Best Bilingual Extracurricular Activities For Kids In Minnesota

There are a number of benefits to raising children bilingual including improvement in cognitive skills. Besides the health benefits, bilingual children are open to a number of fun activities and events. These activities provide fun and entertainment while strengthening the language skills during the period in a child's life that is easiest to pick up a second language. If the goal is to nurture childhood bilingual skills, parents and caregivers will want to check out some of the best bilingual extracurricular activities for kids in Minnesota.

GAI Zwerge: Early Childhood Arts Enrichment
Germanic American Institute
301 Summit Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55102
(651) 222-7027
gai-mn.org

The Germanic-American Institute is a non-profit that focuses on German culture, language and arts. There are number of activities that are hosted, such as Winterfest, but the institute also provides extracurricular activities and language and culture classes for adults and children.  The GAI Zwerge: Early Childhood Arts Enrichment through German Immersion class gives children a chance in the spring, summer and fall to experience German music, dance and art. The Fall Art Class will begin October 13.

The International School of Minnesota
6385 Beach Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
(952) 918-1800
ism-sabis.net

The International School of Minnesota provides academics for early childhood, middle and upper level students as well as extracurricular activities and classes. Extended day activities are available for preschool all the way to grade 12. Bilingual students are able to participate in a number of different clubs including French and Spanish. ISM also holds an International Kids Camp during the summer.

Related: Best and Most Affordable Preschools in the Twin Cities

School of India for Languages and Culture
Como Park High School
740 W Rose Ave
St. Paul, MN 55117
silcmn.com

Students that would like to participate in Indian language and culture can do so on Saturdays at the School of India for Languages and Culture.  Children ages six years and below can participate in the preschool classes which include Indian poems, arts and crafts and dance. Children over six years of age learn languages and electives such as Bollywood, yoga and cooking.

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Italian Cultural Center
528 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 298-2223
theitalianculturalcenter.org

The Italian Cultural Center holds adult and youth beginning/intermediate and advanced courses. The beginning/intermediate course for children ages six to nine is 60 minutes and covers reading and grammar as well as games and songs that feature Italian culture. The course is 12 weeks and ends with a holiday party on December 22.

If looking for something outside of the metro area:

Concordia Language Villages
901 8^th St S
Moorhead, MN 56562
(800) 222-4750
concordialanguagevillages.org

Concordia Language Villages have been providing language and cultural programs to children and adults for over 50 years. There are activities, weekends and camps for children and adults as well as events for the entire family. These activities are focused on one of 15 languages that are available like Russian, Swedish, Portuguese and Chinese. One example is the Russian Marine on St. Croix Family Fun Weekend which is available for all ages and incluldes four days of Russian language and culture.

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Christina Majaski is a full-time legal assistant and freelance writer for online and print publications. She has an obsession for all things related to social media and invites you to follow along with her on Twitter @cmajaski. She currently resides with her daughter in central Minnesota. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.