On any given weekday morning at the Mandarin DayCare in Morningside, dozens of children sit in a circle and learn Mandarin. From preschool age to fourth grade, students progress through a fun and engaging curriculum taught by some of the country’s most successful language teachers. Mandarin is one of the fastest growing languages in the world, and students at the Mandarin Day Care enjoy learning the dialect from a friendly, experienced Mandarin teacher. This “daycare for kids” follows in the footsteps of other similar programs that have popped up across the country. But unlike other daycare centers, Mandarin Day Care maintains its focus on developing language skills, while building strong listening skills, from the initial student through adult years.
The first lesson involves identifying images and phrases from Chinese words, phrases, and sentences. With continual use, students improve their ability to recognize and write Chinese characters and understand cultural cues derived from the spoken language. Students also practice writing and reading with the help of an established alphabet system and simple text-reading exercises. As they progress through their first year at Mandarin School, students practice everyday conversation skills using these same methods. By the end of the second year at Mandarin School, students begin to develop a deeper understanding of the Chinese language and culture.
Upper West Side Mandarin dual language daycare centers attract parents who have chosen to keep their children at home instead of sending them to pre-school. With a warm, inviting atmosphere and a focus on developing academic and social skills, Mandarin dual language daycare centers are becoming more popular with parents of American preschoolers. The curriculum at these facilities combines teaching methods from the best in the world with instruction from the brightest minds in the industry. The result? A day filled with education, fun, and true Chinese language skills.
Unlike a typical preschool where most of the curriculum is centered on memorization, Mandarin Chinese programs go beyond rote memorization to build students’ vocabulary, comprehension skills, and self-awareness. By introducing real Chinese conversations into the preschoolers’ lives at every opportunity, teachers help students develop their listening and language skills. At the same time, teachers also ensure that students progress at their own pace and encourage continual growth.
Teachers use a variety of tools, such as games, simulations, stories, and conversation scenarios to engage children in conversation. As children grow up, they continue to practice speaking and learning Mandarin at the Mandarin Language Learning Center, and then take classes at local community colleges or universities.
While preschoolers at the Mandarin Language Learning Center grow up learning Mandarin Chinese, their children attend the Mandarin Language Learning Center for prekindergarten education. Preschoolers at these facilities go through a similar prekindergarten education as those at kindergarten schools, but their primary focus is on language. Throughout the day, children sit with their classmates and teachers engage them in play-based activities, such as learning to identify different fruits and vegetables, sing songs, and build sandcastles.
At night, students sing songs and stories in Mandarin, create Chinese words and expressions with Legos, or engage in dance lessons taught by professional dancers. While this education at a Mandarin language center is all about language education, children also spend the day learning about art, nature, and culture. At the end of the day, children have fun learning Mandarin and participating in an environment that provides them with opportunities to experience all that is Chinese and American at the same time.