Introducing Spanish Dot (New Magazine for Kids)
/*I was provided with a complementary issue of Spanish Dot in order to provide this review.
Last week, I wrote all about how much I love foreign language magazines as a way of supporting your homeschooled students' language learning. If you want to ensure that your children have high-quality, consistent exposure to the language that your family studying, there’s simply nothing easier than subscribing to a magazine. There’s little research involved, and you don’t even have to leave the house to get your hands on it!
For that reason, I am always glad to see when a new foreign language magazine comes on the market. In my opinion, the more options for parents, the better! And today, I am happy to introduce one of the newest magazines available for kids in the United States: Spanish Dot.
Preschoolers and younger elementary students will love the colorful artwork and simple text of Spanish Dot. So far, there are only two—they’re only recently launched—and each is focused on a particular theme. The first issue centers on shapes and the second on colors; together, they are a great tool to help your child practice new vocabulary and start describing the world around him!
Spanish Dot is printed on recycled paper with vegetable ink, and those small details make a big visual impact. The colors are vibrant and attractive—perfect for younger readers—and the paper is thick enough to make the magazine extra durable. If you’ve been around my kids for more than five minutes, you’ll understand why that’s a big plus in my book. Unlike magazines printed on glossy paper, this one is sturdy enough to travel with you with the doctor’s office, soccer practice, or the grocery store, and it won’t get destroyed in your diaper bag.
Xavi and I enjoyed our complementary issue of Spanish Dot as a bedtime read, and it definitely got the thumbs-up from him. In addition, here are a few things that I really liked about the magazine:
The articles are written very intentionally to stick with each issue’s theme, yet they use very simple, natural language, and because of that, it reads like a real magazine.
It had built-in comprehension and writing activities to helps kids practice the vocabulary that they’re learning. This is great for homeschool language learners who want to use a magazine like this for extra practice; no prep time is required of mom!
It includes many hands-on activities in its articles. In the issue that I received, there was a craft to make tissue paper kites, a recipe for rainbow salad for kids to make with their parents, a fun game of chutes and ladders, and a paper airplane project. All of these are great activities for real-life Spanish practice, and we’re looking forward to doing them ourselves!
You can find Spanish Dot online—as of the writing of this post, you can purchase the first two issues for about $4.50 each, which is a great deal considering how durable these magazines are. If you decide to purchase a copy for your homeschool Spanish learner, I hope you enjoy it!
