The Spanish Elementary program at the Mountain Brook Schools is an exploratory program.  Each student takes Spanish once a week for 45 minutes. 

     From Kindergarten to Third Grade, students learn useful and frequently used phrases. Likewise, all the basic vocabulary is learned throughout these first years, such as colors, numbers, calendar, weather, shapes, community, transportation, geography, body, clothes, family, house, and school.  Not only are the students exposed to the Spanish language but also to its culture.  Although during these beginning years the focus will be mainly on Mexico and Spain, the students will be exposed to the culture of all the Spanish speaking countries and will have an idea of where all these countries are located.        
    From Fourth Grade to Sixth Grade, all the basic vocabulary is reviewed and practiced through communicative activities, both verbal and written.  During these last three years of elementary school, the students will learn all about the Spanish speaking countries - Fourth Grade learns about South America, Fifth Grade learns about Central America and the Caribbean, and Sixth Grade learns about Spain.  The curriculum covers knowing where the countries are located, landmarks, important people, important events, and interesting facts. 

      The goal of this program is not for the students to be fluent in Spanish by the time they graduate from the Sixth Grade, but to learn basic vocabulary, learn useful phrases, and develop an understanding of the Spanish culture that will help prepare them to be better citizens in our global society.