Are you looking to add a foreign language to your homeschool routine? Would you love to homeschool Spanish, but you don’t know how to get started? Well, my friend Jen is here with a resource for you!
Like most homeschooling families, the kids and I spend a lot of time together. A lot. And like most gifted kids, mine have little patience for review and busywork. Very little. Because I’m teaching kiddos of different ages and abilities, it can be difficult to find subjects that can be studied together, all at once, without needing either a ton of one-on-one accommodations or adjusted worksheets.
This task seems even more Herculean when trying to teach a second language.
How to Homeschool Spanish with TalkBox.Mom
Disclosure: We received one month of TalkBox.Mom Spanish and was compensated for the time to write this review. We were not required to write a positive review. As always, we only share resources that we would use with our own families and those that we believe other families will enjoy.
Learning Spanish in your homeschool
I’ve been wanting to study Spanish in our homeschool for a long while. The benefits of being able to speak a second language are innumerable. Plus, with the way my kiddos enjoy new and novel things I just knew they’d love being able to communicate “incognito”. The difficulties of finding a curriculum to fit our family and the unique needs of my kids, however, made learning Spanish in our homeschool seem like a pipe dream. That was until I had the opportunity to try TalkBox.Mom.
TalkBox.Mom is a fantastically different approach to learning a second language. More a lifestyle than a curriculum, TalkBox.Mom is subscription-based and designed to have you speaking in your chosen language on the very first day!
Rather than spending loads of time working through conjugations and worksheets, the program focuses on actually speaking the language in your home, as a family. The Spanish we’ve been practicing in our home has been together, incorporated into everyday life, as a family. I’m not expected to teach a language that I don’t know myself, because I’m learning alongside my kids, practicing with them, conversing en espanol. I’m not facilitating, and I’m not juggling an online tutor. And I’m not grading worksheets I can barely understand myself. TalkBox.Mom was created to include the entire family and create comfort with the language.
Homeschool Spanish with TalkBox.Mom
In our first Box, we received printed materials to display around our home (and that we didn’t have to print ourselves!) with common phrases we might use and items we’d use every day.
This made our introduction to Spanish not only gentle but accessible. We aren’t learning how to ask for a train ticket, we’re learning how to actually speak a second language in settings and situations we regularly find ourselves in. We were able to immediately begin speaking in ways that made sense to us.
Because the program focuses on speaking Spanish more than writing or dissecting it, my kids aren’t bogged down and bored by constant conjugating or review. In fact, the creator of TalkBox.Mom says that learning a new language “isn’t about intensity, it’s about consistency.”
Consistency is key with TalkBox.Mom
Each day we have a set of phrases to practice and incorporate into what we’re already doing. The phrases we learn and practice come from categories such as personal care, food, affirmations, and more – real-life phrases and situations that allow us to practice throughout the day. A subscription to TalkBox.Mom comes with lifetime access to the TalkBox.Mom app and a private Facebook group, both of which provide accountability, support, and tons of creative ideas and challenges to help your family grow stronger in their second language.
Using native speakers, the program offers audio clips of the phrases you’re learning, to help you feel more comfortable and eliminate any pronunciation stumbles. Since I’m learning Spanish with my family, not teaching from experience or fluency, this has been enormously helpful!
Incorporating Spanish into our daily lives in usable, real ways has been both fun and impactful. It’s a lot easier to remember foreign phrases when they apply to your daily life! Learning together, rather than separated by ages, abilities, or interests, makes learning Spanish an immersive, natural process. This process keeps my kids on their toes as they search for opportunities to use their new phrases. They love beating one another to answering a question or asking what’s for dinner in Spanish! It’s become a bit of a competition to see who can use the most Spanish throughout our day. And that’s precisely how TalkBox.Mom works to make families become conversational in their chosen language.
TalkBox.Mom offers many other foreign language options for homeschool families
The languages offered through TalkBox.Mom are quite impressive, too. There are plenty of apps and options out there for only a handful of languages, but TalkBox.Mom’s mission is to create conversational comfort and competency in almost any place in the world! Choose from French, Germain, Portuguese, Hebrew, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Romanian, Russian, and yes, Spanish. If you’re having trouble choosing a language (or are overwhelmed by the number of choices), TalkBox.Mom can even help you decide which language you’d like to learn.
Since TalkBox.Mom works as a subscription service, you’ll receive boxes devoted to specific themes with phrases and challenges that you can immediately begin incorporating, such as chores or food.
Here are some challenge examples:
1st Challenge from TalkBox.Mom Spanish Month One
2nd Challenge from TalkBox.Mom Spanish Month One
3rd Challenge from TalkBox.Mom Spanish Month One
TalkBox.Mom offers flexibility for those wanting to learn Spanish
This program is super flexible. A single box can last up to three months, making it budget-friendly and not at all overwhelming. The kids love the added excitement of expecting a new box, too, when it’s time for the next theme! The app provides audio recordings that constantly update with newly added phrases. And the exclusive Facebook group shares daily motivations, challenges, and check-ins for whoever wants to participate. The community-style learning extends beyond just your home and connects you with other families and native speakers to truly help you feel confident.
Additional items are available through the TalkBox.Mom Academy and Bookstore, with more printables, books, and even supplements like math in Spanish! These items can be purchased separately with no obligation or order a box, but the support and audio downloads are only available to subscribers. If you’re interested in checking out how TalkBox.Mom works, you can join The Ball Challenge for free. The Ball Challenge provides lists of phrases emailed to you each week, for four weeks, and even additional resources once the challenge is up.
Check out this giveaway from TalkBox.Mom
For the next few weeks, TalkBox.Mom is hosting a giveaway that will give 3 lucky winners a talk box in the language of their choosing… for free! The box will include the first talk box of their chosen language, a phrasebook, and access to the TalkBox.Mom app, so be sure to enter here:
If you just can’t wait to get your box (and I don’t blame you), you can order your own save $20 off your first box+book using the code thankful, between now and December 20, 2020.
TalkBox.Mom is a win for busy homeschool families looking to add foreign language
Like so many of you, we’re a busy bunch with kids who don’t have the patience to sit through much that doesn’t hold their attention. They like to move a lot, learn quickly, and see the use of what they’re studying. With TalkBox.Mom, all of the boxes are checked! We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the novelty of being able to quickly incorporate Spanish into our daily lives, the gentle practice, and the confidence we’ve gained in our abilities. If you’ve been wanting to include a foreign language into your homeschool but have been worried about just how you’d be able to find a program to work for your whole crew, you’ll no doubt love this program! Head over to TalkBox.Mom to pick your language, and have fun!
Related articles:
- Foreign Language in Your Homeschool, with Anne Guarnera {Episode 62} | The Homeschool Sisters Podcast
- Foreign Language in Your Homeschool
- Learn Spanish at Home with Rosetta Stone Homeschool
