I am starting Spanish with my kids this summer. DS will be in kindergarten and DD will be in preschool. There is a nice book I found for Spanish phonics for K-1. Is it too early to start phonics in a foreign language. He is just now starting phonics in English, but is picking it up really quickly. Is it easier to teach kids to read in both languages from the start or will it just confuse them? A lot of the phonics are similar (especially in the 1st phonics book where it is mostly consonants).
It's much, much easier to teach new languages right from the start while their brains are still forming new pathways. It's harder for high schoolers and adults. Immersion programs work great with younger ones, but that's expensive usually. We started Latin last year, and my son is WAY ahead of me already. It's insane! My 2 year old hears the chants and such on the CD's, so now he throws Latin words into normal conversation, too. The way I see it, children ... especially around here (Texas) ... learn English and Spanish right from the start when their parents have a spanish origin. They speak both and understand both equally well, so why should it be any surprise that my kids pick up languages like that? I have a friend way north in Canada whose children are bilingual in Eng/Fr because French is so common there. Think about all the toddlers who learn sign as their first "spoken" language, too. I say go for it. Not too early at all!
I think the reading and writing part can go smoother once the child has started to take off reading in their native language. I am teaching how to read and write in Arabic, but since it is significantly different from English there is no mix up on letters. I have just started with formally teaching French, but my guys are both solid readers in English so I don't anticipate any problem.
(It is MUCH easier to learn to read in Spanish, since it's completely phonetic with very, very few "rule breaks", I would consider it for sure if my reader was struggling with English. It might be the confidence boost they need.)
