Teach Kids Chinese – Everyday Chinese Play Time “Can we play this game again next time?” the elementary school-age girl told me at a Chinese Story Time. She widened her eyes with a big smile when she saw another storybook I had in my basket. She got more excited and told me what she wanted me to read that book next time. There were more big kids (9-12 years old) in the session. They were chatting about
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Time to Eat Everyday Chinese Expression The best way to acquire a language is to use the target language in everyday life. You can start with something as simple as the daily routine with your child. For little ones who have not started talking yet, they are listening to you. They hear you and they are learning about the sound around them. For the big kids, they are absorbing the new things around them and they have
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Talk with Your Child in Mandarin Even When You are New to the Chinese Language JJ is eager to help out his classmates when they work on their assignments in his Chinese class. Actually, many of his classmates would go to him for help. No one in JJ’s family speaks Mandarin. He is learning Mandarin as a world language at school. He is in the FLES program, Foreign Language in the Elementary School. It is a course
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Consistency and Learning Mandarin The young piano student stood up and bowed to the audience. The young girl was not alone. Her Dad held her hand and bowed with her together. Before the duo started playing the father made a quick announcement. He told everyone that he was rusty with playing the piano since he had not been playing for years. But, when his daughter invited him to play with her for her first-ever recital. He decided
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LOVE Messages in Chinese for Valentine’s Day Writing a short note for your child to read is something special. Add a short note to your child’s lunch bag and see what it happens. The more you do it the more fun it is. Start with a few sentences here, one at a time. When Chinese is not your native language you might have some concerns but you can start with one word, such as Love 愛 ài
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The Two Sides Of Teaching She is always a chapter ahead of the kids. “It is really fine and parents can make it work,” Kim told me as I explored how families homeschooled their children when they live outside of the U.S. “You are a teacher and you are a student. You learn first and you help your child learn…” another homeschool parent talked about her experience. Yes. You are a teacher and you are a student.
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A Gift It’s a new day and a new decade. It is an exciting time to continue what we have been working on and to begin something that we have planned for. Planning is a start. What we do after planning needs to be an action-filled journey. It is where the work becomes real. And, it is where the work turns into a daily project. It is where we see it grow. Ten years ago, I just
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La Ba Festival La Ba Festival is an important day leading to the Spring Festival, Lunar New Year. It is the day that kicks off the preparation for the Lunar New Year. Laba always falls on the 8th day of the last month on the Chinese lunar calendar 農曆 |农历. It will be on January 2, 2020, in the year of the PIG. The last month on the lunar calendar is called “La Yue” 臘月| 腊月
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Perfect Timing – Teach Your Child A Second Language What is perfect timing? Look at the big picture it can be when to start teaching your child a second language. When looking at the day-to-day learning it could be when your child is at the peak of the day to try something new. Babies are great with languages. They listen to the sounds around them even before they were born. Dr. Patricia Khul, co-director of the Institute
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Input and Output – Teach Your Child A Second Language Kids get excited to save money in their piggy banks. They shake it, wiggle it, and peek inside. Is it heavier today than yesterday? Language input is like saving in the piggy bank. What you say to your child is language input. What you read to your child is language input. The books you have at home is providing visual input. The posters with text, games with
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