Dea Dea Huffstutler began teaching Spanish classes in order to meet the growing need for cross-cultural understanding right here in our own community.  Dea Dea comes to us with a BA and MA in Spanish.  She worked in Latin America for 8 years and has a total of 18 years experience in International Human Resources.  She currently has a Spanish to English / English to Spanish translation and interpretation service, is taking classes to earn her PhD, and teaches Spanish to both children and adults.  At Argonauta Christian School, she teaches Spanish to both preschool and VPK children.

Dea Dea’s way of teaching is fun and interactive.  She wants children to be able to naturally identify with other cultures and languages.  She believes this is accomplished by:

1)      Exposing children to the phonetics of another language

2)      Singing and dancing to encourage participation

3)      Learning basics of communication

4)      Making it fun and exciting to learn about the different cultures

5)      Repetition of material – gradually changing and adding more over time

In her class, Dea Dea uses songs which children are already familiar with, such as:  Frere Jacques; Yes Sir, That’s My Baby; Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes; etc.  Interactive games are played to get children on their feet and involved with the different tools and resources (puppets, instruments, objects, puzzles, etc.).  Books with large pictures and interactive dialogue are read.  Each week children will have the same lessons with only a slight variation.  It is very repetitious because this enhances their learning and retention.  The variations will only enhance the vocabulary of which they have already been exposed.  Over time, they are able to have an ear for Spanish and be able to have a basic dialogue.  Visit Dea Dea's site at www.espanolito.com.