Move over, Dora. CC had the chance to explore a new way to learn Spanish, courtesy of music- and play-based language program habla blah blah.And did she love it? In a word: Sí.
Habla blah blah offers classes to children ages 9 months to 5 years in the Los Angeles area. The philosophy behind the program is to introduce young minds to a new language and expand their horizons through words, music and play. Español becomes fun instead of something forced or boring.
CC had a great time singing and dancing to songs such as "Familia de Leones" (above photo), "Agua," "Mira Mira" and "Te Amo."
She was even giving high-5's to the other tots during the song "Cinco."
The complimentary class we attended was held in the studio area of Los Feliz boutique Dragonfly DuLou, an adorable kids' clothing shop that also boasts a courtyard with toys and a toddler-friendly trampoline.
Our instructor, Laura, guided the bilingual class -- which consisted of young children with their mom or dad -- through songs from the habla blah blah CD. There was also chatting, dancing and a snack, which they serve every week to introduce a new word. This week is was pan, or bread.
In the beginning, both CC and I were a little nervous. Neither one of us speaks Spanish, yet the rest of the children seemed to be somewhat familiar with the language. (This would have been absolutely perfect when Stephani was with us. Guess CC has forgotten all the Spanish she used to hear on a daily basis.)
That nervousness totally disappeared as the class continued. Laura always anchored everything in English, as well as offered pictures, movement, repetition and description, making a different language much more accessible.
The class is great for kids who speak Spanish at home as well as for families who are dedicated to introducing it at some point in their child's lives. That familiarity, in and of itself is good, too, since we live in such a multilingual city.
We'll definitely keep it on the list for potential extracurricular options.
For more information on Winter Session classes, click here.
The best stage of life to learn any language is the childhood. Since we are living multilingual culture, we as a parent must expose our children to Spanish language. They will be benefited from knowing this language as it is widely spoken and second most studied language in the world.
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