living speech..." Charlotte Mason
We've really been enjoying our study of the beautiful Spanish language so far this year. To be honest, I don't think I would have pulled it together enough to be part of our daily routine without Miss Mason's encouragement that I read this past summer on the importance of getting started on foreign language right away with little ones. I have heard all the research about how it's best, but I thought it was going to be a ton of work since I'm far from fluent.
But, since we have taken her simple and straight forward approach, it's been more of a delight than I anticipated. So, I wanted to share a few resources we are using. But first, here's a little of what Mason shares about how to begin:
awkwardness in producing unfamiliar sounds. It is evident that both these
hindrances should be removed in early childhood."
"...the child's vocabulary should increase steadily, say, at the rate of half a
dozen words a day."
"...as he learns new words, they are put into sentences and kept in use
from day to day. A note-book in which she enters the child's new words and
sentences will easily enable the teacher to do this. The young child has no
foolish shame about saying French [or Spanish] words––he pronounces them as simply
as if they were English."
-CM 1/300
We have a little notebook with the collection of words he knows already. That is a big help to me in remembering which ones to keep in use as we go about our days.
Ideally we will move to something more intensive where we listen to/speak with native speakers to increase fluency, but I am not sure what that will look like for us just yet.
I'd love to hear of any other resources you have used and love when it comes to Spanish and little ones.
Adios!