Sponge

Sponge is awesome! My 6-​year old daughter learned Japanese at her preschool, and needed a language school to continue the Japanese language schools she had already learned. Sponge’s Japanese class in Seattle is perfect for her.
My daughter’s native speaking teacher truly engages each student within the small classes. She sings, dances, plays and does art work with the kids. They have snack time, too, and parents receive handouts of what their children learned.
The classroom is well lit and adorably decorated. I especially appreciate that the children don’t wear their outside shoes onto their play area, which she doesn’t do at home either. The weekly classes are an hour and a half long, and are well worth the tuition. My daughter always enjoys the classes and since her dad and I don’t speak Japanese ourselves, it’s wonderful to see how much our daughter is learning a second language on her own. I only wish she can attend more frequently, especially during the summer!

My daughter did the Mandarin course at her elementary school last year. The teachers were fabulous and they certainly made it fun. I know some parents wanted a more rigorous program, but I thought it was perfect. I just wanted my child (a first grader) to absorb conversational bits of the language and have fun! I’d recommend highly.

We have tried several Seattle area language schools since moving here 2 years ago, and my vote goes to Sponge, hands down! My son participated in an after school Mandarin class at his elementary school last year and came away with a greater appreciation of Chinese culture, new vocabulary and great pronunciation. His teacher was from mainland China and was really great with students of all levels and made the class very fun for them. Each week was a different theme, some involving crafts, some music, learning to write Chinese characters, etc, and all were fun and engaging. Even with 1 hour a week I noticed an improvement in his basic knowledge of Mandarin.
Their in-​center classes are also fantastic and now that I have had the opportunity to meet several of their teachers and participate in both the in-​center classes (Seattle, Bellevue and Woodinville) as well as their in-​school programs I can say without hesitation this is a top notch language program. Plus, I think their tuition is very reasonable and they offer so many classes at different times every day which makes it convenient to find one.
(I had such a positive experience with Sponge that this year I was lucky enough to join their amazing team! Now I can say both from a parent’s perspective what a great program it is, as well as what a great organization it is)

Oh, how I love Sponge! I took my two-​year-​old for one session of Spanish with Noelia, a native speaker from Puerto Rico. My son is normally pretty slow to warm up in social situations, and she made sure he was comfortable and could participate. Sometimes it can be hard when he’s surrounded by more outgoing peers. He adored her as a result and I saw him open up in ways he hadn’t before.
The classes are taught 100% in Spanish with a chance to review and ask questions at the end of each class in English. A handout is also provided each week with the lyrics to songs and some key vocab to practice at home. There are lots of props and fun routines that get the kids engrossed in learning.
The only thing preventing me from giving a five-​star review is the location; I wish something more central were available. Now that we live on the north end, it’s not feasible for us to take classes with Sponge anymore. It’s also fairly expensive compared to similar programs in town (Polly-​glot Tots comes to mind).
If it were closer and more affordable, we’d be enrolled again in a heartbeat.

Sponge was voted Seattle’s best for offering language classes to children from newborn to 5 years of age. Spanish, French, Mandarin and Japanese languages are taught in an immersive and interactive environment which includes standard phrases, songs, dance, culture and parental or caregiver involvement. All instructors are native speakers who genuinely enjoy children and their jobs.
Tuition is reasonable for 18 class sessions, a summer camp is offered, and one can make up classes if they are missed.