The Best Elementary Spanish Curriculum: 11 questions to ask

As a teacher or parent who wants the young children in your life to speak real Spanish to real people, you have a lot of choices to make. You’ll find an array of programs that claim to help you teach Spanish to children. How do you know which is the best elementary Spanish curriculum?

As we’ve developed the Calico Spanish Curriculum, we’ve poured all we know about best practices in language learning and teaching into every piece of the program. We knew other programs didn’t have the elements we knew we wanted, so we created them.

Briefly, below you’ll see a list of must-have components in a high-quality elementary Spanish curriculum for learners. We’re proud to say the Calico Spanish Curriculum meets every one.

When you find out the answer to the following 11 questions, you’ll know whether you’re looking at the best elementary Spanish curriculum or one you should pass up.

1. Who are the experts behind the program?

As you look at Spanish curriculum for elementary learners, ask who developed the program? You want to choose a curriculum that was written and is currently maintained by experts in the field of language education. 

Among your options for elementary Spanish curriculum, you’ll find programs developed by business entrepreneurs, computer programmers, even lawyers. Some are from companies so large there’s no transparency on who wrote them or who updates them.

At Calico Spanish, we want you to know that our curriculum is developed and updated by a team with decades of experience in teaching Spanish to learners of all ages, helping families and teachers use quality curriculum, developing engaging music, and designing and animating fun visual aids children want to interact with. 

Our Curriculum Director, Haylee Ziegler, is a current Spanish teacher with over a decade of experience in the classroom teaching all grade levels. She is also a nationally recognized presenter in the field and holds trainings in person and virtually on all things World Language education. Haylee is an expert at creating engaging resources for all grade levels to enjoy.

The Calico Spanish Curriculum is used by many homeschool families, and we want you to know that Calico Spanish was founded by two homeschool moms with almost 20 years of homeschool experience.

Our curriculum developers are committed to keep the content free of error and up-to-date. We are continually improving and updating our programs with added features that help children learn Spanish. You can know that Calico Spanish is founded on the best principles researched and put to practice by experts in the field.

2. How much Spanish knowledge is required?

One of the main questions that inspired the creation of Calico Spanish was one that we got frequently: “I want to teach children Spanish – but what if I don’t know it myself?”

The truth is that schools who cannot find or afford a Spanish-speaking teacher, as well as homeschool families with parents who don’t speak Spanish, have limited options for helping their young learners effectively acquire real-world Spanish speaking skills. They need a program with enough support so the facilitating teacher will know exactly what is going on. Also, the program must present language in a meaningful context so children can comprehend and acquire naturally without distracting explanation or translation.

Parents and teachers who do not speak Spanish well (or at all) will find that Calico Spanish Curriculum provides this total support. Step-by-step lesson plans often offer scripts of what to say. Unit guides include translations of every Video Story and song, as well as teaching tips, grammar notes, and other explanations that help you understand why we wrote our program the way we did, and how to use it to effectively create a Spanish learning experience for children.  Schools and families with little Spanish proficiency will find it more difficult to see success with their learners using other programs.

Want to see what educators are saying about the Calico Spanish Curriculum? See what The Old Schoolhouse and Cathy Duffy have to say about us! Or, watch this video from Homegrown Homeschool. Or, this video from RV Homeschool family! 

Want to see if you understand our Video Stories? Check out EIGHT of them with a FREE trial. Just click the red button above this post.

3. How much will the content engage my young learners?

Children acquire Spanish best when they engage with fun, understandable content. As you explore curriculum options, beware of programs that rely too heavily on repetitive drills, disconnected vocabulary lists, or scripted phrases. Some claim to be thematic but focus on narrow categories like “Colors” or “Numbers,” which don’t reflect true thematic learning. Others simply repackage adult content for kids or set unrealistic goals, like independent study or advanced conversations without immersive experiences. According to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, advanced proficiency can’t be reached without true immersion, such as studying abroad.

In contrast, as part of its core content, Calico Spanish uses Video Stories developed for children in preschool through fifth grade. The program is organized into four levels. We have deliberately sequenced each level to expand the themes from personal narrative to the world around us: children will first experience Level A, “I Am Special,” on the theme of talking about who I am.  Children continue with the thematic units in Level B, “I Love My Family,” Level C, “I Live Here,” and Level D, “Welcome to the Farm.”

Within each level of the Calico Spanish Curriculum, every unit is based on a fun Video Story and a Calico Comic. In the Video Stories, the Calico Spanish animated animal characters like Pedro the blue fish and Rita the green frog interact using the Spanish children will be acquiring. Their interaction happens in a storyline that builds from one unit to the next, and from one level to the next.

Calico Comics are engaging for young learners because they blend compelling storytelling with vibrant visuals and accessible Spanish language, making input both comprehensible and captivating. Each comic follows the same familiar characters through relatable, high-interest adventures—like birthday parties, beach days, or helping on a farm—inviting students into immersive narratives that reflect real-world experiences and cultural moments from across Latin America. The comics are structured around thematic vocabulary and natural dialogue that reinforce the learning targets in each unit, while the illustrated format supports visual learners and encourages contextual understanding. Because of their approachable and playful format, Calico Comics spark joy and confidence in language acquisition—especially for emergent readers and young learners new to Spanish.

 Lesson plans guide parents and teachers through games, songs, activities, stories, and more, each intended to get children interacting with the same language in a new, engaging way.

Also, each unit scaffolds learning; every Video Story, Activity Sheet, game, and dialogue builds on the ones before, setting learners up for success and also for a continual challenge to go further in their language-learning journey.

Our customers report children from ages 2 to 14 being engaged by Calico Spanish Stories, particularly the video stories and songs, but the program’s sweet spot is from around ages 4 through 10. Our characters engage young children in meaningful, comprehensible language so that they can acquire it naturally. From the time they are introduced to Pedro the blue fish in the first lesson of Level A to the time they wish César the pink pig a good trip home at the end of Level D, children learn language by meeting new animal friends and experiencing their world with them. 

Introduce kids to our Stories characters and visuals with your FREE 7-day trial by clicking the red button below.

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4. What’s the program’s approach to grammar?

The answer to this question will show you a sharp divide in approaches to teaching another language to young children. Some programs will try to explain to children grammatical concepts like verb conjugation and grammatical gender. Thanks to great strides in second language acquisition research over the past several decades, no expert in early language learning will advocate for such an approach. If you see translation drills or multiple choice verb conjugations or exercises to choose the corresponding article for the noun, run! And run fast. We caution that research shows this focus will not support a child’s gains in speaking ability.

In contrast, the Video Stories that are the core of Calico Spanish Stories are based on the way research says children acquire language: through comprehensible input and interaction presented in achievable chunks. As we are committed to the best Spanish curriculum available, all music, activity sheets, input, and suggested practice activities, focus on meaningful language use. Children will draw and describe objects and people, organize language pieces to express different meanings, and play games – those are the “worksheets” you’ll find in Stories.

5. What does the program expect children to accomplish?

You’ve seen the claims: “Kids learn Spanish in minutes!” “Lightning-fast results!” But you know better. Think about how long it took a child to go from “Ball” to “Ball up!” to “Hold you!”—those early phrases come from hearing chunks of language over and over. Even by age five, a child might say, “I want she to put it on.” That’s not a mistake—it’s a sign their brain is working out grammar. Real language development takes time. And that’s perfectly normal.

When companies promise fluency fast, they usually mean kids hear Spanish early on—not that they acquire it meaningfully. Look closely: do their sample lessons rush through vocabulary and grammar with little context? Many do. That approach doesn’t reflect how children actually learn.

Calico Spanish takes a different path: one rooted in research and real language development. Our curriculum features lovable characters like Pedro the blue fish and Ofelia the white sheep, who guide learners through fun, immersive adventures filled with rich, comprehensible input—because without it, language learning doesn’t stick.

We also know kids need more than just input—they need interaction, variety, and hands-on engagement. That’s why your subscription includes everything from animated Video Stories and comics, to songs, flashcards, posters, storybooks, activity sheets, puppets, and more—plus clear lesson plans to help you use them all. Printable materials are available in your member portal or as beautiful, full-color prints in our shop.

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6. How does the program ensure kids comprehend the Spanish? 

Some programs assume children learn a second language just like their first—by hearing lots of language and figuring it out. But this approach is debated, especially in formal learning settings. Often, these programs skip English entirely or present isolated phrases with translations, or surround key words with complex language kids can’t understand. In all cases, learners are left without the tools they need to actually acquire the language.

Calico Spanish takes a different path. Grounded in research on how kids learn best—through play, music, and storytelling—we use a comprehensible input approach. This means children hear meaningful Spanish in context they can understand and want to pay attention to. Our Video Stories and songs are entirely in Spanish, but crafted to be clear to young learners using visuals, repetition, gestures, and interactive questions.

While kids won’t see translations, teachers and parents will. Our Teacher’s Guides include full English support so you can understand and explain as needed, and follow up with games and activities everyone can enjoy. Spanish audio is recorded by native speakers and focuses on high-frequency, child-friendly content.

We also include authentic cultural resources, but always in a way that lets young learners explore without being overwhelmed. At Calico Spanish, we believe rich, simplified input—not oversimplified or overly complex—is the key to real language acquisition.

Want to see how comprehensible our Spanish is? See the Video Stories for eight units in your free trial. Click the red button below.

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7. What supplementary activities are offered?

Since children must receive language through listening and reading before they are able to actively and accurately use it, Calico Spanish supplies teachers with such activities. These strategies range from immediate modeling of language in context after first viewing the videos to lesson-ending activity sheets that ask children to use Spanish in a meaningful way.  Along the way, children enjoy growing in their language use through some of the most popular Spanish learning songs on YouTube and games like “Go Fish.”

As you look at Spanish curriculum for children, you’ll find programs that seem to be primarily lists of vocabulary phrases, or primarily videos, or primarily songs, sometimes not clearly connected to the lesson goals.  Other programs may include worksheets that ask children to fill in a masculine or feminine article for nouns or unscramble a vocabulary word, but there is no evidence anywhere that this type of activity supports language learning for making meaning, which is what all learners want to do.

In contrast, in light of available research, children will not be asked to do anything with individual vocabulary words disconnected from their meaning.  We prefer to ask children to make meaning from basic levels like using blue to draw items that are usually that color or circling which characters can say something like “I’m big!” Children gradually increase their ability to make meaning with Spanish until, for example, they can fill in a chart and use it to present in Spanish information on what activities their family members like to do. These activity sheets are often adaptable to pre-literate or early-literate children; for more tips on adapting activity sheets for children who don’t yet know how to read or write, see this blog post.

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With Calico Spanish, there’s no guessing game on what materials are and are not included. This is what helps make us the best elementary Spanish curriculum. With your full access to the online program, you can use all of the materials supporting all four levels. You can view, download, and/or print the flashcards, the posters, and the activity sheets that accompany the program.  In addition to the Video Stories, you can view and use the supporting storybook videos and song videos. All of our colorful Calico Comics are included with the program in a PDF and Google Slides format. In our online shop, you can also order full-color, professionally printed sets of all our fun visuals: flashcards, posters, and comic books (which are, remember, already available to you in digital form on the subscription site).

8. Can children work independently?

We’re moms and teachers—we get it. Independent learning sounds great, especially when it lets kids take initiative while adults get a break. But when it comes to learning a language, it doesn’t work that way.

Language is social by nature. Real acquisition happens through human connection, not just screens or apps. So when a program promises kids will learn Spanish independently, be cautious. It’s a myth that they can sit alone with a device and come out fluent. Language exists to connect people—that’s how it’s learned, too.

At Calico Spanish, we provide all the tools a parent or teacher needs, even without knowing Spanish themselves. Yes, we include videos and games children can enjoy independently—but we also encourage getting off the screen and into real interaction. Language sticks when kids use it to build relationships. That’s where growth—and joy—really happens.

Focusing on “independent learning” for language sounds appealing, but it’s misleading. A lifelong journey with language always happens in community.

9. What is the program’s approach to cultural learning?

Most Spanish curriculum companies recognize that language and culture are related and include some aspects of culture. Most, however, fail to show just how closely language and culture are intertwined. You will often see curriculum that tags cultural notes onto the curriculum, perhaps a collection of facts about a particular country. Necessarily, cultural content in elementary curriculum is often in English, because children aren’t able to comprehend that level of content in Spanish. Alternatively, a curriculum may include Spanish-language cultural content, ignoring all the ways it doesn’t achieve its goal because it is incomprehensible.

What is our approach? We believe that twenty-first century education is all about inquiry: not so much memorizing information as learning how to find information and evaluate what to do with it, how to be changed by it, once it is found. It’s about empathy with perspectives that are not like our own. Thus, Calico Spanish has taken a bold approach to intercultural communication unlike any other program. 

Calico Spanish offers 4-5 Culture Capsules per level, each directly related to the curriculum’s language goals.  These separate lessons offer a unique opportunity for learners to explore particular aspects of culture that directly relate to language content, and then compare those aspects to one’s own cultural perspectives and practices.  These Capsules include many discussion suggestions in English, coupled with authentic resources that invite children to see the culture in action. Children and teachers may investigate deep questions like how and why people celebrate birthdays or what leads people to label a particular food as “disgusting.” Then, as a critical component of our approach, each Capsule ends with a standards-based Spanish language task fulfilling national standards in intercultural competence. These tasks are usually based on an authentic resource such as a house-for-sale advertisement. 

With Calico Spanish, you know children will be exploring deep culture content, asking questions that open up their eyes to the different ways people think about the world around them.

10. Does the program align to national standards?

The ACTFL is the national organization responsible for setting the standards for world language education. ACTFL’s experts work hard to make sure educators and families have an effective way to measure what children are achieving in their language journey. In your search for the right program, you’ll want to be sure that the program aligns to these national standards and provides hard evidence that they do so. Don’t take a company’s word for it – they may claim to follow ACTFL standards and then put in front of children a worksheet asking them to choose the correct masculine or feminine article in front of a noun. Such an activity would not be considered by a single ACTFL standards expert to be a practice aligning with communicative standards.

You can be assured that Calico Spanish, the best elementary Spanish curriculum, meets ACTFL standards because it is developed by a curriculum specialist considered an expert in those standards. To see exactly how Calico Spanish meets each standard, click below.

11. What is the technology component of the program?

Your elementary Spanish curriculum options run the spectrum of technology use, from 100% computer-based or app-based programs that have children tapping and clicking alone, to programs that primarily consist of plug-and-play DVDs or CDs, to curriculum that is entirely print materials like cards of vocabulary lists, workbooks full of worksheets, and/or board games. 

Calico Spanish is a hybrid program incorporating both technology and off-screen activities. To provide children with the comprehensible input they need to acquire language, we offer the Video Stories and Storybook videos only within the subscription site. Because the material is online all the time, you have 24/7 access to all the lesson plans in all the levels, whenever you need them. That also means we are able to continually update and enhance the program- and we do. 

However, every power-packed lesson plan also includes poster activities, flashcard activities, games to play with the children, communicative Activity Sheets, and more. We know that kids don’t need more screen time in this world, and we do everything we can to get you and your learners interacting with language off the screen.

Choosing the best elementary Spanish curriculum

We know you have a lot of choices as you consider what elementary Spanish curriculum best fits you and your young learners. We caution you to avoid programs that:

• emphasize grammar accuracy at this early stage
• present children with large amounts of language they can’t understand
• are developed by people who don’t understand or follow best practices in language learning for young children
• claim children will develop language skills independently
• bore children with out-of-date or overly complex content
• expect children to memorize lists of vocabulary

Calico Spanish is the clear choice for teachers who want the best Spanish curriculum. Young children will acquire Spanish…

• in meaningful contexts that they can use in real-world interactions,
• in a standards-based program
• with comprehensive supplements,
• and full support,
• and deep cultural content,
• usable whether or not the teacher or parent speaks Spanish.