Informal Solutions, Family Learning and Extracurricular Activities

There are probably as many options and combinations of solutions as there are parents and students to devise them. The following are a few ideas I've initiated with fellow expatriate families:

• Parent Teaching Coops: Parents take turns instructing children from several families in the specific areas where you want your child's skills reinforced. I'm setting up a teaching rotation with another family to work with my kindergarten-aged daughters for an hour a day in English. This should give them time for some fresh air and exercise before going to an all-Spanish kindergarten program in the afternoons. Since we speak English exclusively at home, I'm hoping this will help them achieve balanced bilingualism.
  
  
• Reading clubs and writing groups: These are great for stimulating children to read with friends. For my teen-aged sons who attend an all-Spanish school in Argentina, we are planning biweekly meetings with another American family during which our children will present book reports of the titles they'll be reading. Besides sharing reading material, this will stimulate written expression in English and give them the extra practice they need.
  
  
• Math contests: This year we'll have a math marathon once a month for our younger son, during which all aspects of math facts will be challenged in a sports setting with other American families. We're planning water polo, badminton and ball-passing games. Players take turns testing (following pre-set criteria) and being tested. Testing players say a math fact question and hit the ball at the same time. The opposing team needs to answer the math question and return the ball at the same time, while moms keep track of scores, set up boards and rotate the teams between the different activities.

Lydia Segura, bilingual education teacher who holds a Masters in Education in TOESL and TOEFL, says she strongly believes in " . . . the triangle effect, which brings together the student, the teacher (or school) and the parents. It's the strongest tool we can use against below-standard schools, learning barriers, and any other destructive weapons that damage our children and don't let them realize their potential."