“What shall we teach our children? Is there one subject that claims our attention more than another? Yes, there is a subject or class of subjects which has an imperative moral claim upon us. It is the duty of the nation to maintain relations of brotherly kindness with other nations: therefore it is the duty of every family, as an integral part of the nation, to be able to hold brotherly speech with the families of other nations as opportunities arise; therefore to acquire the speech of neighbouring nations is not only to secure an inlet of knowledge and a means of culture, but is a duty of that higher morality (the morality of the family) which aims at universal brotherhood; therefore every family would do well to cultivate two languages besides the mother tongue, even in the nursery.”
Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children, pagg 7
We homeschool following the philosophy of Charlotte Mason… imperfectly. The above quote by her regarding foreign language rocked my world about a year and a half ago. Through her eyes on the subject, I could understand the reason to study foreign language, and that Spanish would be the best language for us due to our proximity to the border of Mexico. Understanding the WHY of teaching foreign language to my preschooler and 2nd grader has helped me to keep working at it…as imperfectly as I am.
I find more and more that in learning the goal is always PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION. Not only is this true for my students, but for me as well as I learn how to best teach them and myself new things.
With that in mind, our newest Experience Early Learning box arrived and with it being the beginning of a new school year, EEL has added some new elements into their monthly box. The one I am most excited about…. SPANISH!
Here is how we are integrating Spanish with the newest additions:
Morning Time:
Weather and Feelings
Weather Chart 
Weather Chart with Spanish
EEL sent us a new weather chart for this school year, and I love it! It is the perfect addition to our Morning Time area, along with the calendar and theme poster for the month. I added the Spanish translations after I laminated the chart, including how to ask “What is the weather?” This way I am reminded to always use Spanish when we talk about the weather instead of English. My kids answer in Spanish as well after I have asked “Como es el clima?”
I also added the Spanish translations to the theme poster. Each morning I ask my children “Como estas, (their name)?” They can look at the theme poster and say “Estoy_____________.” My 3 year old son always likes to say “Estoy enojado” because he likes to make a grumpy face, but he’s always the farthest in our family from being grumpy., lol!
Word Wall/ Word Box
Last year, EEL started sending word wall cards in their boxes each month, 1 set of 8 for each week making 32 word wall cards in a month! This year, they are even better because the Spanish translation for each word is on the back of the word wall card!
I am not going to lie, it was a struggle for me last year trying to figure out how to use and organize these effectively without giving up an entire wall in my house. This year I chose to do 2 things.
First I organized the cards by week, and used little pockets to put each weeks worth of cards inside. This makes it easy for me to grab what words I want to use each lesson. At the end of the month, the cards will go into se a Word Wall Box, a box filled with 26 envelopes (one for each letter) and be available at any time for my kids to use.
English 
Spanish
Coloring Pages
Another new addition to our monthly subscription with Experience Early Learning is now the coloring pages have Spanish translations on them! There are 20 different pages each that match what the kids are learning in each discovery bag. My son has recently become much more interested in coloring (check out this post), so these are perfect for him. Although he can not read the words yet, my 7 year old can, so these are also perfect for her as she works on acquiring Spanish. Having these translations also encourages ME to actually USE the new terminology when I am talking to my students.
I have found in my struggle over the past 2 years to incorporate Spanish that the more I actually SEE it, the more I will actually DO it. Books on the shelf just are not enough to motivate me. But as I see these new things posted around my house I am encouraged to use the language of our bordering nation and encourage my children to learn it as well. Even if it is imperfectly done it is worth trying to do.
