Educator's Spanish Collection by Whistlefritz REVIEW

I was so excited to be able to offer a foreign language curriculum to my Pre-K four-year old. When she saw the Educator's Spanish Collection by Whistlefritz, my little bug was so excited!  Fritzi, the mouse, really caught her attention and it was love at first sight.  The idea behind this curriculum is language immersion.  The typical way of learning a foreign language of learning and memorizing words and then translating back and forth is counterproductive to the way our mind works.  Studies show that language immersion is the way to go.  
The collection comes with 5 DVDs and 3 CDs packaged in 4 cases (2 discs per case), a lesson plan book, and matching cards.  The lesson book guides you through 40 lessons.  It has the English translation before the Spanish for the teacher, but you speak to the student(s) in Spanish (language immersion).  The DVDs have Spanish and English subtitles.  All the activities and lessons are spoken in Spanish.  The curriculum is multi-sensory and has cross-curricular lessons including math, science, and PE.  Arts and crafts are also incorporated as part of the lessons.  Students are immersed in the language through speech, play, hands-on activities, matching card game, videos, and audio CDs. 
. In the videos, children are engaged with Fritzi (the mouse) and his shenanigans.  There is also a lot of interaction with kids in the videos that keep her engaged.  I especially like that the videos have a native speaker engaging the kids and encouraging them to participate in Fritzi's games.  They speak in full sentences in conversation style teaching.  The videos are interactive and do not have a "flash card" type style.  The words (in Spanish) to the songs are included in the lesson plan book. 
The lessons really engage the students and little bug just can't get enough of the videos.  While success in working through the lesson plans in the workbook is slow, I know she will get it.  For her, maturity-wise, she doesn't focus enough or listen through the lessons very well.  This does not concern me because she is continually being exposed to the language in ways that will have a lasting affect on her.  I know this because she has learned sign language the same way.  It has taken her years (I started her before she was ever speaking) to fully engage in the sign language she was learning.  She just soaked it all up like a sponge and now she teaches us new sign language words all the time.  I am so excited for what this program is instilling in her.  I know it will bear much fruit as she grows older and understands more what she is being exposed to.

matching card game

engrossed in Fritzi

Another aspect of the program that we really like are the included CDs.  We all know we spend too much time in the car sometimes and that really helps to add to the immersion experience.  She really loves listening to the CDs that reinforce what she learns.  She used to always demand to listen to the signing CDs and now she has her Spanish ones too!
With all that this program has to offer we give it a double thumbs up!  She asks to watch Fritzi everyday and we will continue with the lesson plans.  This is definitely a plus to our Pre-K curriculum and I would highly recommend you consider either the Spanish or French options.  I think once she settles into the Spanish set we will consider adding the French perhaps next year.  Thank you Whistlefritz for the spectacular Educator's Spanish Collection program. You can connect with Whistlefritz on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and YOUTUBE.
Please be sure to check out the other reviews on the Spanish and French versions by clicking on the banner below.