Ak Lu'um International School Community will be holding an educational workshop for parents in Playa del Carmen.

This will be the last workshop of the year so please come on out and see what Ak Lu'um International School has been up to for their first, and very successful, school year!

By Sara Moen

Educational options for foreigners with children in Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya.

One of the most frequent e-mails we receive are from families from all parts of the globe who are looking to relocate to Playa del Carmen, or other parts of the Riviera Maya, with their children. Of course prior to making the move they want to research educational options in our area. As a former teacher who has taught both in the United States, as well as here in Playa del Carmen, I thought I would give you all an updated list of options and local area schools.

Ak Lu'um International School slated to start building a new facility for the 2007-2008 school year.

Ak Lu’um International School is beginning to build its permanent site, which will be inaugurated in August 2007. The school grounds, measuring 10,000m2 are 800 meters west of the Playa – Tulum road, just after El Palomar and before the Xcaret turnoff.

As Ak Lu'um plans to open its doors for their first school year in Playa del Carmen the community shows their support.

July 21st. An unusual grey and rainy day; this is the date we have chosen to host our wine and cheese afternoon at Ak Lu'um International School. Predictably the streets flood and we fret about attendance... It is now 6:00 in the afternoon. There are familiar faces and new ones. We feel so lucky to have the support of positive parents, teachers and friends. We chat to our visitors while the children play in the classrooms or splash about in the puddles outside. The garden looks fresh and vibrant and the pool has filled up more than enough with the rain....

A new educational program slated to open for the upcoming school year in Playa del Carmen.

September 4th, 2006 is the signaled day for the opening of Ak Lu'um (Mayan for “our earth”) Preschool offering a new program for children aged 2 to 6. A synthesis of Waldorf education and the Learning Through the Arts method of education, the school will also address the growing need in our community for an integrated program. Integration of special needs children into mainstream education as well as social integration of underprivileged children on scholarships. Ak Lu'um, is a non-profit educational community and plans to offer workshops for children after school, and will also be offering courses for parents and teenagers regarding; community, health and educational issues.

Family Fun!

Whether you are visiting Playa del Carmen, and its surrounding areas, or if you live here as a full time resident, there are plenty of fun activiites and services offered specifically for children. If you need to bring your child to the dentist, want to find out about tennis lessons, or if you want to enroll them in the Bubblemakers dive program we have done some research for you.

In addition if you offer, or know of activities that we did not include, please e-mail us wth the pertinent information, and we will add it to our growing list.

For a list of children's activiites and information click below and see what we have found.....

Solexico; a great choice in language programs!

Solexico is the brain child of four men who have a long time history together as both friends and family. Brothers Gerardo and Alejandro Diego, and two elementary school friends Juan Carlos Delgado and Oscar Barrera all grew up together in Cuernevaca. As most of you already know, Cuernevaca is known through out the world as having incredible Spanish language programs, so growing up their exposure to education was high.

If you want to learn a foreign language, while basking under the Caribbean sun, then Playalingua is the place for you!

Playalingua is the sister school to a French language school based out of Switzerland. Owners, Raymond and Lucienne Favre, started their first language school, Le Bosquet, in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the school has been operating there for the past 32 years. They originally started a Spanish language school in Cancun, but once they visited Playa del Carmen they felt that it was a better compliment to their existing program in Switzerland, and in 1999 they opened their doors here in Playa del Carmen.

Educentro is a new non-profit educational program for both children and adults in Puerto Aventuras and Akumal.

The program started almost 8 years ago, and was a simple bare bones English program that was offered in Poblado Puerto Aventuras. Educentro is a new program that has encompassed and fused two existing programs, Friends of Puerto Aventuras (FOPA), and Puerto Aventuras and Akumal Education (PAEE). They both had similar missions, but different driving forces behind each of them, and they have now decided to join the same team.......

El Jardin de Los Aluxes to host Lama Lhanang, a spiritual teacher of Tibetan Buddhism.

Lama Lhanang is arriving in Playa del Carmen, Sunday November 28 and he will be teaching a variety of meditations, yoga and art classes at El Jardin de Los Aluxes through the first of December. He will continue his teachings in the Riviera Maya at the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve December 2 through December 9^th.
Please click below for a brief biography on Lama Lhanang (coutesy of http://www.wisdompath.org/index.html)