What is the basis of your curriculum?
Our curriculum is based on combining knowledge in early childhood education, bilingual education, and knowledge of teaching Mandarin Chinese to children. This is an immersion environment where we use all of the senses to communicate meaning and maximize understanding and retention. We believe in exposing children to the best of both Chinese and American culture. We view language as a medium to learning other subjects such as music, art, science and math. We want to instill an excitement and confidence about learning language to serve as a foundation for further learning. We immerse children in the language.
If classes are generally oganized by age group, how will you address the issue of teaching to a range of language abilities in the same class (e.g., a child attending with no background in Mandarin vs. one who hears some Mandarin at home)?
This is one of the reasons why the class size is so small (6 students: 1 teacher). This size means that the activities and curriculum can be more individually tailored and one-on-one time can be maximized. In addition, this is an immersion environment in which children at multiple levels will benefit from participating in the same activity. For example, a student with limited knowledge may understand 20% or less of a book that is read but he/she is still benefiting from hearing the language and having their brain make the tonal connections. Another student may understand more of the book and begin thinking about how he/she might repeat some phrases.
What materials do you use for teaching?
Our school is fully equipped with materials typically found in most preschools, as well as special materials used in teaching Mandarin. We use Chinese versions of well-loved American songs and American award winning books such as The Hungry Caterpillar, and Caps for Sale. These stories have nice illustrations, vocabulary at the appropriate level and lend themselves to further discussion or role playing. We also use videos which are a different medium with visuals that are a fun way to further practice listening skills.
How as a parent can I best help my child at home if I don’t speak Chinese?
We design into our program ways in which parents can best help their children learn Mandarin. We will be communicating with parents the vocabulary and subjects covered on a bi-weekly basis. We also make available for sale books and CD’s that we use in our curriculum. Finally, we offer proprietary content on our website, for currently enrolled students only, that reinforces at-home learning.
How will you teach the written language?
At the preschool ages 3-5 the emphasis will be on listening comprehension and conversation, however, we will introduce character recognition. With older students, ages 5-8 we will introduce some character writing. The characters presented will be in simplified form.
What outdoor activities will you do?
We like to go outside each day, weather permitting. Playing outside enables many children to more freely play in ways that they cannot inside. Outside activity stimulates brain activity in ways that will enhance learning. It is also a time to balance gross motor skill with cognitive language learning.
How will the curriculum be well-rounded in music and science?
We have a broad music collection of classical, Latin, jazz, big band, and world music to which we will expose the children. We also have instruments from around the world that give children an opportunity to experience making music firsthand.
We believe that almost everything around us has a basis in science. Therefore, incorporating simple science experiments that help children understand basic concepts is an important part of our curriculum. This also adds greatly to the richness of our vocabulary, while being fun because it is inherently hands-on. Examples of simple experiments would include seeing what things float and sink, using magnets to see what they attract, seeing how primary colors mix to form other colors and using a balance to see what is heavier vs. lighter.
How will art be taught?
We do not emphasize the end product but rather the process. Art projects are a hands-on way to reinforce the topic being taught. We also use famous works of art as examples and inspiration.
Do you have parent/teacher conferences?
We have parent/teacher discussions two times per year, one in early January and one in late May.
