Check out this post from first grade teacher Elaine Voge at Shanghai American School. There are many ways to integrate a study of third culture kids into the social studies curriculum!
More to follow…
TCKs at SAS
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Tag Archives: Elementary TCKS
Growing Up Global
As the parent of a TCK, I realize the value- educational value-of the trips/vacations/lay overs we take. This spring, we brought our eight-year old to Egypt for our first ever visit.
While we attended the NESA Spring Educators Conference, she was out and about in the city of Cairo with the NESA child care program. At 8:00 AM as we were entering the hotel ballroom for the Keynote Address, Sydney was on a bus to the Pyramids at Giza. Around 5 PM, when our final session of the day ended, she was just returning- tired, unbelievably dirty, but full of stories (and pictures) and confidence. The next three days followed this predictable pattern. All in all, Sydney saw more of Cairo then we did.
While I’ve always felt our trips were important, this time the value of this experience was articulated by Syd herself when she said “Mom, I think I really grew up while we’ve been in Egypt.”
As an educator of kids who are learning globally I wonder…
- How can we capitalize on these valuable vacations?
- What do we do with this knowledge when kids return to school?
- Why isn’t the TCK experience part of our social studies curriculums?
Decisions, Decisions.
In a few weeks my family will be heading to the NESA Spring Educators Conference in Cairo, Egypt. My husband and I are both planning to attend sessions, so my daughter naturally will be enrolled in the childcare program. As we are new to NESA I didn’t know what the program for kids would entail.
Well, only the parents of a TCK face options like these:
Looking this itinerary over- and she will be part of the childcare for 3 days- Sydney is going to see more of Cairo then we will. So, we decided to make the most of this incredible opportunity: We bought Syd a digital camera and told her to take pictures of everything she sees on her Egyptian Adventure!
The Adventure Begins
Third-Culture Kids Unite! Children love to read books about kids like themselves. The Adventure Begins: The First Day at Detinu International School is the first picture book written especially for elementary-aged Third-Culture Kids. This book chronicles the ups and downs of living life overseas as a young global nomad. From transition issues such as moving to a new country, making friends, attending an international school, coping with change, and saying goodbye, The Adventure Begins allows littler TCKs to finally have their own voice in the experience of living “among worlds.”
In recent years, many parents and caregivers of TCKs have accessed books about the repatriation process. Little emphasis however has been placed on the experience of actually living as a young Third-Culture Kid. With an introductory letter to the reader describing the ways TCKs are connected, and a closing letter considering how this unique group could change the world, The Adventure Begins allows for new dialogue about what it means to be a TCK.
Welcoming students, parents, and educators into the lives of young Third Culture Kids, The Adventure Begins is the first book in the Detinu International School series aimed at connecting TCKs around the world.