Spanish For You!- Estaciones (Schoolhouse Crew Review)

We received Spanish for You!- Estaciones for review purposes.

                           

Product link: Spanish for You! curriculum page
Product page for Estaciones  (we reviewed)

Vendor Contact Information: Spanish for You!

Age Appeal: 3rd to 8th grade (we focused on 3rd to 4th grade)

Format: PDF and MP3 audio files

Price: $64.95 for complete package (visit the curriculum page for more options)

Is it important for your family to learn a language which is not your native language?  Does your family want to learn Spanish in a non-textbook format?  Spanish for You! is a themed Spanish curriculum.  The current themed packages are Estaciones and Fiestas.  In June of 2013 Viajes will be available.

Included in the complete package are.

• soft cover book or e-book (we had the e-book)
• 24-30 week lesson guide as a PDF download for the grades you need (free lesson guide)
• self-checking worksheets are a PDF download (free worksheets)
• MP3 downloadable audio files of the book in both native Spanish and by the author
• flashcards as a PDF download

Our Experience:

I did not actively learn Spanish until I was in high school and I had to repeat much of it in college.  I was at an age, where I could not easily retain it.  I want more than that for my children, so I am glad they are beginning to learn when they are in first and third grade.

I was really interested in Spanish for You!, because it was in themes, not in the typical textbook form.  When I received my e-mail with the downloads I downloaded everything at once and printed the e-book and flashcards for the children.  I printed the Lesson Guide for myself and then we got to work on our first lesson.  The first lesson took us around twenty minutes.  I was pleased, because our classroom time was designed so that each lesson would only take twenty minutes.  I was disappointed in the following lessons, because it was taking us forty minutes to complete one lesson a day.  It took the children around fifteen minutes to complete one worksheet and some days had more than one worksheet.  I decided to make each lesson take two days if needed.  It worked well and made the children happier.

I Liked:

• That the children were learning Spanish by listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• That there were fun worksheets and games like; Charades, Memory, and Hangman to make learning fun.
• The grade divisions, so if we had other grades in our family we could all do it together.
• The detailed Lesson Guide.

I Disliked:

• Each daily lesson took much longer than our usual twenty minute lesson times.

What B (boy, age nine, officially in third grade) Liked and Disliked: Spanish isn’t really for me, but I did like some of Spanish for You!  I liked playing Charades, learning the days of the week, and filling out the worksheets.  I think Spanish for You! would be good for kids my age. 

What C (girl, age seven, officially in first grade) Liked and Disliked: 

• I liked learning the days of the week.  It was really easy.
• I liked the worksheets.  I had fun circling and drawing my answers on them.
• I had fun learning the different verbs like, dibujo (I draw).                    
• It would be good for kids my age and older. 

Dad’s Call:

• I liked that Spanish for You! had the singular and plural versions of words and phrases along with the English version for clarity.
• Using well known simple games like Hangman and Simon Says helps to reinforce the lessons.
• I like the Lesson Guide which helps the teacher to effectively teach the materials to the kids. It’s well laid out and easy to follow.

I certainly recommend Spanish for You! 

Mamma recommends Spanish for You!