Foster Your Kids’ Spanish Skills

Learning a foreign language is popular among homeschoolers, and many families choose to study Spanish. A language curriculum can teach your kids the nuts and bolts of the language, but the more practice your students get, the more their fluency will flourish. Use the following ideas to supplement your homeschool Spanish curriculum.

1. Read books in Spanish.

Repeated interactions with Spanish vocabulary and grammar can help your children gain fluency skills. Reading books in Spanish is a great way to encourage this.

Books with many illustrations provide context clues to help children understand the text. Try nonfiction titles like ¿Sabes algo sobre mamíferos? and Ambulancias en acción.

As part of your homeschool Spanish reading curriculum, you can also let your kids enjoy some nonfiction titles, such as A clases otra vez, Mallory. Of course, you may need to choose books with lower Lexile measures than your child’s current English reading level.

Spanish-language books can be great for learning about Latin holidays. Give ¡Es Cinco de Mayo! a try in early May.

2. Memorize Spanish words.

Memorization is a key component of many Spanish curriculums. A ready recall of vocabulary allows kids to quickly translate dialogue and form sentences.

LightSail’s coming-soon Memory Module feature will make this easy. With premade memory lists, your children can practice personal pronouns, interrogative words, colors, days of the week and more. You can even use your child’s current vocabulary assignment to create your own memory assignments.

3. Practice speaking skills.

Learning to speak aloud is another key skill for up-and-coming Spanish students, but some children may feel pressured in one-on-one language lessons.

LightSail’s forthcoming Speak – Listen – Write feature will be a fun way to engage your children in speaking practice. You might ask them to describe a picture, tell a story, or read sentences from their Spanish textbook aloud.

They’ll be able to record their responses over and over again until they decide that they’re happy with their work. Then, you’ll get to listen to their recordings and marvel at how well their language skills are progressing!

LightSail for Homeschoolers will complement your homeschool Spanish curriculum in a myriad of ways. With our tools, your homeschoolers can round out their Spanish studies and build their language confidence.