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Read enough articles and advice about teaching your kids Chinese and inevitably, you’ll be told to take your kids back to Taiwan or China for a few weeks in the summer to experience full Chinese immersion. While I cannot help you with camps in China, I have taken 3-4 children (and once while pregnant) back to Taiwan on multiple occasions for the purpose of Chinese immersion.
Planning a trip to a foreign country – let alone figuring out how to enroll your kids in summer camps in Chinese – is a daunting prospect. For your convenience, these are my top posts about how to plan a trip to Taiwan for the purpose of sending your kids to Chinese summer camp.
How to Plan a trip to Taiwan
1) How to Plan a Trip to Taiwan with Your Kids – In this post, I break down everything you need to know and do in order to plan a trip to Taiwan and enroll your kids in a summer camp there. I also explain the 3 different types of summer camps in Taiwan and what you should reasonably expect from them. Bonus: I talk about what to do if your kid has food allergies.
2) Tips for Your Taiwan Trip (with Kids) – Once you’re in Taiwan, there will be inevitable culture shock. (Plus, everything’s in Chinese!! Blargh!) Here are 18 tips to help you get through your summer in Taiwan with as little suffering as possible. Learn from my mistakes, friends.
3) How to Choose a Taiwanese Preschool – After a reader pointed out that my first article did not help with the 6 and under set, I wrote a piece with my 4 steps on how to choose a Taiwanese preschool for your child.
How much does it cost to go to Taiwan for the summer?
4) Final Money Tally for Taiwan Trip 2019 – I tally the full realm of costs of traveling with four kids and a husband to see relatives in Taiwan each summer. This piece was originally for Romper Magazine.
5) Final Money Tally for Taiwan Trip 2017 – Want an idea of what it costs for a family of 6 to go back to Taiwan for 5 weeks? This article lists out all the costs we incurred for our summer. Try not to faint.
6) Final Money Tally for Taiwan Trip 2016 – In case you’re a glutton for punishment, here’s what it cost our family of 5 on our 6 week trip. This way, you can marvel at how easy it is to spend Monopoly money in a foreign country. I also list 4 tips on how you can save money on the trip.
What are the taiwan camps like?
7) Taiwan Trip 2017 Post Mortem – In this piece, I provide 11 reflections on the trip and its efficacy.
8) Taiwanese Camp Update: Week 1, 2, 3, and 4 – If you would like a deeper glimpse into some of the camps my children attended, these updates should be informative. (Note: I do not actually disclose where they attended due to internet safety. All requests for specific camp information will be deleted and ignored.)
9) Taiwan Trip 2019 Recap – Wherein I discuss how summer camps went the most recent year in Taiwan. Was there a Taiwan Halo Effect now that the kids are older? (Note: I do not actually disclose where they attended due to internet safety. All requests for specific camp information will be deleted and ignored.)
If you liked this post, you may also like the following articles:
- Why I Take My Kids Back to Taiwan Every Summer
- What a Typical Summer Day in Taiwan With Kids Looks Like
- How to Keep Up Chinese While Traveling