Since we're planning to send our kids to a chinese primary school, it's never too early to prepare them. Lucky for us, both H and L like the language and are happy and eager to learn it... phew!
H went to Bao Bei twice a week when he was 3. But ever since he started preschool this year, I've stopped his lessons in Bao Bei as I didn't want to overtire him. Besides, his preschool covers all three languages (English, Mandarin, Bahasa Malaysia) as part of its core curriculum, so I figured this should be sufficient. L is going to Mandarin Lighthouse, she just started last term. Why not Bao Bei? you may ask. Here are my take:
1. Bao Bei
I have no issue with Bao Bei. The reason why I sent H there was that I've heard rave reviews about the effectiveness of the programme. It uses flashcards (right brain learning approach) and H could read over 100 chinese characters in just a couple of months. The teachers are also very supportive in helping the kids gain independence, like going to the toilet by themselves, etc. However, parents aren't allowed to observe the class so I don't really know what goes on during the lessons. Classes can be big (up to 20 kids) and are mixed age (from 2 all the way to 10 years old and up). The environment is also more sterile (the typical get-the-job-done-with-no-frills type set up). It took H close to a month before he got settled in, i.e. no more crying and refusing to go into class. I wasn't sure if he was enjoying his class, but he certainly was enjoying playing teacher and flashing the vocab cards to us at home (yes they're given the flashcards to take home once they've mastered reading the characters on the cards). Overall I think Bao Bei is good if you want your kids to master character recognition / reading quickly.
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| Flashcards from Bao Bei |
2. Mandarin Lighthouse
I chose Mandarin Lighthouse for L because I wanted a 'gentler' approach since L was barely 2 years old when she started. I don't need her to know how to read or write, I just wanted to immerse her in the Mandarin language through storytelling, music, activities & games, etc. What I like about the programme is that it also incorporates elements of Montessori (since the centre is primarily set up as a Mandarin Montessori playschool) and Julia Gabriel's Edudrama (since Teacher Ho was from Julia Gabriel). The lessons are theme based - there is an overall theme for the term which guides the mini theme for each lesson. For example, the theme for last term was "All About Me" and one of the lessons had the mini theme "About My Family". During each lesson, the kids will enjoy songs, story and activities related to the mini theme. They will also be taught 3 new words and make their very own flashcards to bring home. L enjoys going to class from her very first lesson. It could be a personality thing since L is rather independent, but so far so good, and I'm pretty happy with centre.
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| Flashcards from Mandarin Lighthouse - mandarin characters on one side, picture & pin yin on the other |
Thank you very much for your sharing of experience =) I have been cracking my head where to send my 22 months baby girl to. Now i have a clearer picture, btw, if in comparison for the fees, is Bao Bei more expensive since they cover more languages ?
ReplyDeleteHi Shark Saver. Bao Bei also only does Mandarin. The fees are about the same if I'm not mistaken. You can take you baby girl to both for trial lessons and see which one she prefers :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Momster, at first I was thinking of sending my son to Mandarin Lighthouse for nursery and kindergarten but you mentioned in another forum that it is only good for toddlers but since they are still new, they don't have dedicated classes for preschoolers. Meaning they don't have enough students to form a nursery or kindergarten class yet? Where did you send your children to that's a Chinese kindergarten in order to prepare them for Chinese school?
ReplyDeleteHi Chow Chow, apologise for late reply as I've not been updating my blog recently. My girl is attending Mandarin Lighthouse. She's now in the preschool programme (they've decided to move all enrichment classes to the afternoons). As she's still only 2.5 years old, she goes only twice a week. For far so good, she seems to be enjoying herself but to be honest I've not been tracking her progress cos for her, it's really just for exposure to the language and I don't really have any expectations.
ReplyDeleteMy boy however just turned 5. He hasn't been going to any mandarin enrichment in the past one year but I will start him next year in Bao Bei. I spoke to another mummy and she said her daughter did one year in Bao Bei (the year she turned 6, i.e. the year before entering primary 1) and that was sufficient (she attended 5 days a week). She's also from an English speaking home.
Hope this helps.
Hai. ..Mumster. What do you think about Buzzy Bees? Which one is better compare Bao Bei? Thanks
ReplyDeleteHai. ..Mumster. What do you think about Buzzy Bees? Which one is better compare Bao Bei? Thanks
ReplyDelete