Students learn best when they're

having fun!

Our variety of creative teaching aids, accelerates the learning process

Instructor Testimonials

I teach one day a week at a co-op for home school students. We were looking for a Spanish curriculum that would engage elementary students to interact with their learning and that would be easy to implement at home. Kids are learning Spanish in a fun variety of ways in the class and they are practicing at home with songs, online resources, workbooks, and a colorful lively textbook.

The material covered in the textbook is included in the interactive CD and online resources which is a tremendous help to learn the pronunciation of vocabulary and phrases. The lessons are clearly laid out for our families.

This makes it easier for parents to teach at home, even with no Spanish background. Lessons can be adapted for different age groups too. Feedback from the kids and the families has been wonderful – I love this curriculum and so do the kids and their parents!

Vicky Stuart

Loganville, GA


I have been teaching Spanish as a volunteer for seven years in public schools and one year in a school for dyslexic students using ‘Risas y Sonrisas’. One classroom teacher took a poll of her students as to which subject was their favorite. The students ranked their ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ Spanish classes, measured and graphed, as their second most favorite class, right below their number one favorite, which was PE.

I have seen Kindergartners embrace Spanish classes with open arms and sparkling eyes using the ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ songs, posters, and accompanying games. I have seen First Graders giggling and dancing and learning Spanish effortlessly through ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ multi-sensory lesson plans and materials. The curriculum builds on itself over time, and my students, from Kindergarten to Fourth Grade have grown in mastery with it over the years.

The curriculum is designed to prevent the boredom and burn-out that many other Spanish curriculums have been known to foster. ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ leaves the students wanting to take more and more Spanish. Many of my students are taking Spanish in Middle School as an elective after having been brought up on the ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ curriculum, choosing Spanish over even Choir and Band.

Currently I am using ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ curriculum to teach oral Spanish to dyslexic Fourth Graders. Dyslexic children have been told they cannot learn a foreign language, which I believe is far from true. ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ is a very flexible curriculum and can be modified to suit the educational needs of varying levels of student capability. Avoiding reading and writing, focusing on conversational Spanish, combining ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ curriculum’s posters, games, songs, and lesson plan suggestions, delivered with multi-sensory Total Physical Response techniques has led dyslexic students to overcome their ‘inability’ to learn a foreign language.

I have also shown some of the ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ posters to adults to clarify their misunderstandings of Spanish classes they are undertaking at Jr. Colleges. They were thankful for the ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ visual aids. ‘Risas y Sonrisas’ curriculum is a tried-and-true teaching tool. I am very pleased with it.

Chris Rhoads

Leander ISD, Austin, TX


Since the first day I got your program I could see how wonderful it was. I have been using it for a while now, with excellent results. The kids love all the games and the material is wonderful. I am form Mexico so when I started teaching Spanish I really wanted a program to give me the resources to reach and engage the kids in the language.

Your program does just that! Your personal knowledge of both languages makes this program unique. Since I started using your program, a couple of other schools in the area started using it also. Congratulations!

Paty Kulathum

Harleysville, PA


I have been using your program for almost 2 years now and students really enjoy the fact that they can learn on their own with the book, CD and CD-ROM. They love the pictures and the songs and being able to use the CD-ROM as an interactive way of learning. I love it!

It is great to use in my classes and also great for parents to use at home with their children. Thank you for your hard work!

Marian Zapata

Bethesda, MD


I purchased a set of Risas y Sonrisas for my 1st and 2nd graders. The children love the book, the bright colors, and the songs. They know almost all of the songs by heart. Many times after class, one of the children will write on the blackboard, “We Love Spanish Class!”

I attribute this to the wonderful material Leticia Smith has developed and the enthusiasm it engenders.

Sharon Bowles

Little Rock, AR


I have been using Risas y Sonrisas teaching homeschoolers for the past two years. They love and I love it! It makes it so much easier to teach and the kids have fun with it!

I did a lot of research and have bought many different Spanish programs/materials and none compares to this one!

Anna Klein Giangregorio

West Hills, CA


Finally… a program that works for us! I came across Risas y Sonrisas and was impressed by its materials, especially the CD-ROM and the music CD which is sung by a Spanish-speaker!

We have received many positive comments from our parents about the class and program and how not only their children are enjoying and learning but that the PARENTS are also learning from listening to the CD-ROM and music CD. Thanks Leticia!

Anna Sierra

Bothell, WA


I have started to use your curriculum and I am enjoying it as well as the kids I teach. It has been the missing piece to what I have been looking for. I have been using your same approach to teaching for the past 4 years and it was so refreshing to come across your curriculum this summer.

Thank you so much for taking the time to put all of these materials together. Your time and effort are definitely helping my children.

Carolyn Hill

Windermere, FL


I have been using the program Risas y Sonrisas for my Spanish classes for over a year. The response from both students and parents have been extremely positive so much so, that through word of mouth the size of my classes have more than doubled during the year.

It keeps the kids active and attentive in class, with games, interesting visual aids, songs, and easy conversations.

Anita Van Tongerloo

Austin, TX


Currently I am using the Risas and Sonrisas program to teach Spanish as an Enrichment Program in Day Cares. I use the CD, posters, recommended games, and the flash cards to teach my class. The children have been extremely receptive and are enjoying learning and exploring a second language. I meet with the children twice a week for thirty minutes for a total of eight classes per month.

I have gone through 2 months of Spanish classes and the children have done an exceptional job retaining the information that we have covered.
I am personally pleased with the Risas and Sonrisas Program and I look forward in continuing to engage and help children learn a second language using your remarkable program. Thanks for all your help and continued support.

Diana Villanueva

Dallas, TX


Risas y Sonrisas is a very comprehensive and easy to use program, using so many appealing and catchy songs and bright and comical images. It really has been a pleasure to use. I searched extensively for a complete program for a long while and this has fulfilled my needs wonderfully. Leticia is so helpful and has been more than happy to provide advice with this venture.

The schools in which I am teaching Spanish are thrilled with the program and our numbers continue to increase. I firmly believe that the teaching of foreign languages at Elementary level is the way forward to engaging students and embedding learning early.

Sarah Voss

Des Moines, IA


I am a homeschooling mom, fluent in Spanish. I’ve been looking for 3 long years for a fun curriculum to use for teaching Spanish to my son, as well as for teaching classes at the homeschool co-ops that we belong to, and for teaching after school groups to supplement our income. As a child my family moved a lot, so I grew up learning languages and I absolutely hated the boring textbook method of learning. I felt so lucky to finally find Risas y Sonrisas curriculum so I could do better for my students. It’s fun, very interactive, and it has themes that appeal to kids: girls as well as boys. The songs really help make the vocabulary stick and it has memory tricks to facilitate learning. The games hands-down do the same job as drilling, but do so in a fun way that drives the material home to the kids in a way that works in their world: through play.

This curriculum has gotten me great reviews from the kids AND their parents who brag about how much Spanish their kids come home using. I’ve benefited from lots of word-of-mouth free advertising as a result. This curriculum makes my job so easy (awesome, detailed, adaptable lesson plans), it makes me look so good as a teacher (beautiful color graphics on posters and flashcards, lovely songs), and it makes the classes so much fun I get to enjoy my students even more.

As a homeschooling mom I would recommend this curriculum to others if you have had some Spanish background in the past. One family I know who didn’t but had a Peruvian tutor bought the Self-Study Individual version, and their kids’ progress and enjoyment of Spanish really took off.

As an independent Spanish teacher I can’t recommend this curriculum enough. I have used it for classes of kids from age 3 to 12, (even with these ages all mixed in one class sometimes) and I use it as a crutch when I’m tutoring my high school aged students. It includes a DVD with explanations and demos of many of the games, as well as teaching techniques and tips from a seasoned professional- it made me feel as if I had my very own teaching coach right there to help me out. I would strongly recommend budgeting ahead for the lamination of your posters though or they will suffer wear-and-tear through travel.

For me this curriculum has made teaching even more fun and exciting with less effort, let alone the great experiences I hear from my students. And it has made helping support my family by teaching classes much less work. I feel so grateful to Leticia Smith for having had all the right talents, dedication and persistence to pull something this amazing together and make it available to others. Thank you Leticia! “

Julie Szekely Paine

Billerica, MA


I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful Spanish curriculum. All of your materials are so well thought out. It is such a complete curriculum without the boring workbooks associated with learning another language. This program is so practical because it teaches what is necessary for everyday use. The integration of the songs and games into what children are learning makes this such a fun way to learn the Spanish language. I love the flexibility it gives to be spontaneous whenever the occasion arises.

I am presently teaching a group of home schooled children, ages 5-10, twice a week and a small group of public school children, ages 5-12, once a week. Both groups have responded so well to the curriculum even with the age difference. The suggested games are so much fun for the children that I have no problem with participation from them. They are all anxious to be the ones to give the answer to my questions. I know the kids love to hear the songs because they are always telling me, “I listen to all of them all the time, even the ones we haven’t played in class.” The parents are happy with their children’s progress. I get comments from parents like, “They are using the words that they have learned in class”, “Now, when I speak Spanish to my mom, they can understand me,” “My son really enjoys your class,” “I am so glad that my children are finally learning Spanish.”

What is very rewarding to me is to see the kids run to cheerfully meet me at my front door when they arrive for their class. This makes teaching so worthwhile. I want to thank you for being there whenever I call you to share with you my progress or for suggestions that I can use to add to my teaching style. I cannot thank you enough for all your sacrifices to make this curriculum available.”

Irene Salazar

Sanger, CA


Muchas gracias por toda tu ayuda, por tu tiempo, tu confianza, y tu guia. Te felicito por el excelente programa y los productos que has creado, y por las ganas y el cariño que le pones a lo que haces. Eres una persona muy especial.

Abigayl Pansini

Mooresville, NC


El programa de Risas y Sonrisas da resultados asombrosos en el aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Es un programa divertido, dinámico y muy efectivo. Uno como maestra también lo disfruta mucho, gracias al material interactivo que es tan original y creativo.

Estoy muy satisfecha con los resultados que el programa ha dejado en cada uno de mis estudiantes, así como la aceptación que tienen al respecto los padres de familia y la cantidad de referencias que he recibido, debido al éxito que han tenido mis clases de español.

Mil gracias por haberme introducido a este método y dado la oportunidad de tener la dicha de compartir mi idioma natal con los niños de una manera tan divertida.”

Elizabeth Simmons

Austin, Texas


I started teaching Spanish as a volunteer in the Leander School District using ‘Risas y Sonrisas’. I learned to speak Spanish from my parents. I never thought that I could have my own business teaching Spanish without formally studying the language. What I like the most about this program is that it is easy to use, children have fun learning, and I don’t have to prepare materials for my classes. Everything I need is in the classroom program…music, games, posters, cards and wonderful ideas.

It is very rewarding to see my own daughter and other kids enjoy learning Spanish from me. Thanks for all your support!

Virginia Arredondo

Austin, TX


I am using “Risas y Sonrisas” with a group of homeschoolers ranging in ages 9 to 16 and a group of adults consisting of retirees as well as professionals. It is a curriculum that is easily adapted to any age group and proves to be a painless, quick and fun-filled method for teaching and learning the Spanish language. Just to prove this, one of my adult students said that he had learned more from this curriculum in three class sessions than he had in his two years of Spanish in college! Now that is an endorsement if I ever heard one.

Aquí me estoy reportando con la buena noticia de que la clase de español que comenzó a principios de mes me va de lo mejor, gracias a ti. Tengo 9 alumnos entre las edades 8-16 años; todos en la misma clase. Están aprendiendo con facilidad y con buena pronunciación. Una madre halagó tu cartelón de Cognados. La verdad es que es un sistema tan eficiente y divertido para enseñarles como formar frases de una manera rápida e inteligible. Es lo que todo alumno que está aprendiendo un idioma nuevo anhela poder hacer.”

Judy Cárdenas

San Marcos, TX


I love ‘Risas y Sonrisas!’ I have been using your program for 3 years now. I teach at Capo District in California. Your program has proved to be very effective. The children retain the vocabulary in an easy way. They love to play the games suggested in the manual and they always ask to repeat them. The CD with songs to learn Spanish is wonderful! Thanks to ‘Risas y Sonrisa’” I run a very successful Spanish Program in Southern California. I tried other programs before and no one worked as well as yours.

I am opening a new ‘Hola’ Spanish in Arizona and I am going to take your program along. This time I will be teaching Spanish speaking children how to speak English.

Celeste Morais

Mission Viejo, CA


Spanish is still going awesome! I love your curriculum and just want to tell you thank you for all the neat things in it. I had a chance to speak at a local Middle School for an event called ‘Great American Teach-In.’ Professionals come in and speak to classes about what they do.

I shared your curriculum with a group of ESOL kids, they loved it! The teacher’s aide in the class asked about a curriculum like yours for learning English. Have you ever worked with ESOL kids using your curriculum? Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I enjoyed it!

Cristina Foster

Dade City, FL


Just to let you know how things are going for me here in Minot, we have a class of 9 students right now. I am meeting with a principal to see if we can start something at one of the schools in town. I am very excited. If you have any advice please send it my way.

I really love all of the materials in the Risas y Sonrisas program. I am looking forward to next week and our first class!

Adele Reimann-Grosz

Minot, ND


So far the class is going great and the kids love it! I’m trying to get into more schools to offer the program. My daughter is taking the class and has picked up very quickly. Thanks!

Aimee Gandara

La Mirada, CA


¡Estoy muy contenta con el material recibido y mi estudiante también!

Ingrid Aguilar

Flat Rock, NC