32 chapters are review chapters, and they follow a different format.

This program is recommended for grades 3-6. I decided to have L work through it, and it takes him 20-30 minutes a day. On day 1, I have him watch the DVD and study the memory page. On day 2, he studies the grammar page. On days 3 and 4, he completes the worksheets, and on day 5 he takes the quiz. I have him listen to the chant CD daily. The DVD lessons are well done, the chant CD is catchy, and the worksheets do a great job of reinforcing the lesson without being busy work.

Tin Bot is what Classical Academic Press calls a Spliced Story. It is an English story with Spanish words spliced in. Each Spanish word is numbered, and at the bottom of every page is a translation of the word in case the student has trouble figuring it out from context. While the vocabulary is tied to Spanish for Children, it can be used independently of the program as well.

Another reason to love Classical Academic Press? Headventureland. This is a free website that has stories, online flashcards, coloring pages, and videos that correspond to their Latin, Greek, and Spanish products.