Mandarin Chinese Preschool in San Francisco

Presidio Knolls School, San Francisco:
Located on Lombard Street, San Francisco, near the Bay, Presidio Knolls School is a non-profit Mandarin-immersion Reggio Emilia inspired pre-school. Our school comprises of a dedicated, generous group of parents and teachers who are committed to providing a multi-lingual, multi-cultural English and Mandarin Chinese environment where children can freely develop their gifts and interests. Since the inception of the school in February 2008, the faculty and parents have been working very hard to realize these goals. Teachers and staff members undergo extensive training before ever stepping into the classroom, and all our teachers receive ongoing training.

Presidio Knolls mission is to provide a multi-lingual, multi-cultural environment where children can freely develop their gifts and interests. Children should be the driving force behind what they learn. Instead of being led, we encourage our children to actively direct. Therefore, it is our mission to provide the necessary tools and language skills in a loving environment so that children, at an early age, will be equipped to succeed in this globalizing world.

Our Goals:
* Creating a joyful environment to nurture / develop relationships and co-construct knowledge.
* Encouraging experiential learning, exploration, and self-expression.
* Fostering curiosity that inspires a lifelong passion for learning.
* Developing language proficiency and cultural awareness to thrive in a global world.

Our Approach:
The teachers have infused Chinese traditions, such as ancient poetry and festival celebrations, into the program to foster cultural awareness and expose our children to more sophisticated vocabularies.

- Preschool programs
- Kindergarten programs

* We offer a Reggio Emilia inspired teaching philosophy in a Mandarin immersion classroom. Bilingual Mandarin Chinese and English program.

* We teach Chinese traditions, such as ancient poetry and festival celebrations, into the program to foster cultural awareness and expose our children to more sophisticated vocabularies.

* We also offer Summer Camps.

In summary, the classroom of Reggio Emelia curriculum combines some characteristics of both developmental programs (or play based programs) and Montessori. One central element in this approach is the emphasis on a child’s symbolic language such as drawing, dramatic play and writing. This is considered an extension of the “whole language approach”. This process is believed to develop forms of self-expression. The curriculum emphasizes five main components:

* Importance of the classroom environment: aesthetic features such as a conscious use of color, natural light, and space to foster creative learning.

* Value of parental involvement: parents are strongly encouraged to work with teachers to tailor lesson plans to each child's specific needs.

* Teachers as learners: teachers are dedicated to understanding the child's needs by using his / her interests to build and guide the curriculum.

* Long-term projects as vehicles for learning: a child's creative thinking is channeled through involvement in long term projects (such as growing plants from seedlings), giving them a better understanding of the learning process.

* Hundred languages of children: children are encouraged to express their understanding of the world through symbolic languages such as drawing, sculpture, dramatic play, and writing.

Numerous studies have shown that balanced bilingual learning can enhance a child’s cognitive development, leading to better comprehension, analytical and problem solving skills.

“Bilingual children scored significantly higher than monolinguals on most measures of verbal and nonverbal intelligence, in particular on those tests requiring mental manipulation and reorganization of visual symbols, concept formation and symbolic flexibility…conclusively, bilingual children outperform their monolingual peers due to their enhanced mental flexibility and strong concept formation skills."

- Patrick Lee, Cognitive Development of Bilingual Children: A Case for Bilingual Instruction in Early Childhood Education.

As a language, Mandarin Chinese is one of the most important and influential forces in the world today. China, on the verge of becoming the world's largest economy as early as 2020, with its population of 1.4 billion people makes up 1/5 of the total world population.

At the preschool age, when a child’s sensitivity to language is at its peak, exposing him/her to both English and Mandarin would be a great opportunity to get an early start in developing the necessarily language skills for tomorrow’s world.