Ella trabaja todo el dia en un banco. That is one of the very useful sentences I remember learning in my high school Spanish classes. It means "she works all day in the bank" and I can't tell you how much that has come in handy to know. *rolls eyes* I had three years of those Spanish classes and I suppose a reasonable amount has stuck with me, but I wouldn't want to be alone on the streets of a Spanish-speaking country, able only to tell people that "she works all day in the bank."
Learning a foreign language, particularly Spanish as it is very commonly used in regions of our country, is a useful skill. It's also a daunting one. I know many homeschoolers would like to teach Spanish to their children, but just don't know where to begin when they themselves don't know the language. R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish hopes to solve that problem by making their curriculum easy to use for the whole family together, designed specifically for homeschoolers. I think that's a great goal! It was written by a homeschooling mom, Dr. Karyn Williamson-Coria, with these goals in mind. I also like what R.E.A.L. stands for: Relax, Enjoy, Aspire, Learn Spanish. Using immersion techniques (i.e. we can speak Spanish to each other anytime of the day, not just during Spanish "class") and learning practical words and phrases goes a long way toward actually making the language useful in real life.
What we received: a PDF download of R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish
The cost: $59.95 (also available in hard copy format for $89.95)
How it works:
1. Spanish is learned through conversation and all new vocabulary is first taught through speaking it and getting replies from your children (audio files are included so that the teacher/students can hear the language spoken).
2. Learning the language is incorporated into the day. Material that is learned is relevant in a homeschooling environment and can be used not only in “class” but throughout the day.
3. With the ideas section and games from the activity book your student will have fun learning the vocabulary in a variety of exciting ways.
4. The curriculum comes with a planning guide and daily planning chart so that you can be organized in presenting the material to your family and fitting in as part of your family’s educational journey.
5. Emphasis is placed on a relaxed learning environment. Here’s more from their website on why:
“We believe that a relaxed environment encourages positive language learning. Too much grammar and too much emphasis on perfectly correct speech hinders the enjoyment and progress of learning. Slow and steady practice promotes correct speech over time. For these reasons, we have limited our grammar sections to a minimum and stress communication and enjoyment first.”
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| Big Sis working on an activity sheet |
What we liked best: As a mom who likes planning but doesn't always stick to what I plan, I liked the chart that showed how to use the curriculum unit by unit, day by day. This makes it easier to know that we're not doing too much or too little. It also helps me to figure out how much time to allow for the lessons. We don't do Spanish everyday as outlined, but it's a great starting point for lesson planning. I think it's my favorite feature. We also appreciate the audio pronunciation guides. Since I did take three years of Spanish in high school, I remember how to pronounce many things. It's still quite helpful to hear it pronounced correctly and Big Sis (10) found it helpful as well. Big Sis' favorite part of the curriculum is the activity sheets. She really enjoyed doing the word searches, crosswords, and fill-in-the-blank activities to reinforce the lessons. I know worksheets aren't for everyone, but Big Sis really does enjoy them. She also likes using the words she's learned in everyday conversations. She has told DH and her grandparents what she's learned with each lesson. She has wanted to learn Spanish before, but I hadn't done anything formally up until now. This curriculum has been a good fit for us and I know we'll continue using it in the future. I like it that we can work on it together, then I can give the activity sheets to Big Sis for independent work as follow-up.
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| A closer view of the worksheet |
If you would like to read more reviews, be sure to visit the Crew blog. To purchase the curriculum, visit R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish. You may also look at samples here.
Disclaimer: I received Homeschool Spanish at no cost for the purpose of review. No other compensation was given for my honest opinion.
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