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Stefani
  Reply with quote  #1 
Hello,

I am so glad to have found this site.  My son is almost 3 years old, and right now we are going for 3 languages.  I speak Indonesian to him since he was born, he gets English from his Dad and grandparents, and since he was 2 he goes to Mandarin Chinese daycare.  With 2 yearly trips to Indonesia so far, his Indonesian is on par to his English.  Unfortunately I do not speak Chinese, so I cannot gauge his fluency in that language.  The daycare is intended for Chinese speaking children, and I noticed that many of his teachers are speaking English to him when I am with him.

Is there any pre-school and elementary school with Mandarin Chinese immersion where the goal is fluency in Mandarin Chinese?  There seems to be Chinese for Chinese speaking children, but the goal is to help their English.  We live in the suburb of Dallas, Texas, USA.

Thank you.
Stefani
(OPOL, Indonesian, English, Mandarin Chinese)


 
Adrian
  Reply with quote  #2 
Hi Stephani,

I also live in Dallas (well Grand Prairie) and we moved here about a year ago so we don’t know too much about this area yet. We are raising our son bilingual Spanish/English. I do not know of any Chinese preschools but I will ask some of my Chinese speaking neighbors. We live in a very diverse neighborhood. If you come across any full Spanish immersion programs please let me know. I thought that there would be tons here in Dallas but I have only found preschools that teach a little bit of Spanish to English speaking children. By the time he enters preschool, he will be way too advanced for that. Good luck on your search and I would love to chat with another parent in this situation. I am finding raising my children bilingually is both fun and challenging.
 
Lily
  Reply with quote  #3 

Hi there:

I’m an American Chinese used to live in Dallas. You may try Sunday schools at large Chinese churches in Plano, Richardson and Arlington. Look at your local yellow page for the names of the churches.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 
Stefani
  Reply with quote  #4 
Hi Adrian & Lily,

Thank you very much for replying to my post.

Adrian, I remember reading about Spanish immersion preschool, and then I found this:
http://www.spanishschoolhouse.com/northdallas.php
Maybe it is a good fit for your child.

Lily, it seems to me that the Chinese churches teaches Sunday / week-end Chinese language classes.  Do you think some of them operate a regular Chinese kindergarten and Elementary school?  I will have to check them out.

The daycare that my son goes to has Chinese week-end classes starting in Kindergarten, but I want more exposure than that since I cannot help him at home.  Furthermore 1 day a week for a couple of hours doesn’t constitute the 30% needed for language fluency.

If any of you have more information please do post.
Thank you so very much.
Stefani.

 
Murrie
  Reply with quote  #5 

Hi Stephani,

 

I’m writing from the Florida panhandle, a whole day’s drive from the Dallas area.  However, if moving is ever in the picture, a new school was started last year in Panama City, Florida:  The Panama City Renaissance School.  It is a Mandarin Chinese Immersion School which emphasizes Singapore math standards.  Currently, there is just K4, K, and 1st grades, a total of 11 students in the school.  Each year they expect to expand a grade until at last reaching 12th.  At 1st grade, they introduce Spanish.

 

I signed my 4 year old up for the K4 program this year.  She is loving it. 

 

It’s too bad there are not more of these schools out there.

 

 

Murrie

 
Julia
  Reply with quote  #6 

Hi Stefani,

 

My 3.5 year-old son also speak English, a bit of Chinese and Indonesian. He attended bilingual Chinese-English daycare in Cupertino, California. My situation is exactly the same like yours. My son learn Indonesian from me, English from his dad and Chinese from preschool. I can’t speak Chinese because my parents didn’t teach me.

 

Have you found the bilingual preschool in Dallas, TX? Please contact me at [email protected] if you have chance to read my email. I am thinking of going to Dallas, TX for 4-6 months.

 

Thanks.

Julia

 
Stefani
  Reply with quote  #7 

Hi Julia,

 

I e-mailed you.  Would love to get to know you.  Please let me know if you don’t receive my e-mail by the time you read this.

 

Stefani,

modified OPOL: Indonesian, English, Mandarin.

 

 
Stefani
  Reply with quote  #8 

Hi Murrie,

 

The school you described sounds like just what I am looking for.  I wish there is such a school here.  You & your child are fortunate.

 

Thank you for writing in.

 

Stefani,

mostly OPOL: English, Indonesian, Mandarin.

 
Scarlett
  Reply with quote  #9 

I am wondering if Stefani found any school for her son?  We are relocating to North Dallas this summer and am wondering if there are any good Chinese immersion pre-schools or schools and/or after-school programs for our sons, 8 and 3 years old, in the area.

 
Adriana
  Reply with quote  #10 
Sorry I don’t know of any Chinese Immersion schools in Dallas. My family is English/Spanish but we also live in Dallas. If I can help you with any other questions about the area (ie. fun things to do with your kids), let me know.

Adriana Villalobos
[email protected]
 
Stefani
  Reply with quote  #11 
Hi Scarlett,

I did not find a school where the emphasis is fluency in Mandarin Chinese.  So, what I am doing is keeping him in the Chinese daycare, but they are getting more and more English, as most of the students come from Chinese speaking families.  Still, he hears Mandarin enough and will be introduced to it more formally next year (having a Chinese lesson during the day).

To supplement, I am enrolling him in Chinese week-end school.  There are many of those around, and the goal is of course proficiency in Chinese (Mandarin).  If we can pull it off, I would like to take him to China in a couple of years and enroll him in a Chinese kindergarten for two weeks or a month so he can boost his Mandarin.

Hope that helps.


 
Lynn
  Reply with quote  #12 
Stefani,

Can you tell me which day care is your kid in that speak Chinese Mandarin?  I’m currently looking for a day care for my son, preferably one that can teach him chinese.  So far though I’m not having much of luck.  It would be great if we can find one for him.  Thanks for sharing!


A Plano Mother of a 5-month old
English/Chinese Mandarin
 
Stefani
  Reply with quote  #13 
Hi Lynn,

Sorry, I just read your posting today.

There are two Chinese daycares in the Plano area that I know of.  One is Ivy International School http://www. ivyschool. org  (Parker & Alma), and the other one is at the Buddhist Temple in Richardson (Lighthouse Buddha School or something like that), it is on International Parkway, around Arapaho.

E-mail me if you want more details.
Stefani.


 
Dana
  Reply with quote  #14 
Hi Stefani,

If you ever move to California, there is a Mandarin immersion program at the Yew Chung International School of Silicon Valley.  http://www.ycis-sv.com/  It started in Shanghai, China and branched out to the U.S.  The Mountain View school is the only one in the states.

I too am looking for a Chinese immersion school in the Dallas area.  I am currently living in Mountain View, CA (along with my husband and 14 month old) and considering moving to Dallas in 6 months.  My daughter is currently in a Chinese daycare, where they speak Mandarin to the kids all day.  My husband and I speak to her in English.  My mother speaks to her in Hakka, a Mandarin dialect.  I am hoping to find a Chinese speaking daycare in the Dallas area.  Let me know if you find anything.  And I will be sure to post something here if I find anything as well. 

[email protected]

Dana
 
laurie
  Reply with quote  #15 

actually,the school in mountain view is not the only mandarin immersion program at all. there is one in cupertino,ca,and portland oregon,too. there are newer elementary public programs in st paul,mn,hopkins,mn and pioneer valley,mass. [western mass.]. There is also a cantonese immersion in san francisco that has been around for a long,long time. And an elementary school in san francisco that recently converted to mandarin immersion,as well. [All the schools I mentioned are public or charter]. I know there are some private international schools in addition,but I’m not familiar with all of them.

 
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