At Breaking the Barrier, we regularly receive requests for recommendations for a Spanish program for preschool and elementary grades that can be completed before our Middle (Vamos/En camino) and High School (Levels 1-3) curriculum.
There are countless benefits of starting young when it comes to learning a second language today, and the benefits of bilingualism in today’s global world mean many families are choosing to start Spanish in preschool and elementary grades.
Today, we are delighted to share a Spanish curriculum that caught our attention and that we have personally reviewed. We can highly recommend Llamitas as a great step for preschool and elementary grades.
Similar to Breaking the Barrier, Llamitas Spanish (meaning little llamas in Spanish) provides an academic curriculum line of both tiered and sequential levels.
Llamitas Spanish is a specialized Spanish curriculum provider for Preschool and Elementary grades. They do not provide any other world languages.
Their unique bilingual scripted approach means that they are a great option for both the bilingual homeschooling parent, as well as for beginners learning Spanish as a second language.
What parents will truly appreciate is that there is no preparation required. The textbook format is completely open-and-go. Their program tells parents what to say in the lessons. With pronunciation guides and native speaker audio recordings, there is no guesswork or pressure for a parent to have Spanish proficiency or prior knowledge.
The Llamitas curriculum is almost entirely screen free for the student. Lessons are taught through textbooks, readers, and beautiful stories.
As the parent or educator, YOU must facilitate the lessons - but the program makes it easy to do so. This news is great for parents who might want to learn Spanish alongside their kids!
We love that Llamitas Spanish shares our values for providing high quality academics in their curriculum levels, while also providing opportunities for cultural appreciation.
They go beyond teaching Spanish vocabulary and include Spanish phonics, literacy, music, math, art, and cultural studies.
Another aspect that will immediately grab your attention are the beautiful illustrations throughout. The artwork in the textbooks is hand painted with watercolor or gouache. The story illustrations are quite breathtaking.
Finally, as we previously mentioned, Llamitas Spanish shares our core value of including plenty of opportunities for the student to develop cultural appreciation. Learning a language goes hand-in-hand with learning about culture. Llamitas does include traditional Spanish songs, as well as folktales, art studies, and cultural studies.
The music is actually a highlight of the program, providing students with the opportunity to learn traditional Hispanic nursery rhymes. For example, Los pollitos dicen, Sol solecito, Pin Pon, and so many more.
At Breaking the Barrier, our language courses provide a deep dive into formal grammar learning. Understanding grammar and syntax concepts is essential in becoming proficient in a world language.
For young children, however, this more formal approach might prove too advanced.
What we love about Llamitas Spanish is that they lay the foundations in Spanish grammar and phonemic awareness from an early age, but through age appropriate methods.
The lower levels develop letter recognition, tracing, and letter sounds and syllables for Preschool and Kindergarten. Later, decoding skills and reading fluency are taught in higher levels.
Elementary levels also introduce grammar and spelling in context through beautiful, high quality, and culturally authentic stories such as Latin American folktales. We love the classic tale about the Maya and the hummingbird.
Each story also provides a series of comprehension questions, copywork, narration, and dictation to develop the four foundational skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
This story method for teaching grammar and vocabulary engages younger learners, and develops early biliteracy skills in preparation for their middle and high school years with Breaking the Barrier.
As with Breaking the Barrier, the Llamitas Spanish curriculum provides a digital platform where you will find native speaker recorded audio playlists, videos, music playlists, read alouds, and more that correspond to the textbook.
Their open-and-go lessons are also available in print and shipped to your home, which is a very convenient option.
At Breaking the Barrier, we can confidently recommend Llamitas Spanish as an excellent, well-rounded curriculum choice for families teaching their kids Spanish in the preschool and elementary years.
Their lessons will provide a firm foundation in the Spanish language, preparing them academically for our engaging middle and high school Spanish courses.
At Breaking the Barrier, we regularly receive requests for recommendations for a Spanish program for preschool and elementary grades that can be completed before our Middle (Vamos/En camino) and High School (Levels 1-3) curriculum. There are countless benefits of starting...
