After a fair amount of paperwork and documents, we were able to enroll Luie in the village school. Unfortunately, Summer is too old to attend this school. The school day goes from 9:00am to 2:00pm. They bring a small sack lunch to eat at school. Then 2:00-4:00 is the traditional time for siesta, a family lunch and possibly a nap, when most places close down. I think this schedule is particularly nice for family time. And I appreciate the shorter school day.
An interview with Luie
Luie, what is your favorite thing to do in school?
Luie: I really like eating my lunch, but I have to say recess!
What do you do at recess?
Luie: Play with my friends. There is like a big court and a lot of older kids are playing and the little kids run around and play and I just go to one of my friends and play what they are playing, but I don’t even know what they are playing. And then the bell rings and thats it.
Who are your friends?
Luie: So I have Lucy and Naiara and then Alestar and then I have a lot of friends and I don’t know all their names.
What kind of school work do you do?
Luie: Spanish school work. Writing and learning and reading and everything except playing.
Tell me about your teacher
Luie: Her name is Rosa and she always wears a shirt and coat to school. And she is a nice teacher, but I don’t understand what she is saying. But I know the place for eating.
So are you learning any Spanish?
Luie: Yes, I know how to count to 10 in Spanish. And I know how to say some few words in Spanish.
How do you talk to your friends?
Luie: I have some English friends, so I talk to them in English. And with some of my Spanish friends, I just try communicating with them.
How is school in Spain different?
Luie: You have to speak Spanish. You have to do Spanish homework. You have Spanish friends. And at recess you play with your Spanish and English friends. And the whole family walks me to school and picks me up after school.
Is there anything interesting you can tell me about school?
Luie: I have tortas at lunch time, which I don’t at home. And when I have to go to the bathroom, I say “Baño por favor.”
This concludes the interview with Luie. However, I wanted to share a few more things. Luie’s teacher does not speak any English, so we have been helping him with work at home. Thank goodness for online dictionaries and translators. In spite of this major adjustment, he is enjoying school and has been surprisingly optimistic through the transition. Below is a sample from his workbook. His class is reading and writing in cursive and in Spanish. It is a big jump, but we are so proud of his effort and attitude!
Hola Luie, what is the scrape on your nose from?
Luie doesn’t like to walk, he prefers to run, but he stumbled on the cobbled sidewalk and landed on his nose. This happened on the way to school. Poor kid!
Luie, I always asked the kids what their favorite part of the day was when I was a teacher, and they said the same as you every time! I guess no matter where in the world you are in school, lunch and recess are still the favorite.
Wow! I’m so impressed that Luie hasn’t gotten discouraged about school even though he’s clearly being asked to do work that’s very hard for him and his teacher doesn’t even speak English. That’s one impressive young man. Tell him way to go from Lucia!
Thanks Lucia! I will tell him. It has helped a lot that he has made several friends who speak English.
Hello, I’m so glad I found this site! My family and I are planning to live in Malaga for 4 months (Nov-Feb). We have found a school that said they would accept our boys (4 and 7 years old). Do you have any advice on making the school registration process easier? I translated their report cards into Spanish. We are also thinking about going to Gibraltar so as not to exceed our 90 days in Schengen. Thank you!
Hello! I do have a little bit of advice. You need to go to the Ayuntamiento and get registered with the city. At least that is what we were required to do in our little village. They contact our landlord to prove that you are residing in the city. It might be helpful to get a letter from your landlord with your Spain address included, stating that you are currently renting at that address. We also needed birth certificates. I would recommend having having a copy with you and also, sending yourself copies on email. That way, you can access them again if they get lost. Having that digital copy available by smart phone was very helpful.
About Gibraltar, when you go, make sure to get both an exit stamp (from Spain) and an entry stamp from Gib. They usually just wave people through and they do not like to take the time to have to stamp your passports, but for your Schengen status, this is very important. Schengen only allows 90 days in a 180 day period. Hope this helps! Happy travels. We absolutely loved Spain and miss it terribly. I think you will love it!