Over the years that we have been homeschooling, our kids have only spent one year at public school. That was 6 years ago, the year before Covid. All five (at the time) attended public school here in Panama to learn the language. It was kind of like torture to be on someone else's schedule and do all the homework, so sometimes I question why we decided to do it again this year for the youngest three! Ha!
Yes, we enrolled our kids a few weeks ago in the public school not far from our house. We knew that they would stand out as blondes in a sea of brown haired children. We knew, however, that they would also have a greater chance of learning more Spanish this way. You see, they were enrolled six years ago while in pre-k and kindergarten. Due to their age and personalities, they didn't acquire much Spanish in that year.
Over the years, we've continued to watch shows in Spanish, work on saying and writing some every day, and even attend a Spanish speaking church, but these two that are now 10 and 11 are still struggling. We had basically decided to enter our youngest in kindergarten this year and then snuck our two boys in at the same time.
The first day of school was last Monday. Kids here attend school March to December with a break in June and various holidays throughout the year. Kids here also wear a uniform to school. The boys wear blue pants, blue socks, black dress shoes, and a white shirt with the insignia. The girls wear the same except a blue skirt instead of pants. We got the kids their uniforms and they were ready to start school on Monday.
One of them was super excited for her first day of school. The boys...not so much! They kind of knew what to expect, or so they thought. As the morning started and we got the girlie to her class, I asked her if she was excited and she responded, "not so much." Poor thing was nervous, but her class meets from 7:00-10:00 am the first week. The boys got to their classes and didn't look too happy about it. Their classes go from 7:00-12:00.
After I picked them up, everyone said it was okay, and they were all full of stories. They of course needed notebooks galore. I got a supply list from 2 classes, but the third has yet to let us know what is needed, so we're just guessing at this point. The lists include things like notebooks, pencils, pens, glue, and paper. The kindergarten list included a puzzle, toy like Legos, construction paper, playdough, and more.
I asked them every day if they spoke to anyone in class or said anything in Spanish. Their answers vary, but I realize this is the first week! I'm still holding onto hope that it will go well and their Spanish skills will improve. One son told the rest on Friday when they were picked up that it "wasn't that bad!" I was pretty excited to hear this.
Here we start week 2 and we're ready to jump in. The uniforms have been washed, backpacks are loaded with notebooks, snacks and breakfasts have been baked, and I think they're ready to go!
My other three older kids are still working at home on homeschooling. It sure is quiet around here while they're doing their work! My oldest daughter will begin working this week as a volunteer at a local preschool to improve her Spanish. I'm still trying to figure out what the other two can do for bonus Spanish time. Ha!
I'm guessing you're surrounded by mainly English speakers then? Is it only the foreign communities that homeschool or some of the locals too?
Yes, most of our friends are expats. We attend a Spanish speaking church each week, and out and about we'll encounter Spanish, but the kids can avoid using Spanish most days, where putting them in school gives them some instant immersion.
Nice! All the best to your kiddos!
We were in the Philippines for almost 5 months just recently, and it was late when we thought of just allowing them to sit-in the classes at the public school there. That may have also increase their interest in learning the language. My kids are 15, 10, and 9, and they all struggle with it. :((
Thanks! Yeah, we have found that playing with other kids or just constantly hearing the language is good for acquiring it. We live in a neighborhood with other English-speakers, so we don't get much Spanish at home. Auditing the classes would be a good idea. It's kind of what our kids are doing.
It's so great that your youngest are learning Spanish! I would assume your older children speak fairly fluently, do they converse in Spanish with their younger siblings?
At home, no one speaks Spanish. The older three will speak if they have to. I had a tutor coming to talk to them, but that ended at the start of the new year, and I might start her up soon. Depending on their personalities is how good their Spanish is, the more talkative, the more they know (or show they know). All the kids can watch and understand shows, cartoons, in Spanish. Our oldest 2 boys have been to a few week long youth camps with church that are 100% in Spanish, but we still want them to do a better job at conversing! Our oldest son offers the prayer each week for the offering at church in Spanish and he thinks he could translate from Spanish to English if needed, so that's good.
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