Programs/Teachers
A typical afternoon at the San Yu Learning Center is filled with activities such as finishing schoolwork, learning the Chinese language, practicing math skills, and participating in some fun activities. The Center offers a few elective classes such as English and the Arts. Homework tutoring is also available to our elementary school students.
Chinese Language
Many believe that language is the foundation of any culture. At the heart of Chinese civilization lies within the rich heritage of literature, poetry, and calligraphy, a reflection of the history of these great people.
Today Chinese is the most widely-spoken language in the world. Learning Chinese will allow future generations to access the gateway to globalization. More importantly, it helps children gain valuable insight into the culture and heritage behind the language, and further appreciate the diversity existing in the world. Bilingual children are perhaps the most effective world citizens to bridge the gap that separates Eastern and Western cultures.
 One of our main goals here at the San Yu Learning Center is to provide a pleasant environment where children can enjoy learning Chinese daily. Under our instruction, children will build a solid foundation that enables them to communicate with parents fluently, interact in Chinese communities, and participate in Chinese culture by reading articles, watching dramas or TV programming, and singing today's hit music, and later may pursue advanced studies in Chinese if they so desire.Classes in our center are taught in Mandarin. The writing system we teach includes simplified characters, Han Yu Pin Yin (Chinese phonetics), and periodically, traditional characters through additional reading materials and homework assignments. The textbook we use for our Chinese curriculum is Zhong Wen (中文), compiled by the Chinese Language College of Jinan University (暨南大学) in China. Our teachers also prepare additional materials, in order to enhance the childdren's learning experiences.
 At the beginner level, Pin Yin is used as a primary tool to facilitate learning. At this stage, basic Mandarin is introduced through songs, games, poems, stories, and dialogues. The daily activities lay a good foundation for listening and speaking skills, while familiarizing children with Pin Yin, an important prerequisite for learning the real Chinese characters.
Students of the next level and beyond learn the reading and writing of characters in a systematic way, along with textbooks and supplemental materials. All new characters include the Pin Yin pronunciation guide to help children pronounce them correctly. Students continue to improve their language skills through vocabulary, listening, reading and writing comprehension, interactive discussion, and lots of fun activities.
Both Chinese Language and Math classes are taught by a group of experienced teachers including Ms. Jane Bai, Ms. Emmeline Liu, Mr. Samuel Chen, and Ms. Xin Lu.
Ms. Bai holds Bachelor’s degrees in Chinese and Childhood Development, and she received a Master’s degree in Education from Beijing University. Ms. Bai, a certified Chinese teacher, has twenty years experience in teaching Chinese, SAT, and AP Chinese.
Ms. Liu holds a Bachelor's degree in Science, and Certificate of Seminar of Mathematics from National Taiwan Normal University. Her past experiences include teaching math at Adventist Academy and holding Director positions in various educational institutes, ranging from kindergarten to college.
Mr. Samuel Chen holds a Master's degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Ohio University. He has earned invaluable experience through teaching math at Kumon, and is expected to receive a Certificate of Teaching in Chinese from California State University by June 2009.
Ms. Lu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chinese. She taught Chinese for all levels at Shanghai Foreigner Studying Center. In addition, she was a trained volunteer in Los Altos Art Docents where she received art training and subsequently taught art lessons to children of the Los Altos School District.
Math: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Word Problems
Most math teachers can testify to the same question that they are frequently asked-- "Why do we need to learn math?". Other popular questions include: "I am not going to be an engineer, so why study math?" or "My programmable calculator calculates everything for me with a few keystrokes, so why study math?" Again, these questions are raised frequently. However, they are fair questions.
We believe that the key objective of math education is to help students develop both critical and logical thinking skills, which are the foundation for solving problems in almost any discipline. How much change does this shopkeeper owe me? What time should I leave my house to avoid being late? Our lives are constantly surrounded with basic math computations. Understanding math concepts correctly at a young age has a profound impact on students' later studies, particularly in the fields of science, engineering, finance, and research, disciplines where a thorough knowledge of math is essential. Mathematical proficiency is also a prerequisite to college admission, and is required in many careers.
The San Yu Learning Center's math program reinforces what the students learn at their regular schools. Our teachers provide instruction based on what the students are learning in school, and even go beyond the classroom expectations, so students will be better prepared in their classes. The center employs a method of constant practice, allowing students to achieve mastery of various mathematical skills in arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. In addition, our teachers prepare interesting manipulatives as a companion to elementary mathematics, in order to make math fun for children of a young age. The goal of the math program is very simple: to help students build a "no fear" attitude, as well as confidence when confronted with various mathematical problems.
Teachers
Our teachers teach both Chinese Language and Math. Please refer to Teachers under the Chinese Language section.
English (elective with an additional fee): Reading Comprehension, Sentence Structure and Creative Writing
 One out of every five people in the world speak English. In fact, English, as well as Chinese, is known as a language of business, diplomacy, and commercialism around the globe. In order to foster future readers, writers, and communicators in a global economy, the children at San Yu Learning Center are provided an opportunity to learn the grammatical structure of the English language, practice effective strategies for drafting essays and reports, practice writing prompts for the STAR and SAT exams, explore ways to demonstrate personal creativity through poems and personal narratives, and review editing strategies to polish finished writing pieces. In order to meet the needs of each individualized learner, two classes are provided—a younger class for 3rd-4th grades (emphasis in English grammar, 5-paragraph essays, and creative writing), and the older class for 5th-6th grades (emphasis in writing strategies, SAT/ACT review, and persuasive, expository, and narrative essay forms). Students are able to celebrate their writing pieces through a class book that is generated each winter and summer.
The curriculum for the Writing class is taken from Grammar for Writing by Sadlier-Oxford and Write Source 2000 by Houghton-Mifflin. In addition, the younger class utilizes a resource called Daily Writing Topics by The Center for Learning. This provides the students with numerous writing prompts to develop their paragraph skills and help construct topic sentence and supporting arguments. The older class purchases a book entitled, Grammar for Middle School: A Sentence-Composing Approach by Don & Jenny Killgallon. This book teaches the advanced students how to effectively use writing tools such as appositives, adjectives, introductory clauses, and infinitives to help students compose sentences and essay like professional writers. Students using this book will study effective passages from various great authors that they will study in their local classrooms. Teacher
English classes are taught by Ms. Bonnie McConnell, a high school English teacher and writing tutor from Mountain View Academy. Ms. McConnell holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Education and a Master’s degree in Literacy Education. Her tutoring background helps to provide an individualized learning environment for each writing student.
Arts (elective with an additional fee)
Each week, the art classroom of San Yu Learning Center turns into a magical place where children eagerly show their creativity and self-expression to their teacher and classmates. The well-designed curriculum aims to cultivate students' appreciation and love of art, and inspire them to make the best use of their creativity beyond the classroom.
Students learn the basic concepts of art through various art forms such as drawing, painting, clay sculpting, and Chinese arts and crafts. Children are particularly interested in paper-cutting, a very distinctive visual art of Chinese handicraft. Students gain the artistic experiences through instructions related to colors, shapes, forms, and composition, and, more importantly, their own creative expression on various art projects.
Teacher
Our art teacher is Lin Ching Peng, she has many years of teaching experience. Before coming
to US, she was an art teacher in Shing-Shing Tech. & Commercial Professional High School.
She has art classes in Palo Alto, CA. The students’ ages are from 5 to adults. Some
of her students won numerals awards. She also makes jewelry and teaching is the
jobs she loves to do. She is a member of
Chinese Art Association and has a long list of accolade and exhibitions. Some
of her paintings are exhibited at the Gallery Saratoga in Saratoga, CA. If you
want to see more of her paintings, you can visit her web site: www.linpeng-gallery.com
Music with String Instruments (elective with an additional fee)
The music curriculum consists of a weekly group lesson for students of violin, viola, and cello. Students of all levels gain musical experience through lessons of music appreciation, basic music theory, and instrumental technique. Practicing at home is encouraged in order to facilitate effective ensemble group rehearsals in the classrooms.
Teacher
Violinist Ming-Shiu Yo graduated from Hartt School of Music and holds a Master's degree from New England Conservatory in Boston. He worked with the Virginia Symphony for more than 10 seasons started as a section violinist then later appointed as their principal second violin. During his tenure, he appeared regularly as a concerto soloist with the orchestra and served as the acting concertmaster numerous times in VSO's pops series. Mr. Yo is currently a member of San Francisco Chamber Orchestra.
2011 Summer Camp
We are excited to offer a Summer Camp program this year again. Please visit the 2011 Summer Camp page to view the program agenda and registration details. |
