Elementary Homeschool Spanish with Middlebury Interactive is one of a whole lot of programs we have tried throughout our years of homeschooling. As with any other subject, it can be difficult to find something that is a good fit for you and your student.

When I was in late middle and high school I completed 5 years of German. It was the language that my father and grandparents spoke fluently (even though my father would not speak it with us) and therefore was something I wanted to learn. It was mine (and my  two brothers) way of honoring our dad and his heritage. Unfortunately I retained very little of it.

I wish I had been able to start earlier because I believe that you can more easily absorb things when you are younger. Because of the thought that you should start earlier in life rather than later, we have stopped and started many foreign language programs in our homeschool on the quest to find one that sticks for our children.

Here in New York State foreign language is not required for homeschoolers.  That doesn’t mean that I have not been trying to incorporate a foreign language into our homeschool on and off for years! Despite this effort, it has been difficult to find something that was both engaging for the kids, and more hands off for me. We have had programs that were great for vocabulary, but not for verbal. We have tried written programs, listening programs and computer programs, but each one seemed to be lacking something, or something about it wasn’t working for us. Some were too easy and many just to difficult or time consuming for kids to take on.

Then in walks Middlebury Interactive.

About Middlebury Interactive

Middlebury Interactive is an online  company that teaches foreign language with an immersive approach. They do so by using animated stories, games, songs and verbal voice recording. Their courses and programs align with national standards set by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

Middlebury Interactive offers 4 different languages:

Not only do they offer 4 different languages, but they offer them at varying levels from Kindergarten through high school!

• Spanish
• French
• Chinese
• German

Elementary Homeschool Spanish with Middlebury Interactive

We have had the opportunity to use Elementary Homeschool Spanish through Middlebury Interactive.

One of the first things we noticed were the two navigational options:

1. table of contents – this gives you the entire course layout in an easy to see outline form where you can click on each section as you go
2. calendar – this shows each lesson on a calendar for you to start from, simply clicking on each day as you go

One of the many benefits to this online program is the ease of having students become independent with using it.

Some of the ways it does this is with the easy menu systems, clear instructions, use of visual, hearing, and sound capabilities, and the fact that the program tracks your process and grades so your student can easily see where they are at, and you can hop on anytime and check their progress!

After getting my 3rd grade daughter set up and running through the first set of lessons, she was able to easily work through the program on her own. I really enjoying listening to her speak Spanish during the verbal sections of the course! I have also noticed her using some of the simple phrases and vocabulary during our regular daily activities.

Check out this short video of her walking you through a small piece of her lessons:

After lots of searching I am very happy to have found Middlebury Interactive Elementary Homeschool Spanish. It has allowed me to engage my daughter in a language early on by offering an easy to use and engaging format.

Elementary Homeschool Spanish combines ease of use with things like:

• authentic literature, fables, myths and legends
• introduction of basic expressions and phrases
• vocabulary building work
• emphasis on listening and speaking
• lots of opportunities for practice and review

Interested in Using Middlebury Interactive in Your Homeschool?

Using the code HomeSchoolFirst10 gives homeschool families 10% off their initial order!

To learn more be sure to follow Middlebury Interactive Languages:

• Facebook
• Twitter: @middinteractive
• Pinterest
• YouTube
• Google Plus
  Also don’t miss the Google+ iHomeschool Network Hangout where I am on the panel to talk about teaching foreign languages in homeschool!