Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! 中秋节快乐！+ Course Content 教学内容
Our teaching philosophy, course content, celebrating togetherness and a mixing of cultures as we gather. 我们的教学理念，教学内容及欢庆团聚和文化的融合。
Happy Moon Festival, Dearest Families!
Every year on this night, our little immediate family and I take a moment to look up at the full moon and reflect on our year so far, so that we may power through the rest of the year with gusto. This year, our conversations revolve around SBCS’s big goals and how we hope to shape our Chinese learning community through what we teach.
Much like the theme of love and the coming together of family from near and far, SBCS’s teaching philosophy is sparked by a love of learning, the desire for our children to thrive, and supported by the combined forces from the best-rated learning materials. Among the contents of our lessons, you will find literature from the following textbooks:
Sagebooks 500 Series: One of the more expensive materials in the market for its proven record of confidence-building in Chinese language learning. These repetition-embedded, phrase-to-sentence expansion readers are imported from Hong Kong ($350 + $100 shipping), and comes packed with an abundance of free & paid learning materials and resources for both teachers and parents to use.
四五快读 Si Wu Kuai Du: This 8-book series cost about $30-$40 for the whole set and is great at transitioning students from short to long-form text, and from pinyin-assisted to just Chinese characters. It covers a broader range of Mandarin literature, and comes with flashcards at the beginner levels that we used to strategically stick around the house.
马立平 Heritage Chinese: Currently still under development from the Bay Area, this series is geared towards our heritage learners to study through play. The benefit of this series is that the system can be fully implemented at home for our Chinese-speaking parents, but not the best for those who wish to minimize screen time. The cost per bundle ranges from $120-$180, depending on the level, including access to their digital app.
Are you required to buy any of them to attend SBCS? The short answer is: No. We understand that it is trying enough to get our kids to class on time - especially on the weekend - so we have incorporated these materials into our lesson plans. What we do encourage is that you add our single-sheet printout to your binder/folder at home to review with your children. It’s also a great way to see what they doodle on the page as they go about their learning. Our teachers will also provide links to what they showed in class each week, and assign homework where appropriate.
Given that Chinese is a tonal language, we also believe that music and Chinese language learning go hand-in-hand. Therefore, we also strategically embed songs into our lesson plans for students to have an opportunity to listen to popular and catchy songs, so that they may also learn Chinese through a combined interest in the rhythm, lyrics, melody, dance, and joy that music brings.
Thanks to our talented teachers and team of UCSB students, we have an opportunity to develop a curriculum that we can truly call “a labor of love.” We have designed our lessons in a way that encourages ALL families to come together through a shared interest and to speak a common language.
Yet, our lessons don’t just start and stop in the classroom. After our weekend classes, we gathered our Chinese-learning families together to celebrate the Moon Festival via potluck, making mooncakes, enjoying a little Chinese folk dance with the Princesses of SUNS’s Performing Arts, exchanging learning materials, and meeting one another.
Also, through our growing list of partners, we aspire to build an even bigger language environment within the entire Santa Barbara County. Otherwise, how can our children persist at learning one of the most difficult languages in the world if they aren’t using or hearing it around town?
As we gaze upon the big bright moon, may we all take a moment to reflect on how much better our community can blossom if we can all join forces to make our learning environment more fun-filled and geared for long-term success. As our children grow into their personalities, let’s give them a gathering place that both highlights their individuality and provides a shared experience that they can reflect fondly upon for years to come.
With best wishes,
Principal Jenny and the SBCS Team
亲爱的家庭们，祝大家中秋节快乐！
每年的这个晚上，我和我的小家庭都会抬头看看圆圆的月亮，回顾一下这一年的经历，以便给家里加油，迎接到年底的挑战。今年，我们的话题围绕着SBCS的大目标，以及怎么充分运用教学资源来创建我们的中文学习社区。
有点像中秋团圆主题一样，SBCS的教学材料也是我们精心挑选出排名前线的学习材料组合起来的。这是我们对学习的热爱，对孩子们茁壮成长的期望做出一个多元化的团圆。我们的课程内容包括并不限制与以下教材：
Sagebooks 500生词系列：这是市场上比较昂贵的教材，但因为它在中文学习中建立自信的效果显著而受到青睐。这些重复练习、从短语到句子的扩展读本从香港进口（美金$350 + $100运费），还附带了丰富的免费学习资源，供教师和家长使用。
四五快读：这一套8本书的系列价格大约在$30-$40美金之间，非常适合帮助学生从短文过渡到长文，从拼音辅助到只用汉字学习。它包涵了更广泛的中文文学，还附带了初级的认字卡便以我们贴在家里重复学习。
马立平系列：这个系列目前还在湾区开发中，主要针对我们的华裔背景学习者。这个系列的优点是可以在家里完全实施，但大部分通过电子游戏学习不太适合希望减少看屏幕时间的家庭。每套的价格$120-$180美金，包括APP应用程序。
那么参加SBCS需要购买这些教材吗？不需要。我们知道让孩子们准时上课（尤其是周末）已经很不容易了，所以我们已经把这些材料融入了我们的课程计划中。我们建议您将我们发的单页材料放到文件夹里，以便和孩子一起复习。这样您还可以看到他们在学习时的涂鸦。我们的老师也会每周提供课堂上展示的链接，并在适当的时候布置作业。
因为中文是一门声调语言，我们也相信音乐和中文学习是相辅相成的。所以，我们在课程中也巧妙地融入了歌曲，让学生有机会听到流行和动听的歌曲，通过音乐的节奏、歌词、旋律和舞蹈快乐地学习中文。
因为我们能够找到那么多才多艺的老师和UCSB学生团队，我们才有机会开发出真正称得上是“爱的劳动”的课程。我们设计的课程旨在鼓励所有家庭通过共同的兴趣走到一起，说共同的语言。
另外，我们的课程不仅仅局限于课堂。我们上完周末课程后，我们也邀请了在学中文的家庭们一起庆祝中秋节，通过交换食物聚餐、享受孙老师带领的中国民间舞蹈、制作月饼、交换学习材料来相互认识。同时，通过我们不断扩大的合作伙伴，我们也希望在整个圣塔芭芭拉县建立一个更大的，更有魅力的语言环境。如果我们的孩子们在小镇上听不到、用不上咱们所谓最难学好的语言的话，他们怎么能坚持学中文呢？
今晚，当我们仰望那明亮的圆月时，希望我们都能想象一下大家携手合作，使我们的学习环境更加有趣的美好情景。随着孩子们的成长，我们希望能为他们提供一个既能彰显个性，又能留下美好回忆的聚集地。这才有持久力。
祝一切顺利，
余捷校长和SBCS团队