The first time I saw an ice cream truck was in San Francisco. I was spending a summer with my cousins. When I heard the music I was not sure what that was. Suddenly, the kids who were playing in front of me all disappeared and then came back with money and ran toward the music. Out of curiosity, I followed and running after them. Here and then I saw an ice cream truck. It was quite
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Starting each class with the Hello Nǐ Hǎo song is a routine for the kids in my Chinese immersion program. They are toddlers, preschoolers, and babies. My youngest student was three months old. But, I first met baby J when he was a tiny newborn in a Babybjön carrier with his dad. Baby J was about 2 months old and her parents were ready for him to join my class for the little ones. People sing when
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Hello hello, anybody home? Who’s calling? E.T. It’s not a real phone call. This is a pretend call. My kids used to call me on their toy phone. It was a lot of fun. I asked them questions and they gave short and funny answers. How do you say, “hello, hello on the phone in Chinese?” one mom asked me. “It is 喂 喂 wèi wèi in Mandarin,” I replied. The “hello” on the phone is different
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Mason asked me: “Are we going to eat it?” James said, ” I love lemon!” I told them we were going to make lemonade last week. It is always fun when fruit is involved in a lesson. It gives the kids an opportunity to try fruit that their friends like. They can also share their favorite fruit with their friends. I took the lemon out and asked the children to join me. “Are you coming?” as I
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You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. -Zig Ziglar Alice is amazing. She does not speak Mandarin neither does her husband. But, her boy does. Actually this college freshman recently has decided to minor in Chinese. How did Alice manage to get it started for her boy? When she decided a few years ago that her boy should learn some Chinese she just started. Yes, that was really
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Being different or being unique? The walk starts at the Third Street Promenade. Go and take a look if you are in Santa Monica. What is it? Farmers market. Not really. A place to shop. Yes, but there is more. Cafe and restaurants. Yes, but there is more than that. There are the iconic Dinosaur topiary sculptures and fountains that stand there for decades in Santa Monica, California. There are street performers. And, there is this cool
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Amy is tired. She had a busy long day at work. Finally, dinner is done and she just wants to take a break. Little Josh is playing with his sister, Mary. “Maybe, we can skip today,” Amy thought. Skip the Chinese routine that she has started a couple of weeks ago. Don’t skip it. Don’t! Keep it, even it is only 5 minutes. You can make it short and sweet for you and the kids. Try one
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“Dinosaurs are coming! They are coming!” “Come! Dinosaur Come! Come!” “Go! Dinosaur go! Go!” Kids are excited about the game. Last time, the boys told me they love dinosaurs. So, when they saw me taking out my “precious” collection they were thrilled. First, we talked about the names of the dinosaur and the dragon. These are 恐龍 kǒng lóng 恐龙, I pointed to the dinosaurs. “Are Chinese dragons called 恐龍 kǒng lóng 恐龙?” I asked them. “龍
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Disclosure: “This post contains affiliate links. If you click and make a qualified purchase, Miss Panda Chinese will receive a small commission that will be used towards maintaining the site.” Happy Mother’s Day! 母親節快樂 mǔqīn jié kuàilè 母亲节快乐 is how we say “Happy Mother’s Day” in Mandarin. 母親 mǔqīn 母亲 is a respectful title for mother in Chinese. It is used in classical Chinese literature and it is a way to show respect to a mother from
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Kids were having a great time in the classroom before I left for my next class. There was an end of the year class party going on. After I finished the last class I quickly walked back to the second grade classroom. I saw John, one of the students, sobbing. John was standing next to Mrs. Watanabe. Red teary eyes. Tears. Now, he was crying. Crying so hard. Mrs. Watanabe was hugging him and trying to calm
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