By .
I’ve always believed in the importance of learning a foreign language, but for someone who speaks very little German thanks to home school lessons from my German grandmother, the idea of teaching my kids a language is a bit daunting.
For the last year, Quinlan (my 6-year-old daughter) has been taking Spanish at her weekly home school co-op, but since I don’t really speak it, I feel a bit out of the loop when I’m trying to help her with her homework assignments.
So recently, I decided that it might be fun to learn a language with her, and use a trip to that country as an incentive. And since my husband is an airline pilot, it was a feasible reward for our efforts.
We decided on French, mostly because Quinlan really wants to see the Eiffel Tower. And after I told her that ballet terms are all French, she was completely sold.
But then I had to figure out how to actually teach her!
I started by sending an email to our , asking for opinions about certain programs, specifically the , but also anything else that other home school families might have used.
Like everything out there, the Rosetta Stone program came back with mixed reviews. And aside from private tutors, which are probably a very smart way to go but require a time and money investment that I’m not able to make at this point, I was back at square one.
I tried Googling various French language programs in Atlanta, and found a slew of them – everything from Saturday French School to immersion after school programs and plenty of other offerings between.
However, like a private tutor, all of those options require a pretty large financial investment, but even more so, a time investment that I’m not yet able to make. I realize that learning a language takes time, but we’re already involved in a lot of activities; I don’t think I can handle another reason to drive at this point in time.
Then I searched through iTunes to try to find some cool iPhone and iPad apps. There are no shortage of kids foreign language apps, but I’ve yet to find one that I’d strongly recommend (and believe me, I’ve looked at a bunch). The story book apps are probably the best, but since we understand very little at this point, I’d prefer flashcards or other more educational apps at this time.
So after all that digging, I still felt as though I didn’t have very many options, so I emailed a mom friend of mine who is a college French instructor and she offered me two great tools that are really working for our family.
This European language learning series is fabulous. Complete with story and vocabulary dvds, plus interactive software and an audio cd, this is an entertaining immersion program that my kids all loved. Even I enjoyed watching it.
The best part is that most large library systems have these programs available for lending, so you don’t necessarily have to invest the money until you decide if it works for you.
My only complaint thus far is that the character “Muzzy,” a friendly, fuzzy green monster, has a very low voice, so he can be difficult to understand. And the audio cd is just the soundtrack of the DVD; I was expecting it to be full of songs. However, it’s got several different languages on it and my kids ask for it all the time.
We featured the on Cool Mom Picks awhile back, and my friend told me that she remembered seeing it and thinking that it was quite good. I’d describe it as a Little Einstein type approach to foreign language learning. You’ll find lots of repetition with the various phrases mixed in with visuals of kids and people.
The DVDs are aimed at kids age 0-5, and I definitely agree with that assessment. Quinlan was pretty bored with these after a few minutes, whereas my younger two kids enjoyed them for a bit longer. However, they were never really a fan of the Little Einstein dvds (I know that some kids love them!), so even they got a bit bored too.
I was particularly interested in the flash cards, which I think are excellent, as well as the audio CD, which I think is by far the best find out of everything. The songs are catchy, with three sung by the popular kids group “Milkshake.”
They’ve recently launched a which allows you to drill words and phrases, and my kids enjoy playing with it. I have to agree with the reviews, however, that say the background music is much too loud. So much so that it’s hard to hear the words. Gosh I hate when they do that!
Kristen Chase is a mom of 4, writer, and co-publisher of and , a popular shopping and trendspotting blog for moms. She’s a 2nd generation homeschooler, having been taught middle and high school by her own mother back when people were still using quills and ink wells, and is now a very well-adjusted and socialized homeschool mom herself.