Today, my husband and I went to check out a Kindergarten class at the school that my daughter will most likely be attending in the fall. This class was a little different than your average Kindergarten class because it was a Spanish immersion program. I went away with mixed feelings about what was right for my preschooler.
In our school district, you have to get ready for Kindergarten early. This includes testing your child for the Extended Learning Program, which can be compared to a gifted program in other school districts. Not every elementary school offers these classes, and they have to test high enough to get into the program. Since we won’t know the results of her test for a couple of more months, we went to the open house today to get an idea of what it was going to be like to put her in a class that teaches Kindergarteners in both English and Spanish.
I had my doubts, about whether or not these kids were able to learn to speak Spanish so quickly, but the class I observed proved me wrong. The program has 2 days a week when the class is entirely in Spanish, and 2 days a week where they teach the children in English. The 5th day is a mixed day. We were visiting on a Spanish day. So, the class was all in Spanish. The teacher was reading a Dr. Seuss book, and the kids were understanding it. They laughed when appropriate, and followed the teachers instructions all of which were in Spanish! They were even speaking back to her in Spanish. Now, we are definitely near the end of the school year, but I was excited about the prospect of my preschooler being able to learn and speak Spanish!
I don’t know if this program is right for my child. I do not know where she will test compared to other children. But, I am thankful for a school system that gives me options. We will just have to see what the future brings.