Generally, life is so busy for everyone. Have you noticed? I try to keep ours fairly simple, but it still seems like it’s going to spiral out-of-control on occasion. There are people at church or at the park that I meet and think, “I’d really like to get to know them. We’ll have to make plans to get together.” Then, life happens and the connections don’t. There are old friends, relationships once established, and even acquaintances that I’d like to catch-up with because they cross my mind or I find them heavy on my heart. I pray for them, but I rarely make the time to call them. I have blog posts, products, and reviews I’d like to revisit, amend or update; but I seldom do it. Maybe, it’s forward motion and I have a hard time going back or maybe, the truth is, my time’s just not as organized as it should be. Nevertheless, none of these are situations that I like and I figure it’s up to me to make change occur in my own life. I’m not going to wait until Monday or the ever-elusive-tomorrow. Now is the only moment guaranteed, so…
Today, I want to revisit Speekee. Speekee is a Spanish language course for children, ages 2 to 10. My initial introduction to Speekee, the purple puppet that stars in the program, was in the beginning of 2011.
Meet Speekee.
Since then, Speekee has made some changes. Speekee TV is an online program, which means you have to connect to the web to use it, but now Speekee can travel! Thanks to the creation of a new app for mobile devices, access to Speekee TV – Speekee and sock-puppet friends, Dino and Lupi – is never far away.
Dino and Lupi
There are 10 episodes filmed on location in Spain, with Spanish children and their friend, Jim; along with Speekee, Dino and Lupi. Utilizing the Immersion Method, SpeekeeTV is in 100% Spanish, although subtitles are available in Spanish and English. This helps me because I’m more of a write-the-word-and-its-phonetic-pronunciation-so-I-can-see-it, and then I’ll say it out loud -kinda girl; but my 4 year old granddaughter, who can’t read, is all-in. She’s immersed in it, clearly not distracted by subtitles! Each video, 15-20 minutes in length, follows the same basic format and students excel because of this consistency and repetition. By the time she regularly visits the el parque, el cafe, le clase, el zoo; y el mercado with her new “friends,” she may be the first one in our family to actually learn the language. Virtually, she spends minutes at the park, in Spain, playing and singing with Speekee; and then she bops back into the living room and says, “Listen to my Spanish song! I’m singing Spanish.” She’s excited to use Speekee and the learning is effortless!
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Speekee TV is always available, flexible to any schedule; and parent or student-paced. When I previously reviewed it, the outstanding FastTrack curriculum for homeschoolers was not an option. You can now access FastTrack from the website or signup to receive a weekly email. I get an email every week, for 40 weeks, that includes 4 activities that correspond to a specific Speekee video clip; plus other downloads, printable worksheets and flash cards that I can use for reinforcement. One of the first activities we did was make Dino and Lupi sock puppets! Every craft idea is not that involved, but they are fun and engaging. We still have the freedom to pick and choose what we want to do, but I appreciate the fact that the creators of Speekee spent the time to assemble a curriculum that will accelerate my child’s and grandchild’s understanding and use of Spanish. “Gracias, Speekee!” This program is better than ever with the compliment of FastTrack.
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Try it FREE for two weeks. If you’re not satisfied within that time, you can discontinue it and you’ve risked nothing. On the other hand, if you find your children asking to play Speekee and speaking Spanish to each other while they play, you can subscribe for $7.50 per month; with no long term commitment. You can also go all-in, like my granddaughter, for $60 per year.
Click the banner to subscribe
The entire program is also available for purchase on 4 DVD discs, 34-track audio CD plus a 70 page guide. Read the fine print – because of the format the DVD’s will play on most US players, but not all.
Click for DVD Package details
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Comments or Questions?
email ~ customerservice@speekee.co.uk
phone ~ 01422 820263
or write ~
Lingua4 Ltd
Swift Cross Farm
Ripponden
Sowerby Bridge
HX6 4LQ
United Kingdom
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You can find Speekee on facebook
and read Speekee’s Blog
You’ll note, I’ve included several links to the website in this post, and I can tell you that my Crew mates have shared their opinions on the Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog. You can read those when you click the banner below.
Now, I think I’ll call that new family from church and see if we can arrange a play-date for our children this weekend. Don’t you just love the Grace of a new day and a fresh start!
Blessings,
Jim Porter says
Hola Penny, This is Jim checking in to say a big GRACIAS for your second review of Speekee. Much appreciated!
PK says
You are most welcome, Jim. We really appreciate the improvements you’ve made to Speekee, and it remains one of our favorite programs. Continued Blessings, PK