A week or so ago I wrote about the first box in the first module of the One Third Stories subscription box. I really like the One Third Stories boxes, and I think it’s a superb way of learning vocabulary.
The boxes in the first module focus on different areas of language, colours and numbers, food and family. They’re fun and engaging and really draw the children in.
What’s in the Box?
Well, happily the box is letterbox friendly which means that there shouldn’t be any of those tell-tale red cards through the door which means a trip to the local sorting office! The boxes we have had are all well packaged and inside you will find:
- High-quality soft cover book – this is an original story
- Activity book which relates to the story
- Flash cards with the key vocabulary
- Any bits and pieces for the activity such as templates
- Details of the web address to download/play the audiobook
I’ve been really impressed with the quality of the books in these first three boxes. They’re all well printed with lovely high-quality illustrations and, importantly, the text is really clear. The activity book that sits alongside has a good range of activiites in to help with some vocabulalry practice.
The flash cards are on card and each set is a different colour, which helps to quickly identify which ones you might want to pratice. We don’t use this massively if I am honest, mostly because we have only just mastered reading in English with D, but they are there for if and when they want to use them.
The audio book
The audio books are great, and the recording is really good quality and very clear. E in particular enjoys listening to these and it’s a nice activity at the end of a busy day or in the morning when I have jobs to do. They’re easy to access and set off to play and they’re read at a nice pace. D likes to try and follow along with the book which helps him with his reading too of course.
How does it work?
The book uses a ‘clockwork methodology’, and introduces the language bit by bit. It will often say the word in English first, then the next time it’s in Spanish. It’s a clever way that really seems to help build up vocab quite quickly. Each month builds on the previous month, so children should be able to spot more and more words they know and can translate from previous months.
As you build up the flashcards you can start to make sentences and use them as story card prompts. For children that are reading, you could hold up the English side and get them to translate to Spanish or vice versa.
Verdict
We really do love the One Third Stories boxes – for Home Educators like me, they’re an absolute dream! Anything that is a self-contained lesson is always going to be a real winner and these books are something we come back to time and again; they sit on the bookshelf and the children will often pick them up and ask me to read them, or will ask for the audio version to be played. I can see both the older two retaining the words and their Spanish vocabulary is improving so much. I can really wholeheartedly recommend One-Third Stories to anyone who is wanting to start learning a language with their children or to supplement any language learning that they are already doing.
To subscribe visit the One Third Stories site.
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