Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids Review

Back in high school, I took 2 years of Spanish and while I learned a decent amount, I wasn't fluent. Not until I moved to Lima Peru and was fully immersed did I finally really pick up on the language. Most homeschool Spanish programs out there present lessons the same way I learned in high school. Much to my surprise, we were recently introduced to a homeschool Spanish program that is different in their approach. We recently had the chance to try out the Starter Set 1 from Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids.

Included in this set:

• Dvd that has levels 1-3
• 3 Parent/Teacher guides that contains lesson plans as well as ideas and activities to help reinforce the lessons
• Flash cards and card games for levels 1-3
• 3 workbooks (one for each level)
• Stickers for levels 1-3

The way this program works is that it is taught by none other than immersion! Unlike other foreign language programs that teach you words by memorizing groups of words, with this program, you watch a dvd of kids doing everyday activities while speaking in Spanish. There is also the visual aspect of seeing words on the screen in addition to having workbooks to complete activities in.

In the beginning of the 1st teacher guide are 3 pages that give you the programs overview, goals and how to get started. The guide is broken down into lessons. Each lesson tells you how much of the video to watch and what activities to do. I love and appreciate curriculum that has everything laid out making it easier for me!  It also tells you approximately how long the entire lesson should take. There is also a section on each page that tells you the Spanish words that are heard during that lesson along with the English translation. Throughout the lessons there are even geography lessons thrown in!

The other unique feature of this program is exactly what the title says, foreign language by kids for kids! The stars of the dvd lessons are 3 boys and while you hear a mom's voice and occasionally see her arm, you only see children in the lesson. I think this aspect makes it even more attention grabbing for kids who are trying to learn a new language.

The beginning of the dvd shows a child dressed in a pilot outfit. He presents the video we are going to watch as if we are on a plane flying to Peru and the dvd is our in-flight movie. The video goes on to show 3 brothers interacting with each other in Spanish. They speak slow and clear. After they speak a few words, a word or phrase they had just said shows up on the screen and then the activity or object to go along with the Spanish word is clearly shown. This factor makes it obvious to the student what they were saying and helps them interpret the Spanish word on their own. 

The accompanying workbooks are presented as the in-flight magazine to help entertain the student. Each page is brightly colored and has the student doing different activities such as matching things and word searches. (An answer key is included in the back).

There are 3 videos in this set and each video builds off of previous words learned in the prior video. Repetition is a big key to this program. You watch the video numerous times as well as play games to reinforce the words. The game "Go Squish" was a cute game that also helped my kids remember what they had learned.

The other neat feature to this program was the stickers that were included. These had Spanish words on and encouraged the student to find the objects around the house to place the sticker on. Seeing the word stuck to the object throughout the day also helped reinforce what it meant.

Foreign Language for Kids by Kids was ready to use as soon as we received it. It was instructed for the parent to read the first 3 pages in the teacher manual which I did then it was just a matter of sitting down with my children to watch the video. I mainly used this with my 3 & 5 year olds during the review. It is intended for kids ages 3 all the way up to adults. I found my little ones trying to imitate the video, especially the part where kids are playing hide and go seek using the phrase "donde?" My girls would run around yelling donde so I have no doubt in the coming weeks they will pick up on more Spanish words and phrases!

Check out a sample video to see how neat this program is! Out of the different Spanish programs we've tried in the past, my kids picked up words the fastest with this one!

Check out Foreign Languages by Kids for Kids at:

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