Berries has a very structured curriculum where the words taught this week will appear in subsequent weeks to help students to recap on the words. The video lesson is one where the kids enjoy watching a lot. There is craft activity and sometimes they bring home a little knick knack/toy related to the lesson on that day. Very fun to see the kind of surprise that they get. Their books come with a reading pen(extra cost), but it helps them to be engaged independently.

I have tried both Berries and Tien Hsia for my daughter and here are some of the comparisons. For replacement classes or transferring of centres, Berries is not that flexible and varies from centres as some centres are franchised whereas for Tien Hsia you can transfer centre or replace lessons at different centres flexibly as long as there is available slot. Both use word cards for their lessons but Berries teaches more words each lesson. Both also have story telling and writing of strokes, But you can expect more art and craft pieces brought back from Berries class which I find that kids will be more fun learning the mandarin word. Berries have already taught idioms but not Tien Hsia. Both currently have no spelling yet. I guess should be in K2. Tien Hsia has term end concert though but Berries doesn't have. Berries do have homework after each class about 2 pages but there isn't any for Tien Hsia. Berries at bukit batok branch do have a CCTV outside where you can view how the class is being conducted which is good for parents. Overall, I feel that whichever school, it really depends greatly on the teacher teaching that class and the teaching materials used and method of teaching preferred by the parents.

My 5 years old has been with berries at tpy safra for almost a year. Not only it is at a close proximity to our house, I like the environment as tpy safra was newly built. Since joining berries, my daughter can recognize and write chinese characters which they learnt two at every lesson. I like that Berries inject fun in the class and children learnt through play and songs. I especially like the do it yourself crafts relating to the character and helping children understand and thereby remember the words learnt at the end of the day There are textbooks and workbooks given and my daughter has to complete her homework after class. There is no exam though.

My boy have been with berries since N1 and his Chinese have improve tremendously. He's able to converse in mandarin and recognise more Chinese words. He used to reject Chinese as he often say its difficult to learn but ever since he joined berries he starts to accept Chinese. They learn through the play and learn method which is really interesting for the kids. I like it that their homework is easy for the parents to guide the child along, sometimes even with stickers which is really fun for the kid. Their word card are really useful for revision at home.

Attended a trial class and subsequently signed up for a term of 10 weeks recently, A trial class cost $16 (before gst). The class I attended was for my 4 year old. It was on a Sat, 1..30 pm to 3.15pm. There were about 10 kids in the N2 class. Upon arrival, the staff checked all the kids and parents temperature, and spray sanitizers on hands. Everyone is required to remove their shoes before entering. Each class will have their own rooms and parents can peek in via a small window at the door. My son was welcomed by the teacher who brought out small tables and some writing board for the kids to practise chinese strokes. Some of the new kids (also on trial) were crying when they reach the classroom so the teachers (1 main and 1 asst) brought out stickers to distract them. Next was attendance taking -- the kids' names were printed out on cards and the cards were placed on the board. Teacher asked 'who likes lollipops?' and some kids raised up their hands. She then drew a cute lollipop on the board and ask those kids to identify their printed name cards and then stick next to the lollipop. I thought that was quite creative! For the lessons, teachers follow a weekly syllabus which will introduce new phrases to the kids. The teachers do that with stories, rhymes, craft activities. As for learning materials, the kids have a text book and a work book. Each week, the teachers will give about 2-3 flash cards with the new words they taught. Parents are supposed to revise the new words with their children at home. Teachers are engaging and the assistant teacher will routinely bring 2 children out at a time for toilet breaks. After class ended, the staff would bring the children out and spot their parents. If their parents are still not there, the kids could go to the waiting room where they screen chinese songs mv or short chinese animation clips. I observed that the staff seem to recognise every child's parents as they could match every child to the respective parent correctly. I signed up for a term because I have heard many good reviews on berries. My son enjoyed the class but he did tell me that "it was so hard, mummy" (he is of mixed ethnicity so he is not so confident with chinese). I plan to let him stay on for at least 2 more terms and observe his progress.