End of the school year

We have come to the end of our school year. What has worked and what has not? My oldest son is on the second year using Rosetta Stone Mandarin verson 2. While it is a wonderful program, it has not been working well for him. We never seem to get very far with the program. Maybe it will be a better fit when he is older. My boys have learned more through Youtube videos while they ate their lunch. Next year I am going a different route. I will still have Rosetta Stone, but I plan to use the Chinese Made Easy for Kids curriculum for my boys next year. It comes with a text book and a workbook.

They both enjoyed their Greek workbook this year. They are about 2/3 of the way through book one of Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! They are learning the Greek alphabet and doing quite well with it.

This was our first year learning Arabic. Basically, my kids learned the alphabet and about 30 different words in Arabic. It is probably their favorite language to learn. Youtube videos have been helpful for them. Next year they will be using Arabic for English Speakers Junior computer game and the Arabic for Beginners textbook.

The other language we are undertaking is French. This year I have focused on my kids getting exposure to the language. We moved to Canada so that helped! There are French TV programs for kids here and French writing on all labels so it isn't too hard to get exposure. I do need to learn pronunciation so I can read it. Next year I plan to use Ecoutez! Parlez! Learning French for Kids level 1.

We look forward to starting these programs in August. Spanish was a good choice to discontinue. In the USA we heard Spanish quite often. Since moving to Canada exposure to Spanish has become more and more infrequent. On the other hand, we have had increased exposure to French, Mandarin, and Arabic. Just last week we went to a part of town where stores had Arabic writing on their store signs. By middle school I hope to place my kids in a class where they can be taught by a native speaker for French, Mandarin, and Arabic. And I think we live in a great place to do that!