Spanish for Beginners: Vamos a Jugar (Let's Play), 1st Edition Reviews

• Packed with more quality learning than many other Spanish language kids programs!

  
  By A31SWBL8EQCBIC on 2007-09-10
  I've been purchasing Spanish educational DVD's for my 3 year old since she was born. Most of them are extremely boring and repetitive. My daughter would watch but with little to no interaction. I recently brought home Whistlefritz: Vamos a Jugar and was astounded when she started answering questions and singing songs after the first viewing. This is a full immersion DVD and my daughter is not bilingual. Whistlefritz arranged the program in such a way that my daughter truly understands what they are saying. She has now been viewing this DVD on and off for about 3 weeks and is actually using the words throughout her day! I would highly recommend this DVD over titles such as Boca Beth, Brainy Baby or Plaza Sesamo. The Spanish to English translations used by Boca Beth only confused my daughter. Brainy Baby won't hold your child's interest much past 12 months and Plaza Sesamo uses far too many slang words and is not a good language learning tool. My only complaint with Whistlefritz is that the play time is too short. It is only about 23 minutes long and I felt that once my child was really getting in-to the program it ended. I think 30 to 40 minutes would be a better running time. Regardless, those 23 minutes are packed with more quality learning than many other programs that run much longer.
  
  

• A Welcome Addition

  
  By A2SSW5OPKB1Q1K on 2007-07-29
  "Vamos a Jugar" is an extremely welcome addition to the set of (suprisingly limited) tools available for parents who wish to teach their kids Spanish. While efforts by shows like "Dora" and "Dragon Tales" to include Spanish language content are positive, the occasional word or phrase does little beyond letting kids know that other languages exist. The immersion philosophy behind the Whistlefritz videos is a quantum leap forward. The genius is in the simplicity of the concept -- take characters, skits, games and songs largely familiar to kids and present them purely in Spanish rather than English, guessing (correctly) that kids will be able to follow the storylines and pick up the vocabulary quickly. Perhaps just as importantly, the entertainment, novelty and challenge levels are more than high enough to keep our 3 and 5 years olds fully engaged. "Los Animales" (the first video) has been part of the permanent rotation in our DVD player for months with no signs of displacement anytime soon; very happy to see a second video added to the mix and looking forward to more. Highly recommend this great new product.
  
  

• Even better than their other DVD, Los Animales!

  
  By A392IPU3H1GPP5 on 2007-07-15
  Vamos a Jugar (Let's Play):Beginning Spanish for Kids is the second DVD in this series and I believe it is even better than the first one, Los Animales (Animals): Spanish for Beginners as there is more interaction with the kids. You really can't tell from the cover however it is all done with real people and not animation (and the kids are all cute and very entertaining). This DVD covers the parts of the body (head, face, hands, knees....) and they even do the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" (in Spanish of course). It is a wonderful alternative to Dora, Diego or Dragon Tails. It comes with a guide to help with translations.
  
  
  

• Just OK...

  
  By A29UOVD4K52ZXF on 2007-11-27
  I was excited to view this DVD based on the reviews, but it did not quite live up to expectations. I saw it together with my 4-year old and it did not hold his attention. The format consists of a narrator/teacher who speaks entirely in Spanish. She uses hand gestures and puppets to illustrate the Spanish words. This becomes somewhat repetitive after a while. The narrator was remarkably unremarkable, which may be good in that she doesn't detract from the lessons. Now for the not-so-good. Every so often a song pops up. Unfortunately the songs did not add to the video as they were reminiscent of old cowboy tunes. The accompanying "booklet" was a single fold-out with the words and phrases taught in the DVD. It would have been more useful if it were better structured with some explanation. Finally, I was surprised that the DVD only ran 20 - 21 minutes as I had expected more for the price.
  
  

• Whistlefritz is a big hit. My 22-month old son LOVES it!

  
  By A1Q7YTXX707FIL on 2007-07-30
  My wife and I were always impressed with how my cousin's children had excelled with picking up Spanish as a second language at such a young age. We were eager to get our son started but did not know where to begin. My cousin gave us copies of "Los Animales" and "Vamos a Jugar". He was immediately captivated. My wife and I were amazed at how quickly he seemed to be picking up Spanish while singing along and having fun. It even helped us to remember what we had learned years back in school. As soon as the DVD ends he claps, yells Yeah! and then asks for "Mo Whitlefrit".
  
  
• VA mom
  By A1VS4116TQZTYI on 2007-12-16
  Our kids, ages 4 and 6, love this DVD. The kids love the songs which are very catchy and fun. The all Spanish format has also been very effective and the kids have picked up lots of new Spanish words. Great video!
  
  
• Please make more!
  By A3GKMXLNU1ENJ5 on 2008-01-11
  The first time my 2 yr old watched this he immitated the movements associated with the song "Cabeza, hombros, rodillos y piez." This DVD (and it's partner "Animales") are essential to really exposing children to the Spanish language. Another series (Kids Love Spanish) is good for basic vocab. "Vamos a jugar" immerses the child in the language, understanding that context and repetition aid learning. The narrator (Maria) is wonderfully engaging and the puppets are quaint. I sincerely hope Whistlefritz will make more (SOON!), as my Spanish is limited to what I didn't learn in high school (my fault, Senora Gershon!).
  
  
• love it
  By A2M94YZQ0AYDD1 on 2008-02-08
  All of my children (5,3,2)love it. My youngest (2) loves to dance around to it. The songs are fun to follow and makes learning spanish fun.
  
  
• From a teacher's perspective....
  By AZKGCE3LNX7WB on 2008-02-08
  I'm not big on TV teaching - I like to do things with my children face to face, rather than looking at a screen.... So, I'm a bit biased. But some of my students' parents asked me to review this DVD. First, I agree, for the money, it's quite short. The good points are - excellent pronunciation, clear audio, and professional movie-type video. It reminds me of the Baby Einstein Series - high quality. Our children for the most part sat through it and tried to sing a long.
  
  The bad parts - the actual words and phrases that are learned a not very numerous. My children (6, 4, 3, and the baby, 14 months) all knew these words already, but I did like that they were learning in a different format, even if it was review. Did they enjoy it? Yes. Will they watch it again? I can't get them to. I'd like the 3 year old to watch more, as she could really learn some more from it, but she refuses. Motivation is REALLY important when learning a second language, so I don't force it.
  
  For an introduction, I think it's a good product! If your kids are happy to watch DVD's, this is a good idea, well-executed. I would definitely supplement with other types of learning though.
  
  Sra. Gose, Spanish Teacher
  Author of Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 1 & Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 2
  
  
• Great DVD!
  By A6K689A1SI65Y on 2008-02-15
  We have both Whistlefritz DVDs and my 16 month old loves them both. Los Animales is his favorite, but he also enjoys this DVD which teaches him the parts of his body in Spanish. The teacher on the DVD is great, the children are really cute and this DVD has some dancing which my son always loves. Both Whistlefritz DVDs are well made and very educational. A great choice for Spanish immersion for your child.
  
  
• Only video my 18-month old will watch!
  By A1YB5ODQH4U0PC on 2008-03-22
  I bought this video along with a few other Spanish videos. Neither my husband nor I speak Spanish, but I realize how important it is in today's world. My 18-month old had never sat through an entire video without losing interest, but this one did it! He sat through the whole thing and even got up to dance during the songs. I highly recommend this video!
  
  
• My Son Loves This Video
  By A1HHIWC27J2WAV on 2008-04-09
  I bought this video a while ago and my 3 yr old son still loves it. I like that it's entirely in Spanish and that it is not very long (about 20 minutes)as he gets bored with videos quickly. The narrator is also fun and the words are repeated several times with a lot of different picture examples.
  
  
• It really works!
  By A324FE9SLVPQB3 on 2008-04-09
  I bought this DVD and their other one, Los Animales for my 2-year old grandson. He loves it! and he is learning fast. When his father gets home from work, Joaquin brings him the DVDs and tell him "Daddy, 'pañol" meaning, Daddy, Spanish, and he sits in front of the TV mesmerized and going along with the teacher. Yesterday, he dropped his pacifier, picked it up and told his father "lavalo" (wash it). We are delighted with how much he learns as well as with the quality of the product itself. Hope they make more!!!
  
  
• OK - Not very impressed
  By A2XQFWBG4X9BLM on 2008-08-03
  I was so excited to see all the positive reviews on this product, but once I saw the video I was dissapointed. The effort is OK. Overall not very exciting for my 2 year old - she looks like she is falling asleep while watching it. The songs are very plain and boring to me. I recommend Susy Dorn's series instead.
  
  
• best spanish immersion for children
  By AK8DP5B0J2M26 on 2008-08-15
  The whole family watches this video and learns spanish. Even though sometimes it seems low-budget, it is fantastic at teaching basic spanish. I wish they made more videos. We also own the "Los Animales" video which is good too.
  
  

• Spanish for Beginners: Los Animales (Animals)
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• Spanish for Kids: Learn Spanish Beginner Level 1
• Brainy Baby - Spanish
• Beth Manners' Fun Spanish for Kids: ages 2-6