Frequently Asked Questions
What textbooks do you use?
Textbooks are controversial in project-based learning. We started Chinese teaching using a complete project-based approach without using textbooks. We also designed a set of hands-on and lively learning activities for children of different ages since 5 years ago, in an effort to set no restrictions to kids’ problem solving skills and creativity. We will continue to use our own teaching materials and fun projects that take up 50% of our featured, fun Chinese program.
For our leveled after school programs, our curriculum development team compared different publishers and selected the MeiZhou Chinese series, which focuses on vocabulary, sentence construction, and text writing. We've vetted multiple textbooks and based on student feedback, MeiZhou Chinese was thoughtfully designed by teachers based in California for children in the US. It consistently proves to be engaging and effective in the past decade. It's colorful, age-appropriate, well-leveled, and promotes steady progress in Chinese in and outside of class. However, textbook instruction only contributes to an estimate of 50% of our Chinese lessons and help families keep track of children's learning progress periodically.
Who are the teachers for the enrichment classes? Do they speak Chinese?
Our team consists of highly experienced teachers and specialists dedicated to delivering top-quality education. For instance, our Kungfu Teacher comes from our partner, Shaolin Temple U.S.A. All our classes are conducted entirely in Chinese to promote a full language immersion environment.
Do you provide transportation for the after-school programs?
Transportation services for our after-school programs vary by location.
In Menlo Park and San Mateo, we currently don't provide vehicle pick-up services due to the wide range of schools our students attend and for the safety of the kids. We are a group of qualified and professional teachers that has expertise in Chinese teaching. We hope to focus on utilizing our special expertise and share our knowledge with our children!
In Fremont, pick-up services for our affiliated program are provided by our partner Shaolin Temple U.S.A. Pick-up service and costs will be directly communicated with their staff member on site.
How do you accommodate varying school end times?
We understand that school schedules can differ. Therefore, while we may not provide a pickup service, we've designed flexible drop-off and pick-up times. You may drop off your child anytime between 2:45 pm and 3:30 pm, and pick them up anytime between 5:30 pm to 6:15 pm. This is part of our effort to cater to diverse schedules.
My child won't be able to attend the after-school program daily. How will they keep up?
For students who do not attend our program daily, the MeiZhou Huayu workbook series provides a clear daily study plan. Students can complete the writing practice on the days they're not in class, allowing them to keep up with their peers.
What is the value of your program?
1. Our Teachers: Teachers are not only educators, guardians and friends of our kids, they are also important role models of kids from whom kids learn to become future change makers of the world. Our teachers and specialists in Menlo Park and San Mateo have Master’s degree or higher. They also have experience working with children in this area in prestigious private schools. We pay teachers top of the market to keep these topnotch educators in order to provide our top-of-market quality to students.
2. Our Philosophy: Our programs are unconventional and uniquely creative. With experience working in different schools using different learning materials and philosophies, we integrated project-based learning with traditional Chinese culture, and we created this hands-on and fun way to get students immersed in Chinese language and culture and live an authentic Chinese calendar all year round! Students from different cultural backgrounds learn to understand, respect, and explore Chinese language and culture in a joyful, profound way!
3. Our Class Size and Materials: In Menlo Park and San Mateo, we always keep our class under 10 children per classroom to ensure adequate amount of 1-1 guidance is offered to kids during project time. As a project-based learning program, we also purchase a wide range of sensory materials for kids to explore new areas of knowledge, create using their imagination, practice motor skills and public speaking, and facilitate their brain development!
4. Full Chinese Learning Time: Our schedule is filled with Chinese learning, specialist classes, and Chinese project time. We haven’t been offering built-in homework time when our teachers simply watch kids do homework, which our teachers are over-qualified for. We understand that some schools leave certain amount of homework to kids, and our teachers are absolutely capable of helping them. Kids may spend 15-20 min on addressing their homework from school if parents advocate for the need of homework help. Otherwise, our learners are busy working on Chinese learning work and projects with adequate support from our teachers.
Are there any discounts?
We carefully determine our tuition based on the calculation of the program costs hoping to offer the best quality that we are able to provide. We do offer referral benefits ($50-$100 off) year round for families. The reason is that we found our kids who came with friends feel more comfortable and confident, and they compete and cooperate naturally with each other. Most students did come by themselves and immediately developed new friendships. Still from our observation, our program can be even more beneficial and fascinating when two children who previously knew each other came together like attending a Chinese themed party or playdate!
Can we try out your after school program before enrolling?
Yes. We would love kids to come and experience our program before making decisions. We hope to observe and see if the program will be a good fit for your child. When enrolled, tuition is charged month by month. Families can also cancel the program for the coming month at any time before the 1st of the coming month.