R.E.A.L. stands for Relax, Enjoy, Aspire, and Learn Spanish. I was skeptical. Relaxing while teaching and learning a new language? I was determined to find out. My family was generously given the download of the program to review. Right off the bat, the number of pages were overwhelming. I was intimidated and did not get a good feeling. No relaxing yet. I would recommend spending the extra money for the bound book.
Then, I sat down to see what the program offered. Wow. Everything is included. There is a weekly curriculum guide (see sample here), activity sheets (sample here), answer book, audio clips, and more. R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish is written by a homeschooling Mom, Dr. Karyn Williamson-Coria, and she truly knows what is needed to teach your family. Instead of constant drilling of Spanish, you incorporate the language into your every day life at home. Playing games, making puppet shows and collages are ways that you can relax and enjoy learning Spanish! While reviewing how to ask "Como Estas?" (How are you?) my girls enjoyed looking for pictures in magazines illustrating how people felt- happy, sad, bored, angry, etc. The activity sheets reinforced what they learned. While teaching, I learned quite a lot, too, and that is the beauty of this program. It's for the whole family!
The audio clips are very helpful, especially if you're not certain of how to pronounce the words and phrases. It's like having your own personal tutor. I also enjoyed the links to Spanish culture, history, recipes, videos and more. It makes for a very well rounded experience! Not only that, R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish sends emails to you with even more information. During the holidays, their email covered Mexican Christmas traditions including craft ideas! It's as close to an immersion program as you can get while in the comfort of your own home.:)
R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish (Book, Activity Book, Answer Book and Audio files) is $49.95 for the download, and $59.95 (Book, Answer Book, Activity Book, Audio Files AND Curriculum Guide) and $89.95 for the hardcopy (Book, Activity Book, Answer Book and Audio Files) and $99.95 (Book, Answer Book, Activity Book, Audio Files AND Curriculum Guide). You can purchase here.
My family and I are going to continue using R.E.A.L Homeschool Spanish because it works for us. You can work as slowly or as quickly as you like. The lessons are short and by using what you learned throughout the day the words and phrases are reinforced. I was impressed!
Go here to see what other TOS members thought about R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish.
I was given R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received.
Happy New Year Friend. Hope 2012 is a great one! xoxo
ReplyDelete