When we started homeschooling, one of the biggest benefits I anticipated was the opportunity to study a foreign language at an elementary age. My education professors in college drilled into us the many benefits of doing so, but they’re not taught in our local public schools. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to make this happen, however.
That’s why I’m so excited that we’re learning Spanish with Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids. This video-based, immersion curriculum is both fun and easy. The kids and I are learning new words together every day without stress, struggle, or tears (like in other programs we’ve tried).
We log onto the website each morning at breakfast. I put our laptop at the end of the table, and we start the video while we eat. Each one is an average of 5 minutes long, so sometimes we watch more than once or go back and watch earlier ones if we feel the need.
The videos are expertly made. I love that they begin with a review of recently-learned material before moving on to new concepts. The format is reminiscent of ‘Sesame Street’ for big people. Each video features kids as they go about their day. After a short verbal exchange, the screen changes to show the new vocabulary words. Sometimes there are funny skits involved to demonstrate the meaning of the words being used.
My kids both love the videos. They walk around throughout the day, singing the words and phrases to themselves. They talk along with the videos as they play, and they anxiously await their turns to use the online workbook.
After not quite three weeks, we’re on Lesson 8. The kids are picking up the vocabulary quickly and they’re eager to learn new words. When we watch a new video, we watch it for several days in a row until both kids are confident in their ability to remember the new vocabulary and concepts. Because the videos are so funny, even I’m picking up new words.
The program includes an online workbook and quizzes. Both kids took the first set of quizzes last week and aced them. The new information that they’re learning is definitely being retained.
I’m glad that we’re using Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids this year. If you want to check it out, click on the banner below. It’s definitely worth a look!
I received free access to this curriculum in exchange for an honest review.
1. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein This story features middle-school characters but is I’ve tested out many more books than I’ve chosen, too, because I’m a picky reader, and I have high expectations for what my kids read. The following list includes my most favorite adventure stories for upper elementary readers, though, and if you haven’t read clean and fun. The characters are involved in a Survivor-like contest in a high-tech new library and must figure out an escape from a series of well-formulated clues to win an enormous price. 
2. Capture the Flag by Kate Messner This is the first book in a trilogy about a secret society of people descended from the world’s greatest artists and whose mission it is to protect their ancestors’ work from those who seek to steal or destroy it. The main characters are three unlikely kids, all with different skills and talents, who work together to bring down some serious art thieves. 
3. The Secret Island by Enid Blyton This is another first-in-a-series, this time about kids who are living in poor foster situations and decide to run away together to live on an island in the middle of a nearby lake. They build shelters, cook for themselves, store food for the winter, and otherwise survive on their own for months. It’s a great story of survival skills and working together. 
4. The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein This Grabenstein book also features older characters and touts great literature. How real are the things we imagine? Can our imaginations fuel real change to our world? These themes are explored when the main character writes himself into many classic stories and barely escapes with his life over and over again. 
5. The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone This first book, and the three that follow it, follow two kids through adventures through time, righting wrongs and learning about history. Their time travels are centered around the Sixty-Eight Rooms, a real exhibit in a Chicago museum. 
6. George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff I’ve always had a thing for time travel, as evidenced by several of these choices, but that’s because it’s a great vehicle for bringing the excitement of history alive. Woodruff does that in this story by sending a group of friends back in time to the night that Washington crossed the Delaware. In the melee, they are helped by Native Americans, run into Redcoats, are captured by Hessians, and rescued by Patriots. How much more excitement could you handle in one night?? 
7. Honus and Me by Dan Gutman While time travel is my thing, sports are not – and yet I love this series. The main character, a tween boy, has the ability to travel through time with old baseball cards, and in each book of the series he travels to a different time and place, meeting the old greats and trying to correct wrongs – all while learning about the history of baseball. Of course, things never go as planned, and he’s captured by mobsters, lost without money, chased by angry managers, and much more. Find out how to turn this story into a real-life learning adventure here. 
8. Edison’s Gold by Geoff Watson This is one of my son’s favorite books. When Thomas Edison’s a-bunch-of-greats-grandson learns of his ancestor’s secret discovery, he and his friends race to find and save it – before the competition destroys his family. With explosions, chase scenes, and neat science tricks, it’s a super fun story – and you’ll learn something, too. 
9. Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach This story, and the rest of the trilogy, explore the mysterious past of a real mountain range in Arizona. With legends abounding, as well as a race to find a lost gold mine, you won’t be able to put this series down.
10. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett This story will make you think, as the author combines history, art, and philosophy – but she does so amidst the biggest art heist in history, and when some kids discover the trail to the thief, adventures fly. 
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“>The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies, in which a brother and sister make a bet about who can earn the most money by holding lemonade stands during a five-day period. We took up the challenge.
