CHILDREN’S INTERCULTURAL PROGRAMS (CHIPs)
Helping kids process reentry and transition.
Returning from cross-cultural life brings both joy and loss. DAR CHIPs helps children and teens process transition, grief, change, and identity in a safe environment alongside peers who understand their experience.
THE CHIPS EXPERIENCE
Returning as a Whole Family
Your entire family has experienced cross-cultural life. Returning brings another significant transition, especially for children and teens who may be leaving behind relationships, routines, language, community, and a place that feels like home.
CHIPs gives kids space to slow down, process what they have experienced, and make sense of the joys and losses that come with transition. Our goal is to help the whole family move forward with greater understanding, connection, and resilience.
WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE
Three invitations to renewal
Every aspect of DAR is designed to help you process where you’ve been and step into what’s next - with clarity, community, and care.
Process Together
Children participate in small groups with others close in age who have lived in cross-cultural settings. Through guided activities, stories, discussion, and play, they begin to understand their experiences alongside peers who simply "get it."
Individual Care
Our staff intentionally get to know each child throughout the week. Some children need encouragement. Others need extra space to talk, create, ask questions, or process difficult experiences. We meet children where they are and care for them as individuals.
Community & Belonging
Some of the most meaningful moments happen outside the classroom. Meals, games, outdoor adventures, campfires, and everyday conversations help children discover they are not alone. They leave with the reassurance that other kids understand what life between cultures can feel like.
THE CHIPS APPROACH
Processing Together
While parents attend DAR, CHIPs objectives parallel the DAR objectives through age-appropriate activities, conversations, and reflection. Kids connect with others who understand the complexity of cross-cultural life. CHIPs facilitators help them put words to their experiences, emotions, and responses.
This shared process gives families natural opportunities to continue the conversation together—helping parents better understand their children while navigating transition as a family.
“CHIPs is helping mission families equip their children to thrive in the midst of transition, change, and cross-cultural life.”
Mission Training International • Palmer Lake, Colorado
AGE GROUPS
Thoughtfully designed for each child
Our CHIPs teachers facilitate the program in five age-based groups, creating meaningful, developmentally appropriate experiences for each child. Groupings may be adjusted each session based on the needs of the children attending.
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While parents participate in training sessions, loving, experienced caregivers establish a warm and stable environment for the 6-week-olds through 1-year-olds. Parents can be called readily, if needed, in coordination with adult training staff.
For the health and welfare of infants, we request that they be at least 6-weeks-old before attending a program.
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Toddlers will have an opportunity to debrief through age-appropriate play and activities. Books, crafts and objects with memory triggers will be used to help them process their experiences living overseas.
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This age group will have made connections with the people and culture in which their families have served. Activities and crafts will help facilitate processing their experiences and feelings. Each child will be given specific time to share their unique story.
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By processing and unpacking their stories, breakthrough kids are beginning to find their way forward. They are seeking to be heard and to find others who have had similar experiences. Through our modules, we provide focus on issues that third culture kids (TCKs) face in transition.
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For teens, the transition from one culture to another is complex. They are grieving losses, wrestling with their identity and seeking to find their own place to fit. We provide a safe place for teens to process where they are in their journey and to validate their experiences and feelings.
A note for families with young adults:
MTI does not have a specialized program for young adults who are in transition. If your family has children who have graduated from high school, please contact info@mti.org for information about alternative programs designed specifically for young adults.
Prepare your whole family for the journey ahead.
Cross-cultural transition impacts every member of the family, including your children. CHIPs helps kids process change, build resilience, and develop tools to thrive alongside you in the calling God has placed on your family.