Trout had been asking about taking a Spanish class to learn more Spanish than a thousand episodes of Dora had taught her, so when the Parent Bloggers asked for someone to review a program to teach Spanish to kids age 0-8 I jumped at the chance, especially since I have four kids in the target age demographic (I originally typed demongraphic - kinda telling about how my days have been recently). Boca Beth is a program designed to lay the foundation for raising kids who are bilingual in both English and Spanish. We received the My First Songs in Spanish CD, the I Like Animals DVD, a Boca puppet, a coloring book, and a wonderful cute little maraca/shaker thingy that my kids fight over.
We've watched the DVD and listened to the CD at least 100 times each. My kids love these things -- especially Sunny. When the DVD is on she is glued to the TV, repeating all the dialogue and doing all the dances, pronouncing things as best she can. She wanders around the house singing all the songs -- she even sings them in the bathtub. I can't vouch for how much Nemo got out of any of it, as he can't talk, but he sure likes to watch the DVD and tends to stop fussing when the CD is on. Little Man and Trout also watched, listened, and learned, but I don't think they got as much out of it as Sunny did. I think she, at 2 and 3 (she had her birthday in the middle of our review), is the best target audience for the program.
The production quality of both the CD and the DVD could be better. I have a friend who records his own compositions in his bedroom, and the production quality of his work is higher than the quality of the Boca Beth CD. However, the songs are catchy and easy to learn, and use familiar tunes that the kids already know. Every time we get in the car Sunny asks for Boca to play. My only issues with the CD are the aforementioned production quality, and the fact that the songs do tend to develop into ear worms for the adults in the area after a while (I have found myself unable to fall asleep one night because of Hay un perro a fuera being stuck in my head). It would have been nice to have a lyrics sheet for the adults, though, because sometimes it is difficult to make out if something starts with, say, a B or a P just from listening to the CD.
The DVD has the songs on it, mostly in a classroom setting, and shows different animals doing all sorts of things. Again, the production quality is an issue; it is something more akin to what has been done at my church for their post-VBS slide show on Powerpoint than a more polished DVD like something you might see on Baby Einstein. But you know what? It doesn't matter. It just doesn't. My kids LOVE it. Sunny asks to watch it every day, and though I had to cut her down to 3 times a week for my own sanity, she is just as engaged by it now as she was when we first put it on. The sections on the animals are interesting and have the words printed on the screen to help with the B vs P thing. After that, there is a class session just like the classes offered in Florida where they are based. This is fantastic, as Sunny doesn't yet go to preschool, but it introduced her to what preschool might be like when she starts in the fall. Sunny insists on having the Boca puppet and shaker with her whenever she watches, and she dances and sings along with everything.
The Boca Beth website offers more resources for free - a monthly newsletter, flash cards that you can download and print, suggested activities to do along with the CD, and an online store where you can order all the DVDs and CDs, as well as more puppets and shakers so the kids don't fight over them.
If you are interested in getting your children to speak Spanish and possibly even become bilingual, this is a great way to start. Your kids will love this program, and therefore you will, too.
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