New Mandarin playgroup calling for members

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yanmama

Registered User
Hi,

Anyone out there wishing to join a Mandarin playgroup? I'm trying to arrange one with Hilltots (in Tai Hang, near Causewaybay) this fall. The supervisor is agreeable to setting this up weekly on Saturday afternoons.

My girl, 16 month old now, has been attending the English playgroup at Hilltots since her 1st birthday. She really enjoyed the sessions and has made heaps of progress in the last 4 months.

For those unfamiliar with Hilltots, here's a little fact file

* a HKPPA playgroup
* catering for 10 months to 3 year olds, incorporating Montessori teaching approaches
* playgroups session lasts 2 hours
* typical format - free play, arts & crafts, snack, music and dance, story time, and games that teach these little ones problem solving
* groups size relatively small, about 8 kids
* prices extremely reasonable - they charge per school term, and each 2 hour session work out to be $160-$200
* teacher qualification - native mandarin speaker from Singapore, Montessori trained​

To get a manadarin playgroup going, there needs to be 6-8 kids. Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested.
 
Thanks for everyone who emailed me. Looks like we now have the critical mass to start a new class. Hilltots is now having their summer break. Autumn term will start Sep 4. I'll talk to the supervisor to organise a trial class for those who have expressed interest. Stay tuned.

Anyone else still keen to join, please let me know soon.

Yanmama
 
Good news! I managed to talk to the supervisor and arranged a trial class for next Saturday, Sept 2, from 10:00 - 11:30am, at Hilltots campus - 1/F, Winway Court, 3 Tai Hang Road, HK.

Parents please accompany your little ones to this trial class (instead of your helpers). We will have opportunity after the class to discuss about meeting time and format of the class.

Please note that regular class will not be on Saturday mornings as that's normally the time of their English playgroup.

Yanmama
 
I am keen but just wondering if the regular class will fall on weekday or still on weekend? May I know who is the facilitator for the class? Just curious as I was in Hilltots over the summer and as far as i know the facilitator not able to speak mandarin.
 
Hi Newbies,

Antoine got a native mandarin speaker in for this program. Her name is Audrey. She led circle time in Mandarin the last session before the summer break. Besides, Antoine is also a native mandarin speaker. She will be supervising the classes as well.

If this Mandarin playgroup kicks off, most likely it'll be in the afternoon, since Hilltots already runs English playgroups in the mornings. Several moms who responded prefer to have it on Sat so we can be there as well. To be honest, this playgroup caters for those who wish their kids could learn some Mandarin but doesn't have much of a Mandarin speaking environment at home. So it's learning time for both parents and kids.

Yanmama
 
Want to try the Playgroup

Can I just come and join or I need to registar, can I have the information of how to get there?

Cheers.

Lisa
 
Trial class this Sat

Hi again.

A reminder to those who are planning to come to the trial class - it's still on for this Sat (2 Sep) from 10-11:30am. Again, the address is

1/F, Winway Court,
3 Tai Hang Road
Tai Hang (near Causeway Bay)

Hilltots is next door to Starters old Tai Hang campus.

No need to register, but would be nice if you can confirm whether you'll be there, so I can give the teacher an estimate class size. She can plan the activities accordingly. Interest seems to be growing, esp the last couple of days!

There is no commitment to sign up for a full term at this stage. The one off cost for this trial class is $150.

Please email me [email protected] if you need more info / my contact.

Hope to see you all there.
Yanmama
 
yanmama, I'd like to come to the trial class with my twin girls if you still have spaces left. Thanks!
 
Hi there,

Corina - the group now is definitely growing. Let me check with Hilltots if there's any upper limit.

Also, someone with triplets at 2.5 years old - Very sorry, I pressed the wrong button and deleted your message. Can you email me again?

Yanmama
 
Hi Corina and Shunshunmami,
Please come to the trial class tomorrow. It starts 10am.

Hi everyone,
Thank you for your interest. The trial class is now full. Depending on the sign up rate, there might be vacancies in the regular class.

Thanks
Yanmama
 
Regular Class details

Hi again,

Thanks to all who came Sat morning, esp. those who have travelled far to come to the trial class. I just got in touch with Hilltots again. They are going to start the Mandarin playgroup.

Based on their assessment of the children's response and your feedback, they will run the playgroup in Mandarin but supplement it with English, mainly for non Mandarin speaking families. This will help the kids to ease into a new language environment.

There will also be some changes to the class structure. Each session will only be 1 hour 15 mins, and have time for these activities :

1) flashcards
2) singing
3) story time
4) games to develop Chinese language
5) music and dance

Regular class will be offered on Sats 12:00 to 1:15pm. If you're interested, you can either email me [email protected]
or email Hilltots directly [email protected]


Yanmama
 
Mandarin playgroup at Hilltots

hi yanmama,

I learnt this Mandarin playgroup quite recently in this forum and wonder whether it is still running at Hilltots as I am interested to join. Can I have more info on the playgroup?
 
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