Hi,
We are considering moving to Kunming possibly late 2016 or early 2017. I will have a 7 year old and 2 year old. I have searched through some of the old threads on here regarding schooling and it seems that home schooling is quite popular. Can anyone tell me how it works? In Australia, home schooling is becoming popular but is still very rare.

Apart from home schooling, are there any other options? The only international school I've found in the area seems to be super expensive so not really an option for us. I'm worried that moving a 7 year old to a foreign country and starting a new school might be overly daunting so want to make it as easy on him as possible. Any ideas?

A 7 year old will be tough, with no chinese language abilities - putting him into a chinese public school would be utterly terrifying.

Australia has a fixed and well-known curriculum, with clearly stated goals, so home schooling MAY be best for the young boy. Alternately - you MAY consider the Confucius Academy (dunno WHERE that place is) - and give him a year off to study Chinese, calligraphy, philosophy, etc.

A good primer to start him off is the "dizi gui" - which you can find on wikipedia - both the simplified, traditional, and english translations.

For home-schooling - look at amazon.com.cn (amazon.cn?) to see if you can get the course books here and cheaper (including delivery). Alternately - you can copy or download e-books (for FREEEE)...and print them out at any local printer, chapter by chapter, or print the whole book out and have it bound (chinese binding would be kind of cool, if not eccentric).

Other things for you son to learn, which would be totally cool - taiji - there's a master who informally teaches the martial (battle) form of taiji at the Yunnan University main campus (green lake), for a modest fee - and his son also teaches professionally at some studios in some of the major upscale shopping centers (but it's pricey on an english teacher's salary...but EVERYTHING's negotiable - having foreign looking kids can sometimes be great advertising, so you MAY be able to negotiate something affordable - it's either that or "money out the door" for the school.

There used to be a vibrant evangelical (?) christian community in the northeast of Kunming - dunno if they're still there - but they can probably give lots of advice on home schooling or small group schooling (crowd schooling?) - where a bunch of non-employed parents gather to teach their kids in small groups, dividing up the labor.

Good luck - hope it's a positively (as opposed to negatively) fantastic experience for your family and your children.

Thanks Laotou! That's great info. Yeah we definitely didn't think putting him in Chinese school was an option. Possibly for the 2 year old later on though... we'll see!

We have avoided starting him learning some Chinese yet as he is only halfway through his first year of school. Better to get the basics of reading and writing in English first maybe... But we can probably start now.

Small groups to homeschool in sounds good. Anyone out there part of these groups that can give some insight as in how it works and whether it is a good option?

I have just had a quick Google. There is a lot of information on home schooling.

Here is an example of US programme www.timberdoodle.com/[...]

The ideal programme to look for is one with an on-line teacher who grades assignments (I have seen a programme that does this for grade 6 up). The parents then act as facilitator and may feel happier with professional support of on-line teachers.

As you will act as teacher/parent, it might be worth you doing, or at least working through, this free short course. www.coursera.org/learn/blended-learning

Thanks tiger tiger :) I have had a look online too. I like the idea of an online teacher! Thanks for that!
Also really interested in hearing from people who are home schooling in Kunming and how that works for you.

Strongly suggest getting the kids started learning Chinese as soon as possible, as they will never have a chance to become really fluent in a foreign language like the one they are going to get when you arrive - but no, plopping the older one into a Chinese public school right away will probably not work too well. Perhaps home schooling, but definitely including Chinese language study, would be a good idea in the beginning, at least.

I have seen where a whole family is learning Chinese together as a family activity, where a tutor comes in to your home. That way it seems much less like schooling, as mummy and even daddy are doing it too.
You will find it easy to get your youngest into a kindergarten. That way they will make new Chinese friends and start picking up the language. The youngest won't see it as a foreign language, just the other kids talking differently.

@tiger: Good idea, including the kindergarten.

Thanks! Definitely intend to start the chinese language learning asap. Like the idea of learning together!

We have a 2 (turning 3) year old here, though our situation is slightly different to yours... Here are my top tips

1. Join the "Kunming with kids" FB group. It has many parents with kids of all ages and various experiences with schools. Some have one Chinese parent and may be going the traditional schooling route, but I'm sure they will still offer great advice.

2. There are a few kindergartens developing or opening soon that will be bi-lingual. I know one Montessori school that should be open by the time you come. Educators will be foreign and Chinese and do a half-day in each language approach. However, like your other school - I expect it will be pricey.

3. We live in the north and I can confirm, as Laotou said that you will mainly find missionary families here. Be aware that offers to do group home schooling may involve a lot of bible studies and christian related learning! In saying that, the North of Kunming is fantastic for kids with heaps to do, wonderful parks, playgrounds etc. I'm happy to tell you more about where we live if you want to message me. :)

4. We enrolled our then 2 year old in a fun, play based Chinese class twice a week and she loved it. Her capacity to absorb the language is really amazing - so as others suggested, I would get both your children learning Chinese asap! We only planned to stay for a year, so my daughters main learning came from us at home and her Chinese teacher/friends and nanny.

4. If you dont particularly want /dont have time to teach your own kids, I would probably look for a foreigner that can be a regular tutor for your kids. Other local parents may be keen for their kids to join in and share costs too. That would give you the option to tailor make the curriculum or use any curriculum you want. That may feel more like "real school". You can even use the Australian National curriculum guidelines,if you want to keep you kids on track for when they return home. If I was staying here, I would probably go this route.

So that's my advice! Good luck! PM me if you want any more info :)