Homeschooling -> Normal Thai School

[bobthedog]

Hi

I have two children at the age of 8 and 12. None of them speak Thai. The 12 y.o. understands a bit of English and the 8 y.o. even less. How would you consider the following approach to moving to Thailand with the children, in regard to school:

Start of with home schooling for one year to get them up to speed on the Thai languange and whatever else is needed to fit them into a (not too pricy) private school using where a Thai curriculum is used. For home schooling I would think of hiring a Thai teacher for each child. Ideally the teachers should be able to teach all subjects needed.

Does this sound realistic to you?

What costs should one expect to pay a teacher per hour (in Bangkok vs. Chiang Mai)?

Thanks!

Edited August 7, 2012 by bobthedog

[coolhandjoe]

What language do they speak if not thai or English?

Thai teachers charge 200bht an hour, double for farang!

Home schooling requires a lot of research, patience, time and intelligence.

I would be interested to know about TV members home schooling experiences.

[bobthedog]

Thanks for your reply. The children speak only Scandinavian language(s).

[BabyJebus]

In pattaya and phuket they are scandi internationally accredited schools which are not that expensive compared to british international schools. Your children would have scandi classes for the most part but also a few english/thai classes on top. Scandis seems to swear by those schools and we all know scandis average are far from being stupid, so it should be good schools.

It's mostly swedish if that matters

Edited August 9, 2012 by BabyJebus

[bobthedog]

In pattaya and phuket they are scandi internationally accredited schools which are not that expensive compared to british international schools. Your children would have scandi classes for the most part but also a few english/thai classes on top. Scandis seems to swear by those schools and we all know scandis average are far from being stupid, so it should be good schools.

It's mostly swedish if that matters

Would you have the name of such a school in Phuket?

[LindaatKIS]

Hi,

You could also ask the regular international schools if they offer scholarships if money is the issue. Some scholarships are needs-based (not based on academic performance but based on financial need) and available to international families. The school I work at in Bangkok offers this type of scholarship.

International schools normally accept children who don't speak English, as they have special EAL/ESL classes to help them learn English. Most non-Thais are disappointed with the Thai education system.

The Scandasia website may be a good resource for you.

Good luck!

[BabyJebus]

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=phuket+swedish+school&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[bobthedog]

Thanks for your answers so far :-) Getting back to the original questions of the thread, please feel free to post your comments also. Thanks!

[BabyJebus]

ya sorry i cant give you more, i just have a swedish friend with a swedish kid and after a lot of research he found that the phuket and pattaya schools were great and affordable. Else he'd have gone to an other country.

[Somtamnication]

I cannot offer advice. But, my son goes to a private school that has both an EP and a mini EP (English program and mini EP, 2 subjects taught in English).

Both my wife (Thai) and I give him additional classes at home. Her English is very good, so she helps with the hw and gives additional lessons, also for Thai language.

I buy science books, math and science apps for the ipad, and let the boy run away with them. My 6 year old loves the books we have for him.

And on Saturdays he gets a Chinese teacher to review his lessons and additional practice.

We are not impressed with the schools here and we both agree that the style of teaching and the "respect everyone who is socially above you" bs just does not play well in my house.

So, additional lessons on that subject as well.

I teach at a Thai school. These kids know nothing about their neighbours, know nothing about world history, know nothing about current issues and have a strange way of doing math. This is where you can help your kids.