I've been searching for spanish programs that are gentle, fun, incorporate CM methods and are inexpensive. Is that too much to ask?!
I found The Fun Spanish from this site http://www.classicalreadingandwriting.com/ and fell in love! It was just what I was looking for and it's only $20! It says it's just a supplement, but it seems to cover so much more than other elementary level 1 spanish programs with more grammar, some conjugation, and as much, if not more, vocab. There's a link to 2 free weeks of lessons on the site and it's packed full of all the introductory stuff, plus 2 weeks of full lessons. I've got it saved and ready to use-- hoping to make it last for 4 weeks
I plan to make phonogram cards from the phonics chart they include (I got this idea from The Easy Spanish by Great Commission Languages which is very CM). I'll add in early readers (in Spanish) from the library as they suggest, as well as any kid's DVD's in spanish I can find there. There is no audio cd for it, but it's easy to find web sites that have audio for the phonics, and I also found another site that has audio for several vocab words-- http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish ... r_children. I haven't looked at it yet, but it's free and worth a peek.
I had some high school spanish, and a little in college too...but it's not fresh...at least 10 years since I sat in a spanish class in college. But still, I think it will help to have that knowledge since I can figure it out quicker (I still remember our conjugation chants...LOL), but it's certainly not a must-have to use this book. It's very straight forward. If you are looking for more (at more expense as well) then I also liked The Easy Spanish, Puertas Abiertas, and La Clase Divertida very much. All Christian, or not overtly so, but mention God and scriptures, witnessing vocab, etc.