Comparing Chinese Enrichment (Primary/Preschool)

[danbj88]

Hi,


I’m new to this forums, and I’m thinking of sending my son for Mandarin enrichment, and everyone seems to be recommending Berries. My son doesn’t really like Mandarin that much, so I’m presuming that Berries should be better than TH?

I would like to take a look at the books first before deciding though , and please PM me if you are willing to sell me your old books (anything from Nursery to K2). I don’t mind if it’s old and written-on.

Thank you!

[lovinglife]

danbj88:

Hi,


I'm new to this forums, and I'm thinking of sending my son for Mandarin enrichment, and everyone seems to be recommending Berries. My son doesn't really like Mandarin that much, so I'm presuming that Berries should be better than TH?

I would like to take a look at the books first before deciding though , and please PM me if you are willing to sell me your old books (anything from Nursery to K2). I don't mind if it's old and written-on.

Thank you!

You've a PM.

[fatmamalove]

Hi I am also thinking of berries… my boy is at Pri 2 and he cant remeber chinese words…regretted stopping him in chinese lessons since Pri 1 …went to enrol him in a CC chinese class…BIG MISTAKE, cos all they do is copy answers…now no choice stuck with the CC class…Berries at Woodlands or Bukit Batok?Also pondering over Tian xia as well.

[Happyforson]

Hi,

I am also having some considerations whether to enrol my daughter in Berries or in Tsien Hsia. Good to have found this thread.

[Happyforson]

MintyMin:

TH enrichment are all based on HCL, whereas for Berries it is not.. that is as far as i noe.. both my ds (P2) and dd1 (K2) are in TH CCK..


Ds has difficulty as I juz started him on chinese enrichment end last yr (due to waitlist at both Berries n TH) and his chinese wasn't tat gd.. he can take a week to learn the tingxie given by TH and still can't really remember it.. so was wondering if i shld haf enrolled him in Berries instead..

As for DD1, she joined early last yr, she enjoyed every session of TH, and can tell from the worksheets that TH really prepare them well for P1.. there's hypy, bu shou, bi hua..

So Tsien Hsia prepares them well for P1, that's what I am looking for.

[sembgal]

Let me share my Bishan Berries vs Sembawang Tien Hsia experience with all of you. 2 years ago, I put my child on waitlist at Berries and Tien Hsia. My child’s Chinese standard was not good at that time. I enrolled my child in Tien Hsia when there was a vacancy in the Nursery class at that time. I did not wait for Berries. My child started at Tien Hsia and stayed on till year end learning Chinese. She liked her teacher and looked forward to attending the class every week. Berries offered a vacancy for the following year K1. I went down to Berries to look at the classroom, worksheets, books, materials, teachers, classrooms and even the toilets outside the school in the CPF building. The teachers were mostly from China, some with very strong accent. Children sat on the floor with crossed legs to do writing on the small portable table. Children whose parents were late in fetching them were rowdy and teachers had difficulty managing them. The toilets stink beyond imagination. There was no stool provided for children to wash hands and the sink was so high. My child was brought along and I asked her if she wanted to study at Berries and give up Tien Hsia. She told me no because she liked Tien Hsia teacher. I continued to let her study in Tien Hsia for K1 last year and this year in K2, she is still with Tien Hsia and enjoying her lessons. I can tell you that good teachers will make a big difference to children’s learning. The Chinese preschool level teachers in Tien Hsia are dedicated and loving to the children. Learning Chinese is no longer a torture and it’s a breeze for me to guide my child for her Tien Hsia Spelling. Chinese Spelling is 2 times per term. The first Spelling list for this term is 1)老师 2）我在写字。Spelling list for K1 and K2 will be given on lesson 3 and tested on lesson 4 and given on lesson 6 and tested on lesson 7. Lesson 9 is usually term test and rehearsal for open house. Week 10 Parents are invited to watch the child do group and individual recital, sing songs and read Vocabulary words. I would say it’s money well spent on Tien Hsia for providing my child with a good classroom environment. The only thing I like about Berries is their Chinese readers which are colourful. Other than that, I think it’s up to individual child to show their preference, be it Tien Hsia or Berries.

[elmokid07]

Hi, I am new to this forum. Berries had a branch now at Toa Payoh Safra. Any anybody had kids at the branch? Any comments? Thks

[Dino mummy]

sembgal:

Let me share my Bishan Berries vs Sembawang Tien Hsia experience with all of you. 2 years ago, I put my child on waitlist at Berries and Tien Hsia. My child's Chinese standard was not good at that time. I enrolled my child in Tien Hsia when there was a vacancy in the Nursery class at that time. I did not wait for Berries. My child started at Tien Hsia and stayed on till year end learning Chinese. She liked her teacher and looked forward to attending the class every week. Berries offered a vacancy for the following year K1. I went down to Berries to look at the classroom, worksheets, books, materials, teachers, classrooms and even the toilets outside the school in the CPF building. The teachers were mostly from China, some with very strong accent. Children sat on the floor with crossed legs to do writing on the small portable table. Children whose parents were late in fetching them were rowdy and teachers had difficulty managing them. The toilets stink beyond imagination. There was no stool provided for children to wash hands and the sink was so high. My child was brought along and I asked her if she wanted to study at Berries and give up Tien Hsia. She told me no because she liked Tien Hsia teacher. I continued to let her study in Tien Hsia for K1 last year and this year in K2, she is still with Tien Hsia and enjoying her lessons. I can tell you that good teachers will make a big difference to children's learning. The Chinese preschool level teachers in Tien Hsia are dedicated and loving to the children. Learning Chinese is no longer a torture and it's a breeze for me to guide my child for her Tien Hsia Spelling. Chinese Spelling is 2 times per term. The first Spelling list for this term is 1)老师 2）我在写字。Spelling list for K1 and K2 will be given on lesson 3 and tested on lesson 4 and given on lesson 6 and tested on lesson 7. Lesson 9 is usually term test and rehearsal for open house. Week 10 Parents are invited to watch the child do group and individual recital, sing songs and read Vocabulary words. I would say it's money well spent on Tien Hsia for providing my child with a good classroom environment. The only thing I like about Berries is their Chinese readers which are colourful. Other than that, I think it's up to individual child to show their preference, be it Tien Hsia or Berries.

I agree..i oso believe diff centres gv their own strenghts. We likes berries bukit batok..the envirnonment, staff and the teachers r good. And the toilets r in good conditions. The toilets r locked and u hv to get the keys from berries staff to open it. We hv no experience w TS so we cant comment. But so far, we r sticking w berries...my ds1 has been w berries since k2, he is p5 now. The teachers hehad so far. Ds2 is in his 3rd yr w berries, he is p1 now. I hv to thk his teacher as his chinese has improved a lot. His current teacher has been w him since k1.

[laughingcat]

My boys have been with Berries and we have no qualms about it. I have no experience with Tien Hsia and hence I can’t comment much.


What i like about Berries @ Orchard is there is no high turn-over rate and that is very important. My DS1 have been with Berries since nursery and his ex-teachers are now my DS2 teachers. The teachers are great and ever ready to give feedback and always ready to give advice to patents. Also we have no concern with the toilets condition.

To me with regards to toilets condition, that is very minor issue. If one is not too happy with its condition, can usually feedback to the ctr and I believe every ctr will look into it.

From what i gathered from friends and the materials, both these ctr have their individual strength. So can’t really compare as a face value on which ctr is good since there are many mechanics to Chinese Language. I believe as parents, you need to make the decision on what you want to focus on.

[iLoveChubby]

Dino mummy:

sembgal:

Let me share my Bishan Berries vs Sembawang Tien Hsia experience with all of you. 2 years ago, I put my child on waitlist at Berries and Tien Hsia. My child's Chinese standard was not good at that time. I enrolled my child in Tien Hsia when there was a vacancy in the Nursery class at that time. I did not wait for Berries. My child started at Tien Hsia and stayed on till year end learning Chinese. She liked her teacher and looked forward to attending the class every week. Berries offered a vacancy for the following year K1. I went down to Berries to look at the classroom, worksheets, books, materials, teachers, classrooms and even the toilets outside the school in the CPF building. The teachers were mostly from China, some with very strong accent. Children sat on the floor with crossed legs to do writing on the small portable table. Children whose parents were late in fetching them were rowdy and teachers had difficulty managing them. The toilets stink beyond imagination. There was no stool provided for children to wash hands and the sink was so high. My child was brought along and I asked her if she wanted to study at Berries and give up Tien Hsia. She told me no because she liked Tien Hsia teacher. I continued to let her study in Tien Hsia for K1 last year and this year in K2, she is still with Tien Hsia and enjoying her lessons. I can tell you that good teachers will make a big difference to children's learning. The Chinese preschool level teachers in Tien Hsia are dedicated and loving to the children. Learning Chinese is no longer a torture and it's a breeze for me to guide my child for her Tien Hsia Spelling. Chinese Spelling is 2 times per term. The first Spelling list for this term is 1)老师 2）我在写字。Spelling list for K1 and K2 will be given on lesson 3 and tested on lesson 4 and given on lesson 6 and tested on lesson 7. Lesson 9 is usually term test and rehearsal for open house. Week 10 Parents are invited to watch the child do group and individual recital, sing songs and read Vocabulary words. I would say it's money well spent on Tien Hsia for providing my child with a good classroom environment. The only thing I like about Berries is their Chinese readers which are colourful. Other than that, I think it's up to individual child to show their preference, be it Tien Hsia or Berries.

I agree..i oso believe diff centres gv their own strenghts. We likes berries bukit batok..the envirnonment, staff and the teachers r good. And the toilets r in good conditions. The toilets r locked and u hv to get the keys from berries staff to open it. We hv no experience w TS so we cant comment. But so far, we r sticking w berries...my ds1 has been w berries since k2, he is p5 now. The teachers hehad so far. Ds2 is in his 3rd yr w berries, he is p1 now. I hv to thk his teacher as his chinese has improved a lot. His current teacher has been w him since k1.

Hi Dino mummy
I have heard that Berries is not very academic for upper primary kids (as compared to lower pri/preschoolers), what do you think?...since your DS1 has been there for so many years!
Does Berries cover lots of compo writing for upper primary?