Spanish Classes for pre-schoolers

[james79]

Hi, it's the first time i've posted on here and would really appreciate some of your thoughts/ideas/suggestions.
I'd really like my daughter to learn Spanish and am considering setting up a Spanish playgroup/class. As i don't speak the language i'd need to employ a tutor. Sessions would be something along the lines of first 40 mins tutor led songs, stories and themed activity, then free play, snack time etc.
Would you be interested in taking your child to such a group and how much would you be willing to pay? I think i'd have to set it up for parents to pay half termly/termly to ensure i could afford to pay the tutor? Any language tutors out there? How much would you expect to charge? Thank you all!

my daughter did pre-school spanish and I think we paid around £10 for 40 mins? Can't quite remember but it definitely got cheaper the more children there were (there were normally four).
It was all based around play, often with the theme of eg, colours, shapes, basic vocab though we all spoke in spanish all through the session (all the parents/carers spoke spanish). Clearly pre-schoolers concentration isn't great - especially the boys, and you have to allow for a certain amount of running around. Games with balloons & bubbles were great in this respect.
It was great, definitely helped my daughter with stuff like counting in Spanish.

Hi, thanks for this-was it run by a franchise or privately? I am aiming this group at parents/carers who speak no or very little Spanish, if you didn't speak the language would you have been interested in such a group?

Hi James! My name is María, I´m from Spain and I teach Spanish to children between 2 and 5 years old, but I´m a recent mum, my DS is just 2 and a half months. If you are not in a hurry I will teach Spanish from September onwards again. But if you want to start asap,I could give you some ideas or even I could get you in touch with the agency.
María

It was run by a local tutoring company - they normally do pre-prep and SN tutoring, as well as languages for children. My DD was born in Spain, hence our interest. It does help if the parents speak becasue IMO, very young children benefit from immersion teaching but there's no reason why parents and children can't learn together.
I also attended anothe group where the parents did not speak any Spanish and TBH, their attitude towards language learning (fear and apprehension and a v typically English conviction that languages are very hard and mysterious to learn) did make it more difficult.
Having been rubbish at languages all my life, i would always be keen for my children to learn while young, thoguh our interest in Spanish means I was more than willing to fork out for lessons.

Hi Maria-where are you based? I am trying to teach my daughter at home at the momnet (believe it or not my whole extended family speak Spanish including my mum but we came to England when i was a baby and as Staranise has mentioned English people have a very 'interesting' attitude to learning other languages so my mum thought it best for us just to speak English!! AAAAHHH!)
Anyway let me know where you are based, i am in Ely, Cambridgeshire. Of course idaes, agancy recomendations would be great.

Hi Staranise-we sound very alike! I have tried to learn the language on more that one occasion even throwing myself in the deep end at University but was'nt very good, however i am determined that my children will learn. I agree with the attitude towards languages here and it is such a shame but i am hoping that parents who are paying a premium for a group will be serious too. Thanks so much for sharing your experience.

It's never too late to learn. I'm still having Spanish leassons after 5 years of living in Spain and am enjoying it more than ever. Begin by buying 'Hola' magazine...Hasta la proxima...

Thanks for the encouragement! Will check out the magazine you mentioned.

OK just realised 'Hello' magazine...i'm really not that slow!! Muchas gracias!

Hi James!
I´m in London...it´s a pity!

I don´t know how old are your daugther, but maybe the next websites can help you:

• This is a good website with vocabulary, songs, etc.
  www.hello-world.com/Spanish/EN_Spanish.php

• More songs:
  gardenofpraise.com/spanish.htm

• Baby tv, you have to go to "themes"-Primeros pasos; and "series"-Wooly, Musiqueros, Pelotas saltarinas, and you´ll find in Spanish (below SP)
  player26.narrowstep.tv/nsp.aspx?player=babytv_restoftheworld

• This is fantastic! here, you´ll find a lot of vocabulary, you can print it and make cards with it and play of differents ways with your child. She learns, but you too...
  www.leoloqueveo.org/inicio.htm

• Dora, la exploradora (cartoons)

*Films and carttons in Spanish (it is free!)
www.veocine.es/ver/pelicula (films)
www.cinetube.es/indices/peliculas.html (films)
veocine.es/ver/infantil (for children)
www.veocine.es/ver/peliculavos (in Engilsh with spanish subtitles)

Spanish people have an "interesting" attitude to learn other languages too...we usually speak very bad in other languages, we have a very very very strong accent...but anyway we have to try it, haven´t we? :-)

Sugus,
you are wonderful! Thank you so much for these, i can't wait to check them out with my daughter (she is only 20 months but i'm sure she'll love them!)

What a shame you are in London, you sound really passionate and just what i am looking for. Oh well, the hunt continues!
Thanks again.

Have you tried La Jolie Ronde www.lajolieronde.co.uk. They have a network of teachers and tutors based around the UK who teach primary aged children Spanish and French. My friend raves about them. Apparently they are also looking for people who want to start their own business teaching their courses - if you recommend someone and they start to teach they give you £50! Worth a try

I do lajolieronde but french and do a lot of nursery and preschool groups. there is definitely demand, esp at that age group, although it's a niche market. i love the job, it's ace

OOh thanks i will check it out!

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