Foreign Language Resources/ Kindergarten Age-Appropriate

[Mama Amie]

We've just returned from a tour at a local exemplary dual-language school that we considered applying for.  It was unsatisfactory, and has affirmed our desire to homeschool/unschool.  That said, we're very much of the mind that proficiency in another language will greatly benefit our children in many ways (especially with a huge hispanic population in our area).  

Have any of you had positive experiences with any foreign-language programs?  I almost bought the Little Pim series, but upon previewing (thank you, YouTube!), realized it wasn't at all engaging or interesting to my child.  It was little more than looking at a book, which we can do without TV and expensive DVD purchases.

I do have a set of "Coffee Break French" CDs that were gifted to me.  They aren't for children, but I may start listening on longer car rides, or during craft/art time.  What I heard seemed pretty decent and accessible.

I'd love to hear about your experiences and suggestions!

[featherstory]

Programs? No.  I haven't purchased any programs although I thought about Little Pim as well.

What I have found are some books and just a lot of good resources.  

Actually what am I saying???  I bought my daughter a Power-glide Spanish book w/ cassettes from a thrift store for her 4th birthday.  It is not really meant for children per se, but it can certainly be used for kids, maybe not every single thing in the book, but it gives you a lot to work with.  We read the stories almost every night from that book.  They are almost all fairytales in English and Spanish.

I see that now they have a version just for kids with CDs so maybe that's worth looking into: http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Power-Glide-Foreign-Language-Courses/dp/158204001X

I actually don't have a tape player so I've never listened to the tapes, but there are songs, poems, etc. and I think that would be great to have.  

The other book I got is called Lightning Fast Spanish For Kids.  This one is more an activity book for different games and activities to play to facilitate learning the language.  It's really a good resource in my opinion.

Other than that I check out Spanglishbaby.com pretty regularly and they usually have good ideas.  I also have DVDs and other story/picture books in Spanish and we sometimes watch youtube videos in Spanish.  Having someone your kid can hear speaking Spanish regularly is also helpful.