Hi everyone,

I just thought I would share with you where we have our son enrolled for daycare/nursery school in case there are other expat parents out there looking.

We have him enrolled in Sol y Luna Playschool which is located in Hortaleza / Arturo Soria. The instruction is exclusively in English and they work with ages 0-3 years. The director is considering adding on 4-6 (before the obligatory educational age) and very well may do so if the demand is sufficient.

We are very pleased with the experience so far. The director/owner is dual nationality American/British...so our son gets the best of "both worlds".

That's great Chica, and I'm happy for you. Looks like a good one.

And it is interesting that they might expand into a nursery school. Just something to keep in mind when planning your son's education, though: the drawback to going through "infantil" through five at a nursery school is that you may have a tougher time getting your child into the school you want when they enter Primaria. That is unless you are thinking of going through private schools all the way, in such case, it's easier.

But "concertados", for example, take students at the age of three and they are tough enough to get into as it is because of the high demand...and after that it can be extremely difficult.

I'm not sure if you're thinking along those lines, but it is something to consider.

Hey Murdy...

You bring up some really good points... things that we haven't really begun to think about.

My husband has entertained the idea of private English schools...but I ask, with what money? We just bought a flat here...and you know what that means!

I am hoping that Madrid Community's bilingual public school project will be expanded enough that we can send him to a public school feeling comfortable that our son's bilingual needs will be met. Keep your fingers crossed!

I found just the opposite to be true--that the big rush for slots was for the first year of infantil (at 3 years of age). Lots of people get turned away from their first choice (if it's a popular school). The following years (4 and 5 of infantil), it was much easier to get a slot due to attrition.

Really! That's interesting and GOOD! So there you have it, obviously what I said is not true across the board, and it's something worth researching when looking for your kid's school.

At the school I work at (a concertado), though, if you don't get accepted in the first year of Infantil you can all but forget it later on. And I know it's like that for many other concertados. But as MadridMadridMadrid pointed out, that doesn't have to be the case.

Chica, the money issue is very important when it comes to private schools...especially when you don't have it! There's a bit of everything out there these days in the private school sector, so you really have to choose well.

The bilingual public school project could be a great choice. I haven't been following that subject too much so I don't know how it's going, whether it has expanded to other schools, etc. Does anyone know? (And yes, I will keep my fingers crossed)

And you always have the concertados, which used to be private, but now are tuition free. Most aren't bilingual, as far as I know.

But ultimately, if you speak enough English at home, personally I wouldn't be too worried about finding bilingual education, unless you'd prefer it for other reasons which is quite possible. My daughters' school (actually it's the same as mine) has four hours of English a week in Primaria, but I always speak to them in English, and they are pretty much bilingual now.

We speak Spanish at home. We are doing the one-parent, one language method. My husband speaks to our son in Spanish and I speak to him in English. My husband and I speak to each other in Spanish. For now, it appears that our son has more of a grasp of English since he spends most of his day hearing English (mornings with Mom and then daycare till 7pm when his father picks him up.)

I haven't been following the bilingual project too much. Last I heard they were going to increase the number of bilingual public schools in Madrid city from 12 to 30 something for this fall. I don't know if they actually were able to do so. If I hear of more information I will post it here.

They don't call it a Mother Tongue for nothing! Many times the mother will be the most important influence in bilingual situations. Heck, in many situations for that matter!

We do the same at home. I always speak to the girls in English and my wife always speaks Spanish. With the community being Spanish-speaking and the school too, you would say I was at somewhat of a disadvantage, but eventually they began to use more and more English. It also helps to go back to the States from time to time so they can get an "booster shot" of the language.

Clara, my youngest, took even longer (she really didn't start to use it habitually until this summer as she's five now) but that was probably because her sister spoke to her mostly in Spanish too.

For the moment, Spanish is still their "first language", since they speak it without any difficulty whatsoever, whereas they still have expression problems with English. But the key is they almost always speak to me in English and are perfectly comfortable with it.

No rush and no worries. We just go with the flow.