So, I've been wanting to teach the kids Spanish for a couple of years. I'd research and drool over all the different things one can use to teach Spanish. This year I decided that one way or another I'd teach the kids Spanish. I started this year out with good intentions, I went to the library and was thrilled to find two levels of Spanish instructional DVDs on the shelves, and so I checked out the first level. I brought it home and showed the kids and we turned on the DVD player during that first week of school.
Utter failure! Boy, did they dread having to watch that DVD. Mind you they'll watch all kinds of other educational DVDs with no issue. They simply really didn't like this one at all. Big let down for me since I'd thought I'd found a way to introduce Spanish in a fairly painless way that they might actually enjoy. Nope. Nada. Not going to happen. Back to the drawing board. I was not, am not, and will not give up on teaching them Spanish. And since I haven't spoken Spanish since I took it in high school I'm not prepared to teach it from my memory. I can barely remember the super basics like how to introduce myself and ask for a bathroom for goodness sakes!
Since one of our supplemental resources around here has always been Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool I went there first. They don't offer Spanish for elementary and middle school years but they do for High School! Awesome score! ECJ began during the second week of school to do the Spanish 1 in the high school courses!
That just left the girls for me to find something that would work for them ... I just didn't have any money at all to spend on a curriculum for it yet. I found a wonderful curriculum for elementary and middle school levels called Spanish for You which was really reasonably priced. But, again my pockets were empty and I drooled over the curriculum that I wanted but would have to wait to buy. Showing it to my husband and talking about it daily even though I knew it could be a month or two before I had the extra, non budgeted, money to purchase my new dream Spanish curriculum no matter how reasonably priced it was.
Daddy had a wonderful idea and asked me if there were any sample lessons on the site for free that I could use to begin the lessons and test out how we liked the curriculum. I didn't know so I went searching and viola! I found free mini lessons and free worksheets ! Joy! Again I became excited! There were more than enough mini lessons and corresponding worksheets to carry us through until I could purchase the curriculum of choice.
Only one last problem faced my over excited and anxious to get started self... I was out of printer paper! Having planned a shopping trip on Peanut's birthday I didn't freak out. I'd spend the rest of week two planning how to use the mini lessons and worksheets, printing off the pages I'd need, and getting ready then we'd hit week three running!!!
And that first day we did actual Spanish lessons using this new resource? Success!!! We're only one day in but it's working!!
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