Spanish Lessons for 5-6 Year Olds

Parent Q&A

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  • Does anyone have any recommendations of a having a Spanish tutor come to my house or for us to go to them for my 6 year-old.  My son only a little knowledge of Spanish (and was previously in a Spanish immersion daycare) but isn’t comfortable speaking.  Effectively, I am looking to slowly get him one hour of tutoring a few times a week just to help him retain and improve his Spanish. 

    I see that some schools have one hour of Spanish twice a week as an elective in Elementary school, but I am looking for something more for my son. 

    Would appreciate any recommendations!

    We have been doing a little after school Spanish tutoring class with our 5.75YO and 7YO with Danna: 510-860-8253. She said it's OK to post her number. 

  • Hello! My daughter just started kindergarten and misses the little bits of Spanish she sometimes spoke in preschool. Is there a once-per-week afterschool class in North Berkeley for little ones who want to get together to learn Spanish, sing fun songs, and so on? If not, we'd also appreciate any recommendations for teachers who might want to work with our daughter.  Gracias! 

    I have been looking forever for this in this area (only have found kid classes in Lafayette and private tutoring at Centro Latino in Berkeley). Excited to see if others have recommendations. For now, we ended up forming a small group (KGarten and 1st graders) and finding a Spanish-speaking childcare provider to meet with our kids once a week to learn Spanish after school. Here is the email (I got her consent to post): ingridjalvarado [at] yahoo.com

    Hi! Escuela Billingue in San Pablo has free spanish story time sometimes and camps during break. Its alsona great school, my son is an alumni and is a Freshman at Bentley and tested into Spanish 4 honors.

    If youre interested in a tutor, theres a lot.of EBI teachers that tutor the kids and I can connect you if interested. Feel free to DM me

    Hi-

    Check out Creative Spanish on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. They host both Summer Camps and After school programs.

  • My son was speaking Spanish quite well until we had to let our nanny go because of cost. He doesn't like speaking Spanish with me but has expressed that he feels bad that he has started to forget his Spanish! I'd ideally find someone who is great with kids and also skilled at teaching to have conversation with him either at our house or somewhere nearby such as Berkeley or Albany. Thank you!!!

    Hello Margaret. I know a good tutor in Berkeley, Mrs. Cuaresma, from my son's bilingual school. Contact her at aayab2020 [at] gmail.com.

    Good luck.

    Maria

  • My daughter and a bunch of her friends from school are graduating from their Spanish speaking fully immersion preschool this summer and starting public kindergartens. The kids are near fluent in Spanish and myself and a few other parents are looking for someone to tutor the group of them weekly in Spanish starting August/September. Any suggestions? We are in the Lamorinda/Walnut Creek area. 

    Megan is a fabulous online or in person teacher/tutor; responsible, and creative. She is passionate about her students…we highly recommend. Megan is professional and empathetic; we also know many other families who are grateful for Megan. Ms. Soberanes. comes from a long line of “California Mexicans” in the East Bay. 

    http://Bayareaspanish.com

  • Hi there, 

    I am considering Creative Spanish so that my kindergartner can have a spanish-immersion experience after school. Is anyone familiar with this program - either the after care or the summer camps? (I believe the owners also run the Colibri Preschool next door)? If so, what are your thoughts, experiences, reviews or would be you be able to connect me others who might have perspective? I am particularly interested in safety, nurturing, diversity and whether or not you see an improvement in your child's Spanish conversation skills.

    Thank you!

    My kids have all gone to Colibri (one of the owners also runs Creative Spanish and many families just move from one program to the other) the oldest did a few weeks of Creative Spanish summer camp. Juliana, the owner, is awesome. She loves encouraging kids' exploration of Latin culture and fluency in Spanish. She does a good job of positively but firmly encouraging the time to be Spanish speaking. I think the kids have a lot of fun and grow as Spanish speakers.

    We had a rough experience with summer camp because my kid was so stressed out and disregulated from Covid closures and disruptions that it ended up being a really tough time for him. Juliana worked so hard to make it work though (she had been one of his preschool teachers and cares for him very much). She worked well with him and us to try to support his behavior and regulation. But their indoor space is pretty small so he didnt really have the room he needed and when they went to the park he couldn't stay with the group. All this is to say, I still recommend Creative Spanish but it wasn't for my kid at that time despite them trying so hard. I felt very supported as a parent through all that as we tried to figure things out for which I'm very grateful.

  • We're looking for a Spanish language tutor for our rising kindergartener.  Preference for in-person, but Zoom could work.  We're hoping it would be 1x a week or so in Berkeley, and that it would be a fun and lively way to begin learning the language.  Our child has very little Spanish language exposure (native English speaker) but is very curious about Spanish -- any recs are SUPER APPRECIATED. Thanks :)

    Escuela billingue internacional has some summer camps fully in spanish. Both my kids go there and have been going since prek. They are now 6th and 8gradera and fluent with no help from us since we dont speak spanish at home. Some teachers tutor on the side as well. Lmk if you have any other questions.

  • My son is entering kinder, and I'm looking to preserve my family's heritage language. He doesn't want to speak Spanish at home anymore because his friends don't speak it. I thought some kind of after school or weekend program or club in Spanish would be fun for him. Online Spanish instruction or hiring a tutor doesn't work for this need, we want to socialize him with fun activities that happen to be in Spanish. Any tips? Berkeley, Albany, or Oakland would work for us.

    Creative Spanish is an after school Spanish immersion program. They're up near Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland. We haven't done the after school portion but last summer my son did their summer camp and had a good time. Lots of fun activities and language development through social interactions and projects. https://www.creativespanish.net/

    La Plazita in Oakland runs after-school programs as well as summer camps. See: https://www.laplazitacommunitybuilding.com/after-school-program and  https://www.laplazitacommunitybuilding.com/summer-programs. Good luck!!

    Hi. This is a really good question. I currently have a 4 year old that we will be entering TK in August and we would like to also take part in Spanish clubs/groups. Besides speaking Spanish at home and only watching movies in Spanish, we have participated in the monthly virtual story time with Escuela Bilingue Internacional. It is free and you can sign up on their website. Before the pandemic, we participated as a family en Canta y Baila Conmigo in person with the class located in Oakland. Here is the link to enroll/get on the waitlist: https://eastbaymusictogether.yourvirtuoso.com/Classes.html.

    I wish I can provide more information. Good luck!

    Bladium in alameda was offering a spanish soccer class. I can’t remember what age it starts, but it sounded great (my 2 year old isn’t old enough).

     There is also vivaelespanol.org in lafayette. They offer classes, camps and outings. I haven’t done any of them but i recently signed up

Archived Q&A and Reviews


April 2010

I am looking for a spanish class for a 5 year old. Not a summer camp where he would have to go every day. Just a once a week class in Berkeley or the West Contra Costa area.


Lango has a bunch of Spanish classes for elementary aged kids. You can check out the current schedule at www.langokids.com and see if there are any that match your schedule. If not, you can always ask about adding other days/times. Cheryl


March 2008

I am looking for a Spanish program for my 5 YO daughter during the school year, either after-school or on Saturdays. Can anyone recommend a program (preferably in Berkeley, Albany, or El Cerrito; possibly in Richmond or Oakland)? Also, does anyone know of a good Spanish immersion summer camp (for next summer and beyond) that they can recommend? Thanks! Lori


My almost 5 year old son is finishing up his second week at Camp Lango , a Spanish immersion camp. I was nervous about sending my son to something new and the director, Michael Fee, answered all my questions and was very reassuring. With no previous Spanish experience, my son is learning so much and having a lot of fun. The counselors have been very skilled, kind and energetic. The activities and music program are organized and well thought out. Here is Lango's website: http://www.langokids.com/. The contact phone number is 888-445-2646. Stephanie


May 2007

I'm looking for Spanish classes for my 5-year old . I'd like her to be in a group with other kids.I live in San Leandro, and could travel to Oakland, Berkeley, or Hayward. Any leads? Joseph


Centro Latino in Berkeley (849-4504; www.cenlatino.com) has group classes for children. I heard of them thru a friend of a friend and don't know about the quality of the classes. Jennifer