Comments on: Education Options for Expat Children

By: Meagan Todd

Meagan Todd — Fri, 31 May 2013 19:32:01 +0000

I would love to do an expat post and am equally thrilled to come across your site, truly! A wonderful resource. I have your Ethiopia page bookmarked to show Levi. He is all about looking at pictures of “where God made him,” as he likes to say ;). I did an expat post actually for another blog about the trials/tribulations/advice re: moving with a child who doesn’t understand time or place quite yet, haha. Would love to collaborate if you ever need someone! Thanks for all you do!

By: kidworldcitizen

kidworldcitizen — Thu, 30 May 2013 22:58:49 +0000

In reply to Meagan Todd. I am SO excited to meet you!!!! :) Our son also came home a couple of years ago, at age 3. I will continue to add more Ethiopia resources:)- we love to incorporate bits of his culture and teach him about his rich heritage!!! I'm so jealous of your experience living abroad- that is our dream! I'm so glad that you were able to find a school situation that works for your family- what a wonderful experience for your son:). If you are ever interested in doing a guest post about an aspect of expat living, I would love to "host" you here:).

By: Meagan Todd

Meagan Todd — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:32:30 +0000

Hello from Germany! We moved here with our 3 year-old and have found the preschool/kindergarten options fascinating, frustrating, and now ultimately working out well. Something for those moving with young children to know is that every country has different expectations for when their youngsters enter school full-time. Here they start at 3, though it isn’t required. However, the social pressure was quite unexpected and gave me a shock when we first arrived. Our son had only been in preschool 5 hours total a week in the States and I do a lot of educational play, play dates, etc. with him. I’ve heard many other ex-pat moms express the same feelings or surprise, though I know very few who have not put their 3 year-olds in school 5 days/week. The pressure really is great.

We adopted our son from Ethiopia two years ago, therefore missed the first 10 1/2 months of his life, plus he had a bit of a language delay with English. So, we had some circumstances to take into account! I would advise parents of young children to respectfully stay strong in your convictions and not feel that you must follow the norm. We had to be our own advocates, do A LOT of searching, and finally found a great international school willing to work with our situation. There they keep his English growing, he can meet native and ex-pat friends alike, pick up some German from the German-speakers, and they allow us to make up our own (vastly) reduced schedule. I still get strange looks and comments, but my days are precious with my boy no matter where I live!

P.S. Absolutely love this site and especially your Ethiopia resources! Thank you!

By: kidworldcitizen

kidworldcitizen — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 23:28:54 +0000

In reply to Caroline Mukisa. That is such good advice- thanks for sharing your experiences. I really appreciate your perspective- it makes sense that every child learns differently and will react differently to new situations. How cool that your son has excelled in the Arabic kindergarten! What an amazing opportunity for him!!!

By: Caroline Mukisa

Caroline Mukisa — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:48:17 +0000

Greetings from Bahrain! I’ve been a Brit expat in the Middle East for the past 6 years. Currently my 4 kids attend an excellent British School, which has facilities and test scores as good as some of the top UK private schools but at a much lower price.

In the past, my 2 older kids spent 1 year in an American school in Saudi but in the end we switched them back to the British system.

A few years back I put my preschoolers in a private arabic language kindergarten (we’re not Arabic speakers) One immersed himself in the whole experience and the other hated it!

My advice is not to be scared to experiment with different educational options and see what works best for your children.

By: Tracey Hastie

Tracey Hastie — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:04:20 +0000

In reply to kidworldcitizen.

Hi. Yes, we plan to return when we have saved enough money for my husband to start a business (so he only has to work in the morning – probably teaching in an International school) and I can start my Orphan/Adoption ministry.

My bigs kids are very rooted in this culture now and have only been back to NZ to visit their grandparents twice in 8.5 years. My littlies were adopted here in Bolivia.

There is so much culture here that is interesting, much of it is Catholic or Quechua but always very colourful. Almost every month we have Statutory holidays and parties and parades for various reasons. There are many foods and special traditions. I am happy to give more information – we lived in a marginalised community for 7 years and set up a work with kids whose mums had to go to work to support their families. Ask away..

By: kidworldcitizen

kidworldcitizen — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:30:38 +0000

In reply to Tracey Hastie. That is such an incredible story- I would love to do an interview with you about your experiences! I love that your older kids are marrying and settling in Bolivia- a testament to how deeply they are rooted in the country. Do you plan to go back to Bolivia in the future? Do you have any bits of Bolivian culture you would like to share? :)

By: Tracey Hastie

Tracey Hastie — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 03:26:46 +0000

My family came to live in Bolivia when my older children were 11 and 12 and we put them into a local school as learning the language and culture and full immersion was our priority. They are both now completely bilingual and were top in their class the first year. In no time at all they were speaking like the locals and often people are amazed that they have no foreign accent. The older kids continued with NZ education by correspondence and other than being frustrating completed their school from both countries. They are both in university here now – 20 and 21 and marrying and staying here.
Our littlies (5) are in the local school and speak Spanish just like the other children. In 3 months we move to NZ (forced due to work) and they will be in a local NZ school where I am certain their English will take off. They understand it totally and speak it when they feel like it or need to. With the girls I will take all their school books and carry on with the school each day/week so they can keep up for when we come back!

By: kidworldcitizen

kidworldcitizen — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:37:02 +0000

In reply to Annabelle. That is a huge eye-opener!!! Thank you for sharing it Annabelle- a must-see article for expat families researching their options.

By: Annabelle

Annabelle — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:30:00 +0000

More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling_international_status_and_statistics

By: kidworldcitizen

kidworldcitizen — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:02:18 +0000

In reply to Annabelle. I think I heard that before- is it also illegal in Spain?

By: Annabelle

Annabelle — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:47:27 +0000

A crucial point to be added is that homeschooling is illegal in many countries (Germany for example). In others it is accepted but is very strictly regulated, frown upon and not at all the norm if you want to integrate.