Our little guy went to French immersion. We found his kindergarten class did alot of activities together--due to the efforts of a really great room mother (NOT me.) She would schedule open playdates at parks and the kids really seem to form a nice bond.

We have a neighborhood friend doing immersion; we are in private; other neighbors are a mix of public, parochial, and private. It all seems to work out and yes, it can be more of a chore to get together, however the benefits of learning a language trump these in my mind.

Immersion parent here. Yes, it makes a big impact. You have to work very hard to have playdates for school friends and neighborhood friends. Kids obviously make their own choices about who they like to play with and when those friends can be 45 min away, it really impacts those bonds. We have found that our child really likes the immersion program, so we are going to continue. With the bussing and everything else that's involved, I believe a family should be 100% invested and treat it as the enrichment that it is.

15:02, we're in the same boat. A great local ES and tons of friends and neighbors going there. We decided to do the immersion - we feel there is a great benefit to learning a language at this early age. I also cut back my work schedule so that DC can go to after school activities.

Depending on how far away there's a huge impact. It's also more difficult to participate in many activities. If the language is truly important to you it can be worth it. But if not why bother...

Making a decision about immersion and I'm wondering how big of a deal it is to maintain kids' friendships when they are scattered around the county, not concentrated in the neighborhood. Trying to decide if it is worth it for language immersion when the neighborhood school is well liked. Thanks!