The Simpler the Better: Teaching Languages

As with anything and everything in life, the simpler the better. Especially when it comes to children. I've heard and experienced it with my children when it comes to toys, they LOVE those cheaper Dollar Store toys and will play with them endlessly, the more expensive ones can be too complex at times and they loose interest easier. What does this have to do with Homeschooling you may ask? Everything! I've been searching for texts and programs to use with my kids; my most recent journey has been in search for a Spanish Curriculum. Thankfully, I follow SpanglishBaby.com, co-started by a friend from high school, Roxana. Through that site I was able to visit other sites which talk about raising children bilingual. I believe that it is my duty to teach my children my native language, Spanish. It would be a shame if they would not learn this from me! So with that said, I found a program I really like for my smaller kids (my oldest knows Spanish already, he is ready for grammar and literature-how exciting!). I've seen this advertised on TV and their ad truly does not show you just how wonderful this program is. It is called Muzzy, which is a fuzzy green "monstro" (monter) which has landed on Gonzoland and they teach the language as he goes learning about this new land.

Interesting that I went trolling for Spanish programs, found Muzzy but not in Spanish! LOL, I found someone has posted the English version of the program (it comes in various languages). I'd love to buy this, eventually, but for now I will be using the ones posted on www.youtube.com. I will be using it both in English and in Spanish because the English one is geared to teach children how to speak, read, and write in English and hey that's where my 4 and 3 year olds are at. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if the baby (11 months old) would also catch a glimpse of it (and since most of the episodes are about 7-10 minutes long, it's a perfect match for my very active little ones). I'm so excited that this person has taken the time to post these. I'm not sure how legal this is? They are in Argentina and Muzzy is produced in England, aren't there international laws against this? I will be trolling for a used version of the program. I'm very into buying used things lately as I have sold things that my kids no longer use which are almost in new condition. Anyways, if you get a chance take a peek at this video which is the Vocabulary portion of the program; as a former Language Arts teacher I am very impressed with this video program. I can see me implementing this and using the videos to begin the lesson and creating my own flash cards and worksheets to go with the short videos. How exciting!