Iβve been very busy last week. This explains why Project 365 has taken a back seat; hopefully I can get back on track soon.
Well, the good news is – TWO issues that have been bugging me for the past few weeks have been resolved now. Yay! First, itβs about finding a Chinese Enrichment class for Little Edison, which Iβll be sharing in this post. Second, itβs about the search for our part-time helper. Iβll blog about it when I have time.
I read a lot of reviews on the various Chinese Enrichment schools in Singapore, and Iβve also gathered some feedbacks from my friends. After some discussions with V, we narrowed our options down to THREE. These are the 3 schools that weβve shortlisted:
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Hua Language Centre (at Greenwich)
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Course fees per term: $380, Material fees per term: $20 [Total: $400]
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Duration: 2 hours per session, 10 sessions per term
This is the most expensive school among the three. Hua Language Centre has recently opened a new branch in Greenwich V. At this point, I donβt see a lot of students yet. In general, the school is highly- recognized as an effective Chinese Language enrichment program with good track record in PSLE Chinese results for the past 15 years. I have no doubt in their teaching method.
We wanted a Sunday morning class, and fortunately, there are still vacancies available. The language is taught through a special reading program, games, sing-along, story-telling and oral activities. He will be trained to recognize Chinese strokes, their variations and the order in which they are written.
We paid $38 for a trial class. After the two-hour lesson (which I think is quite long), our boy walked out of the classroom in a daze. Maybe he was confused or over-loaded with too many Chinese words. I spoke to the teacher and she commented that our boy didnβt pay much attention in the class and his proficiency in Chinese Language is still very limited.
When she found out that we never speak Chinese at home, she began to understand his lack of interest in the language. Nonetheless, itβs still not too late to enroll him and she believes that heβll be able to catch up after a few lessons.
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Berries (at Hougang Central)
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Course fees per term: $385.20, Material fees per term: $5.85 [Total: $391.05]
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Duration: 1hr 45 mins per session, 12 sessions per term
Berries is indeed the most popular Chinese Enrichment school in Singapore. The weekend classes are all fully-booked. The only available timing is weekday 5:00pm, which is not favorable for us. Our boy usually naps at 4:30pm and I can imagine his grumpy face when he has to wake up at 4:45pm to go to school.
Furthermore, I donβt wish to add additional responsibility to my parents-in-law to fetch him to and from enrichment class on weekday. We were placed on their waiting list for Sunday class, but I donβt expect to get any miracle call from them.
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Tien Hsia (at Kovan Heartland Mall)
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Course fees per term: $290, Material fees per term: $0 [Total: $290]
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Duration: 1.5 hours per session, 10 sessions per term
This is another highly-rated Chinese Enrichment school. They have very limited vacancies for weekend classes now, and we were offered a Sunday afternoon slot as well as a free trial class. The duration of each session is 1.5 hours, which I think is most ideal.
After the trial class, I spoke to the teacher. This time, I was not surprised when she told me that our boy was not paying attention in the class and his complete lack of interest in the language. What really puzzles me is that our boy refused to attend the class anymore.
Personally, I dislike the environment in this branch. The lift leading up to the school stinks because of the durian stalls in the street level. The corridor and waiting area outside the school are crowded and chaotic when the classes dismiss, and the toilets are dirty.
The pro of this school, however, is that it doesnβt require any deposit, registration or material fee. Itβs the cheapest among the three, and their trial class is free too!
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Conclusion
Our aim is to provide Little Edison with more exposure to Chinese Language so that he will cultivate interest in it. We enrolled him at Hua Language Centre. If any case, if weβre so lucky to get a miracle call from Berries, we will still be able to switch from Hua to Berries (if we want to).
Now, we have English Phonics class on Saturday and Chinese Enrichment class on Sunday. Itβs going to be FUN! Whatβs next?!
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curious. read the phonics post and now the chinese post, it seems the teachers are indicating that more work can be done with Edison’s language.
wonder if you consider whether is it the weekday classes in school not doing enough?
Hi SY,
I would say that his kindy is doing the basic stuffs. With the higher standards in primary school now, I’m a little worried that he is not sufficiently prepped. That’s why I’m putting him into enrichment classes.
His school hours is only 3 hours. Minus one hour for meal, play and toilet breaks, effective learning is just 2 hours a day. Not forgetting school holidays and stuffs. Thus, it’s tough for them to cover too much. But the basic skills are there.
So far, he enjoys his class at Jan & Elly. No regret putting him there. We will evaluate the Chinese class, hopefully he will enjoy it too.
My twins do Berries and it takes a bit of getting used to but it’s interactive and repetitive (in a good way) enough for them to learn. I think the standards are very high and I sometimes wonder at how necessary it is… but what I like about it is, no matter how ‘high’ the standard is, they make it accessible to the children and the children are actually able to see their own progress and achievement. That helps them feel that it’s not too hard and it can be done.
I go to the ORchard Road branch so I understand what you mean about the crowds! But you could always try another branch.
Good luck!
Hi Emily
Just saw your post and there is another berries branch at punggol CC (opp Hougang Mall). Am thinking of signing her up if I decided to put her in a church kindy.
By the way, which kindy is Edison in?
Dear Serene,
The Berries Punggol CC branch (opp Hougang Mall) was the one that I called, but their weekend classes are all full. I was put on waiting list, but so far, no call from them yet. If you are keen on weekday classes, I think they still have some vacancies.
For security reasons, I don’t publish the name of my boy’s school here. But you can always e-mail me to discuss. Thanks for your understanding.
Saw ur blogs and found many useful info π by the way just curious when did you start to let ur child go for enrichment class? What make you decide to sent?
My son is 3 yr old now and did not enroll him in any enrichment class except for some trial classes. Many ppl around me send their child to such classes at his age, some even earlier. So kind of feeling the pressure and not sure if I should start him on enrichment class now. Wonder if you can advise?
Hi,
Would like to check is your dear son still in Hua Enrichment, would like to know more feedback. As I would like to enrol my girl K1 at Greenwich branch.
Thank you.
Dear Wendy,
Yes, my son started his Chinese enrichment class at Hua Greenwich branch since mid last year. He’s currently with Wen Lao Shi (very nice and pretty teacher). I think she’s also teaching K1 classes, she might be teaching your girl too. π
Thanks Emily for replied. So far have you seen any improvement after 6 months attending at HUA. What do you think about Edison’s progress in Chinese?
Hi Wendy,
My boy is in his 4th month now, there are some improvements in reading and comprehension skills.
Hi Emily, do you find the Chinese enrichment effective on your Son? Does he enjoys the lesson after a year?
Hi Emily,
How is your boy doing now in Hua language. Read your blog and wanted to enroll my girl in Jan & Elly for English. Then suddenly she said that she wanted to go for chinese Enrichment. Does your boy enjoy chinese or the english enrichment more? Can please ask him?
Thank you.
Hi Jasmine,
My boy certainly enjoyed his English lesson more because that’s his favourite subject! In addition, the lessons at Jan&Elly are fun and engaging, thus he loved attending the lessons.
Nonetheless, I felt that Chinese enrichment is a MUST for non-Chinese speaking family like me. As my boy is taking Higher Chinese, it’s even more difficult for him. Thus, the enrichment lesson at HUA Language really helps him a lot. He’s still at Hua Language this year. So far, their lessons have been good. His teacher is very caring as well.
My boy attend berries in hougang, k2. It is really teacher dependent. Last 2 yrs the teacher is really good but this yr, I saw it drop significantly. I can’t really change the timing, therefore no choice but to keep to the class
So I believe any School is fine as long as there is a motivated teacher. I have more fear as I saw the P1 is taking 30 students or more for one class. No matter how motivating, it can’t reach or focus that much per student….. poor children…