I believe children are more or less the same the world over. There were certainly disciplinary issues in the school I was at in the UK at age 4-5.

I suspect that anyone, or any school, in any country who denies that bullying every occurs in their facility that looks after/ teaches 2-6 year olds, is either using a definition of trouble/bullying that parents might not agree with, or are just plain in denial.

However this topic is not about bullying is it . It is about the integration of overseas children into the Spanish school system, so as per the OPs request lets not derail his thread further .

Welcome to BE joinspain . Sorry for the blip in your topic.

As you can see the good folk of this Spain forum are all happy to help and chat with you about this having been there and done this in Spain for themselves.

Younger friends of ours took themselves and their 3 young kids from SW England to Switzerland a good couple of years ago. He had an offer to transfer his work to there in banking. None of them had any French/Swiss.

Today they are a very happy bi-lingual family. The kids have thrived. It took a bit of a while to settle but seems to have been a very good move for them

All the best to you and your family joinspain. You certainly seem to have the right approach and be on the right track.

No, wrong; my grand daughter was in private day care in the UK until she could start School aged three (they start at three in Wales).

... but we don't have 'daycare' in Spain. It's called pre-school or 'guardaria'.

Hi Joinspain,

I think too it will get easier as they get used to the language in the classroom and start understanding more and more.

When I've been trying to learn other languages I have found that the only way to go is to be exposed to the language for as long as possible. So definitely having the radio on in Spanish daily will slowly help you recognise words, get used to sentence structures, etc. And for the kids, there are many cartoons dubbed to Spanish they might like and probably know from the UK such as Peppa Pig or Paw Patrol in Clan and Boing channels. I often tried to watch films and series I had already watched and loved in my first language, because then I wouldn't have to focus on the plot and could pay attention to the language.

Then, my niece sometimes falls asleep with the videos of this Spanish storyteller on YouTube. They are all in Spanish but with simple language, so maybe your kids would like them and practice their listening skills:

https://www.youtube.com/user/BeatrizMontero

And just another idea, although this might not be for everyone. I have no children but my friends/cousins who do often socialise with other parents (usually mums) and go to have a coffee together after they leave the kids at school. That might not happen in your school but still maybe there is another parent who speaks English and you can slowly start talking to them, maybe suggest having a coffee or asking them to help you with something, maybe trying to practice Spanish with them... and if you get on then you could arrange play dates for your kids. Maybe having a buddy they meet outside the classroom could help your kids be more excited to go to school in the morning and see them. Socialising outside the classroom can also be a chance for them to practice the language and to build confidence. Another idea could be to go to the same park often, or to the library if there is an area for them. Particularly in parks they are bound to meet the same kids more than once and if they end up playing with each other the parents can easily start talking too. Of course these things take time and might not be as easy depending on where you live, but just an idea.

And I would not worry about Valenciano for now. You will see it around, people will use it, but as your Spanish improves you will realise you very slowly start to identify Valencian words too.

And in the UK its called daycare and the poster is English I believe.

So you do have daycare in Spain but just use a different word, lets not get pedantic over this snikpoh.

I cannot be doing with any more of this.

Before school in the UK it is a form of nursery care to whatever standard and whatever words are used & chosen to describe this.
I know this as I went to one from age three & of which I still have my clear memories. I am English.

The Spanish intent may be altogether different for its infants and may be more inline with my own parents views .
Now move on.

For those hard of reading . Move right on along.

Joinspain, I have sent you a PM.

Rosemary

Hi my children were older it took them 6 months to integrate. the advise from the school was to go to the park in the evening with the other mums and children especially at this age the park will be packed with children. The school also advised us that children will learn through play and other children much quicker than lessons. They are the only English children in our town.
6 years on and I now work with children this age in a Spanish school and at an academy.
Yes at this age there are children that push around other kids or snatch toys but its normal play and quickly defused and forgotten.
Lots of Spanish children cry on their way to school and when they are left it lasts for minutes. Exactly the same as this age group anywhere in the World.
In the academy where I teach I only speak English to the children (I teach children from 1 years and upwards) its daunting for the children but they are are like sponges and very quickly understand they go through a silent period that can be worrying but once they know me and begin to understand what is happening they relax then suddenly after about 4 months they are off, no stopping them. I am sure your children are still in this quiet absorbing period, the age is brilliant for learning the language.
So go to the park in the afternoons, also your right to make sure this does not stop over the summer holidays we were lucky as ours were older they went to Summer school but certainly in our town this was from age 6 upwards. You could ask the school if they know of any teachers in the area who could teach your children through play and outings with you over the summer.

Hi,
I don´t think you did anything wrong. I am French and was also an expat child in Indonesia. As there was no french school, I went to an american school although I could not speak any word of English. I took particular classes of English and after a year I could really understand and speak easily. Don´t worry children can learn very fast and the best way to learn a new language is to live directly in the country! If you want to better integrate, you can susbcribe your children and yourself to activities: danse, gym whatever in order to practice the language and meet other people that share the same interests. Also you can incorporate a local association to meet people

I hope this will help.
Best regards,
Melissa

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary


__________________

Thanks for all the advice
We are doing most of what has been suggested. The only thing we can't do right now is get the kids to the park after school because they are still getting used to the longer days at school and the timings if everything so are tired after the long day, they don't nap anymore, so haven't got the hang of siesta... Perhaps the heat will help with that! Same for after school clubs/activities, though my daughter is desperate to start dance classes, so we will see if there is a weekend club nearby she can join.
They were much happier at the end of the final week at school before Easter (which is unfortunate right before the long break!) & I was able to leave my son with a kiss and a goodbye in the playground and he happily went in without a backwards glance! Which has helped me feel better about it. We live 5 minutes away from a gorgeous beach which now that the weather is picking up is frequented by many Spanish families, so that should be a good place to mix with Spanish speaking children for them.
I think we need to find him some specific speech therapy as his English was coming along slowly he knows everything but struggles to articulate and now he is dropping poorly pronounced Spanish words in its getting even more difficult! But we will leave it a little while and see where we get with him.
Thanks again for all the advice and input, very much appreciated.