A Wonderful, Winter-Themed Week!

    This week in our Parents & Tots class at Language Stars*, the winter theme continued.  We focused on counting objects and our activities were based on the story "The Mitten."  

    When we first started at Language Stars, I was surprised that the books we read are not in Chinese.  From the beginning, I purchased some at home and thought that this would be very important.  Don't get me wrong, I still think it's important.  I would like for my children to at least be able to read Chinese, even if they are not able to recall the details of the characters enough to write it.   But, I have seen how the teachers use books that are more readily available here to still teach Chinese.  And I have come to understand that the popularity of a book serves to keep their attention (like the week we did "Pete the Cat").  Plus, most of the time, the teacher is not actually "reading" the book, but doing more of a "picture walk," pointing out key vocabulary from the lesson.  

     Reading a book was just one of the many activities we did in class this week.   Even snack time is learning time!  Students practiced counting and number recognition while they ate.  Counting was also done several times during class with various objects, such as the maracas students use to sing with at the beginning of class.   Often, the teacher uses laminated sheets with pictures during snack time instead of objects.  It became clear to me exactly why she does this the week one little boy knocked over a whole pitcher of water!  

Counting and recognizing numbers during snack

Coloring sheets with mittens!

After snack, students complete a coloring page related to the theme of the day.   This is great for 2 reasons:  1) My son is really into coloring right now (maybe because his big sister is), so he likes coloring in class and gets another chance to hear/practice the new words, and 2)  He has a "reminder" from class to take home and hang on the fridge, allowing us to practice the words again and again.  

     But what I really like is something new that Language Stars is doing.   They are adding Chinese nursery rhymes to the curriculum.  I LOVE it!  You can hear the tones of the language better than in songs and it's a great way to learn new vocabulary!  Plus, my son LOVES performing the latest rhyme for anyone who will listen!   I'm excited to see his teacher's reaction this week when he says it for her!  

As always,

Thanks for reading!

Tammy

    

*We get 50% off our tuition for blogging about our Language Stars progress.

A Fun-Filled, Learning-Packed Hour at Language Stars

        My son and I just went to our Language Stars* class on Saturday. I say "our" class because I learn (and enjoy it) just as much as he does! One thing that has continued to impress me since our very first class is the well-planned and executed curriculum. The teacher manages to keep both parents and tots engaged and learning for, literally, the entire hour!
    
        There is a lot to learn every week. There's a song, some new object names, and other vocabulary, such as verbs. This week, we learned some animal names, sang a song about a spider, and focused on big and little.

        One of the first activities was simple but effective: The children each get a big stuffed animal, then each little stuffed animal comes out to look for its mommy. My son got the pig (ju with a high tone).  He thought it was really funny when the wrong animal came up to the pig to see if she was the mommy.  Each child got a different animal and the names were repeated at least 6 to 8 times.
      
        Of course, throughout class, the adults have to help the little ones ask questions like, "What is your name?"  We do it dutifully, even though most of us are no where close!  The teacher corrects us with patience, stressing the correct sounds.  She asks even the shyest of children (e.g. my son) to repeat the words after her, as well.
    
        Even snack time is utilized.  Each child is encouraged to say the name of the snack, ask for a plate and cup, and sing the "My Tummy/I'm Thirsty Song."  While the children eat, the teacher reads a relevant story.  The book is usually in English, but she speaks only in Mandarin, pointing out pictures for the little ones.

        While the children are seated, the teacher passes out a coloring sheet.  The purpose is 3-fold:  1) to practice color words, 2) to review the day's vocabulary, and 3) to hang it at home as a reminder of this week's class.  This week, ours was effective, but not fancy.  My daughter came home with a beautiful craft from the older class!  But, it has to be something easy for the little ones, so we colored big (da) and little (shou) chickens.

      
        We ended class with a song and sitting in the circle again.  Everyone sang the good-bye song (at least the parents tried to), and off we went.  In an hour, we had heard/learned at least 50-80 words, maybe more counting the songs and new vocabulary.  It was a very productive hour indeed.

Thanks for reading!
Any comments on your own second language learning experiences are greatly appreciated.

Teacher Tam




*I get 50% off tuition for blogging. What could be better than talking about something I really enjoy?

"I Will Never Have a Blog"

My friend's reply was, "Yeah, right.  It's totally for you."  I think she meant that I like to talk a lot and write a lot, so to her it made perfect sense.  Yet, with 3 kids at home (3 and under!) and my students at school, when would I find the time?  Here's me, finding the time!
I hope you'll decide to join me as I embark on this new journey.  My blog will be aimed at helping both parents and teachers.  Here's what I plan to offer you:
1)  Freebies!  Everybody likes getting things for free.  I'm a huge fan of coupons, so I LOVE free!  I'll offer some freebies from my Teachers Pay Teachers store and let you know about other great teacher freebies that are available.  Most of my materials can be used in the classroom or at home.  In fact, most of my materials are take-home games for extra practice.
2)  Product reviews.  As I teach and work with my own children at home, I have come across some extremely helpful products.  For example, LeapFrog rocks!  I'll let you know about my wonderful finds!
3)  Learning a second language.  My children and I are trying our best to learn Mandarin.  It certainly isn't easy (at least for me), but we're chugging along and actually making some progress.  I attribute our success to various materials (which I will also tell you about) and Language Stars.  I was very pleased when they recently chose me to share about my LS experiences on my blog*.  So, you'll be hearing more about that in the future, as well.
Thanks for reading and please join me!
Tammy


*I blog about my experience and get discounted tuition.  For a couponer like me, nothing could be better!