Teaching Chinese at Home

[tamarind]

The 基础汉字500 books are back in stock at Popular !


Read my blog for more information :
http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2009/12/basic-chinese-500.html

These series of books are suitable for all parents (no need to be able to read Chinese newspapers very well). But the standard is roughly equivalent to only book 1 to 2 of the Si Wu Kuai Du series. This is my estimation only, other parents please feel free to comment.

If a child knows all the words in the 基础汉字500 series of books very well, he should be fine in P1 for CL2, though I think it is not good enough for higher Chinese.

[tamarind]

dokomo:

Hi Tamarind,


Would like to say thanks to your recommendation on the books (siwukuaidu) and dangdang. I just placed my order for the 7 books. Paid RMB193.70. (Had wanted to join the spree initially, decided not to) Making the online order was a breeze using citibank card too. Thanks once again. :love:

You are welcome !

Did you encounter any problems when entering the password ? I used to have to try so many times using Citibank visa. I wonder if Citibank has fixed the problem.

[tamarind]

kids_r_innocent:

Hi hi...


I was wondering if anyone could advise if we use DBS AMEX card to pay in dangdang website, how long do we need to wait for the transacted details to be reflected on our bill.

I have placed my previous order (the website reflected that the books has been shipped out) quite some time ago but has yet to see the amount reflected in the bill.

TIA...

I called Amex customer service about this before, it could take a few weeks.

[kaitlynangelica]

Tamarind,


Don’t you find it sooooooo tiring and exhausting to teach your kids?? They can’t sit still and you got to find ways to make the lesson fun and interesting after a hard day’s work. I rather send them off to classes to maintain my sanity!

[znzyzyzx]

eskimo:

kids_r_innocent:

Hi Eskimo,

Cld you share if the price is cheaper compared to self buying from dangdang? If you were to buy another time, would you opt to order by yourself or buy from the spree again?

I am juz curious coz many pple seems to join in the spree. Tat also in a way, save the trouble to order from dangdang especially during the payment part; its really frustrating at times. TIA.

Hi,
Last time, when i have a friend in working Beijing, i asked her to help me bring back to Singapore. Like many of us here initially, i have a lot of problems trying to pay via credit card, none was successful, so i opted for COD since its allowed for goods delivered within Beijing. So I have never tried self buying and getting it shipped to Singapore.

For that spree, I paid $13 for shipping cost. Books cost was RMB180. If i had ordered myself, shipping would have cost around $20? and this is assuming RMB180 is the original full price of the books, which usually is not the case. So it does appear cheaper. I think it depends on the weight and cost of the books. btw, siwukuaidu is not light, the word cards are heavy paper.

Short of asking someone from Beijing to lug back the books for me again, i probably will opt to join the spree coz her collection point is suitable for me. Dangdang's website does not list the weight of the books for your order, so there's no way i can compare beforehand on which option is cheaper. but having said that, i'm going to make a trip up to China soon! I hope to grab whatever i can find! :lol:

Do you know where or how to engage the freight forwarder ? From Singapore or China ?

regards,
znzyzyzx

[eskimo]

znzyzyzx:

Do you know where or how to engage the freight forwarder ? From Singapore or China ?


regards,
znzyzyzx

Hi znzyzyzx,
Honestly i don't know. But i think maybe you can google to see if you can find anything. The freight forwarder probably has both offices in China and Singapore, or at least a partner that they work with in Singapore. Normally if you are talking about sea freight, the quantity must be large. Those in the other forum was to the tune of 100 kg!

[znzyzyzx]

eskimo:

znzyzyzx:

Do you know where or how to engage the freight forwarder ? From Singapore or China ?


regards,
znzyzyzx

Hi znzyzyzx,
Honestly i don't know. But i think maybe you can google to see if you can find anything. The freight forwarder probably has both offices in China and Singapore, or at least a partner that they work with in Singapore. Normally if you are talking about sea freight, the quantity must be large. Those in the other forum was to the tune of 100 kg!

ok, thanks. Yeah, i am addicted to ordering books from dang dang. I think I have spent quite a lot on the shipping already, haha.

[dokomo]

tamarind:

dokomo:

Hi Tamarind,


Would like to say thanks to your recommendation on the books (siwukuaidu) and dangdang. I just placed my order for the 7 books. Paid RMB193.70. (Had wanted to join the spree initially, decided not to) Making the online order was a breeze using citibank card too. Thanks once again. :love:

You are welcome !

Did you encounter any problems when entering the password ? I used to have to try so many times using Citibank visa. I wonder if Citibank has fixed the problem.

I have no problem submitting the order. First try and the order went thru.Maybe citibank has solved the problem.

I noticed dangdang has this point system where one can move up to higher level membership as one purchase more from them and entitled to further discount. That's good news.

[tamarind]

kaitlynangelica:

Tamarind,


Don't you find it sooooooo tiring and exhausting to teach your kids?? They can't sit still and you got to find ways to make the lesson fun and interesting after a hard day's work. I rather send them off to classes to maintain my sanity!

I don't. I look forward to teaching them everyday. This is my bonding time with them. Actually I don't really teach them anymore (I only teach my boy Chinese), both of them are now reading English books that I can only read when I was above 16 years old. I still ask them to read out loud to me everyday. We discuss the story and we have lots of interesting things to talk about from the wonderful children's books I actually feel very relaxed after listening to them read to me. Even though mommies work all day, we still must try to spend quality time with the kids, reading together is an excellent way of bonding.

When I started teaching my boy at 3 years old, he also could not sit still. But I only taught him for 10 to 15 minutes a day, so it was quite easy for me. If I felt really tired, I asked my hubby to take over.

Even if parents send the kids to class, they still have to revise the materials with the kids everyday, otherwise there will be no improvement. Berries has notices on the board stating that parents must spend time practicising with the kids daily.

[tamarind]

dokomo:

tamarind:

[quote=\"dokomo\"]Hi Tamarind,


Would like to say thanks to your recommendation on the books (siwukuaidu) and dangdang. I just placed my order for the 7 books. Paid RMB193.70. (Had wanted to join the spree initially, decided not to) Making the online order was a breeze using citibank card too. Thanks once again. :love:

You are welcome !

Did you encounter any problems when entering the password ? I used to have to try so many times using Citibank visa. I wonder if Citibank has fixed the problem.

I have no problem submitting the order. First try and the order went thru.Maybe citibank has solved the problem.

I noticed dangdang has this point system where one can move up to higher level membership as one purchase more from them and entitled to further discount. That's good news. :D[/quote]That's great. You will receive an email asking you to verify the credit card.

I am already a 金卡会员 at dangdang