Comparing Chinese Enrichment (Primary/Preschool)
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sesame246:
Hi,hi,
Does Han Language in Fu Lu Shou offers Higher chinese for P6 and do you know if it's good?
My girl is with Berries now but she feels that the lessons are not challenging enough.
Tks!
I am not sure as my kids only attend Mdm Koh's S&D class. I think she is just renting the place from them to conduct the lessons. -
maisy:
Berries use games and real objects to teach kids from 3 to 6 years old. For example, when they are teaching 米 and 饭, they actually let the kids touch the real rice (before cooking) and taste the cooked rice. My boy learns very well this way, by touching or tasting the real objects, the words are able to sink into his long term memory. I believe that most kids are like him, cannot sit still and listen.Dear all
I've also removed my child from Molin altho there are 2 more lessons to go. Like titank , i also do not find the programme suitable at Molin... that said, I do like the teacher. Her delivery was fine ... i believe there is little she could do as she has a certain course content & structure as stipulated by the centre to follow.
At the moment , i have yet to sign my boy up for anything. . . most likely looking at Kembangan Berries ...have yet to arrange for trial due to CNY ... etc etc. Seems like most parents think highly of Berries.
Anyone attended trials at both Tien Hsia & Berries? How do u find them?
But I think Berries from P1 onwards requires kids to sit down and listen. -
tamarind:
Err... wonder how many times they \"recycle\" the rice! haha!
Berries use games and real objects to teach kids from 3 to 6 years old. For example, when they are teaching 米 and 饭, they actually let the kids touch the real rice (before cooking) and taste the cooked rice. My boy learns very well this way, by touching or tasting the real objects, the words are able to sink into his long term memory. I believe that most kids are like him, cannot sit still and listen.
But I think Berries from P1 onwards requires kids to sit down and listen.
I always think it's kinda ER XIN when they have these \"experiential\" learning when it comes to food.
Maintstream sch teach us to sit down and listen anyway... -
Daddy
They cook fresh rice every day lah ! Then they separate the portion for different classes. Of course they will not recycle the rice. They do so only for the week that they are teaching the lesson.
Err... wonder how many times they \"recycle\" the rice! haha!tamarind:
Berries use games and real objects to teach kids from 3 to 6 years old. For example, when they are teaching 米 and 饭, they actually let the kids touch the real rice (before cooking) and taste the cooked rice. My boy learns very well this way, by touching or tasting the real objects, the words are able to sink into his long term memory. I believe that most kids are like him, cannot sit still and listen.
But I think Berries from P1 onwards requires kids to sit down and listen.
I always think it's kinda ER XIN when they have these \"experiential\" learning when it comes to food.
Maintstream sch teach us to sit down and listen anyway...
Before kids start main stream school, they should always learn using real objects and games. This method is best for kids between the age of 3 to 6. Parents are making a very big mistake if they force very young kids to sit down and listen everyday, they are not going to learn anything and they may even hate to learn. -
yeap yeap i tend to agree w tamarind that the \"regimented old school method of u sit down, u listen, i say, u repeat\" method works better for P1 onwards .. or perhaps K2 onwards (to prepare them for P1)
But for preschoolers 3-5 years old, i think such method is not only \"dated\" but it will also kill the kids' interest & stifle their imagination.
I think even for P1 these days ... they no longer use the \"plain repeating after teachers approach\" ..I believe they try to make the lessons more interesting with flash cards, matching of flashcards (to let them recognise the words) & more \"activity-based\" assignments , rather than the old school method.
Hi Autumnbronze,
PM replied
Cheers. -
Hi mummies,
If your preschoolers are attending Chinese enrichment classes, besides revising those materials from the classes, do you find that you have time to start them on your own teaching materials? Mine are in N1 and attending Berries and think they quite enjoy it (when I peep into their classrooms). Other than going through the word cards with them, I try to start them on the si wu kuai du books from Dangdang. However they can be quite resistant and always say ‘too many too many’ and start to whine….However they are quite OK when I read Chinese storybooks to them (this has improved since they started their childcare and Berries).
Those mummies who have put their kids through Berries, if we just revise the materials from school, will they be quite proficient by the time they reach K1/K2? -
sean wife:
Hi mummies,
If your preschoolers are attending Chinese enrichment classes, besides revising those materials from the classes, do you find that you have time to start them on your own teaching materials? Mine are in N1 and attending Berries and think they quite enjoy it (when I peep into their classrooms). Other than going through the word cards with them, I try to start them on the si wu kuai du books from Dangdang. However they can be quite resistant and always say ‘too many too many’ and start to whine….However they are quite OK when I read Chinese storybooks to them (this has improved since they started their childcare and Berries).
Those mummies who have put their kids through Berries, if we just revise the materials from school, will they be quite proficient by the time they reach K1/K2?
I am also using the Si Wu Kuai Du books to teach my boy, and he is also attending Berries. Did you use the games to teach ?
Read this page :
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w1nyHWTEh94/SzQMC_8ItKI/AAAAAAAABak/2mDzyPBKXos/s1600-h/b3.JPG
The book suggests more than 15 types of games. My boy likes to play the games, so he does not mind learning the new words at all. It is important to note that you must not use the cards as flash cards.
Actually attending Berries alone will be more than good enough to prepare your child for P1 in Singapore. But they will not be proficient enough to read any Chinese books independently. The Si Wu Kuai Du books will enable kids to read about 80% of the words in Chinese newspapers. My girl has finished K2 in Berries, and she is able to remember every word that she has learned from Berries since N2. However, when I tried to let her read Chinese story books last December, there are still many words that she cannot read and I have to teach her. I let her read many Chinese books, and she is also learning from the Si Wu Kuai Du books, and she is reading very well now.
For those who want to know what is Si Wu Kuai Du, check out my blog :
http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2009/12/teaching-chinese-at-home.html
Also note that these books are recommended for 4 years old and above. It may be difficult to teach children who are too young.
To summarize, Berries will prepare your child very well for Singapore standards. But if you want your child to be as good as those kids in China, use Si Wu Kuai Du
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Hi Tamarind,
Thanks for your reply. Tonight was slightly better with the word cards as I tried to make it seem I ‘catch’ the cards from the window outside when I show them the cards…Actually I had also faced the same problem when I started to show them english sight words…initially I tried to play games with them like ‘peek-a-boo’ and ‘hide-the-word’ etc…each game only sustains their interest for a short while and it got quite stressful for me. Later on somehow I find that the whole process is much less painful if they just finish reading the set of words for that day and they get their biscuit treat…they seem to be OK with this approach with english words, but I guess most probably because they are much more exposed to english words and can recognise quite a number of them already, whereas chinese words are really quite foreign to them (regret not reading more chinese when they were young…)
What do mummies think? Is Chinese a much more difficult language to learn than english or just a matter of exposure? I find that it is much more difficult for them to progress with Chinese words recognition compared to english words… -
sean wife:
Hi Tamarind,
Thanks for your reply. Tonight was slightly better with the word cards as I tried to make it seem I 'catch' the cards from the window outside when I show them the cards...Actually I had also faced the same problem when I started to show them english sight words...initially I tried to play games with them like 'peek-a-boo' and 'hide-the-word' etc...each game only sustains their interest for a short while and it got quite stressful for me. Later on somehow I find that the whole process is much less painful if they just finish reading the set of words for that day and they get their biscuit treat...they seem to be OK with this approach with english words, but I guess most probably because they are much more exposed to english words and can recognise quite a number of them already, whereas chinese words are really quite foreign to them (regret not reading more chinese when they were young...)
What do mummies think? Is Chinese a much more difficult language to learn than english or just a matter of exposure? I find that it is much more difficult for them to progress with Chinese words recognition compared to english words...
Hi sean wife,
I also think that games are fun for kids but very stressful for mommy ! My girl is able to learn by just pointing and reading the new words, so I don't play games with her.
My boy does not learn well by just reading, so he must play games. I only play for a few minutes with him everyday, so it is not too stressful for me. Anyway, the book advises that we must stop when the child's interest level is highest, that is, when he is having the most fun. Then he will be keen to learn again the next day.
As for whether Chinese is more difficult, it is definitely a matter of exposure. My mother and I have been reading Chinese books to my kids since they were babies, so to them, English and Chinese have no difference in terms of difficulty. For Chinese, they don't need to learn any phonics rules, don't need to decode the word. They see each Chinese word as a picture.
It is very important to start teaching Chinese from a very young age. Your kids are only 3 years old, this is the perfect time to start learning Chinese. Just make sure that they read Chinese consistently everyday, and also find more interesting and fun Chinese story books for them, they will develop a love for the language. -
Thanks Tamarind. Think I will work harder on their Chinese…and hopefully it gets easier as they become more comfortable with the language. Actually playing games not only stressful for mummies, it can very messy too. Like when we played hide the cards game and they were having a good time throwing the cards all around and hiding in cabinets…when all was over, I had to pick up one by one and arrange them nicely again. I thought the hiding the cards in sand idea is good, but I can’t imagine the mess. Also thought of replacing sand with those foam beads, but think they will end up playing with the beans instead. And I have experience when they get so excited running around while playing such games that they end up chasing each other and forget about the intended ‘game’…
and for games like matching the cards, they dun seem to keen either. I guess it’s all a matter of trial and error.
It will be very helpful if anyone can share fun and effective games which hopefully isn’t too messy…
Many thanks!
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