Education for a 5 year old

[FamilyThorn]

Hi all, my first post!

We've been offered a job in Olkiluoto Rauma, we're really excited and hope it all works out. One of the deal breakers for us is organising schooling for our kids as our eldest is 4 and, if we stayed in England, would go to school this year in September. As we'll probably only stay for around 4 years we don't want her to fall too far out of sync with the English schooling system. As kids in Finland don't start school until 6 or 7, should we be sending her to a private / international school, or does the kindergarten system translate into the 1st year in an English primary school? I'd also be really interested to know about schools in the Rauma area suitable for her.

Any experiences or guidance that you could share would be very welcome.

Thanks so much, A

[Rosamunda]

No the kindergarten system does not equate to a UK primary school, except for the final year (ie when the child turns 6 yrs old) when they do some "school readiness" activities. But reading and writing don't start until school. This is OK for Finnish children who learn to read and write in a few months (Finnish is dead easy in that respect) but a bit of a problem for English-language schooling.

If you are certain that you will not spend the rest of your lives in Finland then an International School is probably the best solution for you, but I have no idea what is available in Rauma. I know the French (Areva, Bouygues) brought their own teachers over from France but not sure about the rest.

You should be able to find more info onhttp://www.rauma.fi/maahanmuutto/index.php?opt ... 47&lang=en a

Here is a link to what appears to be the only English-language kindergarten in Rauma: http://www.enkkutarha.com/en/index.htm
I couldn't find an international school in Rauma.

You might have to think about living in Pori http://www.cedunet.fi/koulut/cygnaeus/cyg_main_en.html

[FamilyThorn]

Thanks for your help Rosa. Its almost certainly going to be a 4 year thing so just want to have our exit strategy sorted. Thank you for the links, I'll email the Rauma kindergarten to see what their view is and take it from there.

If you or anyone you know has experience of having 5 year old english speaking kids in Rauma I'd be grateful of further advice.

A

[Rosamunda]

I guessed as much when my googling threw up next to nothing.

Like Cory, thinking outside the box, you could try settling in a city like Espoo, Helsinki, Tampere etc and use the international pre-school facilities there and your husband could do a weekly commute to Rauma.

When the French were involved in the building phase of Olkiluoto quite a few lived in Helsinki, put their children in the French school, and the working parent did a weekly commute.

Home-schooling is an option especially pre-7 years but it is difficult to get the necessary authorisations for school-aged children.
http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Finland/

[biscayne]

S.o was from Rauma, parents lived there, you are in for a treat, it is an absolutely lovely place. Charming. Could you put the kids in Finnish kindergarten and teach them english reading/writing yourself at home? They would make local friends, you would meet locals too, the kids would pick up finnish no problem and it certainly would not do them any harm even if you really do go back after 4 years.

[Rosamunda]

Yes, I think that is a great idea too. As a parent it is a terrifying thought putting your children into a "foreign" environment and it is never easy for the parent or the child in the beginning (my youngest was not a happy bunny in his first few days at päiväkoti) but I think it has a huge positive impact on a child's development, opening up their senses to the big wide world. Exposure to a second language at an early age can have a major positive influence on literacy in the mother tongue too. If Finnish scares you, then think about a Swedish daycare.

I would certainly suggest you keep an open mind and try to visit one or two to get an idea of what they're like.