A Mandarin and English preschool for ages 2 to 5
Ginkgo is a small preschool in Plano for children ages 2 to 5. Teachers speak Mandarin with the children through the morning and English after lunch, with songs, picture books and plenty of play in both.
Our rooms
Each room has a Mandarin morning and an English afternoon. Here is what a child does in each.
Sings morning songs in Mandarin with a teacher at floor level
Hears the names of foods, animals and colors in Mandarin at snack, and says them in a child's own way
Pours, scoops and stacks at low shelves while the teacher talks through each step in Mandarin
Rests after lunch, then hears an English story and a goodbye song
When a child turns three, the family and the teachers talk about a move to the threes room, usually at the start of a school year.
Takes part in a morning circle held in Mandarin: a greeting, the weather and a song
Chooses work at the shelves while teachers speak Mandarin beside them
Counts steps and blocks aloud in Mandarin, and listens to a picture book in each language
Spends the afternoon in English with stories, outdoor time and quiet play
Children move to the fours room when they turn four, and the teachers visit the new room with them first.
Helps run the morning circle: counting who is here, choosing the song, reading the day's weather
Works on small projects with a partner while the Mandarin morning goes on around them
Tells a short story from a picture book in either language, in their own way
Spends the English afternoon on stories, letters in sand and quiet work
Children stay in the fours room until it is time for kindergarten. The teachers talk it through with each family in the spring.
Sample levels.
Programs
2-year-olds
Mandarin for most of the morning, with English at snack and in the closing song
3-year-olds
Mandarin from arrival to lunch, and English after lunch
4-year-olds
Mandarin from arrival to lunch, and an English afternoon of stories and quiet work
The language of each part of the day is how we plan it, not a promise of what a child will say. Children take a new language at their own pace, and teachers use songs, pictures and gestures so every child can follow.
Sample programs.
The team
Nine adults work at Ginkgo: a director, two teachers in each room, a floating assistant and an administrator. Three of them are here.
Director and threes room teacher
Meihua leads the school and teaches the Mandarin morning in the threes room. She speaks Mandarin and English with families, and she is at the door most mornings.
Fours room teacher, Mandarin morning
Zhiwei leads the Mandarin morning in the fours room, with songs, stories and building work. He speaks Mandarin with the children and English with parents at the door.
English afternoon teacher
Kandace leads the English afternoon in the twos and threes rooms and the closing circle at the end of the day. She works beside the Mandarin teachers each morning, so the day moves from one language to the other without a break.
Dates
Tours run in the fall and in winter, applications open in the new year, and families hear from us in March.
October and February
A tour takes about an hour in the morning, so you hear the Mandarin morning at work. Children are welcome to come along.
Book a tourJanuary
The form takes a few minutes.
March
By email and a phone call, with a place or a spot on the waitlist.
Late winter
Families visit the rooms for songs, a story and a shared snack.
August
New children start with a short visit alongside a parent.
Sample dates.
Safety and license
Licensed by HHSC, Child Care Regulation
Child care center license · TX License # 000000Verify
1 adult to 9 children
2-year-olds
Group size: 18
1 adult to 11 children
3-year-olds
Group size: 22
1 adult to 15 children
4-year-olds
Group size: 22
Group size
Up to 22 children
with 2 adults
Capacity
62
Ages 2 years to 5 years
An adult greets every child at the door and signs them in. At pickup a child goes only with the people on your list, and we ask for ID at the door until we know you.
Tell us about allergies at the tour; we ask privately once you enroll. We ask families not to send nuts, and snack is set out by the teachers with the children.
A child with a fever or a contagious illness stays home. If a child becomes ill at school, we call you right away, and a teacher stays close until you arrive.
We practice fire and severe-weather drills, and we count heads every time children move between the rooms and the yard.
If a child is upset, any adult comforts them in the language that helps most. The Mandarin morning never means a child goes without being understood.
Ask us about child care assistance
Sample details.
From families
“On the first morning the teacher sat on the floor with my daughter and sang. I didn't understand a word, and I didn't have to. They send the songs home on a picture sheet so we can sing along.”
“Our tour was unhurried. We saw the morning and the afternoon, asked everything, and the director told us plainly what Ginkgo is and what it isn't.”
“Pickup is the calmest part of my day. The afternoon teacher tells me how the day went in English, and the morning teacher waves from the doorway.”
Sample reviews.
Questions
No. Most children who join us have heard little or none. Teachers use songs, pictures, gestures and daily routines so a child can follow the morning, and they speak English with parents and with any child who needs comfort.
Teachers speak Mandarin with the children from arrival to lunch. After lunch the room teachers speak English. Parents can talk with any of us in English at the door.
We can't promise what a child will say or when. Children take a new language at their own pace. What we plan is a calm, playful morning in Mandarin, with a teacher who notices each child.
The room, your child's age, the schedule and the days a week. We don't print tuition here; we send the figures when you ask and go through them on a tour.
Yes. The school is licensed by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
Book a tour and sit in a room while the morning is under way, or call and ask us anything first.