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Fun With Mandarin Preschool and Daycare
325 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, CA 94112, United States
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Ha
Review №1

I used to pick up and drop off my niece from FWM and was amazed by the consistent positive energy and vibe, warmth and professionalism there. All of the staff at FWM I encountered are so friendly, professional, and seem to have a natural passion and enthusiasm for the kids and their jobs. My niece always looked forward to going to school and constantly talked about how much she loves her friends and teachers there. I definitely highly recommend this place!

Ra
Review №2

We were very grateful for the support we received from FWM throughout the pandemic. Through the weekly virtual class, our son continued to maintain a sense of community with the preschool, which helped tremendously when he returned to in person. Our now four and a half year old son, who tends to be on the slow to warm up side, easily transitioned back into FWM after not attending for a year. This really speaks to how comfortable he feels being at FWM. He has grown tremendously in his confidence and language skills. We also notice a marked improvement in his fine motor skills since being back in person.

Ia
Review №3

Our son began attending Fun with Mandarin in September of 2020 and we have been delighted with our experience since then.Bin Bin Laoshi, Ben Laoshi and all of the other teachers work incredibly hard and with tremendous creativity to include, engage and educate our son. He loves going to school, and is always smiling when he walks back through the door coming home.The school has coached us on potty training and has been very helpful in providing tips and advice on parenting in general. When we have behavior challenges or are stumped ourselves, they have been an open book resource for us to consult. I love that we can work with experts to help us navigate the challenges of having a VERY energetic and demanding little boy.At this point, our son could open an art gallery with all of the wonderful drawings and sculptures he has made with the school. We love the daily report of activity at school, and despite COVID we have enjoyed the contact we have had with other parents. Being from a non-Chinese family, we feel very welcome and included. We love that he is learning Mandarin, and it has not impacted his English speaking at all. He speaks both languages very well at almost 4 years old.The school has helped us as we begin to navigate future schools as well. They have an extensive resource list to find schools, and contacts at each of them.One of the best parts of living in our area is the wonderful early childhood education available here. Fun with Mandarin is like the cherry on top for us. We are very grateful for this special place.

Be
Review №4

Our kids have really flourished since joining FWM part time in September 2020 (4 yr old son) and January 2021 (2 yr old daughter). Our son, hated writing and drawing prior to starting at FWM but now he loves it! He even remembers some of the chinese characters they are taught. They have a great outdoor play space in both sites (Holloway and Entrada) so that the kids dont have to leave to find a public playground. The lesson plans are very intentional and well thought out. Bin bin laoshi really cares about each and every student and knows each student so well. We are so happy to be part of the FWM family!

Ra
Review №5

Our daughter has been going to FWM for over a year now (from 2 years old) and I cant say enough wonderful things about them.  We originally chose FWM because they accept younger children and our daughter missed the age cutoff for our older childs school (Presidio Knolls School). It soon became obvious that our daughter was having the same, and often better experience than our son had at PKS -- both in terms of language development and one-on-one teacher time. Now, we have no urgent plans to move her over.There are many benefits to FWM compared to other schools that we investigated: 1) you get year round schooling by a team of teachers that truly care about the children, 2) home cooked meals, 3) 100% immersion vs 80% at PKS and others.The teachers and staff were very caring and effective at helping our daughter with initial separation anxiety. Now our daughter looks forward to seeing her teachers and friends every day. We are in regular communication with Binbin (text messages / email) and they send us pictures of the school day. We spend time every evening looking through the pictures with our daughter and asking her about her day.Our daughter loves the nutritious food FWM provides. She is a picky eater at home, but we are told that she is one of the best eaters at school -- who knows :-).Their educational program is solid; its very similar to what we see at PKS, but they have an even better teacher to student ratio. I know a few families with kids at both schools and they all feel the same. Its wonderful. In terms of language development, neither me nor my partner are Mandarin speakers, but our daughter’s language development has been incredible. It’s so sweet to hear her say words and phrases in Mandarin around the house, and have her tell us “this is what my teachers say.” She also has a lot of fun learning new words with her older brother.Did I mention our daughter loves Binbin and the teachers too? Yep, this is a great school.

Je
Review №6

Our son has been enrolled part time at FWM for the past 2.5 years, and we are very glad and fortunate to have been part of the FWM community. We initially stumbled upon FWM after looking for Mandarin immersion care, and FWM has exceeded our expectations and then some. It is amazing how much our son has developed and flourished under Binbin and the other teachers, and we are sad that he will be graduating soon. There are too many positive things to list in a yelp review, but a few things have stood out to us over the past couple of years:- Well thought out lesson plans and teaching styleBinbin and the other teachers have created a curriculum that simply works. Mandarin is part of life at FWM, and not simply taught as a class. The teachers integrate the language into everyday activities (such as going shopping for groceries, making lunch together) and fosters an environment that is truly immersive. We are a split language household at home (I speak English, my husband speaks Mandarin to our son), and our sons Mandarin skills has developed alongside his English skills.- Personalized attention and sense of communityMany reviews have mentioned how much Binbin cares about her students, and I want to echo that sentiment. She not only cares, but she also knows how to create a community that goes beyond just learning. Our son was initially a bit shy and hesitant about going to school, but Binbin and the other teachers knew how to overcome that hesitation and engage with him. Despite attending part time, our son now loves going to school and playing with his friends. Pre-COVID, the community there extended into regular playdates, birthday parties, and extracirricular activities with FWM classmates.- Constant communication with parents to make sure there is a cohesive growth planWhen we first joined FWM, Binbin made the point that she started FWM because she couldnt find a daycare that she would want to send her own kids to. As a parent herself, she understands what other parents are going through and our concerns. After every school day, Binbin conducts a short debrief at pickup, during which she summarizes the day and what we can do to reinforce the days teachings at home. For example, when our son had some behavioral issues, she highlighted what was done at school and how we can be consistent at home to make sure our son had consistent messaging.

Sh
Review №7

I am writing this review to express my heartfelt appreciation for Fun with Mandarin School. It’s hard to express the gratitude our family feels for the gifted and caring Teachers, engaging and creative curriculum and inclusive community feel of this school.Our son has been attending since September 2020, and sending him here has been a huge blessing in our lives. It’s been a huge stabilizer for us during the chaos of the pandemic.Every day my son proudly shows me his latest art project as he comes joyfully out the door at pick up. The projects are so cool and imaginative, it’s really blown my mind to see what treasure you can make with paper plates, coffee filters, paint and popsicle sticks. They bring so much delight into our home, we have an art gallery going. I am trying to encourage Teacher Ben and BinBin to create a book of the innovative projects they have invented for the kids!What I notice even more is that these projects are tied in to curriculum themes that structure the days and months. The concepts that are introduced in art class continue into the day and provide lots of cohesion for the kids to learn.I’ve watched our son learn about the seasons, food, holidays, and different useful plants in the 6 months he’s been attending. Having taught children myself, I know how much hard work goes into developing a consistently stimulating and fun curriculum as Teachers Ouyang, Lei, BinBin and Ben have!I have also enjoyed the daily pictures and written report of our sons activities that we get every day at pick up. I get to see our son having a blast at school, smiling, laughing and playing with the other children and teachers. It’s nice to have the staff as a touch point for parenting advice and as experienced professionals. They also keep me updated on the San Francisco school system and seem to want to help prepare us for an eventual transition into a great fit.The food at the school looks consistently nutritious and delicious too!Of course we are thrilled that our son is learning Mandarin! We love the multicultural perspective he is getting of the world. He is learning about Chinese holidays and traditions as well as Western holidays. We value the diversity in the kids, and are so grateful that he is being exposed to so many different and enriching experiences each day. It’s been school in the time of COVID, so being able to socialize with parents has been limited unfortunately. That said, parents that I have crossed paths with have been friendly, warm and open to chatting in the small windows of opportunity that we can.TBH, we feel kind of jealous of him sometimes that he gets to go here! I totally would if I could! I often say I wish I could go to school with him! Thank you to all the Teachers, families and kids at Fun with Mandarin!

Ca
Review №8

Our daughters continue to receive compliments on their fluency in Mandarin and how much knowledge they have overall. Our daughters Mandarin Immersion kindergarten teacher recently asked us where she learned her Mandarin from as she was completely impressed with her. We credited Fun With Mandarin and their staff for our daughters performance. It is well known that Fun with Mandarin does not miss a step when it comes to preparing your child for his/her success in school. The dedication they have to their students is apparent and noticed by other schools, our pediatrician, and friends!

We
Review №9

When we were looking for a preschool for our first child, we were mainly looking for two things - a mandarin immersion program and a place where our son can comfortably develop himself socially and emotionally. Fun with Mandarin has definitely met our expectations and then some. The teachers are very nurturing and supportive, which was important for transitioning our son (and us as well) from the care of grandparents to a preschool environment. The healthy hot lunches that are provided make life much easier for me and have helped encourage healthy eating habits for my son outside of school, which is every mothers dream. Im also a fan of the routine updates we get on how the kids are doing. We get daily reports on nap times, what he ate, and general behavior, bi-weekly reports on classroom curriculum and the learning that is going on, and monthly photos/videos of the kids in action.We started at FWM 4 years ago with our first child and now our second one is attending FWM as well. What makes us the happiest is the progress we see in our childrens all-around development. Whether its social-emotional development, language development, or academic readiness, were always amazed and proud of the changes we see in our children. I know the teachers at FWM are instrumental to the growth of our children and are great collaborators in helping with their development.

Na
Review №10

Our daughter has been attending FWM for the past three years (since she was 18 months) and its been a great experience. We do not speak Mandarin at home, and she is constantly teaching us new vocabulary and Chinese songs! Weve loved having her learn a second language at such a young age, but for us, the real value has been in the social skills that Bin Bin and the other teachers have instilled. The school follows the Emilia Reggio philosophy (similar to Montessori) and emphasizes sharing, manners, and other social skills that kids will build on for the rest of their lives. Our daughter has a natural tendency towards being cautious and shy and FWM has really helped pull her out of her shell and build up her confidence in appropriate ways. Bin Bin gives each parent a detailed update on their kids day at pick up each day and she is polite and honest about what your child is already good at and what areas s/he is still practicing. A fantastic school, whether or not having a bilingual child is a goal for your family.

Ja
Review №11

Ive been blown away by how much Mandarin our daughter (4) and son (almost 3) have learned at Fun with Mandarin. They often sing Chinese songs and teach my husband and I new words at home. And their speech is sometimes clearer and more intelligible in Chinese than it is in English even though English is their default/primary language. They even know how to write Chinese characters! Our kids are bilingual and its all thanks to Binbin and her staff.But FWM is more than just a Mandarin immersion school. As other parents have shared, its a stimulating, supportive school where every child is given a lot of love and care as they develop and grow. My daughter and son have completely different personalities but the school has helped them both thrive as theyve learned how to share, make friends, communicate, use the potty, write their names, and much, much more.Here is a non-exhaustive list of the things we love about FWM:--Binbin: enough cant be said about her warmth, passion, and the attention and energy she gives to each child and family. Weve really appreciated the observations and tips shes shared about our childrens development as theyve grown.--Communications: all communications are timely and thoughtful, from texts to personalized verbal updates about each childs day at pickup, to regular emails sharing photos, videos and what the kids are learning and saying at school.--Healthy, home-cooked meals and snacks every day: the food served is balanced and delicious. Im so glad I dont need to pack lunch or worry about our kids not eating enough or well at school.--Rotating theme-based curriculum: our kids love learning about different themes, from seasons, to under the sea, to the solar system. FWM really brings the themes to life with creative activities including cooking/baking, field trips, and art projects (a few fun ones off the top of my head: pajama/sleepover week, pumpkin patch field trip, shadow puppet show, dragon dances, apple pie baking...). Our kids are currently obsessed with sea creatures after the recent under the sea theme.--Creative activities: our kids are always so proud to show us their daily creative artwork projects using a variety of materials, and they also really love the weekly yoga and music classes.--The community of parents and kids: weve really enjoyed meeting other families and seeing FWM friends grow up together.Highly recommend!!

La
Review №12

As a teacher, Binbin is a naturally gifted teacher. As someone who work closely with preschool teacher on a daily basis, my first impression of a good preschool teacher is someone who always gets down to the childrens eye level when talking to them. Binbin always does so. Its a habit that is so ingrained in her that she even kneels down when talking to adults. Another quality in a preschool teacher that isnt able to be trained through any teacher training program is good intuition. Binbin is very intuitive about each childs style, personality, and needs. She is able to adjust her style and approach to meet each individual child at his or her comfort level. Both of our sons have different personality. Our four-year-old is extroverted, verbal, and social but somewhat emotional. Binbin was able to foster his strength and engage him in discussions that cater to his language ability at the same time working with him on regulating his frustration. Our two-year-old is much more introverted and slow to warm up. With our younger son, Binbin takes a slower approach to give him the time and space, at the same time providing him with much care and special attention to adjust to the school when he first started. Binbin was able to work with us and provided additional accommodations, including giving him his favorite snacks from home to, allowing him to carry my shirt and his stuffy from home for comfort. Our younger son does not quickly become comfortable in a new setting or with new people without us around. The fact that by the third day attending the school, he allowed Binbin and the teacher to receive him and hold him at drop off and there was a significant decrease in his crying throughout the day, is a testament to how much attention and comfort he received from all the adults.In addition to being intuitive, Binbin also has a deep understanding of child development and she applies this by setting very developmentally appropriate expectations on the students and challenging their skills at the appropriate moment. Our four-year-old started at FWM when he was 20 months old. When he first started the program, the teachers would write his name on his art work and he was expected to make attempt to trace it. When he turned three, instead of expecting him to trace his name, they started expecting him to write his name. This approach of exposure through natural opportunities, as well as imposing developmentally appropriate expectation to foster the skill, was how our son learned how to write his name effortlessly.A good quality and enriching preschool program is one that does not keep the children busy with reproducible online worksheets. Binbins curriculum is enriching and emphasizes learning through exploration and natural opportunities rather than drill-and-kill. Binbins curriculum include a daily art project that allows the students to freely create when provided with different types of mediums. Through this we were able to see our sons natural skill progression from just scribbling freely on a piece of paper at 20-months old, to simple circles, to simple stick figures, and now different abstracts shapes and figures that illustrate his ideas at four years of age.Lastly, what is most comforted for us as parents is that Binbin is highly involved in the school and she is so detailed-oriented. She is the kind of teacher that people in my field would say have eyes in back of her head because nothing escapes her eyes throughout the day at school. If there is ever an incident at school, which is rare because the staff is always so present supervising the students, Binbin is always able to give a detail account about what happened. Because she is so detailed-oriented and involved, she also always is able to pinpoint areas where the student needs further fostering or encouragement to develop.There is much more we can write about how amazing the program and staff at FWM are. We highly recommend FWM to any parents.

Pa
Review №13

My daughter has been attending FWM for almost a year now and I am so grateful for her time there.FWM offers an nriching theme-based curriculum which has significantly expanded my daughters ability and motivation(!) to both comprehend and express herself in Mandarin. She also has the opportunity to participate in varied and stimulating activities like yoga and music classes and field trips within the community.I really want to stress that first and foremost, Binbin Laoshi is a true educator who has helped not only to support my daughters language development, but also social and emotional skills. She is extremely detail-oriented and thorough, as well as a wonderful communicator who provides valuable feedback at the end of every day to ensure that we can help reinforce behaviors and learning at home and vice versa. It has been so helpful to be on the same page as she has helped with major transitions including starting a new school, potty training, and now introducing a younger sibling into our home.I would gladly recommend FWM to any parent!

Za
Review №14

Our Son has been with FWM for 2 years. We are incredibly proud of his mandarin and it is a testiment to BinBin and her amazing school. Both my wife and I do not speak Mandarin at home, my wife speaks a different dialect of Chinese and we also speak different languages but we wanted our son to speak Mandarin. Over the last 2 years we are impressed with how much our son has evolved with his Mandarin. We hear him singing songs at home and he can describe things entirely in Mandarin.BinBin is also a very caring teacher. When we go to pick up our son after school she is present to give us information on how he did during the day and pays attention to detail on his behavior, eating habits, naps etc. I am also impressed with how BinBin has a theme every month that focuses on things like Planets, Earth, Plants etc that teaches the children to care for the environment. They also take small field trips that help teach children about community and be thankful to people who provide service to community. Our son also developed some great friendships with other children during his time at FWM. FWM also has a fun art program. Our son developed a love for art and looks forward to his art projects at FWM. He has learned to draw a lot and also build art objects. We also like how good manners are taught at the school, conflicts between kids are resolved quickly and sorry cards are written so kids show compassion.If we didnt have to leave San Francisco we would have loved to see our son complete his final year and we are certain he would have tested well. We are very fortunate that his mandarin in the next immersion pre-school will be very good because his foundation is solid. We highly recommend FWM to any parents looking for a mandarin immersion program. We think FWM is the best in San Francisco with good student/teacher ratio and a caring and nurturing staff for any childs development.

Ch
Review №15

Our two boys are currently enrolled in Fun With Mandarin and we all love it.From our perspective (as parents), we highly valued 3 things. The first: Mandarin immersion. We really wanted an environment where our children could get that experience since neither myself nor my husband speak it, but we wanted them to learn it. Second: a nurturing environment for our children no matter what strengths and interests they have. Third: an environment that would help our children grow into compassionate, kind, considerate people. The teaching philosophies at FWM and the priorities of Binbin and her teachers align perfectly with our values, and FWM has exceeded all our expectations.Our oldest is a very high energy three and a half year old. FWM provides constructive outlets for his energy. He enjoys learning a lot about specific topics that interest him and Binbin does a great job of both getting him excited about the topics they are discussing in school as well as giving him opportunities to go deep on those topics. For example, they just finished a unit about the solar system. We are blown away by how much he knows. He can pick out planets at random and tell us which one it is both in English and in Mandarin and tell us what is special about each planet. Binbin communicates what the children are learning about at school in bi-weekly newsletters and at pick-up which makes it easy for us as parents to continue the lessons at home.Were constantly amazed at how quickly his language skills and vocabulary are growing. He speaks in paragraphs in both Mandarin and English, and we obviously cant take any credit for his Mandarin skills.FWM was also instrumental in helping us potty train him. Life has certainly gotten a lot easier now that hes potty trained!Our youngest is also flourishing at FWM even though he has only been there a few months. Binbin has great intuition for his strengths and weaknesses and really understands that while he is constantly following his brother around, that he is a very different child and ensures he follows his own interests and nurtures his personality. Weve seen him mature dramatically and go from speaking random words to complete sentences since he started at FWM. Just tonight, he taught me how to say butterfly in Chinese. Both boys are excited in the morning to go to school, what more could a parent want!We highly recommend FWM and believe its a great place for our children to grow and mature and prepare for the next step, especially if these three things are as important to you as they are to us.

Je
Review №16

Our son was at Fun With Mandarin for almost two years, and he had a wonderful experience. We were so impressed with the level of care, love, nurturing and child-specific attention that was given to him. He developed close bonds with the teachers there and was very much enriched by the curriculum and activities. His Mandarin is excellent, even attending only 2-3 days a week. Binbin and the other teachers are amazing; they truly care about the kids development and well being. Binbin is also extremely responsive and receptive to any concerns you have and will take the time to discuss anything with you. Her level of energy is incredible, and she is so devoted and dedicated to the kids and the program. A lot of time and thought goes into making each day enriching, stimulating, and educational.Our son is very high energy, emotional and intense. Binbin and the other teachers, through their perceptive care and constant positive reinforcement, have taught him how to play well with others and work together in a group. He has developed a love for arts and crafts through the daily art activities they engage in, which he always brought home proudly. Through each theme period, our son has learned so much, about the seasons, different holidays, family, helping out at home, dinosaurs, etc.Our son has truly flourished during his time at FWM. We were so sad to leave after we moved out of SF! FWM is a unique and special place, and I feel very fortunate our son had this experience.

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16 Comments
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  • Address:325 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, CA 94112, United States
  • Site:https://www.funwithmandarinpreschool.com/
  • Phone:+1 415-606-5408
Categories
  • Language school
  • Day care center
  • Preschool
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