When I was a kid in school, learning a foreign language was not considered important. It was just another credit on a transcript. But today, a second language is fast becoming necessary as our community expands on a global scale with new technologies. The ability to communicate with others is a core skill, and a second language is now a vital tool in the communication toolbox.

There have also been studies that show real cognitive benefits of learning a second language, and the younger a child begins their studies, the more likely they will be able to internalize that language and speak it fluently.

Speekee Spanish is, in my experience, unique. Designed for children ages 2-10, they filmed their 10 instructional online videos with Spanish children in Spain, along with songs, puppets, and animation, to create a very natural way to learn the Spanish language.

As your child watches the videos, all of the people and characters are speaking and singing in Spanish. At the bottom of the video, they will see the words in Spanish and in English. The videos can be paused or replayed for more practice, although there is already plenty of repetition built in. They will be quickly introduced to common words and phrases, such as numbers and names of things around your house:

¿Cuántos plátanos hay? (How many bananas are there?)
Dos plátanos (Two bananas)
¿Cuántas cerezas hay? (How many cherries are there?)
Dos cerezas (Two cherries)

I received FastTrack lesson plans in my email each week that included an explanation of the words in each video, suggestions for activities, lyrics to the songs, and a variety of worksheets and flashcards to print and use as we chose. I would highly recommend reading over the lesson plans first before launching the child into the program- they give valuable directions for an organized approach, making the program more effective.

Also worth nothing is their use of English and British spelling:

Speekee is for learning Spanish, but it’s worth us mentioning our use of English. Speekee TV users are located around the world. We are based in the UK, but we haven’t stuck exclusively to British English. So for example you’ll sometimes see “color” (American spelling), and other times “colour” (British spelling).

The first two weeks are FREE- it is so important to homeschool parents that we can try a program before we make a commitment to it. After that, the monthly subscription is $7.50 or $60 for one year. You can also check out their YouTube Channel.

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