Teach Kids Chinese: Play With A Purpose “Can I play with this?” An elementary school girl looks at the sand tray on the table and asks me this question. She continues and says, “Am I too old to play with it?” Her hand is going through the Chinese character cards on the table. She is speaking with a mix of English and Chinese to me. “Absolutely! Which character do you want to start first?” I ask her.
Read more →Chinese tones practice net or prince! These are two fun expressions with three high-frequency Chinese characters. When you are learning Mandarin Chinese tones often become a focus. “Am I saying the right tone?” “Do I say it right?” It is important to relax and acknowledge that tones might be something new but you can learn with practice. The best way to practice is to listen to the accurate and clear pronunciation of a native speaker or her
Read more →A Family’s Guide to Chinese Programs Many recent studies have shown the benefits of being bilingual. Parents see the advantage of being bilingual and want to introduce Chinese to their children at a young age. In addition, there might be a plan in the parent’s mind to send kids to a Chinese program when they are a little older. What are the options available for you and your child? Let’s look at the Chinese program in the
Read more →The Progress Lies In What You Consistently Do “I think we read first, then let’s watch an episode of Meteor Garden,” my daughter says, as I am about to take out the Chinese checker game. We have been playing with it for a few days now and she enjoys it. “Let me get the book,” as she leaves and I put away the game. My teen daughter takes Spanish at school. Our Chinese reading time has been
Read more →Teach Kids Chinese: Sing Together Songs are stories. They are a lot of fun for kids. Listen to songs in Mandarin and you are listening to the words and tones without any efforts. Listen and sing! Old McDonald Had A Farm is a song that kids love. Sing it and see it. See the animals that are in the song. Listen to the sounds that animals make in the song. Now, listen to it performed in Chinese
Read more →Confucius’ Birthday Teachers’ Day Confucius’ birthday is Teachers’ Day in Taiwan. September 28th is the day to celebrate and honor teachers and educators. Teachers’ Day celebration can be traced back to 1952 and even earlier. It is the birthday of Confucius who is the greatest philosopher in Chinese history. Teachers’ Day in China is on September 10. It is a holiday in the Greater China region. You can see the celebration in Macaw and South Korea as
Read more →Tips To Set Up A Bilingual Home Part 2 Home is where learning starts for every child. Here are the remaining four tips that you can apply to your target language learning area setup at home or in the classroom. We’ve talked about visual and sound last time and here we will start with the sense of smell. Smell The sense of smell helps kids to understand their world, and it helps with learning. Chinese cooking ingredients: You
Read more →Teach Children Chinese: Tips To Set Up A Bilingual Home Home is where learning starts for every child. I want to share with you 6 tips to set up your target language learning area at home and to make the Mandarin Chinese visible in your family. There are six areas you can focus on when you first start out. Think about the time when you were decorating your baby’s room. You wanted to create a happy and
Read more →Things you need to raise a bilingual child Children are like sponges. When you go to the storytime in the library you see the little toddlers and preschoolers listen to a story with total concentration. At times, a few of them will share with the group about what they know about the story. Amazing! Sponges need water. What you provide to your young kid gives her opportunities to absorb and learn. Raising a bilingual child needs dedication.
Read more →Playful Chinese podcast introduces everyday Chinese to family and children. You can listen to Playful Chinese wherever you are. It is a portable learning tool for you, your child and your family. What you learn in every episode is what you can use with your child. Add listening to Playful Chinese podcast to one of your family routines. Listen to it during the commute to school. Start listening an episode during snack time at home. There is
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