Spanish Program
Teaching children to express themselves in other languages helps them to gain a more profound understanding of cultures other than their own.
"Nunca podras entender un idioma hasta que entiendas al menos dos."
- Geoffrey Willans
Translation: You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.
Children’s House
(Ages 3 – 6)
Studies show that the best time for a child to learn a new language is between birth and age seven in what is referred to as “the window of opportunity.” And because learning a second language also brings many other cognitive benefits to children, we begin Spanish lessons at age three.
Our students begin by learning vocabulary and pronunciation, doing what they love most — singing children’s songs in Spanish! Learning vocabulary using games, movement, and music facilitates memorization and the muscle memory needed for correct pronunciation, while also transmitting the culture of Spanish-speaking countries.
Upper Elementary
(Grades 4 – 6)
Twice a week, Upper Elementary students receive Spanish instruction through a fun and competitive immersive experience. Students earn points for speaking in Spanish, and lose them for speaking in English. These points earn students prizes, such as class outside. Upper Elementary students are working on building a strong vocabulary, and learning the building blocks to grammatical structures they will see frequently in Junior High. Classes are consistently filled with stories, projects, and games. Students at this level supplement their class instruction with Quizlet, which allows the opportunity to spend valuable class time using our vocabulary in new ways, rather than memorizing it.
Junior High
(Grades 7 - 8)
Junior High receives Spanish instruction twice a week, with an emphasis on improving their listening and speaking skills. Because vocabulary and basic grammatical skills have been developed in Upper Elementary, Junior High works on their ability to use what they have learned in more nuanced situations. Students in Junior High Spanish listen to songs, hold discussions, read articles, and write stories entirely in Spanish. At this level, students in Spanish are focusing on fine tuning skills they will need in Spanish Placement Tests as they prepare for High School. Testing into Spanish II as an incoming freshman is the goal for our MMS Spanish students. We approach this goal by communicating with High Schools that our students most commonly move on to. We consistently update our curriculum to accommodate the expectations our alumni will face as they move on in their education.
