INFANT PROGRAM

The World Is Tender.
We Meet Them in It.

Ages 6 – 18 Months

Infants arrive already learning. Our work is to read them carefully and answer consistently — to be the steady presence that turns a new world into a safe one.

01

A First Bond, Carefully Built

Hunger cues, sleep rhythms, the small signals — learned slowly, answered consistently. This is the relationship every later step rests on.

02

Mandarin in Lullabies and Names

Sung at nap time, whispered during a diaper change. Named at the window - absorbed through warmth and repetition, alongside the language of home.

03

Met Where They Are

Their own feeding plan, their own nap rhythm, their own readiness for new tastes. We respond to who they actually are today.

04

A Window Into the Quiet Hours

Every feed, nap and diaper change is written down as it happens - and so are the firsts you want to be there for.

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Infant learning and rest space at Spring, a Mandarin immersion preschool serving children from 12 months in Albany, CA
TODDLER PROGRAM

The World Is New.
We Make It Safe to Explore.

Ages 18 Months – 2.5 Years

Toddlers arrive already knowing how to wonder. Our work is to build an environment worthy trusting — warm enough to feel safe in, consistent enough to test, and full of Mandarin from the first morning.

01

A World Worth Trusting

Warm routines and consistent care give toddlers the security they need to begin exploring — the world, the space, and each other.

02

Mandarin as Rhythm

Songs, mealtimes, transitions, play. This is the year children find the words for wanting, waiting and refusing — the most useful Mandarin a two-years-old owns.

03

Following the Child

No fixed lesson plan. Open-ended materials, long stretches of time. A toddler who is not rushed will show you what they are working on.

04

You Stay Close

Daily photos, observations, and direct communication. Development at this stage moves quickly — documentation keeps you woven into every step.

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Child-height table and accessible books in the learning space of a home-based Mandarin preschool in Albany, CA
PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

Where Inquiry and
Mandarin Grow Together

Ages 2.5 – 5 Years

By 2.5, children can hold a question over time and chase it across materials and languages. This is when Mandarin turns from familiar sound into a tool. Our work is to make room for both.

01

Curiosity Taken Seriously

Children's questions are the curriculum. Projects emerge from genuine interest and unfold over days and weeks — building the capacity to observe, hypothesize, and return to an idea with new eyes.

02

Mandarin as a Thinking Language

Children ask, argue, retell and negotiate in mandarin, and character recognition begins - the language stops being something they hear and becomes something they think in..

03

More Than Words

Drawing, building, clay, loose parts — children represent an idea before they can say it. Expression is part of how they learn.

04

Their Thinking, Made Visible

Documentation at this age is more than updates — recorded conversations, project traces, and the children's own work, gathered so that learning itself becomes something to revisit and build on.

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Fenced garden and outdoor learning space at Spring, a Mandarin immersion preschool in Albany in the East Bay
Our Daily Rhythm

A Day in the Life

A balanced flow of structured learning and child-led exploration — in Mandarin, from arrival to pickup. Each Infant follows the Individual Infant Sleeping Plan (LIC 9227) developed with parents at enrollment.

Morning 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM
8:00 – 9:00
Arrival & Indoor Free Play
Settling in, self-directed exploration
9:00 – 9:30
Morning Circle Time
Songs, calendar, Mandarin greetings & group sharing
9:30 – 9:45
Potty & Hand Washing
Care routines woven into the day
9:45 – 10:00
Morning Snack
Fresh fruit and a wholesome bite together
10:00 – 10:30
Outdoor Structured Activity
Nature exploration, gross motor, garden time
10:30 – 11:30
Outdoor Free Play
Child-led exploration and social play
11:30 – 11:45
Story Time
Mandarin picture books and language immersion
12:00 – 12:30
Lunch
Family-style dining, Mandarin mealtime conversation
Afternoon 12:30 PM – 6:30 PM
12:30 – 1:00
Reading & Wind Down
Quiet reading before rest
1:00 – 3:00
Nap & Rest Time
Restorative rest, body regulation
3:15 – 3:45
Afternoon Circle Time
Songs, sharing, Mandarin review
3:45 – 4:00
Afternoon Snack
Healthy snack, community conversation
4:15 – 5:15
Outdoor Free Play
Child-led exploration, social play
5:15 – 6:30
Indoor Free Play & Pickup
Quiet activities, family reunions
Structured activity
Outdoor
Meals
Rest