Early Learners (1 – 3 years old)

Parent/caregiver & child group classes in full language immersion

Suitable for children up to the calendar year that they turn 3 years old. Children turning 4 or 5 years old in the calendar year should begin in the Prep classes.

These engaging group classes use music, rhymes, songs, games and movement to teach the Mandarin Chinese language. Our teaching activities and games help to build your children’s Mandarin language skills over time. Children will also learn Mandarin Chinese through popular action songs and rhymes we have grown up with in New Zealand, and some common Chinese nursery rhymes. Your child will gain familiarity with and confidence in speaking Mandarin Chinese – won’t notice that they are picking up the language as it will be fun and games for them!

The range of ages in class is beneficial for the younger and older children. The younger children benefit as they see the older ones as role models and it encourages them to copy and try things out. The older children benefit as it provides them with more leadership opportunities in class.

There is a maximum of 12 children per class. A parent/caregiver accompanies their child to all classes and actively participates with their child in the singing, movement and activities during the session.

What happens in class?

We follow a structured curriculum that covers a range of themes through the year. The 45 minute class involves full body movement, stories, games and interactive activities, involving the use of fun or “real life” props. This class also introduces learning to recognise some basic Chinese written characters (visual familiarity only – these classes are not reading and writing classes). We also have fun writing activity sheets available if you are interested. The class follows the same curriculum as the School Aged class, so there is a smooth transition to the older aged class for your child.