“(The Bailey Community Center) saw that they were learning and it was so good for the little kids,” said Oyola, who’s also a counseling graduate student. “They were speaking it, they were understanding it, they were learning all these characters … they just thought, ‘Since this is working so well, let’s try this other language that there’s a big need for.’”

The program runs 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday from at the Bailey Community Center, 300 Bailey St. The cost of enrollment is $50 and requires the completion of an application packet, which is available at the community center.

Kim Miller, child care coordinator, said the center’s creation of the program also was a response to a move by East Lansing Public Schools.

“The school district has started teaching Spanish in the fifth and sixth grades, so we’re trying to get kids more familiar with the language before they enter the public schools,” Miller said.

The program starts with very simple terms and gradually increases the difficulty of words as weeks pass, Oyola said.

In addition to learning the language, there also will be a focus on learning the cultures of different Spanish-speaking countries.

“We were just planning stuff for Spain,” Oyola said. “We’re going to tell them stories about the conquistadores … teach them about the music, the flags, the food, and we’ll make food with them when we have a day where we cook food that is native to that country.”

The program follows the same format as the Chinese Preschool Immersion program, which began three years ago and has drawn participation from more than 20 families and children.

The children spend half the day learning the Spanish language and about Spanish culture, and spend the other half of the day in a traditional English preschool setting.

Although there were only a few children attending the first day of the program Monday, Miller said she thinks more families will become interested as word spreads.

Miller said the community center only started publicizing the program two weeks ago.

Miller said the biggest challenge in working with the preschoolers is gearing the new program to their attention spans.

However, Oyola said she thinks the program can prepare the children for success in a working world that is putting an increasing focus on being able to speak and understand Spanish.

“Even if they don’t speak it for a while, I think they’re going to be ahead in terms for being able to remember these words later on and keep in mind the differences in sound,” Oyola said.

For more information on the program, call (517) 337-7615 or visit www.cityofeastlansing.com.