Parents often worry about having to teach a language they don’t speak. Never fear — Songschool Spanish is here! Classical Academic Press continues its tradition of providing quality, audio-based foreign language instruction with its Spanish offering.
The core of this program lies in the Book and CD Set. The audio CD contains 44 tracks set to music (you’ll recognize some familiar children’s tunes, such as “Where is Thumbkin?” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It”). Spanish and English vocabulary are intermingled in the songs, resulting not in an “immersion”, but a “weave”. Most tunes are simple rhythms which repeat the vocabulary in the lessons. There’s a lot of repetition because it helps the words stick in the kids’ heads (so tolerate it with a smile, parents!).
The Student Book follows the vocabulary on the CD. It’s black and white with many varied activities and illustrations. The pages have a balanced mix of text, student writing space, and images. 173 pgs, pb.
There are 31 chapters with the suggested pacing of one chapter/lesson per week. Vocabulary covered includes: greetings, friends, family, house, manners, animals, colors, numbers, body, food, and weather. There is a support website where kids can play vocabulary games in Spanish and another site for parents to get guidance for the program. The Teacher Edition includes all of the answers to the exercises in the student book, plus parental tips. 147 pgs, pb.
Like the other Song School programs, this one wouldn’t be complete without a game! Spanish Amigo Match is a flashcard set that contains all of the vocabulary from the Song School Spanish lessons. The deck contains over 210 cards, each labeled (and color-coded) with the corresponding chapter number from the Student Book. Use the cards to play games (ie. “Memory”, “Go Fish”, or “Carrot Top”), or as flashcards.
— Sara
