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English-speaking or bilingual summer day camps

Posted by on

Hello,

My wife and I would like to spend a month in France this summer (mid-July to mid-August). However, we will be working from home part time and would like to find fun day camps for our kids (ages 10 & 11). The problem is the kids do not speak any French. In online searches I have found that the local municipalities offer day camps but in French. Has anyone heard of any fun English speaking or bilingual day camps? We are flexible on the location (but at the top of our list would be Provence, the Alps, Burgundy or Normandy).

All the best,
Diego

Posted by
2454 posts

Kids that age pick up foreign languages incredibly fast - great part of the experience for them.

Posted by
9590 posts

"the local municipalities offer day camps but in French."

Imagine that!! In France!

Posted by
5697 posts

Well, it IS possible that you could find a foreign language camp where kids would be practicing their English skills. Maybe something run by a private school? But that might be €€€

Posted by
8293 posts

Check out the International Schools in France and see what they offer in the way of summer camps.

Posted by
10 posts

Thanks everyone! Some more background: we went the full language immersion route with them with Spanish and they were very good sports about it. But now they know how hard that is, and how long it takes to learn a new language, and so they have put up tremendous resistance to the prospect of us dropping them off at a camp where they don't speak the language.

The international schools is a great suggestion. It turns out that a few of them do offer bilingual or English-speaking summer camps (e.g., EBICA in Nice, IS Lyon, IS Bordeaux). Unfortunately I haven't found any that coincide with our dates, so we may have to come up with a different plan.

Posted by
8293 posts

Maybe if you contact a few expat organizations they could offer some suggestions.

Posted by
3391 posts

We had the same issue with our son when we were in the south of France...an expat friend recommended the local day camp for kids...at first he was excited and then completely turned around and refused to go once he realized the language barrier was going to be a challenge. Had to withdraw him at the last minute!
If you want to be in the Alps and are willing to consider Switzerland, the TASIS school has a great summer camp for kids. It's a bit pricey but it's very high quality and your kids will never forget it! They have programs for all ages. Here's the link if you might be interested.

Posted by
10 posts

Great suggestion regarding the expat organizations, thanks Norma! I've started contacting them.

Anita, thank you so much for the TASIS recommendation. It looks fantastic, although you are right is it pricey.

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