The Spanish language and culture has been a part of my life since I was very young. My childhood best friend was part Mexican, her Mother was an immigrant from Guadalajara. From a very young age I can remember sitting in the back of their car learning how to count to 100 in Spanish. Then as I entered middle and high school my love for the language exploded as I was able to take more advanced courses and challenge my Spanish literacy.
Due to the fact that I have such a love for the language teaching my children to speak Spanish from a very early age only comes naturally. While I can teach them to speak the language I have always struggled to teach them to be literate, finding a solid curriculum to teach reading and writing has been a challenge. Enter Classical Academic Press and their Song School Spanish curriculum.
As a member of this year's Schoolhouse Review Crew I was given the opportunity to review Song School Spanish teacher and student books.
As this curriculum is recommended for K-2 grades, I was able to use it primarily with my oldest daughter who is currently a Kinder. However, my 3rd grade son loves the language so much that he eagerly joined along in the lessons. As recommended we spent 3 days each week working on our spanish lessons. Day 1 of each week is a light overview of that week's handful of words and an introduction to the songs associated with the lesson. Day 2 of each week is the longest with not only review of the words but also completing work in the student workbook along with singing the songs from that week. Day 3 is a review and more practice saying and singing the words for the week. Classical Academic Press also recommends playing the CD with the songs throughout the week including in the car while you are running errands and in the house while everyone is playing. It was our experience that by day 2 of hearing the songs we were able to sing them by memory and really had fun playing with the songs, dancing around the house, and singing them amongst ourselves even when the CD wasn't playing.
During the review period we were able to complete 4 lessons in Song School Spanish and my children are excited to complete more as the year progresses. I enjoyed the fact that the workbook lessons are not lengthy but they are thorough and effective at teaching this foreign language. Each lesson in the student book begins with phrases or words to learn, chapter songs, a brief chapter lesson, an opportunity to practice writing the words for that lesson, and a fun activity or game. Some lessons include more activities but these are the basics of each lesson. Considering the age group this curriculum is intended for I feel that the lessons are excellently compiled, sections are short yet engaging which is important for this short attention span age group. I also particularly appreciated the fact that not only does the teacher's edition text have wonderful teacher's notes but it also includes the entire student book for easy reference and guidance when instructing your children, I wish all teacher manuals included that feature.
Samples of the teacher's edition book, the student book, and the songs for this curriculum are available on the Classical Academic Press website
Product Details:
Teacher Book: $24.95
Student Book: $24.95
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.
We enjoyed SSSpanish too. Stopping by from the crew!
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