oaxaca?

i've been spending time over the past few weeks planning a trip to mexico, and it's been pretty exciting. we want to go in december, and plan to spend about 6 weeks there. i've been doing research to find out what would be a good spot for us to go to, and so far, i've settled on the state of Oaxaca.

i still need to find out a lot of info, before we go...it's not at easy as before kids, when we'd just get on a plane and go, and figure out the rest once we got there. now, i feel like i should at least know some basic info as to how safe the place is, and how suitable for doing things with kids. also, ed wants to take language classes, either in some kind of school or with a private tutor, so i want to make sure that that is available wherever we end up going. Oaxaca sounds good, although Oaxaca city itself sounds too big for our interests. we'd prefer to find a smaller place, preferably not too touristy, where we can settle down and enjoy the local life for the short time we have there. we plan to do some side trips as well, and there seems to be no shortage of places to see in the region.

my challenge right now is trying to figure out where to go after we get to Oaxaca city. there are tons of small villages in the area, but i can't find any info as to language classes, accomodations, or what kind of stuff there is that i can do with the kids....

i'll keep looking, but if anyone reading this has any info, could you please let me know?