spanish for homeschooling--- power glide?

[mommy65]

i'm wanting to start learning spanish with my 6 and 8 year old boys.  i know a lot of families use rosetta stone, but i instinctively think this is a bit too much for my kids right now.  i'm looking for a multi-sensory fun way into conversational spanish. not too "schooly."  has anyone used Power Glide?? i'd love to know more about that, including what exactly you had to purchase in order to start.  any other methods you've used to learn foreign language would be great to know about. fyi, we're not super into computers yet, so we may or may not want to go with something where we have to do lots of computer time.  thanks!

[moominmamma]

We were given an old version of PowerGlide French years ago and have also used Rosetta Stone (French and Japanese) and I honestly found PowerGlide much more "schooly" and onerous than RS. You listened to the next prescribed lesson. You stopped. You studied the vocabulary. You drilled. You tried to answer the questions. You did the workbook. Then at the next session, you would move onto the next lesson. More studying, more drill. More self-evaluation. Maybe the program has changed (ours was version 2 or something, back in the days when you could order on CD or cassette!) but at the time it had a very lockstep sequential feel to it. I should also say that this was the regular program, at the time recommended for ages 9+, not the one developed for younger children. It was quite challenging to retain the vocabulary, and it moved quite quickly. The younger program was apparently much slower-paced.

Anyway, the sequential, lesson-oriented format made PG feel too structured and schooly for my kids. They much preferred RS, which lent itself to a more casual "grazing" approach which is more easily self-paced and self-directed, and more adaptable to different levels of and interest in literacy vs. aural skills.

Miranda

[frugalmum]

If you don't mind a christian curriculum, "Learn Spanish With Grace" is nice.