Dear Bear Cub Mandarin families and friends,

My name is Wen-Ling Cho and I am honored to serve as Director of Bear Cub Mandarin Immersion Preschool and Infant/Toddler Center.

Back in the summer of 2007, I had my first childcare experience caring for a three-year-old boy. It was such a great time and I still keep in touch with the family after over 15 years! 

As I was pursuing my MTEL license, I started volunteering at a local preschool and ended up staying on as a teacher. Over the years, I gained experience as a lead infant/toddler and preschool teacher, a supervisor, administrator, and center director. My philosophy is “Happy Teachers, Happy Children”. When MaeLynn described her vision of wanting to open her own Mandarin Immersion Preschool, and how she felt the importance of having a supportive environment for both early childhood educators and young children, I could completely and whole-heartedly relate. How could I contribute in my role to Bear Cub Mandarin and how can we inspire both new and experienced teachers? Not only providing a child-centered and play-based environment, but also promoting a kind, supportive, and thoughtful working place for our team. I am grateful to be part of the startup of Bear Cub Mandarin and to see how it grows! Our teachers and families value our Mandarin immersion experience and philosophy. We are proud to provide a unique quality early childhood education with a remarkable staff of experienced and talented teachers! 

My name is Lillian Fang-Lan Lee. I was awarded the master’s degree in early childhood education (0-8 years old) from Central Connecticut State University. I am also the Massachusetts certified Director, Preschool Lead Teacher, and Infant/ Toddler Teacher. I am pleased to join the Bear Cub Mandarin Immersion Preschool Academy as the Head Lead Preschool Teacher and Curriculum Coordinator.

I graduated from Providence University in Taiwan with the major in Western Language and Literature (English and American Literature). In the summer of 1991, I came to the United States to study Early Childhood Education in the graduate school of Central Connecticut State University. During almost two years of studying, I was the only student from Asia and confronting numerous obstacles --- lacking connection with local schools was the major one to my progress; all my classmates were already qualified teachers and had been teaching for years in schools at that time. I was appreciative of all those public and private elementary schools and kindergartens, preschools as well as the on-site childcare programs which allowed and welcomed me to carry out my research and thesis on “Comparative Early Childhood Education—the Integrated Curriculum in Taiwan and in United States “. After graduation, originally, I had planned to go back to Taiwan to serve as an early childhood educator with my enthusiasm for improving the learning environment. But I ended up moving to Cambridge Massachusetts, and had my only son born in MIT Kendall Square. Also, my last teaching job was at MIT David Koch Childcare Center before coming to Bear Cub in October 2022. I have been teaching in various schools and diverse types of preschool or early education programs for twenty-three years. Through those painstaking teaching years, my main philosophy is to treat every single child as my own child, and to advocate child-centered learning experiences. I kept reminding myself “Every teacher is just like a sculptor and every child is like a hidden gem! “. 

Taiwanese pianist, soprano, and educator, Ivy I-Fang Lee has performed in Taiwan, the United States, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, and Portugal. Her instructors include Paul Badura-Skoda, Bernd Glemser, and Manuela Gouveia. Ivy has attended Bad Steben Internationale Musikbegegnungsstätte Haus Marteau, Germany in 2018 and Semana Internacional de Piano de Óbidos International Piano Master Classes & Festival, Portugal in 2017. While studying in Taiwan, she was interested in Dalcroze Eurhythmics and attended the Polish-Taiwanese Seminar of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze’s Method at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland in 2017.

    Ivy earned a BM degree in piano performance at National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan in 2019, and in 2020, won a scholarship to study with Corrine Byrne in a MM degree program at Longy School of Music of Bard College. In 2022, Ivy was awarded a scholarship for a Therapeutic Musician - Certified Music Practitioner, Music for Healing and Transition Program, Inc. Since 2015, she has maintained a private studio teaching piano to students aged 6 to 60, incorporating the Dalcroze Method and eurhythmics into all her classes. In 2022, Ivy joined the team at Bear Cub Mandarin Immersion Preschool Academy, Infant and Toddler Center as an early childhood eurhythmics teacher and music specialist educator.

Ivy believes that “Children are Born Musicians”. Children who are taught to experience and appreciate music through physicality can develop a greater sense of rhythm, harmony, and melody. The Dalcroze method provides a multi-dimensional approach to music learning, which is readily applicable to young children. She also enjoys reading, cooking, and camping in her free time!

My name is Sabrina Yan Zhao. I grew up in Chengdu, China, and received my Bachelor's degree from Sichuan Normal University with a major in English. After graduation, I worked as a bilingual (English and Mandarin) teacher in a boarding school in Shanghai for 12 years. During that time, I developed and applied a versatile teaching skill set in English and Mandarin for Chinese and overseas students.

In 2016, I moved to the Boston area with my family. I successively taught Mandarin Chinese and English and gained abundant experience with second language teaching. In the past 2 years, I had the opportunity to focus on working with young children. Watching them grow and learn is so very rewarding. I love teaching and believe that learning has to be fun and engaging. I strive to create a safe and caring environment for young kids that fosters creative thinking, problem-solving, imagination, and language acquisition.

In my free time, I enjoy traveling and spending time with my friends and family. My motto is: “To live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy.” I am so looking forward to partnering with you on this journey at Bear Cub Mandarin and to making this learning experience life-changing and lasting for your child.