Peter Pumpkin

We are a family of three (kid is 5) planning the move to Mallorca and thinking of giving homeschooling a go. I am aware of all the legal issues so I am really just interested in making connections with others who have done this to learn more about it and also get a feel for whether or not I could realistically expect to find a solution to cover my daughters social needs. I am thinking about simple meet ups at libraries, parks etc and then, perhaps much later on, organising a cooperative where the cost of a Montessori teacher and materials is collectively covered by parents. I know that a lot of expat homeschoolers wisely keep a low profile to avoid potential confrontations with the authorities due to the ambiguous Spanish legal standpoint on the issue of homeschooling. Is this still an issue if we remain residents of the UK where homeschooling is legal but happen to spend long holidays in Spain? How often would we need to fly back to the UK to be legally viewed as a holiday maker? I am sure plenty of people out there have experience with this sort of thing so any advice would be much appreciated.

Rosemary

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

resa

Hello Peter Pumpkin and all other homeschoolers in Mallorca,
our family of three is also planning on moving to Mallorca (in January/February 2016). Our son is almost six. We are planning on homeschooling too. Our main issue is if we will be able to find enough friends and social activities for our son. We would love to join any meet ups, playdates and more or less organized events, and of course help organize them. We would also be very interested in joint Spanish, and other, instruction eventually.

Rosemary

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

Peter Pumpkin

Hi Resa, thanks for posting We are planning on moving at the beginning of the year too. I can't send a PM to you just yet as I am new on here (I just need to write one more post).
Speak to you soon!

Shard

Why not just send the kids to a local school?

snikpoh

... especially as home schooling is "not exactly legal" in Spain!

mikelincs

I suspect that may be somewhat of a problem. If the children went to local schools, they would be almost fluent in Spanish within a year, which is a major gain.

Shard

Quite.

davidinspain

They can do that playing with the local children without the need to go to school.

Shard

Yes but what's the problem with going to school?

Pulaski

They would have to mix with the locals, and their children would "lose their culture". Any future grandchildren would be Spanish!

davidinspain

Here's one School bags 'causing back pain' - BBC News
And the increasing number of subjects taught in regional languages by the back door is another.Mathematics in Mallorquin is of little use to even the people of Majorca in the modern world.

Peter Pumpkin

Hi Shard.

Because I don't want to. Does that bother you? Thankfully we don't all share the same views, anyhow, if I wanted your opinion on whether or not I should send my children to school, my post would have sounded something like this; 'I am having difficulties deciding on whether or not I should send my children to school'. So unless you are a homeschooler and happen to live in Mallorca, your view on the matter is of no interest to me. And the same applies to the other facecious poster.

mikelincs

If you want to avoid being classed as a resident, then you would have to plan your year very carefully. You would automatically become a tax resdient if you sayed more than 183 days in any one year, and might well also be classed as a resident once you had been there for a continuous 90 days.