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Mandarin Immersion

2.5 - 6 Years

This class is held from 1 PM to 4 PM  at our Danville and Pleasant Hill campuses only. This Primary class offers children a multi-age Mandarin community in which to explore the Montessori prepared classroom. Our Mandarin Immersion program offers a 100% Mandarin speaking environment. Both teachers are native Mandarin speakers and the program strives for a natural language learning experience.

Many parents would like their children to have the advantages of bilingualism. The ability to understand and speak more than one language is not the only benefit of immersion education. This authentic communication allows students to learn a second language in a similar manner to the way that they have learned their first. Immersion programs have generally produced better second-language proficiency results than traditional foreign language teaching strategies. The intensive exposure to the target language is important because it allows the child to quickly reach second-language proficiency.

This multi-age grouping (ages 2.5-6 years) is successful because the older child learns by being the leader in the classroom, and the younger child learns by observing the older child. This environment is intended to serve the child for two years.

The overall goals of this classroom are order, concentration, coordination, and independence. The children enjoy self-directed activities and experiences in the different areas of the classroom. Each area of the classroom — practical life, sensorial, language, math, cultural subjects (sciences), and art/music — is designed to invite the child to choose focused, purposeful work.

The children come together daily at circle for songs, poems, stories, demonstrations of work, games, and opportunities for expressive Mandarin language and social development. The Primary class supports the child’s sense of wonder and blossoming personhood.

Afternoon Schedule

  • 12:50 – 01:10 PM

    Drop-off and welcoming of the children

  • 01:10 – 01:45 PM

    Circle / Work time

  • 01:45 – 02:15 PM

    Playground activities

  • 02:15 – 03:45 PM

    Work time

  • 03:45 – 04:00 PM

    Calendar / story / end of day

  • 04:00 - 04:15 PM

    Pickup

  • 04:00 – 06:00 PM

    Optional Childcare

Mandarin Immersion Program Goals

Communication Development

Supporting your child's verbal, non-verbal, and listening skills for connecting with family, friends, and beyond.

  • Asking and responding to questions
  • Learning the names of teachers and friends
  • Telling simple stories
  • Identifying actions in books
  • Speaking to the class during circle
  • Following directions of two or three steps
  • Using words to ask for help
  • Practicing problem solving with friends

Growing Brain Power

Providing an enriched environment and the personal relationships to make the most of your child's amazing brainpower.

  • Practicing daily-living skills for grace and courtesy, care of self, and care of the environment
  • Exploring and building sensory skills and concepts with specialized Montessori materials
  • Completing works with step-by-step processes
  • Choosing independent, sequenced reading, writing, and number activities with teacher guidance

Building Relationships

Helping your child develop trust, self-confidence, and problem solving skills for positive relationships with friends, parents, and teachers.

  • Practicing thoughtfulness, respect, and courtesy with teachers and friends
  • Working individually, in small and large groups
  • Learning to take turns with popular activities
  • Gaining confidence by completing chosen work
  • Exploring similarities and differences among people

Helping Healthy Bodies Flourish

Nurturing your child's physical well-being through active play and body awareness.

  • Gaining control by walking around others’ work, and others’ bodies
  • Practicing good hygiene: hand washing, nose blowing, coughing into the crook of the elbow
  • Trying a wide variety of healthy foods
  • Improving large motor skills through action songs, games, walking, running, and climbing

Creativity and Individual Expression

Promoting an atmosphere that inspires your child's unique character through art, movement, music, and dramatic play.

  • Singing quiet, loud, silly, and pretty songs to explore musical variety
  • Imagining the world around them by studying other lands and cultures
  • Showing the beginning of abstract thought through representational drawing
  • Emphasizing process over product in artwork

Is Montessori right for my child?

Observe a class and see if Fountainhead is the best placement for your family. By observing a class, you will get a feel for the environment and curriculum. Feel free to observe multiple classrooms to make sure you have the best fit possible for your child.

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