Spanish Starter Set 1 from Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids: A TOS Crew Review

  Spanish Starter Set 1 from Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids
Learning Spanish is a goal for the Bentz Test Academy.  We have been loving the Spanish Starter Set 1 from Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids!  This is a very easy to use, immersion-style program that will have your kids speaking and understanding conversational Spanish in no time.  We were fortunate to get the Starter Set 1, which includes:

• DVD with videos for Levels 1-3
• Three Parent-Teacher Guides which sets out a detailed lesson plan, with a suggested viewing schedule and a variety of fun, supplemental and hands on activities to choose from to reinforce the material taught in the videos.
• Flashcards and Card Games for Levels 1 to 3
• Workbooks for Levels 1-3
• Stickers for Levels 1-3

My testers were rather reluctant to watch a video...but, that did NOT last long.  The videos are extremely engaging.  They are only kids (no adults allowed...you never see mama!)  The videos follow a family through their day.  No English is spoken, only Spanish.

 The vocabulary words appear on screen, sometimes as a label, other times on a t-shirt. The words are taught by repetition and the kids showing what the Spanish words mean.  Even my youngest tester was able to pick up unfamiliar words this way.  Each video includes a "Rapid Review" at the end, where the vocabulary is reinforced.  We used this to shout it out and see who could get it right first.  My testers were all elementary ages, but the program could work with all ages.

My testers loved watching the videos and I was amazed by how much they picked up, even on the first time through!  The video segments are around 15 minutes each. You can view a sample video here.

 The Set include Parent-Teacher Guides will tell you exactly how to use this program and break it down into short lessons for a 20 week curriculum.   In addition to watching the video and rapid review, the lessons include vocabulary, geography, games, workbook pages and "gust of grammar" (helpful Spanish grammar lessons).

The Student Workbook is full color and features fun activities like word searches, scrambles, secret codes and more.  I minored in Spanish during college, and I was completely impressed with the amount of Spanish that is presented in these workbooks...and - it was fun too!

The Flashcards have the vocabulary word on a card, and a picture (from the videos) on another.  You can use these in many ways.  My testers like to put them all down and play "memory match" with them.  You can use them for review too.  Games like "Go Squish" (like Go Fish) use the flashcards in games that my testers loved playing.

The set also comes with stickers that you can use to label the items around your home.

This is a super fun way to introduce Spanish, and don't be surprised when "Tengo hambre" and "No me gusta" start coming out at the dinner table!

Be sure to check out Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids on Facebook!

Hashtags: #hsreviews #foreignlanguage #homeschoolspanish

See what other members of the Crew thought here