We have been traveling with kids since they were born, experiencing the unique joys and challenges of raising Third Culture Kids. Over the past 11 years, we’ve moved between cultures and communities, enriching our children’s lives with diverse experiences. Our journey began in South Korea, where our eldest was born. Shortly after, we returned to the UK for 18 months, where our second child was born. Just four weeks later, we moved to Cyprus. A year after that, we relocated to Borneo for five years, and for the past few years, we’ve been traveling full-time. Through these experiences, we’ve come to deeply understand the rewards and difficulties of traveling with kids and raising Third Culture Kids.

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TCK Club: A community for Third Culture Kids

Growing up between cultures is an exciting and enriching lifestyle choice and our travels have been highly rewrading. But, as parents of third culture kids (TCKs), we know that this unique lifestyle also comes with its challenges. Frequent moves, saying goodbye to friends, and homes that often feel temporary can take a toll on our children’s sense of stability. We understand this is part of the life we chose and do our best to address it.

That is why we decided to give the TCK Club a go. It is, an online community hosted by Kaleidoscope designed to provide consistency in your kids’ mobile lives, helping ongoing friendships and a chance to debrief with other kids and experienced leaders.

Sounds good right, that is why we decided to give it a try. Let me share some details and our experience over the last semester. (Spoiler alert – we are joining agin for this new semester – May 2024)

third culture kids online club — Catching up with some new friends in the TCK 101 club

What is Kaleidoscope?

You might be wondering what exactly is Kaleidoscope? What do they do? And what is on offer? All good questions. Here are the answers:

What is Kaleidoscope? Kaleidoscope provides online Clubs and Camps for cross-cultural kids and TCKs. It’s a place where your third culture kids can build a community of friends who just get what it’s like to be a TCK!
What is a TCK? TCK stands for Third Culture Kid – a kid who has grown up across different cultures. They create a unique third culture by combining their parents’ culture with the places they have lived. If that sounds like your kids, welcome to TCK Club!
What is TCK Club and Why it Matters? TCKs have unique experiences and challenges. TCK Club offers a space where TCKs from around the world can connect weekly, share their experiences, and feel understood. The club leaders are adult TCKs who provide guidance and serve as role models.

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Our Personal Experience with TCK Club

Our family has always embraced the adventure of living abroad, From South Korea, to Cyprus, Borneo and full-time travel, it has been a great experience but we are aware of the stresses it may have at times on the kids. Let’s face it, it can be stressfull for us too. We spotted The TCK Club on Instagram and felt it was a great opportunity for our kids. It offers a safe space where our children can connect with others who understand their experiences, share their stories, and form friendships despite the distances.

Joining the TCK Club has helped our kids manage the emotional ups and downs of a mobile life but has also provided them with a sense of community. The regular art or brain club sessions have been their favourites, giving our kids the chance to join fun activities and reflect on their experiences in a supportive environment.

Lets dive into what TCK offers and our experience over the year so far.

What is the Third Culture Kid Club?

The TCK Club is an online community specifically designed for third culture kids. It offers:

Consistent Debriefs: Regularly scheduled sessions where kids can discuss their feelings, share experiences, and process the emotional challenges of living a mobile life.
Ongoing Friendships: A platform for building and maintaining friendships with other TCKs, providing a stable social network despite frequent moves.
Engaging Activities: Fun and interactive activities that help kids learn about different cultures, enhance their global awareness, and develop important life skills.

Sign up for TCK Club today and use code bostontribe20 for 20% off a TCK Club membership or individual clubs!

code bostontribe20 for 20% off

Where to start?

TCK 101 is a 6-week introduction to TCK life that lays the foundation for all future friendships and clubs. It covers three important topics for your kids:

My Unique Identity: Helping kids understand and appreciate their unique backgrounds.
What To Do With Big Feelings: Teaching kids how to manage and express their emotions healthily.
How To Say Good Goodbyes: Providing strategies for handling the frequent goodbyes that come with a mobile lifestyle.

Themed Clubs: Building a Community when traveling with kids

In addition to the TCK 101 there are weekly online meetings for TCKs ages 7-16 that provide your third culture kids with a community of fellow kids from across the globe. Some clubs keep a consistent theme each semester, like the Teens Club, while others change each semester so your kids can explore new interests and activities.

Here are some of the clubs on offer:

TCK Club for Teens (13 – 17 yrs)
Creative Writing – Poetry (7 – 15 yrs)
Theater Club (7 – 15 yrs)
TCK 101 (7 – 10 yrs)
LEGO Club (7 – 15 yrs)
Dungeons and Dragons Club (12 – 15 yrs)

See their website for full list

Here’s an overview of what we loved and the challenges we encountered.

What We Loved

Community Spirit: The TCK Club fosters a strong sense of community among kids who understand each other’s unique lifestyle. Our children felt immediately welcomed and valued.
Relatable Activities and Experiences: The club’s activities are specifically designed for TCKs, making them highly relatable and engaging for our kids.
Connection with Other TCKs: The opportunity for our children to connect with peers from around the world who share similar experiences was invaluable. They formed friendships that transcended geographical boundaries.
Recognition of Their Challenges: The club leaders, who are adult TCKs themselves, genuinely understand the difficulties our children face. This recognition made our kids feel seen and heard.
Leadership: The club leaders’ firsthand experiences as TCKs provided our children with role models they could relate to and learn from.
Enhancing Worldschooling: The TCK Club served as a fantastic resource to complement and enhance our worldschooling journey. It provided a structured environment where our kids could explore their identities and emotions.

What We Found Challenging

Online Sessions: Like any online program, the TCK Club required consistent internet access, which sometimes posed a challenge during our travels.
Timings and Travel Itinerary: During our first semester we were traveling around Morocco, and we occasionally missed sessions. If we had been traveling slower or staying in one place for an extended period, attending every session would have been easier.

Despite these challenges, the benefits far outweighed the difficulties. The TCK Club can be great part of our children’s social and emotional development, providing them with a support network that is both reliable and understanding.

Ready to join this vibrant community? Sign up now and use code bostontribe20 to get 20% off your TCK Club membership or individual clubs.

Looking for more online classes?

Check out Jak’s Creative Thinking Pod on KUBRIO – an online class to explore problem solving and creativity. In the “Mastering Creative Thinking” pod, students will explore a range of creative thinking strategies to learn new skills and techniques for 21st-century learners. Each week brings a new skill , fun, games, converstaion and collaboration.

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Disclaimer

This is a partnership post but all thoughts and feelings about the TCK Clubs are our genuine experiences.

Kaleidoscope’s TCK Club disclaimer: The consistent debrief available through Kaleidoscope’s TCK Club is intended to help your third culture kids share experiences with other people who are familiar with their lifestyle and stories. The creative and simple debrief worksheets, discussions, and activities are intended to start conversations and build a habit of debriefing for kids who experience frequent moves and loss. However, this does not replace a full debrief! If your child or family has experienced a significant transition or a traumatic event, we highly recommend completing a Parent-Led or Personal Debrief through TCK Training, working with a TCK-informed therapist like our friends at Expat Kids Club or Amina TCK Therapy, or purchasing our five-day curriculum for a debrief event!

By being part of the TCK Club, your kids can embrace their unique lifestyle with confidence, knowing they have a consistent support system and a group of friends who truly understand them.

Meet the author

Lisa is the founder of Boston Tribe Travels. She has lived and travelled abroad for the last 15 years, visited more than 30 countries and has done most of that with her husband and two children. As a full time travel family, they like to travel slow, worldschool and seek new adventures. From living in Borneo for 5 years to backpacking South America, Lisa shares a wealth of travel experience to empower more families to travel and learn together.