Nursery - Kindergarten

In our nursery program, speaking and listening are the main foci, in addition to caring for their social and emotional needs. It is our goal that by the end of the year, students will feel comfortable in a Chinese speaking environment, will be able to understand basic classroom rules in Chinese, and respond to simple questions. Other goals include recognizing ten characters, including numbers one through five. Students will learn Chinese in various ways, such as through singing Chinese songs, story sharing, role-playing, interactive games, and fine motor skill exercises.

At the pre-kindergarten level, more emphasis is placed on helping the children develop social and emotional skills. These skills will help them adapt to their school environment. Children are encouraged to use a variety of skills to process, explore, and express thoughts and concepts. Goals of the pre-kindergarten year include the ability to distinguish the four tones, and recognize 30 characters. Students completing our pre-kindergarten program should be ready to meet the challenges of a kindergarten immersion program.

In kindergarten, we offer a well-developed bilingual immersion program that prepares children for the primary grades within a nurturing environment. While kindergarten continues to promote oral communication, there is a heavier emphasis on pre-reading and pre-writing activities. With pre-reading, teachers impart a joy of reading while nurturing reading comprehension. With pre-writing, teachers encourage students' self-expression. Math will be taught in a more structured fashion that is coupled with fun, age-appropriate games and activities. By the end of kindergarten, students are well prepared to begin their formal elementary school training in reading and writing in both Chinese and English. Our goals for the children include clear and accurate enunciation of sentences with the four Mandarin tones. Other specific goals include the ability to recognize approximately 100 characters, be introduced to the proper stroke order and write their own names in Chinese.