I did a surf and Spanish camp in CR— I’m sure there is one that would be oriented towards kids

My family did this in Ecuador. I wrote about it on my website: www.madisoncountykids.org/ecuador. Here's a quick summary: Banos, Ecuador
We got private transportation from Banos directly off our flight. It takes a little over 3 hours. The roads were surprisingly good. They cut through mountains and past small villages. It was scenic and nice. Here are some of the things we enjoyed in Banos.
​​Spanish Lessons and Guides: Our guides and Spanish teachers from Raices Spanish School were the best decision we made in planning our trip. From our first day, the kids sang and danced in Spanish while we relaxed, took pictures, and learned. We had lessons in the market, at the swings, and next to the waterfalls. We made friends, had extra eyes on the kids, took time to learn new things, and always had translators. We couldn't have picked a better way to truly experience Ecuador.
Waterfalls: The road along the canyon provided a great view of the 7 waterfalls. At some, you can take a basket across the falls to see the small farms and fishing villages. At Pailon Del Diablio, (Devil’s Cauldron), you can pay a small amount to hike to the waterfall. You can also venture through the caves or across the rope bridge. After all of that, enjoy a fancy drink, a well cooked meal, and a beautiful view from the restaurant! Best on a weekday with a rain jacket. A carrier would be helpful with little kids.
Casa Del Arbol tree swing: This is a short drive up hill from Banos. It costs a couple of dollars a person and has swings for all ages and even the most fearful in the bunch. T1$ entry fee per person. To avoid lines, avoid weekends.
The market: Locals shop here and you should too! Don't miss the passion fruit, tiny bananas, and little donuts with onions and cheese inside. Most travel books recommend that if you can't peel it or cook it, don't eat it. Packaged food and restaurants are generally considered safe.
Yana Cocha Rescue Centre (Puyo, 90 minutes from Banos. We used a tour guide.) Yana Cocha is a sanctuary for animals that were either confiscated or found wandering after being imprinted. The enclosures are large and clean. The police have a strong relationship with the center, and bring animals there. Yana Cocha has a lot of animals who are being rehabilitated, many of which are free to roam and greet visitors. Nice place to walk around and see the local fauna. Our children loved interacting with Monkeys while walking through.
Thermal baths: I've heard they are fun, but didn't get to try.
Las Manos de la Pachamama: While standing on a pair of hands, you see the Ulba River Canyon and National Parks.
La Aldea Mágica, is a garden full of goblins, there is a wishing well where a goblin sings.
Animal Park children can interact with animals that live in Ecuador. Ask about the show hours.
The chocolate factory is designed for children with a chocolate shop, ice cream shop, pastry shop and cafeteria.
Las Manos de Dios has two hands that emerge from the top of a viewpoint to a wooden bridge, to view the landscapes of Baños.

Lots of options in Costa Rica for this

Rent a beach house in Cadiz.

My DS did a camp in Spain called Layos (most campers are Spanish-speaking, and there is an option to do a morning language class for English speakers).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did this back 6-7 years ago when our kids were in elementary. I went early with them and we lived for 2 weeks with a Guatemalan family (requested one with kids) and it is truly one of the highlights of their lives. Then DH arrived and we rented a little house owned by one of the family members for another two weeks.

Now I did Peace Corp type work in my youth and knew what to expect. The kids were in heaven, mornings under a hut learning Spanish one on one and sometimes going out about the village with the other 2 kids there at the time, afternoons and weekends free. We timed it during the town festival so there was a ton of stuff to do.

San Pedro La Laguna, La Cooperativa School

Not op, but that sounds awesome!

Anyone ever do something like this in Oaxaca?

I have taken Spanish lessons in both Oaxaca and San Pedro La Laguna, and also Guanajuato, Mexico -- all are lovely places and all three language schools offered classes for kids, depending on age. You will just want to check on the youngest age they will take. I would say that overall the experience is terrific but unless you are there for some meaningful period of time (looks like PP was in SPLL for 4 weeks total, which would be fantastic) your Spanish progress might be good but not awesome. I have definitely learned Spanish with more rigor through the USDA classes, for example (but it wasn't nearly as fun).

Thanks, sounds like you have a lot of experience! I'm looking for kids who are in 4th and 6th grade Spanish bilingual programs but lost a lot of Spanish during the pandemic. Basic understanding is there and they can read well, but their fluency back slid a ton.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did this back 6-7 years ago when our kids were in elementary. I went early with them and we lived for 2 weeks with a Guatemalan family (requested one with kids) and it is truly one of the highlights of their lives. Then DH arrived and we rented a little house owned by one of the family members for another two weeks.

Now I did Peace Corp type work in my youth and knew what to expect. The kids were in heaven, mornings under a hut learning Spanish one on one and sometimes going out about the village with the other 2 kids there at the time, afternoons and weekends free. We timed it during the town festival so there was a ton of stuff to do.

San Pedro La Laguna, La Cooperativa School

Not op, but that sounds awesome!

Anyone ever do something like this in Oaxaca?

I have taken Spanish lessons in both Oaxaca and San Pedro La Laguna, and also Guanajuato, Mexico -- all are lovely places and all three language schools offered classes for kids, depending on age. You will just want to check on the youngest age they will take. I would say that overall the experience is terrific but unless you are there for some meaningful period of time (looks like PP was in SPLL for 4 weeks total, which would be fantastic) your Spanish progress might be good but not awesome. I have definitely learned Spanish with more rigor through the USDA classes, for example (but it wasn't nearly as fun).

Anonymous wrote:We did this back 6-7 years ago when our kids were in elementary. I went early with them and we lived for 2 weeks with a Guatemalan family (requested one with kids) and it is truly one of the highlights of their lives. Then DH arrived and we rented a little house owned by one of the family members for another two weeks.

Now I did Peace Corp type work in my youth and knew what to expect. The kids were in heaven, mornings under a hut learning Spanish one on one and sometimes going out about the village with the other 2 kids there at the time, afternoons and weekends free. We timed it during the town festival so there was a ton of stuff to do.

San Pedro La Laguna, La Cooperativa School

Anyone do something like this recently?

I second Antigua, Guatemala – I have traveled to Guatemala alone twice and love the country. You should also check out at the lake atitlan area where there are a lot of cool towns and places to see. I bet there are some language activities there as well.

My first time out of the country was in Costa Rica, where I stay with a family for a few weeks and went to a language school. Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but it was very cool. Not sure if they do entire family homes days or if you would want it, but it was really a great way to practice Spanish. There's only so much you can do in the classroom setting.

Anonymous wrote:We did this back 6-7 years ago when our kids were in elementary. I went early with them and we lived for 2 weeks with a Guatemalan family (requested one with kids) and it is truly one of the highlights of their lives. Then DH arrived and we rented a little house owned by one of the family members for another two weeks.

Now I did Peace Corp type work in my youth and knew what to expect. The kids were in heaven, mornings under a hut learning Spanish one on one and sometimes going out about the village with the other 2 kids there at the time, afternoons and weekends free. We timed it during the town festival so there was a ton of stuff to do.

San Pedro La Laguna, La Cooperativa School

Not op, but that sounds awesome!

Anyone ever do something like this in Oaxaca?

Thank you! Those are helpful suggestions!

We did this back 6-7 years ago when our kids were in elementary. I went early with them and we lived for 2 weeks with a Guatemalan family (requested one with kids) and it is truly one of the highlights of their lives. Then DH arrived and we rented a little house owned by one of the family members for another two weeks.

Now I did Peace Corp type work in my youth and knew what to expect. The kids were in heaven, mornings under a hut learning Spanish one on one and sometimes going out about the village with the other 2 kids there at the time, afternoons and weekends free. We timed it during the town festival so there was a ton of stuff to do.

San Pedro La Laguna, La Cooperativa School

There's a blog called inthebigpicture where the family travels a lot. They did a long trip last year to Central America and their first stop was a place where they could study Spanish with the kids. It looked awesome.
This is the summer school, and you can check the blog for their adventures there:
http://www.mariposaspanishschool.com/

I think I've also seen vacations like this in San Miguel de Allende (mexico).

Antigua, Guatemala (not to be confused with Antigua the island).

The locals are very patient with kids (and adults) practicing their Spanish. You can also take one-on-one tutoring with a native speaker at various language schools around the small city for VERY reasonable prices. A lot of the schools also offer side trips with a guide. The teachers orient the lessons to the students and listen to student/parent objectives (e.g., just practice conversation? some grammar? reading? play games/do crafts-- while speaking Spanish?).

It's a pretty colonial city and you can do to chocolate making classes, zip line etc. All very fun for kids. It is pretty safe since there are a lot of "tourist" police and there are plenty of options for secure housing.

Looking to combine a vacation with an opportunity for kids to practice their Spanish. Wondering if anyone has done this and if so if there are any recommendations for camps or countries?