Teach Your Kids Chinese: The Ultimate Resource Guide! Online and offline Chinese resources for parents who are non-native speakers. You are learning Mandarin as a family and you can make it happen! 2020 update.
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Teach Your Kids Chinese as you are learning Mandarin at the same time.
Teach Your Kids Chinese: The Ultimate Resource Guide! When I first started teaching Mandarin Chinese almost all of my students were first-generation Chinese Americans. It has changed over the years.
It is encouraging to see that my Chinese immersion programs for babies and tots and my school programs for elementary school students are comprised of 99% non-native Chinese speaking parents and families in the last few years. You also see a similar percentage in world language centers designed for children.
According to a report by the U.S. Department of Education (Mandarin), Chinese was the most popular dual-language education program implemented by individual states after Spanish. With recent research on bilingualism, the benefits of being bilingual, and the language learning ability of babies parents are ready to head on the bilingual or multilingual journey before their little ones hit the school age.
I have put together this Teach Your Kids Chinese Resource Guide with the non-native Chinese speaking parents in mind.
That means this is a guide for parents and families who are learning Mandarin as a second language. You are likely a parent who is a second-generation, third-generation American who can speak some Mandarin but need assistance with everyday expressions in Mandarin.
You can start with a Mandarin program in a bilingual approach so you, the parent, understand what you are teaching and saying to your child. You can also start with a novice level immersion program. You can pick and choose the most playful and age-appropriate program for your child.
When you are learning with your child together you have the flexibility of moving forward faster or stepping back with the course you choose as you go. You are going on an adventure with your child to explore a new language and a new culture. It is truly exciting.
Raising a bilingual child is a journey and you want to make sure you and your children are having a joyful time together. Playing is learning. Learning should be a joyful experience for you and your child.
Listen to Chinese songs, nursery rhymes, and stories: Your Captive Audience
You have a captive audience when you are in the car so this is a great place to share the Chinese learning fun in audio style.
1. Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda! audio album
This audio album is produced by me, Amanda Miss Panda. This top-rated audio program is created for young learners. It is NOW streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, Google play, and all major streaming platforms.
This album is in Mandarin and English bilingual style to help families with no or very limited Chinese background to start a playful bilingual journey with over 100 commonly used words, expressions, and simple sentences. A companion learning guide of the album with 140 flashcards and resources in PDF format is available at Miss Panda Chinese PLAYBOOK store.
2. A Little Mandarin song album
This is a beautifully produced classic Chinese children’s song collection and is a great listening input tool.
3. My First Chinese Words by Better Chinese (audio and books):
This set of books is for ages 3 and up. This is a Chinese curriculum set featuring 150 words in 36 books for non-Chinese preschoolers. It is available in simplified Chinese edition and traditional Chinese edition.
4. You can find more of my selected Chinese audio and visual learning material recommendations in this Gift Guide for Chinese Learners.
Audio programs you can use during the commute
Read children’s books in Chinese: Read, Read, and Read More!
Start a Chinese language home library, basket, or corner. Create a bilingual literacy environment at home. Let’s start with Chinese-English bilingual books with pinyin support. Read popular English broad books that your child has read and enjoyed to start with.
I remember the very first time I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar in Chinese to my first-grade students they yelled and shouted “I know the story!!” as I pulled out the Chinese edition of the book and showed it to them. They knew the fun story by heart in English. But, they were so excited to listen to it in Mandarin.
The online resources, like Miss Panda’s Reading Playground, will help you with your child’s first Mandarin stories. I love books with simple basic sentences and a lot of repetition. These books will build confidence in you and your young learners who are entering the world of a new language. All the books listed below are popular English broad books in Chinese.
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Good Night, Gorilla! [Chinese edition]
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Elmer’s Day [English-Chinese bilingual edition]
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Dear Zoo [English-Chinese bilingual edition]
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Good Night Moon [Chinese edition]
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Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See [Chinese edition]
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For more books check out the following book lists:
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10 Great Children’s Books in Chinese
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Chinese and Chinese culture books for your home library
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Chinese language learning storybooks for children
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Chinese Lunar New Year Culture Books for children
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Lunar New Year and Multicultural books
Online English-Chinese Bookstores
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Amazon has been adding more children’s English-Chinese bilingual books and Chinese books. You can search the book title adding [Chinese edition] and find compare prices.
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Amazon AUDIBLE.com has Chinese audiobooks for children and the collection is growing. Add [Chinese edition] following the book title or just search under [Chinese books for children].
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China Sprout is a place you can find bilingual books, Chinese cultural and educational products. (based in the U.S.)
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Book Depository is a U.K.-based bookstore with English and multilingual books including children’s books in Chinese. Free shipping worldwide. (based in the U.K.)
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Cypress Books is a U.K.-based Chinese bookstore with books in Chinese, learning Chinese books, Chinese magazines, English books and selected arts and crafts materials for calligraphy.
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Books.com.tw is a Taiwan-based bookstore with traditional Chinese books with Zhuyin support for children. They provide international shipping and it is a great resource for traditional Chinese reading resources. This is an online bookstore and the language options are English, traditional Chinese, and simplified Chinese. English is one of the language options to navigate the site. However, the products listed are in Chinese text.
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AliExpress You can find simplified and traditional Chinese books for children at AliExpress with English product description. AliExpress is operated and owned by Alibaba and it is an online retail service serves international buyers located in the Nothern American, south American, etc.
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TaoBao has Chinese books, Chinese language teaching resources, toys, and many more. It is an online shopping site that mainly serves the Chinese speaking communities. For international buyers who do not read Chinese, you can use a qualified agent to place orders with a service fee.
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Chinese Books for Children has a growing collection of traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese children’s books for school and home use.
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Tuttle Publishing has a vast growing collection of high-quality Chinese culture and Chinese language learning books for children and adults. It is one of the leading publishers focuses on Asian languages and cultures.
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Cheng & Tsui has Chinese teaching resources for Pre K-12. Cheng & Tsui is an independent publisher of Asian language-learning textbooks and educational materials based in Massachusetts.
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SquidforBrains has a wonderful collection of Chinese books written for middle school and above students. All stories are written in a comprehensible input approach.
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Hanyu World is an online Chinese language and culture learning library with a wonderful collection of audio-visual resources. (FREE & bilingual site – Taiwan)
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Confucius Institute Online (CIO) has programs in major universities in the U.S. and worldwide. It also provides online language and culture learning resources. (FREE & bilingual site – China)
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You can see a growing collection of online bookstores for Chinese-English bilingual books and Chinese books here Chinese-English Bilingual Bookstores and libraries.
Digital Download Printables
1. Chinese-English PLAYBOOKS created for young learners by Miss Panda. Topic-based PLAYBOOKS created by Miss Panda are in English, Chinese, and Pinyin. They are a resource for everyday target language input. The digital PDF format of each PLAYBOOK makes it easy for you to choose the pages you need.
Flashcards can be laminated and used for your word wall in your home to increase the visual exposure of a print-rich literacy-rich Chinese language environment. Fun playsheets and coloring pages can be used for your family’s Chinese Playtime (learning time) and hands-on activities. You can choose from Days of the Week or Numbers to start with.
2. Daily Noodles has well-designed Chinese-English bilingual activities books featuring numbers and animals. These are fun for craft time and family playtime.
3. Here is another resource for Chinese printables, there are over 70 items you can download at education. (simplified Chinese)
4. Exploring Chinese characters trace and write practice sheets. This is a site in Chinese but you can select the “English” translation on the upper right corner. (traditional Chinese)
5. How about some animal words? Morningmobi has some beautifully designed trace and practice sheets for kids. Printables. (simplified Chinese)
Learning Unit Printables
Watch Chinese YouTube Programs and Videos of Popular Shows
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Miss Panda’s Chinese Playgroup: Teach your kids Chinese is your family’s new lifestyle. Join Miss Panda’s Happy Chinese Playground on Youtube for an engaging learning experience.
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BBC Primary Languages – Mandarin: There are 10 everyday topics currently. You can see the vocabulary list with audio, videos and play games in each theme. This is a good resource for non-native speaking families. (Mandarin Chinese with English, Pinyin, and Chinese in vocabulary list).
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The Lingo Show: This is an educational and language-learning program produced by BBC’s CBeebies channel for preschool children. You will meet Wèi, the little bug who speaks Mandarin Chinese! It is a similar concept as the U.S. program, “Ni Hao Kai Lan.” Sample The Lingo Show here. (Chinese-English bilingual program)
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Chinese Nursery Rhyme and Songs: Three playlists featuring a collection of Chinese children’s songs and nursery rhymes here. (Mandarin Chinese with Chinese subtitle)
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Sesame Street in Mandarin: Elmo speaks Chinese! Chinese learning resource on YouTube includes videos of popular shows and cartoons. You can sample Mandarin Chinese Sesame Street episodes. (Mandarin Chinese with Chinese subtitle)
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Pippa Pig in Mandarin: Do you enjoy it in English? Pippa Pig is multilingual and Pippa Pig speaks Chinese as well. Sample Chinese edition of Pippa Pig and see what your little one says about it. (Mandarin Chinese with Chinese subtitle)
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Masha and the Bear Chinese version: This animated series is originally in Russian. So you see Masha is also multilingual. Sample Masha and the Bear in Chinese. (Mandarin Chinese with Chinese subtitle)
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Chinese Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō: This tiger is from Japan and it is loved by numerous young children in Japan (Japanese Edition), Taiwan, and China (Mandarin Chinese Edition). Kids grew up with this cute tiger and his name is Qiao Hu 巧虎. This program teaches kids about daily life, manners, and social skills with stories, songs, movements, games, and crafts. You can sample and experience Qiao Hu here. (Mandarin Chinese with Chinese subtitle)
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Stories and Songs collection from Little Fox is in Mandarin, English, and Korean. This is a program created by two Korean parents in Korean. This is a resource with 3000 stories, 300 songs, and 200 games. The resources started with teaching Korean children English and Korean, then extended to Chinese.
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Lingo Bus Chinese is affiliated with VIPKid English. We are hoping they will improve the Mandarin pronunciation included in their videos on the Youtube channel for young learners.
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Kids Songs in Chinese with PinkFong is a Korean children’s entertainment brand and channel. If you have heard “Baby Shark” song and dance video you know PinkFong. Their Chinese language channel is a resource for songs and stories.
Sing Eensy Weensy Spider in Mandarin Chinese!
Miss Panda’s Picks: Chinese Youtube programs and Videos of Popular Shows
Chinese Learning Apps for Kids
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Inkids has a flashcard app: Chinese Flashcards (Mandarin Chinese & multilingual) by INKids (Animal set/Mandarin Chinese version), it has a nice illustration and it is appealing to young children. I especially enjoy the Chinese characters that are included on each card for visual display. You will have to go to the language setting and select “Mandarin Chinese” to hear the correct pronunciation. English, Mandarin Chinese, and Cantonese are three audio options for this app.
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You will also find Gus on the Go a good choice with its simple and easy learning structure. Also available on iTunes.
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You can read the full list of my top picks of Chinese learning apps for children. (2019 update)
Miss Panda Chinese – Chinese learning apps for children
Enjoy Chinese Craft Time
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Hands-on projects involve and engage your children in the learning process. Join me and have fun dying Easter Eggs and learning Colors here!
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Craft time channel: Hana and Mr. Huusen’s playground! – craft time series
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Family Craft time with Healthy Seed: there are over 30 craft ideas in this playlist.
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Craft fun with Big Sister, Kele: Time for craft projects! You can find over 200 projects and ideas here.
Learn Chinese Culture
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Language and culture go hand in hand. Let’s visit the Asian Art Museum, take a look at Chinese cooking styles, understand the formation of Chinese writing and many more with Exploring Chinese Culture with Kids.
Exploring Chinese Culture with Kids
Plan A Chinese Immersion Tour locally or overseas
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Chinese language and culture immersion tours to China and Taiwan will be a wonderful experience. Your trip will immerse the whole family in the host culture. There are many short-term kids camps designed for young visitors if you are interested in a summer camp-style program.
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You will also be able to locate Chinese language Immersion summer programs domestically in major universities.
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There are also StarTalk programs featuring Mandarin Chinese for children in elementary school in different states. Check out their website to see if there is one near you.
Perfumed sachets at the market
Have These Chinese-English Reference Tools Handy
Raising a bilingual child is an adventure and you will be growing the language and cultural knowledge with your child. For the words, characters, phrases or even sentences that pop up you can use the online dictionary tools listed here to find the answers.
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PLECO Chinese Dictionary App – This is my top pick for parents and big kids. This is a must-have tool for your everyday use for words and expressions with pronunciation, Chinese characters, writing strokes and more (free version). With the basic paid package, you will also have OCR that you can look up unknown Chinese words in live mode by using your device’s camera, or tap-lookup words in a still image.
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MDBG English-Chinese Online Dictionary (with audio) – You can enter in English, Pinyin, or Chinese.
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Arch Chinese Chinese – English Online Dictionary and more (with audio) – You can see the writing of a Chinese character in stroke order.
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Yellow Bridge Chinese-English Dictionary
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Perapera Pop-Up Dictionary – Mouseover a Chinese word on a webpage and it will give you the pronunciation and definition! It works as a free add-on for Firefox and Chrome. This is a great tool for Chinese learners and parents.
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Google Translate App with your smartphone camera lens – This is a handy tool and it is free. The accuracy rate varies and it works the best with simple words.
Bring Chinese Language and Culture Home
There is one resource that can become a language and culture exchange opportunity. That is to contact the International Student Office in a university near you. Ask if they have international students from Chinese speaking countries. And, also check to see there are any Chinese student associations of Taiwan or China that you can outreach with.
International students who speak Mandarin Chinese are polishing their foreign language skills. They are learning about the host country culture. Many of them would be delighted to be invited to your home for an authentic American meal and see the American family culture first-hand. You can let your selected student know that you are looking for an exchange of Chinese language and culture sessions for your child on a monthly or a biweekly basis.
The Chinese Language Teachers Association is another good resource for you if you are looking for a tutor or a long-term partnership on the bilingual journey.
If you would like to see more resources in any areas that are not covered here please feel free to comment below or send me an email.
BONUS
Let’s Learn Chinese (Traditional Chinese/Taiwan)
Mandarin resources (Traditional Chinese/Hong Kong)
Jinbu textbooks 1 and 2 (Simplified Chinese/China)
I hope this Teach Your Kids Chinese resource guide will help you start your bilingual family journey! Do you know a friend who might need this resource guide? Share and work together on your raising bilingual children journey together.
Leave a comment and let me know what is the first resource that you want to try!!
[2021 update]
For more world language resources check out this wonderful collection with over 15 languages at Bilingual Kid Spot!
I love this collection, Amanda! Can’t wait to dig into these in our family! Thank you!
Esther, You are very welcome! Let me know if you have any recommendations to the list. Let’s always keep learning fun!
Wow! We love Chinese with Miss Panda CD and Companion Book. <3
Josie, Playing is learning and learning is playing. Being playful keeps children going and have fun learning! When we connect spoken words with written words children detect and see the connection in Chinese and in the language they use every day. Let’s always keep learning fun! Thank you very much for your support! -Amanda Miss Panda