Frequently asked questions
What are the lessons like?
Download the first set of lessons for free to see!
Here's a quick review of how HL lessons usually go (there are 40 in the curriculum!):
1. Start with a song! Songs teach vocabulary and phrases and connect you with the culture. Some songs can only be found in that particular language, like "Arroz con Leche" in Spanish! Our youtube videos will teach you the songs, you can learn right along with the student if you'd like. You'll memorize one each unit!
2. Teach the lesson! Blue tells you what to do, and then in black is what you say to the student. In bold are the words in the new language so they're easy to identify!
You'll play quick games to further the understanding of concepts (like "where are you going?" as you go to different location cards around the room!), or use culture to help you teach ("how many eyebrows does Frida Kahlo have?" haha!)
3. End with a booklet (also included!). These books give your child confidence in the language, it uses the words they're learning (instead of having to find some at the library and have your child wonder what the heck you're saying!). They're short and sweet, and you're instructed to have your child repeat each line after you so their little mouths can practice forming the new language. (Don't speak the new language yourself? Don't fret, pronunciation is given on each page!)
4. Cool down with a song playlist. We have a few youtube links to get your child hearing more of the new words in fun and different settings.
What if I don't speak the language?
No problem, you’ll be learning it right alongside your student! In fact, none of our trial teachers spoke the language. They said it helped to read the lesson beforehand, listen to the songs alongside the student, and take note of the pronunciation guide in each lesson.
It's especially important you learn how to read the language text in this curriculum as you go along (don't worry, it's taught with each lesson in the pronunciation guide, and includes a special pronunciation video associated with each lesson!), because the pronunciation guides at the end of each lesson do not repeat words or phrases already covered in previous lessons. If you do forget, reference the dictionary at the end of the book. You can look things up by the new language word OR the English word, and find the pronunciation there!
Some ways to practice and stay ahead of your student are apps like Duolingo and listening to podcasts. Each curriculum has examples of specific podcasts and other resources to help you better learn the language as the teacher.
Do you plan to produce more than 1 level in the future? How will a new level look? Will pricing be the same as it is now? How many levels do you plan on doing?
We LOVE this question! Yes, we plan on coming out with further levels. This is because we create them as our children are growing, we teach and perfect the lessons on them, and the levels grow with them. As of right now, we plan on having the levels progress like this:
Level 1. (current level) Around the house: present tense, talking about I, you, we, commands.
Level 2. Meeting new people: describing things/others, continuation of present tense, talking about others (he/she/they).
LEVEL 2 IS SCHEDULED TO COME OUT NEXT SPRING/SUMMER. In the meantime, you can do the extra monthly units that are coming out this fall :)
Level 3. Past tense and telling stories. Will include future tense only as a review of "I'm going to/you're going to/etc, not as "I will."
All with consistent review.
And somewhere in between: how to read in the new language. This will also cover daily basics such as weather, dates, seasons, etc. as you learn and practice new letters and sounds each day.
The pricing should stay the same for each level!
Do you plan to add additional languages?
Currently we're focused on furthering content with the languages we already have. We'll only create them based on their need, so we appreciate your input. That being said- we have 2 additional languages in the works that will be announced when they're ready- stay on our email list and we'll keep you updated on new releases!
If you'd like to request a language,
send us a message here!
PDF vs. Physical Copy- am I missing out on anything by buying the PDF instead?
The short answer is: you won't miss out on anything by going PDF.
We DO suggest you get everything game-related laminated, and then prepare for a lot of cutting!
Here are the things that the physical version comes with that the PDF doesn't:
-Puppet (any type, you can read why in our FAQ!)
-Inflatable globe (doubles as a ball and a map)
-Spinner (you'll just need a brad/paper-fastener because it DOES come with an arrow, haha!)
-Dice and game pawns
-Card box (you could use a recipe box or small accordion file)
-Box for entire set
So as you can see, the physical copy is popular because of convenience and durability, but you won't be missing out on a thing by going with the PDF version.
Do you give military discounts?
Of course! Send a photo of your active duty ID and we'll send you a coupon for 5% off. For everyone else, we have a sale each year on Black Friday!
Will this work for my teen, too?
It will depend on your teen and I'll tell you why- we play a lot into the imaginative playfulness (floor is lava!), and the competitive nature (run to THIS card!) that is innate in younger kids, you'll have to decide if your teen will participate!
I'm sure you've looked at the first 4 lessons to see the playful nature of the curriculum, they do progressively get harder and more complex in a way the children understand but the teen would absorb more and further make the language his/her own.
I'm personally going through this curriculum again with my 5 year old and he's picking up SO much more the second time, something that your teen would get the first time around!
One smart mom in our Facebook Group "Homeschool Languages Creative Space" says she has her teen learn by using the curriculum to teach the youngest, and it's working great!
What is the difference between the curriculum and the subscription? Do I need both?
The curriculum is a full course that introduces you to the language and how it works- so it teaches things like how to put phrases together, how to conjugate, etc. But we can only introduce so much vocabulary in those 40 lessons, but there is SO MUCH to talk about in life haha!!
So the units are completely unnecessary for the curriculum, they're simply to add more vocab into your life! I might not even suggest doing the units at the same time as the curriculum. Use them later to solidify what you've learned, or while you're waiting for level 2 to come out! You can choose to download them as you need them- if you see yourself ALWAYS losing things (looking at myself here, haha!) or getting in and out of the car often, then download those units! In a fun way they teach you those phrases you're constantly using.. and get your kids to use them as well. It's a way to really make the language a "living" language in our homes!
https://www.homeschoollanguages.com/units will tell you more about the units, and if you scroll down there's a video explaining more of what the units are, with a way to get the shopping unit for free to see what it's like.
How does this compare to other popular subcriptions?
Ask our family's yourself in our Facebook group!
Homeschool Languages Creative Space.
Subscriptions like Talkbox.mom, HolaAmigo boxes, and Onethird Stories have been discussed in a candid way there by families who have tried them both. Feel free to ask your own questions in that group to get some honest feedback!
