About Spanish Education Program for Kids

Teach Spanish to elementary level students.

Risas y Sonrisas is a unique and simple-to-use instructional program for teaching Spanish in elementary school and beyond.

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about the Risas y Sonrisas Spanish Education program.

Children are naturally more "efficient" foreign language learners and have a great capacity to learn a second language. The program is based on the idea that this learning can be significantly enhanced through the use of:

Music
Creative Visual Aids
Games
Variety in Presentation
A Relaxed and Fun-Filled Environment

The various audio and visual elements of both the individual and classroom programs are complementary and inter-related so that the same vocabulary or element of grammar is practiced and reinforced in many different ways to create variety, encourage participation and avoid boredom.

Unique picture associations and color highlighted words are used throughout both programs to speed the learning process.

The Risas y Sonrisas programs are very flexible, allowing you to customize them to work with many different curriculums, age groups, and learning styles. And both programs may be paced to progress at a schedule that both you and your students are comfortable with.

No teaching experience is necessary, just lots of enthusiasm and good pronunciation. School teachers, volunteer parent instructors and home based tutors are delighted with the materials offered in this program. Click here to see what others have to say about their experience using Risas y Sonrisas.

After completing this program students will:

Know how to read and pronounce words in Spanish.
Possess essential Spanish conversational skills.
Have mastered Spanish vocabulary associated with the alphabet, colors, numbers 1-1000, greetings, the body, questions, directions, family, opposites, school, days of the week, months and seasons, weather, magic words, verbs, food, silverware, farm animals, wild animals, household items, clothing, occupations, places, time, nature and many cognate words.
Understand many aspects of Spanish grammar including pronunciation, masculine/feminine, singular plural, personal pronouns, present/past/future conjugations and useful irregular verbs.

Best of all, they will acquire a love for learning Spanish because their experience was positive and joyful.

Risas y Sonrisas offers enough material to take a student through elementary school. Usually students master the contents of the program within 2 school years, meeting twice a week for 45 minutes. However, by combining the key phrases, vocabulary, cognate words and different verb tenses, students may build on and reinforce what they have learned to develop more advanced conversational skills.

The materials can be adapted to readers (2nd - 5th grade) as well as non-readers (preschool - 2nd grade). For readers, more emphasis is placed on reading skills and pronunciation. For non-readers, only the music, pictures and age appropriate games in the program are used. All students follow the same vocabulary units. Adults can also benefit with this method when they discover the joy of learning like a child.

Program Director

Leticia Smith is from Mexico City and has lived in the US for over 20 years. She is a graduate of Southwest Texas State University and received an Accelerated Learning certificate from the University of Houston. She has ten years of experience as a Spanish instructor teaching students in elementary schools.

Leticia created and developed the Risas y Sonrisas Spanish Program for Kids which is now being used in several schools in the Austin area and other cities in the US.