American kids enjoy early Chinese learning By Mu Dong (Xinhua)    09:45, June 02, 2014 In a classroom decorated with paintings featuring Chinese folk tales and cute symbols ofChinese characters, a dozen of local children, from five to eight years old, are performingpopular Chinese songs, such as “Daddy, where are we going” and “Stars in the Sky.” Anna, a seven-year-old girl, has studied Chinese for two years in the Confucius Classroomof Washington Yuying Public Charter School, a Chinese-immersion educationorganization. Founded in 2008, the school is aimed to inspire and prepare kids to create a better worldby challenging them to reach their full potential in a nurturing Chinese educationalenvironment. So far, the school’s steady development and great progress of its Chinese-immersionteaching model have captured widespread attention. From Monday to Friday every week, Anna spends two hours learning Chinese here,enjoying the charm of the language by writing characters, playing games, and reciting the”Three Character Primer,” or San Zi Jing, one of the ancient Chinese classic texts. Please read more here.

Coronado School is opening a free Chinese Mandarin Program for kindergarten and first grade students beginning Fall 2014. They district did a very nice video introducing the program to families, which is a brilliant way to cheaply and easily get the information out to a broad range of families. Check it out here. ===== From…

To paraphrase a book I read recently. The wonderful parents at Broadway Elementary School in Los Angeles have made a stellar brochure about their Mandarin immersion program. Seeing as programs nationwide don’t compete, I’d like to suggest that anyone who wants to might use it as a template for a brochure at your school.  (Hope that’s…

Gov. Markell applauds growth of language immersion program in weekly message By WDDE 91.1 FM May 31, 2014 Video Governor Jack Markell’s Weekly Message In this week’s message, Gov. Jack Markell (D-Delaware) is touting the success of educating Delaware children in different languages for part of the school day. Established two years ago, the world…

Note the tidbit below in The China Daily. There’s a market for English immersion in the U.S. among Chinese families. A Mandarin immersion school could have some interesting synergies with such a program, as the folks at Avenues clearly see. They’re also opening a school in China in the next year or so. Beth ==== http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2014-05/26/content_17540521.htm “Avenues, a New York-based…

This article is from a great blog called InCulture Parent, which I highly recommend bookmarking. How This Single Working Mom Raised a Trilingual Kid By Carmen Cordovez maria and her daughter (c) incultureparent Maria came to San Francisco from Zacatecas, Mexico as a teenager. She crossed the border illegally with the husband she married in her…

The Phoenix, Arizona school District is launching a 50.50 Mandarin immersion program in the Whispering Wind Academy. The school’s site says its  mission “is to cultivate, lead, and inspire ALL students to become innovative thinkers and life-long learners through a challenging, meaningful, and engaging curriculum emphasizing Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Global Geography. ” The school’s…