Videos
Real classroom moments, in full.
English, Chinese, coding, and the questions every parent asks in between — every video comes with a full transcript and key takeaways.
Too Late for Chinese? The Age 2 Biological Window Explained
As a Harvard-trained PhD physicist, I look at your child's brain as the most complex network in existence — but this network has a strict biological use-it-or-lose-it deadline. Why do so many Singaporean children struggle with Chinese? It is because they missed the brain's critical sensitivity window. This child shows neural density peaking around age 2. After that, to save energy, the brain ruthlessly eliminates 50% of unused connections — a process called synaptic pruning. It is not just about effort; it is about biological hardware. If a child does not hear specific Mandarin sounds early on, the brain literally loses the hardware to distinguish them. For example, if they cannot hear the "L" sound, their brain will substitute the nearest "R" sound. Instead of saying "letter," they can only say "ratter." They won't just struggle with vocabulary — they will forever speak with an accent, because the original neural hardware was pruned away to save energy. That is why at ChildFirst, we provide a daily half-day Chinese immersion environment, totaling over 3,000 hours of Mandarin exposure. We don't wait for primary school. We wire for native fluency and logic while the architecture is still plastic. Don't leave bilingualism — or logic — to chance.
- — Synaptic pruning eliminates ~50% of unused neural connections by design — the brain literally loses hardware for sounds never heard early on.
- — Missing the "L" sound early means a permanent accent as an adult, not just a vocabulary gap.
- — ChildFirst's half-day Chinese immersion delivers 3,000+ hours of Mandarin exposure before Primary 1, while the brain's architecture is still plastic.
The Great SG60 Ice Kachang Disaster
On Singapore's 60th birthday, a big ice kachang truck arrived. As the children took their first bites, the sun blazed hotter than ever, and the ice kachang started melting — syrup dripping everywhere. The melting ice kachang flooded the streets, turning them into syrup rivers. Monkeys grabbed ice kachang from the tables. The Merlion accidentally sneezed — he couldn't hold it back — with a sudden ACHOO! He sneezed on the ice kachang, and the syrup splashed across the city. "Quick, we have to stop the ice kachang from taking over!" The children worked together to clean up the melted ice kachang. United as a nation, the city was cleaned just in time for a fresh batch of ice kachang. As the sun set, they ate their treats and laughed, saying: "Saving Singapore is hard work, but ice kachang makes it all worth it — even with a brain freeze!" You have just seen how our children used generative AI to augment their creativity. So can your child.
- — Children co-wrote this original SG60 story themselves, then used generative AI as a creative partner to help bring it to life.
- — AI amplified the children's own imagination here rather than replacing it — the ideas, humor, and story were theirs.
Trilingual before P1 (Ages 2-6)
I am a Harvard scientist and a former Silicon Valley techie. I am trilingual. My vision for your child: trilingual in English, Chinese, and coding — the language of AI. In English, our children study Shakespeare and use generative AI to co-create original English stories — "There will be five seasons in the future: summer, spring, awesome, winter, and candy seasons." In Chinese, our K2s recognize over 50% of the Primary 1 Chinese vocabulary. In coding, our children have been the overall winners of the National Robotics Competition for the last three consecutive years. You may be surprised to learn that the brain's peak learning ability is around age 2. Don't miss the native window.
- — ChildFirst's trilingual vision: English, Chinese, and coding as "the language of AI."
- — The "five seasons, candy seasons" line is a real excerpt from a child's own AI-assisted story — genuine childhood creativity, not a script.
- — Students have won the National Robotics Competition three years running.
A Mum's Uncontrollable Tears of Joy | A Parent's Story
In fact, I was really proud when Lucas and his team participated in the Singapore National Robotics Competition this year and won multiple awards, including the overall championship. It's the first time I really experienced for myself tears of joy. I didn't know that was really something that could happen, but it was uncontrollable tears of joy. And the thing with ChildFirst is it does not stop at coding — it provides a conducive environment and encourages a thirst for knowledge in the children.
- — Lucas's team won the overall championship at the Singapore National Robotics Competition.
- — ChildFirst's approach to coding also builds a broader thirst for knowledge, not just technical skill.
Chinese without tears (Ages 2-6)
Water is doused on top of the fire to extinguish it. 灭 means extinguish. Children find this method of learning Chinese fun and easy. Using this method, our K2 children recognize more than 50% of P1 vocabulary.
- — Each Chinese character is taught through a memorable visual — like water poured on fire for 灭 — rather than rote memorization.
- — K2 children recognize more than 50% of Primary 1 vocabulary using this method.
Screentime for pre-schoolers
As parents, we're all worried about screen time. But as a scientist, I look at intent — there is a massive difference between passive scrolling and active creation. At ChildFirst, we actually delay screens. Our four-year-olds learn coding off-screen, using physical cards to program robots with logic and movement. They build the foundation first, without the screen. When we introduce screens, it's for active creation. When our children are designing code for our robot dance project, the screen is just a tool for learning, problem-solving, teamwork, and perseverance. Our driverless car project is another example. The screen isn't a passive distraction — it's the human interface to innovate and create solutions. Our children use the screen to bridge the physical and virtual worlds through 3D game creation, built level by level, using physical 3D materials first before proceeding to a virtual model on the iPad — one of the most challenging but also most fun projects for them. We even use AI for personalised Chinese revision, identifying exactly where your child needs practice. As a result, our K2s can recognize over 50% of the Primary 1 vocabulary. Ultimately, the screen, when used correctly, is a tool to augment human intelligence. We believe in leveraging technology responsibly. Beyond raising consumers, we are raising the architects of the future.
- — ChildFirst delays screens — four-year-olds start with off-screen, card-based robot programming before any screen time.
- — Screens are introduced only for active creation: coding robot dance routines, driverless car logic, and 3D game design.
- — AI is used for personalised Chinese revision, pinpointing exactly where each child needs practice.
Trilingual Curriculum (What about you)
I can code and solve problems — what about you? [A child reads aloud in Mandarin]: 毛毛虫要和朋友一起出去玩 ("The caterpillar wants to go out and play with a friend"). 朋友说你动作快一点儿 ("The friend says, hurry up a bit"). 毛毛虫笑了笑说我快穿好了 ("The caterpillar smiles and says, I'm almost dressed"). 我能轻松认读一年级华文课本 ("I can easily read the Primary 1 Chinese textbook"). 你呢? ("What about you?") This is my story: the youngest guinea pig popped the balloons and frightened the fox away. I can write using my imagination — what about you?
- — The same child demonstrates coding, Chinese reading fluency, and English creative writing — all three, in one video.
- — She reads the caterpillar passage unaided and confirms she can already read the P1 textbook, before starting Primary 1.
I couldn't imagine introducing coding to my 4-year-old
At first, I couldn't quite imagine how concepts like coding could be introduced to such young children. But watching Isaac come home, eager to share what he learned, was truly inspiring. One of his favourite experiences was coding the beaver to complete tasks. Isaac loved figuring out the steps to make it work, telling us that there is more than one way to solve the problem. Another notable conversation we had was that he explained the concept of loops and conditional logic in his own words. Let me quote what he said: "It will just keep doing until it's done." Hearing him articulate such a complex idea was definitely unexpected. It showed how engaged he was and how much he had embraced the learning process. But more than coding itself, what has inspired me the most is how these lessons have nurtured Isaac's confidence, curiosity and resilience. I once asked him, "What happens if you cannot solve it?" And he replied, "Then I'll learn from the mistakes." This mindset — embracing challenges, learning from setbacks, and persevering — has definitely been one of the most valuable lessons he has gained. The joy Isaac finds in problem solving, whether it's experimenting with coding blocks, troubleshooting an error, or celebrating a success, has extended far beyond the classroom. He allows himself to be challenged with the same thoughtful determination, analysing possibilities, and working through solutions — skills that will definitely benefit him and all our graduates throughout their lives, no matter what paths they choose. And beyond academics, ChildFirst has also instilled in Isaac a deep sense of kindness, friendship and community. The guidance and dedication of the teachers have helped shape not only his learning, but also his character. And for this, we are profoundly grateful.
- — A 4-year-old explained loops and conditional logic in his own words: "It will just keep doing until it's done."
- — When asked what happens if he can't solve something, Isaac's answer was "Then I'll learn from the mistakes" — a resilience mindset that now extends well beyond the classroom.
- — Beyond coding skills, parents credit ChildFirst with shaping Isaac's confidence, kindness, and sense of community.