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I'm thinking I should start adding in a foreign language to our days but honestly I'm floundering. I haven't a clue which language or what program/approach I should be considering. Shooting from the hip I would say Spanish but maybe there is a better alternative? And which curriculum seems best? My kids are 7.5, 5.5, and 2.5.

Any (and all! ) advice greatly appreciated!

I love teaching ASL(am sign lang). I love the Signing time curriculum. You can get the entire classroom set with lesson plans, ws, cds and dvds for 299. However if that is out of your price range you can find worksheets on line for free and youtube has many teaching videos(incl some signing time videos.) I also teach Spanish, but I love teaching ASL more

I was at a conference a couple of years ago and Spanish was not in the top three needed languages, although it was admitted that if you live in parts of the US it would be very helpful. Mandarin was one of the top 3 and for the life of me I can't remember the other two now, so I guess I am not that helpful. In terms of ease of learning and available programs, I would think Spanish or French would be good choices. If you are thinking more along the lines of global need and job opportunity etc., those are not the languages you want. I'll see if I can find notes on that lecture - I can't remember if I took any. As far as curriculum, many say Rosetta Stone is good, but there are so many options it is almost overwhelming.

We are choosing Spanish. I know career wise it may not be the most in demand but first I know a fair amount and second because of that I feel like it would be a good ministry language for my family. My second choice for us would be Russian but that would be just because four of my children were adopted from a country that speaks it and I think it would be very neat for them to learn. So all that to say for me I saw two paths and I think both are great. One would be what is the most in demand for future career and another would be what might be most useful for ministry purposes or in other words which one do you feel God is showing you He can use the most. Then really another very legitimate reason to me is what interests your child. I think God can use any of those reasons to His glory.

Whatever you choose I have read a really more important aspect than what is that you have 2-3 years of the same language as far as if you are looking for college entrances etc. Anyway just some food for thought.

Pray about it! That's what we did, and the Lord led us to take French for high school. (After years of unsuccessful attempts at Spanish here).
I didn't think we would need French, really, although I had 2 years in high school and 1 semester in college myself, but then I realized that we live in WI (just south of Quebec, Canada!), AND our church has a sister church in Burkina Faso, Africa, and their main language is French. A lot of the African countries actually use it (good for mission work!), and it is also the official language of the UN, I heard.

SO, pray and see what the Lord may lead you to focus on, because HE knows our future and what we may need!

My 3rd and 5th graders (and myself:) ) take French. We use Rosetta stone. If my children wanted any gov. job here they MUST be bi-ligual as we have 2 official languages. I took 7 years of it, but I still don't feel I know all that much. I know many words and can read enough to basically understand. I will say 1 thing I don't like about RS is that there is no explanation whatsoever to the work. It's all immersion. I guess that's how you'd learn it IRL, but a few explanations would make things so easier. Things like put 'ne - pas' around the verb for a negative. Or add 'e' to the end to make things feminine. Especially how almost all verb ending change the same for each pronoun. Like 'ent' for plural male and female or 'ez' for collective 'you'. Sorry personal little rant I ave going on with myself right now.

I'm doing Spanish with my kids. It is pretty informal right now, but we will ramp it up as they age. For now we use Speekee, Salsa Spanish(this is free online), and some games. They are also doing a bit of Spanish at their fall co-op.

Mumkins wrote: but a few explanations would make things so easier. Things like put 'ne - pas' around the verb for a negative. Or add 'e' to the end to make things feminine. Especially how almost all verb ending change the same for each pronoun. Like 'ent' for plural male and female or 'ez' for collective 'you'. Sorry personal little rant I ave going on with myself right now.

I too will probably pick Spanish mainly because I cannot pronounce any french with my Kentucky/Indiana accent.
For an explanation of some of the grammar for foreign languages, Latin will help the child a great deal! and will carry over into all the Romantic Languages and English. Memoria Press' Latin program starts at young elementary level and the child can always take the Foreign Language of Choice as he gets towards middle school.

We have Professor Toto's French set (which is on hold till they are older since they aren't as interested in learning French as mom - who took several years of it - is in teaching it ), as well as both complete seasons of Signing Time and a couple Baby Signing Time videos as well as a couple signing books (like a flashcard set in book format). I didn't even realize Signing Time had lesson plans until I read the previous post on this thread! I'm definitely looking into that. As for cost, a couple years ago we mentioned to my parents that we were thinking about buying the dvds but were trying to figure out how to cover the cost. To our surprise, a month later (happened to be Christmas) they signed us up for the Signing Time club where we recieved a new DVD in the mail every month! We now have the complete dvd set and the kids LOVE watching them. I usually save them as a reward for getting their other school work done or even for cleaning their room! They are always running over during the video to show the sign they just learned and they often use their signs when they either don't feel like speaking or their mouth is full of food. Last month I asked a walmart employee where I could find something and she signed to me that she was deaf. Having been watching and practicing with the boys, I was able to use the few signs I knew to ask my question. The woman seemed very pleased that I knew how to sign (even if it was rough) and my boys were ecstatic to actually meet someone who couldn't hear and see me using the signs they've been learning. All to say, I highly recommend teaching ASL.

DS has been enjoying learning Spanish with La Clase Divertida the last couple years.

I think Carrie's DH is teaching Greek to their boys with Hey Andrew! (that company also has a Latin program) and Carrie has mentioned possibly including William Linney's (is that last name right?!) Getting Started With Latin or Spanish book in one of the upper guides...if I remember correctly, it'll be the next guide coming out Aug 2012. I have both GSWS and the Latin book made by the Hey Andrew! people. I like them both pretty well. GSWS is short and to the point. Easy to self-teach for upper elem/middle school up to adult. I have a few others (I love languages!) that I like, but I haven't been doing much lately.

The great thing is that by using HOD, when I get our days in order from this most recent move, we will have time to add them in without stressing anyone out. I'd be happy to share about some I own (or want to own!), and will probably have at least a couple programs I'll be reviewing for the big giveaway coming up on my blog soon...but you'll have to email me/PM or post to my blog fb page for specifics on those since I don't want to post other companies' products here! (other than the ones I know Carrie has mentioned before) https://www.facebook.com/pages/SchoolDa ... 4337624585

I like ASL too. My dad's GF is deaf and got the kids a bunch on Signing Time. My dad is fluent in it now.