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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't get why you aren't comfortable with full immersion?  Your 3 year old won't be fazed by it one bit.  After a month or two he/she will naturally understand that at school he/she will be using these other words.  They'll just switch over automatically.  You keep reading to your kid at home in English and when  he/she is in kindergarten, you'll have the beginnings of a biliterate kid.  When it all comes together they'll have such an advantage of learning in two languages.  [/quote]

I wouldn't have put it like this.  Rather, OP I would ask if your hesitation has more to do with your concern for your child or about your support?  For example, if your child has language acquisition issues and special needs, I personally might think twice about an immersion program.  If, however, your concern is that you're not sure how to support your child's acquisition of a language that you don't speak, you should know that you're not alone in this.  I have a child in a language immersion program, and I can only speak a few words of it.  I won't kid you and say it's easy all the time, it's definitely more demanding - as a parent - to have a child responsible for work in a new language and not being able to help.  It's also really rewarding to watch my child developing a skill that I don't have.  We do nightly readings (she reads, I listen).  I do my best to be supportive and I know that there are a lot of other parents in the same boat.  One thing is very apparent to me, my child has no idea that learning a second language is "hard" - it seems fun and easy via the immersion method.

I'm biased of course, but I'd recommend you take the MV space and see how it goes.  Your DC may love it.  If not, you can always withdraw to your neighborhood school, but the opportunity to grow up fluent in another language will slip away.[/quote]

OP, I agree with PP and have a similar experience.  We had a good IB option but decided to go with language immersion because we figured that we could always enroll in K at our IB school if the immersion option didn't work out.  My child is doing well in language immersion and we are not fluent in the language.  My husband and I are getting better because we have to in order to support our child.  I have noticed that his language acquisition in English has slowed (not regressed) compared to his friends in non-immersion programs.  I am not worried as his language acquisition in Spanish is increasing rapidly and as PK4 student, he as started reading in Spanish (he was starting to read in English last summer but seems to have shifted to skills to Spanish).  His math skills are developing well and at home he has demonstrated the ability to transfer that ability between Spanish and English.  My child has also started to translate in everyday situations, e.g. when he hears someone speaking Spanish at a store or hears a song in Spanish.  It is awesome to watch him develop and even though I took several years of Spanish and French in high school and college, starting in early childhood gives him the advantage-- especially his accent!  Overall, I am happy with our decision.[/quote]

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