History

Sff! was created in January 2000 when the owner, Gabriela Lowry, became aware of the growing need of the community to learn Spanish. In her native country of Peru, she grew up in a bilingual environment that allowed her to adapt easily when she moved to the United States after getting married. With a master degree in early childhood education and more than three years experience running a daycare program in Peru, starting this business was a natural fit for her.

Initially, Spanish for fun! offered a safe place to learn Spanish through fun and natural play in the mornings. In the afternoons the center offered classes and tutoring lessons in Spanish for various ages. The original location was in a shopping center and parents were able to drop off their children for an hour or more. After two years of successful development, Spanish for fun! got its own facility in a bigger building. That is when the owner started the daily preschool program which quickly became a success.

After 4 years the demand for full-time care was overwhelming, so the owner took the next obvious step and opened the Cary location which offered full-time preschool. The next project was to move the Raleigh location to an even bigger building and offer full-time care. After going through many adversities the owner finally found the perfect location on Glenwood Avenue and expanded its program to offer full-time. The response was great and the school was full in no time. This program has become extremely successful and now serves more than 200 families.

The preschool curriculum offers the development of the cognitive, physical, social emotional and linguistic areas for children ages 2 months to 5 years old in a complete Spanish immersion setting.

With the morning preschool program off to a successful start, the owner began the Spanish for fun! Language Institute. The institute operates Monday through Friday from 2pm to 6pm, for school age children and adults. It offers a variety of programs to best suit the needs of its clients and potential clients. Programs like the family lessons, one on one lessons, small group lessons, and mother and child program are all designed to develop the four language skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening).

Spanish for fun! is eager to expand these programs even further to respond to the increased demand from the community. Expansion of these programs would also be in harmony with the business's mission to help any individual become fluent in Spanish. The increasing success at both the preschool and the institute indicates that the service is popular, well-accepted, versatile, original and in high demand.