Mandarin Tree

Thanks for taking me travelling around the world!❤️

For the past 400+ days, we’ve been traveling the world with Atlas on his preschool gap year, knowing full well that structured learning would be a challenge. We snapped countless photos of our friends’ kids’ workbooks, hoping to keep up, but between constantly being on the move and, well, not being especially qualified to teach proper lessons ourselves, it was never quite enough. Then, out of nowhere, @mandarintree.nl Karen Lao Shi—a Singaporean MOE teacher now based in the Netherlands—reached out to us. She offered free Chinese classes for Atlas, purely out of her passion for helping children learn. We were touched, but also skeptical. Online classes? With Atlas? No way he’d sit still. And… he didn’t. The class turned into a full-blown party—singing, dancing, storytelling, experiments. It was chaotic, but Atlas kept asking for more. Karen somehow managed to keep him engaged, making learning so fun that he didn’t even realize he was in a “class.” But the most incredible thing? Karen remembers everything. Every small detail about her students—what they like, where they’ve been, what they’ve been up to. Despite being separated by a screen, she created a connection so personal that it felt like she was right there with each and every of her students. Through her, Atlas didn’t just learn Chinese—he gained an appreciation for key festivals, cultures, and traditions. I had never met such a high-energy teacher, let alone an online one. We’ve always believed that children learn best through play, and Karen showed us just how true that is. When learning is fun, they don’t just learn—they crave more. And for that, we’ll always be grateful. Karen 老师，五星好评❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ What do you think?

What Mondays, my “days off” are like. 🤣

I teach everyday of the week. Tuesdays-Sundays,I teach Mandarin Tree kids. Mondays, I teach my own children. We are mainly using SAGE formula Chinese books with an added twist of fun. It could be using hot glue guns, writing on shaving cream, chalk writing in the park, writing with tape, writing on magnetic tiles etc. On busy days, the children sometimes do independent reading on @lelechinesetw books or we just make up stories for Chinese characters. It isn’t always Pinterest friendly or an high effort activity. What I think is the most important is consistency. Unless it’s a family member’s birthday, we are on holiday or someone is ill, we never miss a class! Now that Spring is almost here and the weather is getting better, I can’t wait to take our lessons outdoors again! . . . . . . . #learnchinese #funplaywithchinese #mandarinagainstallodds #chineseforkids #chineselanguage #mandarintreenl #trilingualkids #languagelearning #chineselessons #chinees #creativelearning #sgkids #sgparents #sgmummies #mandarin #mandarinimmersion #bilingualkids #sageformula #chinesecharacters #chinesecharacter #chineseculture

Self-love as a theme is relatively rare in Chinese culture due to deep-rooted philosophical and societal values that emphasise collectivism, humility, and duty over individual self-affirmation. Self-worth is often derived from fulfilling one’s role in a larger system rather than from personal validation.

The concept of self-love can sometimes be misinterpreted as self-indulgence or even selfishness in traditional Chinese discourse.

This cultural backdrop makes it difficult to find children’s books and songs that explicitly teach self-love in Mandarin. Instead, many stories focus on moral virtues like hard work, resilience, filial piety and kindness to others, rather than kindness to oneself.

In today’s digital age, children often measure their self-worth by the number of likes and shares they receive, comparing themselves to filtered and idealised images online. This constant comparison can erode their self-esteem and distort their self-image. Teaching self-love is essential to help them appreciate their unique worth and build resilience against such pressures. By seeking out materials that promote self-acceptance within our Mandarin lessons, I hope to empower children to value themselves beyond online validation.❤️

Self-love as a theme is relatively rare in Chinese culture due to deep-rooted philosophical and societal values that emphasise collectivism, humility, and duty over individual self-affirmation. Self-worth is often derived from fulfilling one’s role in a larger system rather than from personal validation. The concept of self-love can sometimes be misinterpreted as self-indulgence or even selfishness in traditional Chinese discourse. This cultural backdrop makes it difficult to find children’s books and songs that explicitly teach self-love in Mandarin. Instead, many stories focus on moral virtues like hard work, resilience, filial piety and kindness to others, rather than kindness to oneself. In today’s digital age, children often measure their self-worth by the number of likes and shares they receive, comparing themselves to filtered and idealised images online. This constant comparison can erode their self-esteem and distort their self-image. Teaching self-love is essential to help them appreciate their unique worth and build resilience against such pressures. By seeking out materials that promote self-acceptance within our Mandarin lessons, I hope to empower children to value themselves beyond online validation.❤️ . . . . . . #selflove #funplaywithchinese #mandarinagainstallodds #mandarintreenl #learnchinese #learnchineseonline #chineseforkids #preschoolcrafts #preschoolchinese #sgpreschool #sgprimaryschoolchinese #sgparents #sgmummy #chineselanguage #bilingualkids #trilingualkids #selfworth #papercraft #creativelearning #chineselessons #mandarinforkids #mandarinimmersion #craftforkids #chineseisfun #funchinese #languagelearning #steameducation #stemeducation #sgkids #sgexpat

True Story.

I am that Dutch mum who is actually Singaporean, so you can imagine how both enjoyable and challenging this experience has been for me.

My 11-year-old daughter just sat for the most important examination for primary school leavers in the Netherlands (equivalent to the PSLE), and I did absolutely nothing to prepare her.

No assessment books, no tuition, no revisions—nothing at all. I wasn’t even sure when her exams were, let alone what topics were covered. I’ve never even seen her textbooks. To be honest, I wouldn’t have been much help anyway since her Dutch is better than mine.

As a Singaporean who went through the rigorous Singapore education system, where I had to study very hard for every exam, and as a former primary school teacher who actively involved parents in their children’s examination preparation, this hands-off approach felt completely foreign to me. It even made me slightly uneasy.

And yet, I feel relieved. In the Netherlands, there is no competitive frenzy where children feel pressured to put in extra hours just to outdo their peers. Here, my daughter is measured not just by her exam results but by her cognitive abilities, learning pace, motivation, independence, and work ethic over the years. Most importantly, kids here get to enjoy their childhood. Family time isn’t sacrificed for endless tuition, and parent-child relationships aren’t strained by the pressure of playing the role of a teacher at home.

I miss Singapore but definitely not the education system and the stress it puts on kids and parents.

What are academic assessments like where you live?

True Story. I am that Dutch mum who is actually Singaporean, so you can imagine how both enjoyable and challenging this experience has been for me. My 11-year-old daughter just sat for the most important examination for primary school leavers in the Netherlands (equivalent to the PSLE), and I did absolutely nothing to prepare her. No assessment books, no tuition, no revisions—nothing at all. I wasn’t even sure when her exams were, let alone what topics were covered. I’ve never even seen her textbooks. To be honest, I wouldn’t have been much help anyway since her Dutch is better than mine. As a Singaporean who went through the rigorous Singapore education system, where I had to study very hard for every exam, and as a former primary school teacher who actively involved parents in their children’s examination preparation, this hands-off approach felt completely foreign to me. It even made me slightly uneasy. And yet, I feel relieved. In the Netherlands, there is no competitive frenzy where children feel pressured to put in extra hours just to outdo their peers. Here, my daughter is measured not just by her exam results but by her cognitive abilities, learning pace, motivation, independence, and work ethic over the years. Most importantly, kids here get to enjoy their childhood. Family time isn’t sacrificed for endless tuition, and parent-child relationships aren’t strained by the pressure of playing the role of a teacher at home. I miss Singapore but definitely not the education system and the stress it puts on kids and parents. What are academic assessments like where you live? #psle #sgkids #sgparents #sgexpat #sgmummy #sgmummies #sgprimaryschoolchinese #sgprimaryschool #primaryschool #funplaywithchinese #mandarinagainstallodds #sgteachers #chineseteacher #youngparents_sg #sgfamily #learnchinese #chineselanguage #bilingualkids #trilingualkids #examstress #languagelearning #chineselessons #learnchineseonline #mandarinimmersion #sg #mandarintreenl #creativelearning