About Mis amiguitos

Starting in the fall of 2007, Mis amiguitos will be offering Spanish classes and immersion playgroups for your preschooler!  Take advantage of this great opportunity to expose your youngster to a new skill that will build a strong foundation in a second language.

Immersion Playgroups
Ages 2 1/2 - 5 years

Mis amiguitos is very excited to offer something new to the Iowa City/Coralville community starting in September.  On Monday and Tuesday mornings,  you can drop your child off for a three-hour Spanish immersion experience!  Children will be immersed in the language and culture of Spanish-speaking countries.  Each five-week session will focus on a central theme.  We will use music, story time, finger plays, crafts, group games and lots of movement to learn new vocabulary related to the theme.  Spanish will be integrated throughout the entire program, including snack time and play time!  The immersion playgroups will take place at the instructor's home, conveniently located at 1609 Gryn Drive in Iowa City (near the intersection of Hwy 1 and Mormon Trek Drive). 

Parent/Child Classes

At this time, Mis amiguitos will not be offering Parent/Child Classes.

About the instructor

Hi! My name is Darcie McGee. I am a K-12 certified Spanish teacher. I earned my BA and MA in Spanish teaching from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. I have studied and lived in Mexico, Costa Rica and Spain. Although I was born and raised in Marion, Iowa my 10+ years of teaching Spanish has taken me all over the country and even the world! I taught in Tomball, Texas and St. Louis Park, Minnesota and even spent a year teaching Spanish at the American Community Schools in Athens, Greece. I have also worked as an instructor, credit facilitator, assistant dean and dean with Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji, Minnesota.

For the past two years, I have enjoyed staying home with my daughter, Kenna. I'm looking forward to providing this great learning opportunity to preschoolers and parents in the Iowa City/Coralville area.

Why study Spanish at an early age?

Younger children seem to "absorb" a language almost effortlessly through exposure whereas adolescents and adults do so more through explicit learning.  Research has also indicated that learning a second language will strengthen a child's literacy in their first language and raise standardized test scores in other subject areas. Children also tend to learn a second language faster because they're not worried about making mistakes.   It can also help children become more comfortable with cultural differences and start them on the road to becoming bilingual.