any feedback on "Bilingual Boston" classes for children?

[huango]

Hello,
Just in case anyone has heard of Bilingual Boston immersion "classes" for children for Spanish/French, I would love some feedback on it.

I just signed/paid my son up for 1 whole year of their new Mandarin offering, without even been to 1 trial class.

I don't know anyone who has heard of it or have attended a class.

Your inputs would be greatly appreciated,

thank you,
Amanda

[SiValleySteph]

I haven't heard of it either.

Just out of curiosity, wasn't your son in Chinese classes? Did you decide to switch to a different language or is this in addition? We still haven't decided whether or not to send our son to Chinese classes... which I guess means no. :)

[huango]

Hey there,
long time no 'talk'...
Great memory about Sebastian.
Yes, he WAS in 1 Chinese class (in Framingham), but it was a totally wrong fit. All the little babies (ages 3-5) had to sit in an adult classroom in big adult chairs all facing the board and 1 teacher for 14-16 students. No singing, no games. just some flashcards and writing on the board.
DS was 3.5 years old at that time, and he wasn't even writing in English, let alone Chinese.

Well, this Bilingual Boston will offer Mandarin for the 1st time ever this Fall. It's supposed to be between 4-10 students per class, lots of game-playing. Almost like if DS played w/ all my Chinese cousins' kids and everyone spoke Mandarin.

I've been working HARD searching for a good fit for him.

We did a trial class at another school (~6-12 students), which was much better than the Framingham one, as the teacher used Chinese videos, games, clapping-songs, etc. But this one also had students sitting, but in a circular table in kid chairs.

I'm hoping that Bilingual Boston is a little more like a Chinese playdate w/ less sitting, since my son is "kid on Redbull" (as my cousin nicknamed him). He has trouble sitting unless it's for eating, watching TV, or being read to.
We're going to a trial Spanish class at the end of June, so we'll see.

Depending on how it goes, we may add Spanish also, since big Daddy is Dominican Republic.

My poor kids:
- sign-language at birth
- I speak Cantonese to them ~30-50% of the time. (I speak about 1% Mandarin).
- Daddy reads bedtime stories in Spanish
- Kids and I are trying to learn Mandarin and Spanish via videos and songs.

My advices:
- you can never start too early, may it be at home or in a structured environment
- try out several classes; some are a better fit.
- And don't worry about the child not being the correct age. For instance, DS will be 4.5 when he starts this Mandarin playdate. But then I'll sign him at age 5.5 for 'preschool Mandarin'. Then he'll start 'kindergarten Mandarin' at age 6.5. It's just harder when we don't speak it at home.

Do you?

[SiValleySteph]

We don't speak at home. My DH is fluent in Mandarian and Shanghainese, and speaks Shanghainese with his family. We do send our son to a Mandarian speaking daycare. The caregivers speak mainly in Mandarian to the kids, but the kids speak English to each other. My son only says things like numbers, hello, goodbye, basic things. It's funny, though, because even I pick up some things from hearing the caregiver (like how to say Mommy's here :)).

The class you have found sounds really great! I hope it works out well for your son.

ETA - I should say I only speak English, but I've been trying to learn Mandarian using Pimmsleur cds. They are pretty good! When I was really trying I learned quickly, but then I finished the 8 cd course I had and need to order the next.