Bronson, Elena, and Maria go to Benimaclet primary school (with their cousins, Eva and Jolie). Benimaclet is the neighborhood school and is only a hop, skip and a jump (over doggie doo doo) away ... about 15 minutes.
Yana goes to Rascanya, a public high school and is only a hop, skip and a train ride away. There is a closer high school next to our apartment complex. Yana liked the "feel" of Rascanya better. It has a very open design. We were kind of hoping that Yana and Kerline would go to the same school but they had different preferences and we wanted each of them to go to their first choice.
Schedule
School started at the beginning of September and ends the 3rd week of June. In September and June, the primary school begins at 9 am and ends at 1 pm. The rest of the year has what seems to be a crazy schedule.
Besides the commuting and lack of big-chunks of time for adults to do other stuff, I think the schedule is great. Breaks during school (and work) are beneficial cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally. (See Recess: Its Role in Education and Development by Anthony Pellegrini, 2005.)9 am School Starts
10:30-11 Break
12-3 Kids dismissed for Comida (big meal of the day).
Some kids stay at school. Others go home. There are some
extracurricular activities during the comida break.
3 pm Classes Resume
5 pm School is Out
Usually, the kids come home for comida from 12-3. During the comida break, the kids eat, do homework from their morning classes, and play. We try to convince them to take a siesta but they don't like that Spanish tradition as much as Matthew and I do.
Yana starts at 8:30 am, has a morning break, and is usually home for comida by 2 pm. Two days a week, she goes back for afternoon classes.
Comedor
Some days, the kids stay at school from 12-3 for comida and break. They spend the first hour in the playground and then groups are called in for comida (that is the big mid-day meal). Comida is a 3-4 course meal served one at a time. First there is soup or salad, then sometimes rice or veggies, then the entré, and finally, dessert. The kids must eat at least half of each course and cannot go out to play until after the final course.
Yana's school has a small cafeteria bar where the students can buy their breakfast or lunch. Every time I've gone into the cafeteria at Yana's school for break, the tables were full with teachers, staff, and students.
Parental Involvement
There are parents involved at school. However, all parents who are involved in the school are paid. (Which means that we aren't involved because we do not have a work visa.) There is a general belief we have encountered that ... everyone who volunteers takes a paying job away from another person. That seems logical. We talked with a person who works at the primary school and another who works at the secondary school. Both feel that they are paid pretty well. I am glad for that.
Yana's school invited me to help during their cultural week. I went in for a couple of days and played Pictionary and Taboo with the students. I made En
glish/Spanish versions and changed the rules a bit to make it fun. We also made peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. At first the students were appalled that I was combining peanuts and fruit and - eeeew - putting it on bread. I convinced them to try a bite. Some of them loved it and when break started, we had dozens of other kids and teachers come to try the weird American food. 
Religion
The kids take religious class in their public school (not a surprise in a Catholic country). We had a choice between Catholic and Other. I wonder what they learn in Other.
Extracurricular Activities
Bronson took "fubito" which is pee-wee soccer in Spain. Keep in mind that most pee-wee players in Spain could run circles and squares around most "good" soccer players in the US.
Maria and Elena have been taking a modern dance class two days a week. They learned a dance choreographed to a Michael Jackson song. The teacher didn't even know that Michael is my favorite performer (besides my niece, Jessica). Elena and Maria also took a Latin dance class but as the tempo increased from allegro to a blur ... they dropped out. I didn't blame them, I can't even walk fast.
Language
Besides Castellano (Spanish), students learn Valenciano (local dialect) and English in primary school.
Our kids are exempt from taking Valenciano; however, science and music are taught in Valenciano. Elena and Maria learned about "the birds and the bees" in Valenciano. Woo hoo! It seemed easier to learn about the body parts and reproductive functions in a different language. (They didn't squirm and giggle as much as I did.)
The kids were put in tutoring classes in the fall. They are almost completely weaned now and have been integrated into classes ... with a little tutoring help on the side (while other students are taking English and Valenciano).
Cursive Writing
Kids learn cursive writing in kindergarten. Most children's books are printed with a cursive font. I am guessing that the kids are less likely to get their p's & q's & g's and their b's & d's mixed up. Some of the letters (as well as a few numbers) look a little different and it is much smaller than our beginning cursive writing. Bronson and Elena both have to complete all their homework in cursive and their handwriting has improved a lot.
Maria and Yana are allowed to print their assignments. I guess they are considered lost causes at their age.
Math
Language is less of an issue in math. But, long division is a BIG issue (for me); it appears upside-down and backwards and you are supposed to do most of it in your head. That is fine back when we are adding and subtracting apples in the kindergarten workbooks ... but for long-division? We had to seek help from our neighbors to figure it out. I would give you an example here but you probably don't care.
Music
Guess what, Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Marcheschi!!? We had to buy recorders for all the kids. They learn notes, songs, and musical theory by playing a recorder! Yana's 9th grade music teacher could not believe that she never learned to play the recorder. She is playing pretty well now. Also, they use do, re, mi, fa, so, la, si instead of A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.
Dick and Jane, meet Pupi
When we first heard of Pupi, we were hoping he was Pupi like puppy, a small dog. No such luck. It is Pupi like poopie. Unfortunately, some scholar didn't do his or her research when implementing that one. That would be like having a Caca or Caquita character (caca is Spanish for poop). Sorry, you might not have wanted to know that.
Pupi is the cartoon character who helps the children learn to read and write. There are Pupi posters in the classrooms and in the hallways. When Bronson does well in class, he gets a Pupi sticker or a Pupi stamp on his hand. At first, Bronson was reluctant to accept the praise but he has gotten used to it.
Playground
The playground is asphalt and is comprised of a soccer field and sidelines (surprise, surprise). Near the entrance of the playground, there are orange trees, olive trees and little vegetable gardens planted and cultivated by the science classes.
When recess is over (and between classes), the bell sounds. It isn't a bell, it is various snippets of classical music.
Field Trips
The kids seem to go on field trips all the time. Some times, they go to the typical museums and nature parks and performances. Other times, they go to a movie (Maria saw Ratatouille) or an amusement park (Elena is going to Dino-polis this spring).
There is an unwritten practice that if the kids get back from their field trip at or after 2 pm, they will not have their afternoon classes. We didn't believe Maria when she told us ... I don't know why, she loves school and she wouldn't lie. But, the handbook, the mountain of papers we received at the beginning of the school year, and the paper with the field trip information didn't mention anything. When we brought Maria back to school the first time this happened, they asked us what we were doing. We didn't know what to say (even in English).
One day, Eugene and I were walking down the street in the middle of a school day. I heard, "MOM!!" in plain mid-western English. Then I saw Yana running toward me. I said to Eugene, "She better have a good excuse for not being in school." She did - sort of. Her and a classmate went to her teacher's house to see his new dog. Nice doggie.
