1
2011
Bao Bei Reading Wonderland : Day 1
Today marks the first day Ethan attending Mandarin classes at Bao Bei. We went there 10 minutes early to have a look at the premise before enrolling Ethan. We did not get to see the classroom during our last visit there last week as they were in a midst of a class then.
Hand sanitizer
I saw ALL the kids getting their hands sanitized before entering the classroom. Thumbs up.
Can you spot Ethan?
I was amazed at Ethan. I sent him into the classroom and he went straight to the toy box, ignoring me completely! He did not even look back for me. Thumbs up! :D I made my way out immediately as I see him comfortable with his friends already.
Now, let’s take a look at the premise..
Decorated walls
Lots of teaching aid on the wall. Thumbs up.
Teachers in pink
Teachers are early and ready for the day’s lesson. Thumbs up.
White board
White board is mounted very high. Thumbs down. I doubt the kids can reach it but then again, maybe the white board is not meant for the kids to write/draw on it. Still, I prefer it to be lower so the kids would not have to tilt their head so high.
Computer
Spacious. Thumbs up. I saw one desktop computer at the corner. I don’t know if the kids will use it but my guess is that it is for the teachers. I also saw an overhead projector mounted on the ceiling.
The wall
Lots and lots of reading materials on the walls. Thumbs up.
The door to the classroom is totally shut during lessons. No parents/guardians are allowed to enter during lessons. I totally AGREE to this! There is nothing I despise more than parents/guardians interfering during classes. At Bao Bei, you can’t even peep if you want to, there is no glass door or window for you to peek! THUMBS UP, UP, UP!
They started the class with a song. Well, though I can’t see a single thing from outside, I can hear clearly what is going on. After the song, I heard lessons going on. After some time, I heard the teacher say, “,Xiǎo péngyǒu, Qù cèsuǒ…and Hē shuǐ, Hē shuǐ, “. I guess what she is saying is, “little friends, go to the loo and drink water” :D
I heard Ethan’s voice. I heard him talking.. in English! lol.. At least he is talking :D
I also heard them talking about ‘da xiàng ‘ which I know is ‘elephant’ as it is Ethan’s favourite! I learnt that from my iPhone okay? See, iPhone teaches me Mandarin! The teacher asked, “Zhè shì shénme?” (what is this?) and I heard the kids answer, “Yǎnjīng” (eyes). I’m so happy! I actually understands what is being taught! Am not THAT banana after all! :P
I heard a lot of laughter and then there was music too. I guess it must be some kind of music and movement as I heard the kids jumping and running along with the music.
The teachers’ voice and tone was clear, calm and cheerful throughout the one and a half hour.
Ethan emerges from the class happy. The teacher gave me a full report of what happened in class today. Here is what she has to say about Ethan:
1) He is not willing to participate in the group activities and prefers to sit aside to watch and observe.
2) He nods his head when the teacher speaks to him in Mandarin (eventhough it is not a question :P) but once the teacher speaks in English, he will talk non-stop! @_@
3) He loves drawing! Haha! What’s new about that? :P He gets the teacher to draw him a duck but when the teacher drew a different duck than what he had in mind, he took the pencil from the teacher and show HER how to draw a duck! >_<
4) He knows how to go to the loo himself. He refused assistance and insists to urinate himself and wash after that :D
5) He did not, I repeat, did NOT look for his parents! Dunno to feel good or sad about this! =_=
Conclusion, she said it is his first day so she won’t force him to join the group for games and activity fearing that he won’t return tomorrow. I told her it is okay as he is an observer. He loves to observe and will participate once he gets more familiar with the environment :)
That is all for Day 1. I hope Day 2 onwards will bring more wonderful and positive results :D
Oh yeah, there is ONE major flaw that I totally dislike about the place. They are fully carpeted! I hate carpets as it is a dust trap! Carpets triggers allergy attacks and I hope and pray hard that it won’t be an issue in the near future! Thumbs down to that :(
Day 1 – At home, Ethan starts to say, “Wǒ yào siao pien” and “Zài nǎlǐ, Zài nǎlǐ” :)
"zhe shi shen me?"
"Pi gu"
LOL! :P
next time i can speak Chinese with Ethan dy! :D
Ethan "hen piao liang" hahaha
nah actually is Ethan "Hen Shuai" LOL
Oi Kian Fai! Apa u trying to say ni? Where's da google translator…. >_<
Looks like a great place! I m sure Ethan will warm up once he is familiar with the kids… smart boy!! Its amazing how he picks up things and words so fast… :D
haha, it's good for u to let Ethan learn Mandarin! I don't think a classroom without window is a good thing XD (I can say work for a kindergarten called UC Kindies, u can check it out)
and u should be gladful that Ethan doesn't look back to u in class! haha!
Alamak Simon,
They do have windows. Just that it is facing out n not into the waiting room. From da waiting room, we cant see them :)
He will catch up in no time…
Ethan is smart don't worry….So has he entered any nursery yet?
Angeline,
Nope. No kindie or nursery for him yet :)
Next time he can be ur teacher :)
Wah…not bad ah your Mandarin..haha. Yeah, next time Ethan can teach you Mandarin. :P Oh, I can't wait to send Gwen to Bao Bei.
i'm still reluctant to take mandarin classes. i can speak. i can recognize a few characters but in sentences in makes no sense to me. writing i just copy. LOL!
ooo jia you Ethan! soon will be proficient in both languages. :)
From the review of Day 1, It worths all the money. Way to go, Ethan.
Ethan is doing well for day 1 ya!! Way to go!
So, you have your mandarin class, too, outside the classroom? hehehe~
Enjoy your class ya, Ethan..
Merryn, my 3 kids have been joining since March. Scary pricey coz everything fr deposit, registration, and monthly fee x3. Monthly its >1k (sad..said), but I can tell you, its really worth investing seeing how well my boys learn from them.
Unfortunately I am sending them to school next year (to keep me sane) so we can't afford financially to send them to bao bei anymore ;(