Looking for Spanish Speaking Classes / School in NW Suburbs

Starland in Deerfield offers a fantastic spanish class for 5 year olds. Call ###-###-####. The class is an hour long and meets once a week all semester and is perfect for kids who go to half-day preschool or kindergarten elsewhere. The class is taught in english with lots of games in spanish and conversational spanish, reading and writing being taught, and the teacher has more than 20 years of teaching experience with this age group. She is remarkable and her name is Marta. This would be a great first-step class to take before putting your child in anything really intensive that met more than one day a week. The starland class is educational but fun too and the kids love it.

Now there is also a regular school called Sherwood which I believe is in Highland Park... could be mistaken-- somewhere up there-- which is a regular school with a Spanish immersion program and all the kids' classes are in spanish. I teach enrichment classes and have students who go to Sherwood and they all and their parents, are very happy with it. The kids do seem to understand a good deal of spanish too.

Lastly, also in Deerfield there's a language arts summer camp and you can take the immersion summer camp in spanish. I don't know anyone who's done this camp but I have gone to the park this summer and seen the camp and watched them play games in spanish and heard them sing songs in spanish and it just looks fun and educational.

you could also try instituto cervantes. they may have classes for children, but i believe they are only in downtown (Chicago). BTW, how old is your pediatrician? i'm really surprised that someone in this day and age would discourage bilingual development. that sounds like something that was in vogue 40-50 years ago, but i've always got the sense that its universally encouraged to expose children to many languages. i think once you set the standard (english only) it will be difficult for them to speak with you in any other language. we always spoke in spanish to our kids and our nannies were always spanish speaking. they were naturally behind in verbal communication in english, but far exceeded the avg child in comprehension, (in two languages!). once they started school they worked it out. at the tender age of 5 my daughter speaks spanish and english and is showing interest in french! good luck!

Check with your church. You may get the info you need there. Your dr. must have lost his mind. Sure, English is the hardest language so the kids should have learned that first but Spanish could have started at 4 years of age when kids don'tform their own opinions so much. It'll be rough now mom but stick to your guns. Spanish will help them all through school. There'll be less pressure in high school of learning a second language if they already know it....A's and B's will be great on the report cards and help with their self esteem during those teen years. They won't be sorry then.

We send our daughter to Language Stars. There are several around (someone gave the link earlier). Not only does my daughter love the classes and the teachers, but she picked up on the language very quickly. Right now, she speaks "Spanglish", using spanish words in her sentences, but I was amazed at how quickly she just absorbed the language. It'll probably really help if you're fluent and can speak spanish with the kids, as well.

They can be a bit pricey, but IMHO, totally worth it.

There is a language stars place on Arlington Heights Road, just south of Miner in Arl Hts. on the east side of the road. At least I think it's still there.

Here's a place for you to take them to Spanish classes.
http://www.languagestars.com/
I haven't heard anything bad about this school.
I also like to say shame on your pediatrician for suggesting to stick to one language. Growing up with multiple languages myself, I believe it was a benefit to me. I was born here in the states, but my first language was Polish, along with Russian and Italian. I didn't learn English until i was five years old.
Your boys would greatly benefit from learning a second language too, and since you and your husband are fluent, you can start speaking Spanish in the home.

Good luck, I think it's great you are wanting to teach them another language.

Bravo!!