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sharktooth
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raising kids in Baja
Just curious if anyone knows any ex-pats who are raising young kids in Baja Sur (2-5 year old kids)?
We are slightly contemplating this scenario, but curious if there are other families doing this.
Also, if there are ex-pat schools anywhere in Baja Sur.
I will google this, but wanted to check you all out too.
thanks
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BajaBlanca
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there is an american woman and her italian husband in bahia de los angeles, they home school their kids.
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by sharktooth
Also, if there are ex-pat schools anywhere in Baja Sur.
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Why would you contemplate taking your kids down there and seperating them from the culture? If the situation was mine, I'd be looking for a high
quality Mexican school of which there are some.
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fishabductor
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| Quote: | Originally posted by sharktooth
Just curious if anyone knows any ex-pats who are raising young kids in Baja Sur (2-5 year old kids)?
We are slightly contemplating this scenario, but curious if there are other families doing this.
Also, if there are ex-pat schools anywhere in Baja Sur.
I will google this, but wanted to check you all out too.
thanks |
we have a 6 month old, that we'll be home schooling for the first several years as we live far from schools.
I know of a few people who have kids in the age range you specified.
There are a few good internationa; schools in Los cabos.
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sharktooth
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Perhaps 'international school' is a better description... we're just curious, if and how other expats are raising kids in Baja Sur.
We're not locked into any particular type of school - just getting the conversation going and seeing if anyone else is doing this.
As this may not be a permanent move - we would like a school that could transition easily into US schools if we move back to the US.
This is still very hypothetical, just checking out possibilities - and seeing if anyone else has experience with this.
thanks
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MrBillM
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Transistions
I once had neighbors in Baja (Pocho and Gringa) who had moved there with a pre-school child. At school-age, She was enrolled in a Mexican School
and became more fluent in spoken and written Spanish than English. In fact, her reading and writing in English was sub-par.
Not a problem until her parents separated (eventually divorcing) and the custodial parent took her home to the U.S. where she struggled at
Grade-Level.
I suppose it all worked out though, but I haven't seen them in years.
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bajafam
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We are considering this also, but we will be schooling at a "virtual academy" through k12.com. This program allows us to travel, while still "keeping
up with Joneses" as far as the kids (US) schooling goes. Once we have a more permenant Baja home, the kids will go to school with the other
neighborhood kids, then do supplemental schooling at home through k12. I want them to have the best of both, and give them the added avantage of being
immeresed in the Mexican culture and language.
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BajaBlanca
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I went to a fantastic wonderful excellent international school in Rio de Janeiro and I cant say enough about how rich culturally it was for me to
study with kids from all over the world AND the Portuguese helped me ace all my English SAT / college entrance exam tests due to the latin derivatives
of the words. Of ocurse, we also had a language option, so I also learned French. This was the start of a love for languages that now includes
English, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Russian, some Polish - Italian - Norwegian.
I am not sure if there is an equivalent International School in La Paz, for example, but there's a kernel of thought for opening one !
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fishabductor
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Our plan is to homeschool for the first several years and then put the kids into a real school probably US, so they can be prepared and eligible for a
university.
My parents were both superintendents of public schools in WA state. My mother currently still is as she went back to work after living in baja full
time for 6-7 years.
I have have this talk with them several times about raising/schooling a child in baja and then transfering back to the states. They both feel that
schooling here and then there would be no big deal, as well they think it would be beneficial in that our son will be bilingual as well as multi
cultural. However, he'd probably be both anyhow as my wife is a Choyera and I a NWWA kid. I am about 50% fluent and my wife is 100% fluent in both
english and spanish.
They are some great schools in Los Cabos, I believe there is a Montesori as well in san jose. Not sure where you are. If you are in this area, u2u me
and I will dig up some info for you from some people who have kids currently in the schools.
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fishabductor
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaBlanca
I went to a fantastic wonderful excellent international school in Rio de Janeiro and I cant say enough about how rich culturally it was for me to
study with kids from all over the world AND the Portuguese helped me ace all my English SAT / college entrance exam tests due to the latin derivatives
of the words. Of ocurse, we also had a language option, so I also learned French. This was the start of a love for languages that now includes
English, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Russian, some Polish - Italian - Norwegian.
I am not sure if there is an equivalent International School in La Paz, for example, but there's a kernel of thought for opening one !
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My parents actually talked about opening a international private school on the eastcape. They have 50+ years in public schools in WA.
Our problem is we live an hour away from the schools. the local kids go to school on monday morning and return on friday night. We aren't about to do
that. However, we have a few years to figure it out
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Curt63
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The homeschool options and online curriculums mentioned here will work great for a long time.
As children with strong academic potential get up to about 7th or 8th grade, many home schooling parents (depends mainly on your Math and Science
background) begin to search for other resources/ options/ settings in order to meet the needs of a child that needs significant academic challenge.
Not every kid is University bound and getting in to top notch universities is getting very difficult.
I lived in Denmark for a year (and attended the local public school) when I was 14 and it was a fantastic experience.
My brother went to a prep high school in Salzburg, Austria with a bunch of wealthy spoiled expat brats and had a very mixed experience.
Good luck...its an adventure!
No worries
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fishabductor
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As an engineer, I have the math and science background.
However, I don't want to play teacher for 12 years!!!!
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bajafam
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| Quote: | Originally posted by fishabductor
As an engineer, I have the math and science background.
However, I don't want to play teacher for 12 years!!!! |
That's one thing that is really wonderful with the k12 system. You don't have to play teacher...all the work is done for you and delivered to you. As
the kids enter into the 6th grade and beyond, the majority of the classwork is done online with a teacher, so your work as a parent really isn't
anything more than what you would do as the parent of a child in a regular brick and mortar school.
[Edited on 7-30-2010 by bajafam]
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shari
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I homeschooled sirenita....she was reading when she was 2 1/2 years old! but she WANTED to go to a normal school because all her friends did and she
loved the cute uniforms. The public schools in baja sur are fantastic...excellent, loving, caring, dedicated teachers and strict behavioural
rules...the kids love school here and we dont have the nasty issues like in the states with violence. It's common to see a teacher at recess with a
kid holding each hand...they really love their students. Plus apart from the value of learning another language, they learn valuable social skills
like respecting elders, authority, patience, sharing, cooperation and no whining!!! I am glad sirena was educated here.
Sirena also went to a private catholic school in guerrero negro which was also excellent. Because she read copious books in english, her wrinting
skills are fine and she is not only bilingual but bicultural and holds her own with english educated kids.
It's up to the parents to see that a mexican educate child has a well rounded education in english too but I highly recommend studying in baja...the
montessori program would be great I bet.
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sharktooth
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my major concern is having kids isolated - I would prefer to have my kids playing with other kids their ages.
I think home school is great, but I think it is important to have the social exposure with kids as well. Don't their only friends to be mom and dad!
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Eli
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My daughter went to middle school in Santiago and 1 yr. of high school in La Paz. than I sent her North so that she could finish high school in Oregon
and possibly go on to college there. Which she didn't, she came straight home to Los Barriles and to work for me. She now runs the Company and I
retired. Sweet deal for me. It always bugged Her that she didn't get a degree, so at present she is working on her degree in Architecture thru a state
side college via the internet.
My daughter is raising both her kids in Los Barriles, and they go to the local schools. My grandson enters middle school next year and my
granddaughter is still in Kinder. My grandchildren are both completely bilingual/ bi-cultural. My daughter and I always speak to them in English,
(well almost always). Nightly they have been read their bedtime stories in English. My grandson is intellectual by nature, he would rather spend his
recesses in the school library. For a couple of years in the afternoons He had an American tutor who teaches from her home in Los Barriles. He devours
books in English, he just finished the Harry Potter Series.
There are several English speaking children in the Los Barriles school system. They all wind up being fully bi-lingual within the first year of
attending.
My father started bringing me to Baja for the summers when I was 8 years old. Although my first language is English and I have never studied in
Spanish, (except art), I sure am glad for getting the time I did as a kid in Mexico.
To know at a young age that there is more than just "your culture" opens a child's mind to the multiculturalism of this world we live in. I think a
person will always be less judgmental for it.
[Edited on 8-1-2010 by Eli]
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bajafam
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| Quote: | Originally posted by sharktooth
my major concern is having kids isolated - I would prefer to have my kids playing with other kids their ages.
I think home school is great, but I think it is important to have the social exposure with kids as well. Don't their only friends to be mom and dad!
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Interaction with other kids is achieved outside of school. My kids are too small for school as of yet, but they are highly social...just ask Shari!
School should be just that ~ school. Socializing and friendships (with strong bonds) are made whether kids go to school or are homeschooled. School
time should focus on the academics and after school is time to focus on playing.
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shari
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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dont worry...there is no being isolated in baja...no matter what language you speak, the kids want to play with you as they are very social and will
teach your kids valuable social skills...the other mexican children used to ask me why I never spanked my daughter....they seemed to think I should
have so she would behave better...funny!
but once your kids start making friends they will want to go to school so they fit in and are more like their amigos. I think you need to be mexican
to go to public school but the private schools let other nationality kids in.
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BajaGringo
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I attended school in a foreign country/culture when I was growing up and my kids did as well. I believe it made us all much richer for the experience.
Although I did get sent home from school the first day for fighting; but that is a story for another day...
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Eli
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Location: L.B. Baja Sur
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When I registered my daughter to go to public school in Santiago, I had a fight on my hands that took me all the way to Mexico City. Obviously I won,
and am forever glad I did it.
The few U.S., (and this year one french born) kid's are all accepted and welcomed in the Los Barriles School system. I am sure each town has it own
set of rules regarding this. In L.B. due to the years of influx of foreigners , the times have changed, thank god.
There are so many ways to go about educating your kids. All are valid, I expect.
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