Fun With Mandarin Preschool and Day Care

I couldn’t be much happier with FWM preschool for my 2 year old daughter. My husband was interested in our daughter taking a Mandarin class at an early age in order to pick up the difficult tones and accents. After taking her to a local mommy and me class one day a week, I figured an hour a week wasn’t going to do it since neither of us speak Mandarin at home. That’s when I got serious. Hours of exhaustive research later, FWM was at the top of my list. I emailed them to put our names on the waiting list, and got a call just a week or two later to come to an information session. I liked everything I saw and heard that day. Although I was concerned about the full-​day schedule for my 2 year old, I didn’t hesitate to grab one of the last vacancies in her age group. I’ve seen my daughter flourish in just a few short months.
FWM offers:
— Warm and cheerful home-​like environment
— Attentive and affectionate staff
— Child directed approach to learning and discovery
— Education themes are current and relevant
— Weekly music and movement class by Jamaroo Kids
— Field trips to library, firehouse, local merchants
— Healthy home-​cooked meals & snacks
— Excellent outdoor play yard with a potted garden the children help tend
— Children learn self help and social skills
Something I would like to see more of is some parental involvement whether it be occasional volunteering in the classroom or school, parent/​child breakfast or lunch, and maybe a demonstration of what they are learning (song, recital, etc). Regardless, I would be happy with FWM even if it were an English program. The fact that my daughter is learning Mandarin in such an environment is icing on the cake.

Our family had a great experience with FWM. Our son was only 20 months old when he started and it was his first experience spending significant time away from home without his parents. After a week he started showing anxiety about going to school (crying on drop-​off and before nap time). Weeks later he had a big smile on his face when he was being dropped off and I credit the FWM teachers for the quick transition– showering him with love, giving him special attention, and being attentive to his interests.
Bin runs a very rich program for the children. They have well-​thought-​out educational themes every week and creative project/​programming for the kids around the themes, from construction projects to visitors to field trips. Bin works extremely hard running the program and it shows. She bends over backwards to entertain the kids *and* meet the parents’ needs. For example, when we had to change some days around due to nanny scheduling she was very honest and communicative about what she had flexibility to do and made it work. She even allowed our son to stay on his «compostable diaper service» while at school. Bin sends out «preschool action shots» on a regular basis as well as an update on educational themes which we enjoy.
Our only reason for leaving FWM is the commute time. We just couldn’t manage it anymore. However, our whole family will definitely miss FWM and if the commute time can be solved we’ll to back to FWM in a heartbeat.

So, turns out Aiden has other social, «special» needs that had nothing to do with BinBin. He’s 6.5 year old now. Turns out he’s a good little boy with lots of challenging behaviors. Sigh! But, he’s mine, and I love him. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Anyways, he was one of BinBin’s first students. However, she is a wonderful teacher now that I look back. Give her a try. I doubt you will regret it.

We toured a number of different Mandarin immersion schools and decided on Fun With Mandarin because of the excellent teacher to student ratio, the comprehensiveness of the program (social, emotional, cognitive, and linguistic development are all seen as priorities), the degree to which Teacher Binbin and the other teachers have effectively applied modern educational concepts to the organization of the school and the teaching. Our experience with Fun With Mandarin so far has been beyond our expectations. We have been impressed by the attentiveness with which the teachers have shown my son, the great variety of activities that he has gotten to share in, the unique child-​friendly artwork that he brings home on a daily basis and which he obviously enjoys making and sharing, and the joy that he gets out of learning Mandarin and being with his friends and teachers at school.
My son is excited to come into school and he likes to share some of the highlights with me, with or without a little encouragement, like new words that he has learned, new songs, and activities that he has enjoyed. He always talks about how much he likes the teachers and even talks about how he wants to be a teacher when he grows up too. This is an obvious sign of the dedication the teachers have to creating a secure and fun environment where the kids can really grow and learn.
I know that the teachers do their best to make sure that all of the children have a great environment in which to grow and in which their needs are always paid attention to. I almost can’t imagine a more stimulating and child-​friendly environment!

Just wanted say a few words for this great place that our 3 year old has been going to for the past year. We really wanted him to be able to experience being around other children instead of being home with our parents. Fun with Mandarin was the perfect place that we were looking for. Not only is he having fun with other kids but also learning a second language from a teaching environment instead of just daycare that watches kids. I really appreciate how much thought Bin Bin and the other instructors put into the physical, mental and nutritional support that our child receives there. He enjoys the trips and brings home projects that he has worked on while at school. I really couldn’t ask for anything more from this school.

While we want to be careful to not upset FWM’s carefully cultivated 5-​star rating (after all, she did sent out emails after the first year that strongly encouraged us to «leave comments on Unilocal about how [our child] has benefited from her time at FWM» and that they «would consider anything less than five stars as a failure»), we feel that sharing a more complete picture of our experience over the past 2 years would actually be in the best interest of anyone looking into MI preschools for their child. No doubt Binbin is a talented teacher who’s great with kids as well as parents, impressively recounting details about each child. But the real reason we had chosen her facility was that we were looking for a genuine mandarin immersion environment. About 6 months ago however, at age 3.5, our child began exhibiting and communicating repeatedly her reluctance to return each day. She even kept asking to go to a new school, despite the fact that she got along well with all the other kids as she’s always had, so it wasn’t as if she just wanted to be at home.
It never occurred to us that despite all her friends there that perhaps she might have outgrown her surroundings and there was no effort being made to offer her more engagement or stimulation. When my wife brought this up to Binbin early on, she insisted that it wasn’t the case and that our child was doing well and having a great time (and would follow up with emails continuing to refute any concerns while emphasizing her «tremendous progress» and «how much she has benefited since being at FWM»). But the sad looks from our child that often deteriorated into whining pleas to not go back didn’t let up until she knew it was her last day.
Looking back, we noticed that around the time that our child started having her change of enthusiasm, Binbin also was ramping up her operations. In mid-​October she took in an additional number of younger kids which her mother living downstairs was in charge of, while upstairs she kept the 3 – 5.5 year olds. Around the same she converted an extra room into her office so that there was just one main room for the kids inside. When talking to our child about school, we soon discovered that Binbin would stay in her new office for extended periods during the day, or perhaps be somewhere else. Which leaves the kids in the care of her 2 assistants, very friendly, caring ladies I’m sure, but according to my wife, they’re not native mandarin speakers. What’s more, while Binbin’s husband (known to the kids as Uncle Ben) is able to be a continual presence, he is not a replacement for Binbin, least of all since he only spoke English with the kids as we were told.
Now if FWM’s fees were more in line with other family childcare providers, the fact that her assistants do not speak mandarin with the same lovely accent or that Uncle Ben doesn’t make an effort to speak chinese wouldn’t be an issue. But they’re right in line with other MI preschools located in large, dedicated facilities that offer extracurricular activities and field trips to not just the local library with teachers who don’t have to do double duty as cooks and who knows what else. But our justification for spending so much on daycare was so that Binbin could interact with the kids as much as possible. To us, for a while, that was worth it. But with the increase in kids, her role has become more an administrator than a hands-​on teacher. Between 2 floors of kids, maintaining her business operations, monitoring her online presence like a hawk, going out for her pre-​natal appointments (parents were sent an email informing us of her pregnancy once she was well into her 3^rd trimester, which came as a complete surprise to us all), there’s only so much of her to go around.
So it was no surprise yet somewhat a relief to learn of similar experiences and feelings towards FWM from various other families we managed to talk to. Connecting with other families, btw, is yet another area where FWM is uniquely different from other preschools who all seem to foster an active parent community. It appeared that she would actively discourage any parent-​to-​parent connection that didn’t go through her first. Binbin even went out of her way to break up a conversation that my wife was having with another parent, going so far as to come back down to the front gate after going upstairs with the kids and announcing there was «something she needed to discuss» with the other parent (who later told my wife there was actually nothing important, just a really lame excuse to break up a conversation by parents who she guessed might be comparing notes). But as difficult as it was, we discovered that all the parents we were able to connect with were enthusiastic and happy to be part of a group where we could all stay in touch, arrange playdates, and share resources and information. This is also how we discovered all the alternative places where former FWM classmates have gone. Too bad we didn’t look into them sooner.

Being a first-​time mother, I have been constantly worried whether I was doing everything right for my son. Although I’m not sure about everything, there is one thing I’m glad I chose for him that is to go to Fun with Mandarin.
My son has always been a bit difficult since infant especially about napping, feeding himself and socializing with people. Before Fun with Mandarin, I almost felt embarrassed to take him to any play group because he would just cry and scream and stick to me like glue. The first week at Fun with Mandarin when he was 22 months, I was so anxious and thought the school would call me any minute to bring him home. But not one time! From the photos we receive regularly, he looks so happy, so curious and so engaged in the variety of activities.
Now after 8 months, he is eating a variety of good food and tells us we should all eat more healthy food less junk food. At playgroup, we recently got quite bit of compliments about how independent he is about ideas. He is also showing compassion crying kids, checks if they are okay and sings a little song to comfort them. These are the exact benefits I am looking for from a day care, and I’m so glad Fun with Mandarin is making it happen for my son.
And most importantly the language, he speaks Mandarin most of the time and form fairly long sentences with good grammar and logic. He also brings up about his teachers a lot during the weekend or when we travel, which show how he really loves them and how truly caring the teachers are.
Everyday to pick him up is something our family look forward to, because Binbin will spend as much time to tell you what he’s achieved and what kind of amazing things he did or said that day. I feel very lucky to be a Fun with Mandarin Parent and would sincerely recommend it to those who are seeking bilingual environment with lots of love/​care and ideas.

Great Mandarin Immersion Preschool/​Day Care!
All the teachers are loving and attentive and create a warm friendly and safe environment! Our 3 year old daughter has been going to this school for about a year now and I have to say she has grown so much within this year.
The head teacher Bin Bin has done a great job to keep us up to date at every pick up with what our child is learning and let’s us know what areas she can use help in.
Bin Bin has helped our daughter:
1) Socially and Emotionally
2) With Potty Training
3) Teaching her Mandarin
4) Leadership Skills
My daughter has come home saying words and singing songs in mandarin.
They have monthly lesson plans and will keep us up to date through email what they are learning and how we can assist at home and also send us photos specific for our child!
What is also good is that they take the kids to the library to experience the special events that are going on and also have taken trips to whole foods to let the kids experience what is healthy food and what is not.
We are very happy and fortunate to be able to get into this school!

We were seeking a Mandarin immersion experience for our daughter and son but we got so much more in addition to the full language immersion at the Fun with Mandarin Preschool (FWM). Bin Bin Laoshi (teacher) is a true child whisperer. She is very in tune with our children’s emotional and physical health. Bin Bin has helped our daughter come out of her shell with subtle, yet effective encouragement. Our daughter is now a confident FWM graduate who speaks her mind. Bin Bin is also gently pushing our son to lead the group as the «little teacher». With Bin Bin’s loving persistence, we have no doubt that our son will also blossom like his older sister. Upon pickup after his first day of preschool, the first thing our son said was «I like Bin Bin Laoshi» and he rarely makes such comments. Our daughter misses Bin Bin Laoshi and suggested a new pickup scheme so that she can see her. From our children’s comments, we know that Bin Bin has bonded with them immensely.
Bin Bin Laoshi and the other teachers have also supported their physical health. They have diligently provided vitamin supplements to keep both kids in tip top shape. They even learned to use a fingertip oximeter to monitor the kids when they are under the weather. Our daughter slept during nap everytime at FWM but nowhere else. Our son had phenomenal potty training success at FWM despite little progress at home. Our children thrives at FWM and here are a few more reasons why we love FWM.
–Always greeted with smiles; positive energy permeates the entire school
–Daily detailed feedback and update so we know exactly how our child is doing
–Great support during Kindergarten application process; daily feedback helped us decide on the school that fit our daughter best
–Garden-​to-​table experience: Children care for the garden and get to taste the fruits of their labor.
–Effective, emotionally intelligent discipline
–Encourage independence
–Visits to local library, merchants and visit by fireman
–Healthy selection and variety for lunch menu
–Monthly Google Picasa photo album
–Biweekly learning summary including our favorite section with the children’s verbatim responses to questions posed during circle
–Mutual respect and good teamwork amongst teachers
–Moments to be the «Little Teacher»
–Support for poetry recital and public speaking skills
–1:4 to 1:6 teacher to student ratio

Our experience at FWM can only be characterized as phenomenal. FWM is a terrific school even if it didn’t teach mandarin. The fact that my kids are learning mandarin is like the cherry on top of a tasty sundae!
The lead teacher, Bin Ge, is intuitive to kids emotional needs and really works with the kids to learn good social skills when interacting with other children. I have seen her navigate conflicts between children. She begins by asking what happened. She will continue asking questions in a friendly, inquisitive manner until she gets the whole story. Then she helps the children understand how to work out their differences and make amends as necessary. She might help a child decide to make a «sorry» card for the other child, give a hug, or set a timer for when a toy will be shared. The way she navigates this teaches the kids to take responsibility for their actions and learn how to deal with conflicts successfully on their own.
The kids do open-​ended art projects each day exploring the topic being studied. In a recent project on «sound», my daughter brought home artwork of children playing at a playground. All of the people in the scene had waves emanating from them. When I asked about the work, she explained that the lines coming out from them were the noises they were making — kids playing on a merry go round, a plane flying overhead, and a small child crying after falling down. She is exploring topics using her many senses. Other topics they have studied in the last year are «healthy/​junk foods», «America», and «reducing, reusing, and recycling». The topics are chosen based on what the kids express intrinsic interest in. These topics have greatly affected my daughter. For instance, in the healthy/​junk food topic, the kids were encouraged to try many fruits and vegetables. Prior to this topic, my daughter was convinced she hated all tomatoes, but during this topic she learned that she likes big tomatoes, but not cherry tomatoes. Of her own choice, she has decided to avoid cake because it is unhealthy. In studying America, they continued exploring the healthy/​junk food topic. The kids made apple pie, but a healthier version. All of these topics are well thought out by the teachers with interesting experiments and activities incorporated.
Then there is the mandarin. My husband and I are non-​mandarin speaking caucasians originally from Oklahoma. Our family was really of mixed emotions when we decided to go this route. Some thought it was wonderful. Others thought we were crazy. But now seeing our daughter speak mandarin is a source of pride for all of us. After 1.5 years at FWM, she tested as fluent by the SF public school system. She speaks to mandarin speakers at playgrounds, restaurants, hair salons, etc. They are always a bit shocked and amazed at how well she speaks mandarin. Many native speakers express awe at how accurate her tones are. Our daughter is also so proud at being able to speak mandarin A few months ago, she told me that she is part-​Chinese. It was kind of humorous in some ways given her clear non-​asian ancestry, but also quite sweet. She has a whole new culture she identifies with because of this language.
I could go on and on about the fantastic new house Bin Ge has moved the school to, the astounding 1:4 ratio during the majority of the day, healthy lunches/​snacks prepared for the kids, the great school community, the support Bin Ge provides through the elementary school selection process, etc., etc., but I should really only take up so much space. Suffice it to say, we feel so fortunate to have found this school and had the privilege of our kids learning from such dedicated, loving teachers.

After having our daughter here for a year, she is having conversations in Mandarin with strangers. No adults in our family speak Mandarin, but we have had several friends comment on how clearly she speaks.
We now have all three of our kids at this school.
Binbin, the lead teacher and owner, is bright in every sense of the word. She is always upbeat and full of energy. She also has some great skills with both children and adults. Not only has she taught our children emotional strength and independence, but she has also partnered with us to meet each of our kids needs at home and at school.
If you get lucky enough to reach the top of the waiting list, I strongly recommend this school.

We were introduced to this preschool by our good friends and after a quick tour at this school, we were happy to be able to enroll our daughter when she was roughly 2 years old, almost 2 years ago. She was shy and not talking much when she started but after a few months there, she became confident and started to grow and learn a lot!
I love the school’s teaching style because it is catered to what the kids are interested in at the moment so they can thrive and teach each other about the topics. The teachers are wonderful and loving towards the kids and foster a very sweet and compassionate environment. I have heard of so many friends with kids who come back saying their kids became aggressive because they had to fend for themselves while at daycare. This has NEVER happened to our kid and if there are any signs of conflict, the teachers work with the kids immediately in a gentle and understanding manner so the issue gets resolved between the kids.
I also have to say that I am thoroughly impressed by their teaching skills. We don’t speak any Mandarin at home but my daughter is essentially fluent when I hear her speak with the teachers or her friends at school. My Mandarin-​speaking relatives and friends are even more impressed because she can communicate with them!
The kids are exposed to lots of different learning opportunities and themes including a variety of arts and crafts, helping the teachers make dumplings, singing, dancing, holiday fun, foods, etc. She came home one day and expressed interest in artichokes. We went to the farmer’s market to buy and cook them! It is really awesome when my daughter comes home expressing interest to learn more about things we might not have thought to teach her about. Okay, the best shocker I ever received was when we were at a public place waiting, and my kid started belting out the 50 states… she’s only 3 :). Oh, and the teachers make super yummy and healthy food for the kids.

When my husband and I first drove up to Fun with Mandarin for our scheduled school tour, I have to admit I was skeptical based on the outside appearance. However, our impression completely changed once we stepped in the front door, met Bin Bin and learned about the program. We left wondering whether this was too good to be true.
Our 2.5 year old daughter, just-​turned 5 year old son and 2.5 year nephew have all been at Fun with Mandarin now for almost a year and the school is absolutely wonderful in every sense. Bin Bin is one of the most dynamic teachers I have ever met. Our kids arrive home singing Mandarin songs and their Mandarin abilities are advancing in leaps and bounds. They now often tell us something in Mandarin and then say «this means —- in Chinese.» Bin Bin sends monthly emails keeping all the parents informed as to what the weekly themes are (based on the kids interests) and what the kids are learning. As we are looking for the right kindergarden for our son, we keep hoping to have a teacher that reminds us even a little of Bin Bin.
Fun With Mandarin provides the kids with a healthy lunch and snacks every day. We were quite surprised when saw in photos (which are emailed along with videos once a month) that our finicky son actually eats vegetables happily at school!
We feel extremely fortunate that our kids are able to be at Fun with Mandarin. I can tell you that every parent I have ever talked to at the school would say the same. For the reviewer who had disparaging remarks about the school based on superficial appearances, your little one sure missed out. There is a long wait list (sure to get longer as word gets out about this gem) so for parents looking you’ll want to get on the list sooner than later!

This preschool has been great for our daughter. She has attended for about 3 months now and loves every day. It is extremely comforting when you go away on vacation for a week or so and then the day you bring her back and pull up to the school she screams «hooray!».
She loves the teachers. They are very kind and gentle and have a wonderful way with children really understanding how they develop and function. All the teachers are exceptionally qualified in early education training and all speak Mandarin fluently. Our daughter is singing songs in Mandarin now and speaking a little here and there when previous to attending this school had zero exposure to the language.
The school provides meals for the children as well, takes them outside to the park each day (weather permitting), has different themes each month that make the focus of each day very clear to the children, and they do art projects everyday. Our house is filled with the beautiful artwork!
We couldn’t be happier with this school and are thrilled that our daughter is attending and has such wonderful teachers and children (she has so many new friends!) around her when we cannot be.
I give this school the highest rating.

I’m so glad that our daughter goes to Fun With Mandarin. She goes two days per week, and has learned an enormous amount of Chinese in just over a year. It’s pretty impressive when she’s singing songs and chatting away in Mandarin! (We are considering sending her to Mandarin-​immersion public school in San Francisco.)
But perhaps more importantly, I feel that BinBin (and the other staff) truly cares about each of the children. My daughter is thrilled to go to school each day, takes a good nap at school, eats a very healthy lunch (provided by the school), and is encouraged to be kind to others. What more could I want in a preschool?
There is structure, but the children’s play is guided by their own interests. In fact, the staff spends time observing the children and allowing the children’s interests to determine the «themes» that they focus on. For example, they focused on farm animals for a while, and I’ve been astounded not just by the amount of information my daughter has learned about particular animals, but by the appreciation that she has for farms in general. They have discussions in which the children’s opinions are valued, and I can tell that my daughter is benefitting from the respect that she is given.
The school takes every precaution to keep the kids safe, and I feel that they’ve gotten to know my daughter’s unique traits; they sometimes seem to understand and appreciate her more than I do! I feel very lucky to have found Fun With Mandarin.
Good luck in your daycare/​preschool search!

Kirk, I am truly saddened by reading your review to a wonderful preschool/​daycare. The facility is definitely a lot bigger than you described, and there are more kids in the school. Sounds like you’ve gotten a peek inside from merely standing outside the door. Some of the flowers and grass were pulled out in the front of the house, so right now there are only some lily flowers. I have seen some grand preschools in China that I have not yet seen anything close to in America. It is extremely rare to find a school founder as genuinely passionate about kids and teaching as Teacher Binbin at FWM, which makes it really unfair and heartfelt to read your review. The school has been inspected for safety required by law, so the terrace in the backyard is definitely not dangerous. My daughter, as well as her classmates, learn a lot, love the teachers, and most importantly, are happy there. The facility and the teachers have won 60+ kids on the waiting list, and that alone should speak for the quality of the school!

We like Fun With Mandarin. My daughter started going there when she just turned three and four months later she could read more than 100 Chinese characters. Not only she is growing academically, her social skills also improved a lot. For the first time she is making friends on her own and were able to perform in front a strange crowd of parents and children in a poem recital competition.
This school has a teacher children ratio of 3:12 vs. all the other ones I’ve seen so far for 2:24. The teachers there are all patient and experienced. Teacher Binbin always gives us recaps of my daughter’s day and little achievements she’s made during pickups or drop offs. I doubt any other school does that.
We highly recommend this school if you want to give your little ones the quality care and education!

We are sad to see our sons leave Fun with Mandarin. If our family were not moving away from the county, we would have stayed another year. After caring full time for our twin sons for approximately one year, it is our belief Fun with Mandarin Preschool and Day Care was a highly safe, warm, and effective learning environment for our toddlers. As non-​mandarin speaking parents, we can give this 5 star recommendation without hesitation. Teacher Binbin was gentle and responsible at every turn in our sons’ development of their language skills, as well as being mindful of their emotional and intellectual development. She gave us daily summaries of what the children were learning, provided photographs of the children at school showing them happy and healthy, and Binbin was easy to talk to. Please give Fun with Mandarin a try. You and your child will be glad you did!

Teacher Bin Bin is a real gem. Our son started with her school in June this year and we can’t be happier. In mere two weeks, our son has made progress beyond our expectations in both social skills and language abilities. Most importantly, he is HAPPY there. Teacher Bin Bin has tons of experience and great enthusiasm for early childhood education. She keeps us updated via photos and videos, and is very responsive to our questions and requests. We feel so fortunate to have found Bin Bin and her school!