Chinese Language School of CT's Chopstix Preschool Chinese Celebrates 10th Anniversary!

“It’s very gratifying to see how Chopstix’s growth has introduced so many young children to the fun of learning Mandarin Chinese,” noted CLSC Board member and president, New Canaan resident Susan Serven.

Riverside, CT, June 1, 2009 – The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org), the fully-accredited, non-profit Riverside, CT-based provider of Chinese language programs to students, schools and corporations, is pleased to announce the tenth anniversary of their Chopstix preschool Mandarin Chinese program.

“It’s wonderful to see so many of our youngest students learning Chinese,” said CLSC president, Susan Serven. “Our principal, Daisy Chen Laone, and teachers, are all so creative and energetic, they make learning so much fun for the children, as well as the parents,” she continued.

Chopstix started as a small, volunteer-run class, organized by Serven in 1999, when her older daughter, Emily, who was adopted from Yunnan Province, China, in 1996, was 3.

Serven explained, “When Emily (now 13) was 2, she started asking me how to say certain words in Mandarin Chinese (‘Mommy, how do you say 'dog' in Chinese? How do you say 'flower' in Chinese?’).

I had to admit that, mainly, I didn't know. I enlisted a friend of mine, Susan Lem, who was able to teach Emily a few things, but since she had moved from Taiwan when she was very young, she didn't remember most of the Chinese she had learned as a child. Soon, even she started commenting that she would like her daughter (also 2, and adopted from Anhwei Province) to learn Chinese.

It occurred to me one day that I could set up a small Chinese program for preschoolers and charge a nominal fee. Emily and her friends could learn a few words, phrases, songs and games in Chinese, and I could donate the proceeds to groups that worked with children in Chinese orphanages.”

(Serven estimates that about $10,000 was donated over 4 years to various non-profit groups such as Families with Children from China, and Half the Sky Foundation.)

“Around the same time I met Dr. Joseph Ho and his wife, Catherine, of Stamford, CT. Catherine was a warm, wonderful Chinese teacher, who graciously volunteered to teach, so Chopstix was born.

We thought we would have five or six children, initially; but our first day 38 showed up! We started out at the New Canaan Library, moved to New Canaan’s First Presbyterian Church and, later, to St. Michael’s Church, also in New Canaan.”

Serven explained that she continued to run Chopstix for her younger daughter, Rebecca (now 9) and her friends, until 2003, when Chopstix was rolled into the newly-formed Chinese Language School of Connecticut. The program has grown each year from its inception; Chopstix now has approximately 80 children enrolled in CLSC’s Sunday and Weekday classes.

Regarding her children’s experience with the Chopstix program, CLSC parent, Stamford resident Samantha Connell, noted, "It has been well-established that early exposure to language can make all the difference in fluency. However, like most 3-year-olds, my son is not very cooperative, doesn't like to sit still, and has a very short attention span.

I was very concerned that we would struggle through his Chinese classes this year. I have been so pleasantly surprised with how much he has learned. Huang Lao Shi (Vivi) has done an absolutely incredible job--coming up with fun and interesting ways to engage the children in their lessons for every class.

It is clear that she spends a significant amount of time preparing for the classes and coming up with playful lessons and manipulatives for the children. Some examples are: using Mr. Potato Head to learn facial features, bringing in a huge bag of stuffed animals to learn animals, using individual number characters written on post-its for the children to put onto a picture of a train, blowing up different color balloons to learn colors (and shooting them off!), and awarding stickers and happy faces for good behavior.

Her patience and enthusiasm really keeps the children focused. My son has had a great year and has learned more Chinese than I expected. Most importantly, he enjoys his Chinese school experience."

From Greenwich parent, Henriette Hoang Rieffel, “Our younger son is in Chopstix II and looks forward to every session because he enjoys playing the games. The teachers do an incredible job in designing the class so that learning is reinforced by games after each short session. Parental presence in the class is excellent for both parent and child, helping parents learn the words in order to assist the children at home and making the younger kids feel more secure.

Over all, we are very impressed with the rich yet low pressure atmosphere in the class. Learning is fun for all of us."

From Greenwich parents, Helen and Daniel Zou, "We started our daughter, Amelie, in Chopstix 3 years ago, when she was 5. We were looking for a fun but meaningful way to introduce her to the Chinese language and culture. Amelie has shown great motivation to attend class at CLSC every week, so we've continued the program with the purpose of deepening not only her linguistic skills, but also her cultural understanding."

From Darien parent, Lin Shaw, The Chopstix teachers make learning Chinese fun for the children by incorporating music, story-telling, arts & crafts."

From Wilton parent, Dana Lupton, “Both Quinn and I have grown tremendously from our experience with the Chinese Language School of Connecticut. It has served as a source of bonding and an outlet for her to stay in touch with her Chinese roots. We began with Chopstix and she is now thriving in Level I. I am profoundly grateful for the experience it has provided both of us.....but most important and notable is the pride she takes in participating. I can’t say enough about the program, its founders and administrators if I tried."

From Bronxville parent, Daisy Wang, "I like the fact that the instructors in the Chopstix program are always well prepared for class. The curriculum is designed in a way that makes the learning process lively and encourages students to focus on the class, which is not an easy task for the toddler age program. Each student participates. I think these qualities explain the increased interest my son is taking in learning Mandarin Chinese in the Choptix program."

For information on Summer or Fall 2009 Chopstix preschool Chinese classes for children ages 18 months to 5 years old, or the Chinese Language School of Connecticut’s summer programs, weekend or weekday language programs for children or adults, Before– and After- School programs, special workshops, private tutoring or corporate language programs, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or email them at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org.

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