DS5's alternative/eclectic preschool has an immersion mandarin class (one of the reasons we thought it was cool and chose it in the first place!) We know that DS can say a ton of numbers in mandarin (to at least 999) and can write...at least to a hundred, maybe higher, I don't know. But he won't really show us anything else that he has learned...so we honestly have had no idea if he's been learning anything else in that class. But yesterday, DS's mandarin teacher came up to us out of the blue, wanting to give us IPad apps to download for home for DS to do more advanced work, and told us that he is at the top of the class - he came in knowing nothing this year, and only goes 3 days a week - and she said that he is now at the level of (and beyond) the top students (who have been there for 3 years). She said he can say sentences, knows a lot of vocab, songs and more. Not only were we proud (naturally), but it felt really nice to know that even when we aren't doing anything supplementary at home (because DH and I know literally nothing about mandarin), he can thrive and excel at a subject. Also, this might be feel extra nice coming off the heels of a relative who is 'convinced' that our PG son is only the way he is because he has decided that we push and drill him. SIGH... some people, right?
Also, congrats deacongirl, on your DD's acceptance - is it theatre program or literature? I have always loved reading Shakespeare, but performing his works is even more incredible, IMO (but maybe I say that
because I'm a performer lol)...so much depth, humor and richness in his beautiful words