Anonymous wrote:Parent of rising first grader (jumbo class). We're getting to a point in my child's YY experience where I worry that my & my husband's lack of Chinese language knowledge is hurting his educational experience. He's supposed to spend 10 minutes a night reading in Chinese. The school provides books at his level, but they just don't interest him. If I knew the language, I could find different books on the topics that interest him. But as things are, I'm not able to help him out.We came to YY because we're very interested in bilingual education, and it's the only bilingual school where we got a spot. We had an opportunity to leave last fall for another school, and didn't take it. We're still committed to the school, but our role as parents is even harder than I'd expected.

Huh? Why not just bring a laptop or tablet to school to meet with a teacher and ask her to help you order books your boy might be interested in from a web site for kids studying Chinese, like ChinaSprout? We often use that site to get Mandarin DVDs, posters, flash cards etc. Or ask a parent who reads Chinese to help you order books.

I speak a dialect but can hardly read Chinese. My in-laws get on various web sites and order for me, particularly from YesAsia.com and AsiaParent.com. We've built a good collection of Mandarin DVDs, mostly Disney and Pixar cartoons popular in China (e.g. Mulan, Ice Age, Kung Fu Panda) from the several sites. We don't let our kid watch TV or DVDs in English.

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Anonymous wrote:No, it is not at all common to send kids to China for summer school. I know of a few families who visit there during the summer or during the school year. But I know of none who would take their child for summer school and expect them to do all of the communicating for their parents, especially a kindergartner. Is this a joke? Please tell me this is a joke.

Grandparents live in Asia near China so we usually go there anyway. Grandparents also read and speak Mandarin and holiday in China often so we would be going with them for part of the trip but yes, DC would be attending Mandarin camp for foreigners (kids). It's common for kids in our country to go to China in the summer to learn Mandarin.

I don't think this is that common at Yu Ying.

WHAT? You have relatives in China? Impossible. I have it on good authority from a certain troll that anyone who's really Chinese wouldn't send their kids to Yu Ying.

LOL! If it matters, we're not Chinese.

We don't supplement DC's Mandarin at all. Don't even do the 10 minutes of Mandarin homework. Horrors, I know. No Mandarin speaking au pair although we sometimes hire people to babysit who speak Mandarin but DC prefers to speak English to them. We are not pushy about speaking Mandarin. DC's Mandarin is where it should be in all the assessments just the same.

That is very very helpful to know. At first when we got in we were so thrilled, and we're still thrilled but we are only now starting to absorb what is in front of us (besides expensive although rumored to be great aftercare!) in terms of how we adjust our lives and our educational support of our child. We're willing to do what we can, but there are obviously limits, and it is a HUGE relief to know that families are happy and successful at YY without summer-ing in China every year and having a Mandarin-speaking cadre of staff in their homes.

No, no, no. I'm sorry I gave the idea that you need to have tutors/au pairs and summer in China for your child to keep up in Mandarin. The school is very nurturing and the teachers very kind, really a lovely school that happens to teach Mandarin: Language learning at this age is effortless. Your child will do great!

Thank you, much appreciated! Just so you know though, it wasn't only your posts in this thread that gave that impression. I have been following YY threads for about 6 months so I've seen a few conversations that gave that impression, although I also realize that some of those posters were just trying to scare people off. It was hard to tell who really did have tutors/au pairs/etc, and who was just trying to be discouraging. So it wasn't only you, but I do truly appreciate you clarifying this. Thanks!

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:No, it is not at all common to send kids to China for summer school. I know of a few families who visit there during the summer or during the school year. But I know of none who would take their child for summer school and expect them to do all of the communicating for their parents, especially a kindergartner. Is this a joke? Please tell me this is a joke.

Grandparents live in Asia near China so we usually go there anyway. Grandparents also read and speak Mandarin and holiday in China often so we would be going with them for part of the trip but yes, DC would be attending Mandarin camp for foreigners (kids). It's common for kids in our country to go to China in the summer to learn Mandarin.

I don't think this is that common at Yu Ying.

WHAT? You have relatives in China? Impossible. I have it on good authority from a certain troll that anyone who's really Chinese wouldn't send their kids to Yu Ying.

LOL! If it matters, we're not Chinese.

We don't supplement DC's Mandarin at all. Don't even do the 10 minutes of Mandarin homework. Horrors, I know. No Mandarin speaking au pair although we sometimes hire people to babysit who speak Mandarin but DC prefers to speak English to them. We are not pushy about speaking Mandarin. DC's Mandarin is where it should be in all the assessments just the same.

That is very very helpful to know. At first when we got in we were so thrilled, and we're still thrilled but we are only now starting to absorb what is in front of us (besides expensive although rumored to be great aftercare!) in terms of how we adjust our lives and our educational support of our child. We're willing to do what we can, but there are obviously limits, and it is a HUGE relief to know that families are happy and successful at YY without summer-ing in China every year and having a Mandarin-speaking cadre of staff in their homes.

No, no, no. I'm sorry I gave the idea that you need to have tutors/au pairs and summer in China for your child to keep up in Mandarin. The school is very nurturing and the teachers very kind, really a lovely school that happens to teach Mandarin: Language learning at this age is effortless. Your child will do great!

Anonymous wrote:Weee will be summering at Cape Cod. Family compound, of course.

That's nice. Do you have any extra DC-area family compounds that we could live in, rent-free, for the next, oh, 18 years until all of our kids are done with high school? You probably won't even miss the apartment/house. It would help offset the cost of aftercare...

Weee will be summering at Cape Cod. Family compound, of course.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it is not at all common to send kids to China for summer school. I know of a few families who visit there during the summer or during the school year. But I know of none who would take their child for summer school and expect them to do all of the communicating for their parents, especially a kindergartner. Is this a joke? Please tell me this is a joke.

Grandparents live in Asia near China so we usually go there anyway. Grandparents also read and speak Mandarin and holiday in China often so we would be going with them for part of the trip but yes, DC would be attending Mandarin camp for foreigners (kids). It's common for kids in our country to go to China in the summer to learn Mandarin.

I don't think this is that common at Yu Ying.

WHAT? You have relatives in China? Impossible. I have it on good authority from a certain troll that anyone who's really Chinese wouldn't send their kids to Yu Ying.

LOL! If it matters, we're not Chinese.

We don't supplement DC's Mandarin at all. Don't even do the 10 minutes of Mandarin homework. Horrors, I know. No Mandarin speaking au pair although we sometimes hire people to babysit who speak Mandarin but DC prefers to speak English to them. We are not pushy about speaking Mandarin. DC's Mandarin is where it should be in all the assessments just the same.

That is very very helpful to know. At first when we got in we were so thrilled, and we're still thrilled but we are only now starting to absorb what is in front of us (besides expensive although rumored to be great aftercare!) in terms of how we adjust our lives and our educational support of our child. We're willing to do what we can, but there are obviously limits, and it is a HUGE relief to know that families are happy and successful at YY without summer-ing in China every year and having a Mandarin-speaking cadre of staff in their homes.

Anonymous wrote:These YY parents sound like complete quacks. They "holiday in China"?

Grandparents who live in Asia holiday in China. Two hr flight about the same distance from DC to Chicago.

Anonymous wrote:please. about 1% of yy parents have a mandarin-speaking nanny/au pair or even a chinese tutor. relax. they're just showing off

That's a relief!

These YY parents sound like complete quacks. They "holiday in China"?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it is not at all common to send kids to China for summer school. I know of a few families who visit there during the summer or during the school year. But I know of none who would take their child for summer school and expect them to do all of the communicating for their parents, especially a kindergartner. Is this a joke? Please tell me this is a joke.

Grandparents live in Asia near China so we usually go there anyway. Grandparents also read and speak Mandarin and holiday in China often so we would be going with them for part of the trip but yes, DC would be attending Mandarin camp for foreigners (kids). It's common for kids in our country to go to China in the summer to learn Mandarin.

I don't think this is that common at Yu Ying.

WHAT? You have relatives in China? Impossible. I have it on good authority from a certain troll that anyone who's really Chinese wouldn't send their kids to Yu Ying.

LOL! If it matters, we're not Chinese.

We don't supplement DC's Mandarin at all. Don't even do the 10 minutes of Mandarin homework. Horrors, I know. No Mandarin speaking au pair although we sometimes hire people to babysit who speak Mandarin but DC prefers to speak English to them. We are not pushy about speaking Mandarin. DC's Mandarin is where it should be in all the assessments just the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it is not at all common to send kids to China for summer school. I know of a few families who visit there during the summer or during the school year. But I know of none who would take their child for summer school and expect them to do all of the communicating for their parents, especially a kindergartner. Is this a joke? Please tell me this is a joke.

Grandparents live in Asia near China so we usually go there anyway. Grandparents also read and speak Mandarin and holiday in China often so we would be going with them for part of the trip but yes, DC would be attending Mandarin camp for foreigners (kids). It's common for kids in our country to go to China in the summer to learn Mandarin.

I don't think this is that common at Yu Ying.

WHAT? You have relatives in China? Impossible. I have it on good authority from a certain troll that anyone who's really Chinese wouldn't send their kids to Yu Ying.

please. about 1% of yy parents have a mandarin-speaking nanny/au pair or even a chinese tutor. relax. they're just showing off

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it is not at all common to send kids to China for summer school. I know of a few families who visit there during the summer or during the school year. But I know of none who would take their child for summer school and expect them to do all of the communicating for their parents, especially a kindergartner. Is this a joke? Please tell me this is a joke.

Grandparents live in Asia near China so we usually go there anyway. Grandparents also read and speak Mandarin and holiday in China often so we would be going with them for part of the trip but yes, DC would be attending Mandarin camp for foreigners (kids). It's common for kids in our country to go to China in the summer to learn Mandarin.

I don't think this is that common at Yu Ying.

We'll be a new YY family this fall (PK4) and we're really hoping that either formally through the Adminitration, or more informally through a YY listserv or parent group, we will get ideas from parents about how they supplement their children's Mandarin. Neither parent in our household has a clue about Mandarin (although we were very specifically looking for a Mandarin bilingual school and are thrilled we got into YY). We also are not in a financial or job position to spend a summer anywhere, much less in China, and we don't have family in China, so unless something changes dramatically, something like sending DC to summer school in China is not happening.

Which means, we will be anxious for ideas about supporting her here, ideas about what we can learn and do for ourselves to be better supports as well as what we can help her do.

We also aren't currently in a position to hire a Mandarin-speaking nanny (or any nanny!) so we are a bit worried that so many families who weigh in on DCUM seem to have the financial means to send their kids to Mandarin tutors or hire Mandarin-speaking childcare. That won't be us unless there are some really affordable tutoring programs. Hoping other current parents have ideas and that not everyone is operating at such a higher SES level than us!