too bad Totsy.com does not ship internationally 

i myself cant read/write chinese, but my husband can..
so i asked my hubby as to whether we should teach simplified or traditional chinese.. and he said Simplified.
reasons being, it's more widely used..and traditional chinese writing is harder to learn..(most of them can read but not write tradtional chinese)

just a personal opinion!

hi garry..

i tried both one-to-one class and group music classes when i was young.. i remember liked the group class more!

more friends.. less stress..

:P

Hi Keeli & Hypatia,

thanks for the recommendation.. serge the monkey looks interesting!

hi jwp..

let me share this :
I have a niece who dont speak mandarin with any of her family members (expect her grandparents, she only get to meet once a year).. but when she was younger, everytime her grandparents visited, they speak mandarin to her.
fast forward a few years when she starts schooling.. (starts formal mandarin education), she picks up the language very quick! even though no one at home is speaking mandarin with her.

so i believe early exposure is important.. so do what works for you..