There is a neat post on DCPLive about books that parents can check out at the Decatur Public Library to help young children learn a foreign language.
From DCPLive:
Are you looking for something to help your child learn a foreign language? It’s widely reported that children learn new languages easier and faster than adults. Most schools, however, don’t offer language classes until high school, though. The library offers several useful tools designed specifically for children to learn a different language.
There are a few dvds that are popular with parents and kids, specifically Bonjour Les Amis and Hola Amigos which teach French and Spanish, respectively. The Professor Toto dvd series, which comes in French, Spanish and German, teaches basic vocabulary and phrases. If Chinese is the language you’re looking for, we also have Chinese for Kids and Early Start Mandarin Chinese.
Ich glaube, ich erhalten ein deutsches Buch für meine Kinder. I minored in German, so that would be the easiest language for me to teach my kids but probably not the easiest language for them to learn. It’s great to know that there are free foreign language resources for children that are close to home.
FYI, and you might want to look into the current status of this, but the DCS system had a spanish program that was part of the regular curriculum K-3 and became part of the “elective” (not right name, but I can’t remember it now) program at Glennwood (4-5) and on into Renfroe. My daughter is a rising 8th grader and has had spanish lessons at least 3 times a week every year since kindergarten. DCS also has a week long summer spanish program for elementary level students.
Just FYI (you probably want to check to see what the current situation is, although I bet it will change as we move through the charter program), DCS had a spanish program that was a part of the regular curriculum for K-3, then moved on to a quarterly class at Glennwood (K-3) to an elective at Renfroe and DHS. I use the past tense because I don’t know how or if it’s changed, but my daughter who is a rising 8th grader at Renfroe has had spanish for a minimum of 3 days a week since kindergarten and loves it.
Good luck with yours!
Hi, I taught Spanish in the City Schools of Decatur for several years and am now teaching Spanish to the four and five year old classes at Decatur Presbyterian Preschool. I also offer classes for two to five year olds through my business, called Spring Into Spanish. I would be happy to post more information about the classes coming up this Fall if you would like. Let me know if that is okay with you. Feel free to link to my website: http://www.SpringIntoSpanish.com
Thank you,
Miche Baskett (AKA Sra. Baskett)
(404) 312 7075
SraBaskett@SpringIntoSpanish.com