Marin Mommies presents a sponsored article from Colors of Spanish.

The Summer Spanish Immersion program offered by Colors of Spanish, engages 5–8 years old children with age-appropriate interactive activities; traditional Latin-American games, songs, rhymes, poetry, drama, art, stories and more – with the focus on familiarization with the language through fun!

Each week they extend and reinforce concepts through science, culture and nature – without missing out on natural, daily routines, whether in California or in countries where Spanish is the dominant language. These courses are open to children of all levels of Spanish.

Since 2004, Colors of Spanish has offered a Summer Spanish Immersion program in the North Bay Area – from St. Helena to Mill Valley – but took their program online last summer, due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. 

“We modified our normal Immersion schedule and launched an online virtual adventure, Imagínate, to a 1 ½ hour class in the morning, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. With the incorporation of video elements from the local environment, expanded music and art capabilities we have really been able to engage with each student and get them actively interacting with us,”. 

According to Guadalupe, who is the Founder & Director of the program, the online environment has not been without its challenges but has opened new avenues for creativity. “When we made the decision to take the program online last year,” she explains, “we had a lot of learning to do as far as the technology. Fortunately, we were able to draw on nearly 20 years of curriculum development.. so what we were able to focus on was exploring different ways of presenting that information and engaging the student through the screen – and honestly, we continue to have quite a bit of fun with it!”.

“My daughter took all 8 weeks of summer Spanish camp on zoom. Three mornings a week x 90 minutes of nonstop fun and I got a well needed break. She danced, sang, listened to stories, and created art projects every day of camp. By the end of summer, she was singing all the songs, swimming in laundry baskets, dancing with maracas, scarves, kitchen spoons, balloons, pool noodles and juggling wool dryer balls. Fantastic summer zoom camp! 5-stars!” 

—Heather (Sierra’s Mom)

Although they are anxious to return to in-person programs, meeting the needs of diverse communities, reluctance, and varying protocols from schools to schools as far as how to safely provide an immersive program in a COVID environment demands a lot of attention.

“We have chosen to not wait for others to make decisions, and really just focus on providing the best Spanish language experience we can, “ she continues, “Plus, when communicating in a new language, body language, facial expressions and movement of the mouth are keys to facilitating understanding. We really look forward to fall, but without a doubt, through art, song, music and stories our 5 – 8-year-old students will continue to be enriched and entertained as they travel through a selection of Spanish speaking regions.”

Their modified summer Imaginate program, designed for online attendance will be as follows:

• 8 weekly sessions | June 7–August 2
• Monday/Wednesday/Friday
• 9:30–11 am (PDT)

All levels are welcome – Enroll Now!!