On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 23:45:18 GMT, "Murgi" <srindler@da2.so-net.ne.jp>
wrote:

>> Be careful with the word "fluent". It's often overused and misused. And it
>> does a disservice to those who *are* fluent.
>
>Well, this is 'fluent' at a low level since they are 3 and 6.

It's less about fluency than it is about literacy at such a young age.
A fluent speaker of Japanese would have a vocabulary of several
thousand words and be able to read an equal number of kanji; a
literate speaker would know how to speak a basic vocabulary and
recognize kana and, later, 1500-1800 kanji.

Your idea is very intriguing, but have you done any cost calculations?
I would imagine that costs, including room and board (even if they'll
be staying with relatives), transportation, tuition, etc. could
approach $10,000 per child per year. I doubt your local school
district would pony up any money, either, even if your children aren't
registered for the schoolyear.

Just my 2 yen.