The Wait Is Over

We finally received that very important piece of mail regarding the Chinese Immersion Program:

we will have a Mandarin Chinese speaking child in our home shortly!

Colby is very excited about this awesome opportunity. I don't think he really knows what it entails but he has not once said he didn't want to do it, even when told he would have none of his friends in the class with him. We are very proud of him for wanting to pursue something like this. Now the guessing game has been taken out of wondering what track he will be on and what teacher he has, we now know all of that. He will be on C track (which I don't really like because he starts school for three weeks and then goes off track in August) and his English teacher will be Ms. Timothy. Also, he will have to attend a week long summer camp from July 12th-July 16th so he can get to know his fellow Chinese Immersion classmates and teachers before school starts as well as some learning and fun.

Since my last post we have learned a little more about the curriculum and I thought I'd share a little of the information with you.

The daily instruction will be done half in English half in Chinese. He will have two teachers, one for English and one for Chinese. Chinese instruction will occur in math, science and related arts content areas. In class, the Chinese teacher speaks only in Mandarin and communicates using a range of engaging strategies including pictures, songs, games, body language, expressions, pantomime, drama, etc. Children at this age are adept at picking up language in the meaningful contexts. After a brief period at the beginning of the year, students too will speak only in Mandarin during Chinese class.

Math in Chinese-90 minutes
Integrated curriculum in Chinese-45 minutes
Chinese Literacy-45 minutes
English Language Arts-135 minutes (reading, writing, spelling)
Integrated curriculum in English-45 minutes

So for the remainder of his elementary years this his how Colby will be taught. Next time you see him, wish him well and congratulate him on making such a great decision. I'm sure most kids would not want to participate in something like this knowing they will not be with their friends any longer. I can't wait to see Colby excel in this and to see him with all his new Chinese speaking friends.