I am considering taking a university teaching position in Venice for a semester (Fall 2008) -- for 4-6 months. There are no international schools in Venince and I am wondering if it would make sense to enroll my kids in Italian primary school. I could home school them but I also want them to learn Italian, meet some other kids, and need to have them under someone's care while I would be teaching (my husband will only be there with us for a month or so). Any ideas?

Would you stay in Italy for the whole school year or just for those few months? That makes quite a difference. While kids that young pick up the lanauge quite fast, they are not THAT fast and in about 5 months they would be starting to be proficient but not really on par with their schoolmates. In one (school) year they would grab enough Italian to be fully proficient, although quite obviously not bilingual, and with some support they would be able to retain their Italian (at least the older of the kids) once you move back, but in 5 months they would not have enough time, probably.

To Alice. Thanks for your reply. It's only for those few months (4-6) -- the appointment is only for 1/2 academic year and w/o my husband, it would be hard -- and expensive to stay longer. I think you are right, that they could learn something but not enough to be close to functional at their grade level. But it's all the time I have so my question is, what would be best for those few months?