We’ve all heard the adage “hindsight is 20/20.” Looking back on the early days of when we first set out on our family language-learning journey reveals to me how important it is to change things up and to remain flexible with how we approach the process. It’s sometimes easy to forget during rough patches, but I have learned that having fun with the kids as they learn is more important than
Read more →
Easter is a fun time to learn or review all the color words in Mandarin Chinese! Have you dyed some Easter eggs? How about an Easter egg hunt? Do you know all the colors of the jelly beans? Have a fun and sweet time learning and repeating all the color words. When we dye the Easter eggs we see all the colors and we can say the names of each color. What
Read more →
Let’s sing “Eensy Weensy Spider” together in Mandarin Chinese! This classic children’s favorite will have your child singing Chinese in minutes. Let’s learn the Chinese phrases together…: Xiǎo xiǎo zhī zhū… – 小小蜘蛛… – (The) eensy weensy spider… pá shàng le shuǐ guǎn. – 爬上了水管. – went up the water spout. Xià yǔ, xià yǔ… – 下雨, 下雨… Down came the rain… xiǎo zhī zhū diào xià lái. – 小蜘蛛掉下來.
Read more →
2013 is the Chinese Year of the Snake. Did you know that in Chinese culture the “Year of the Snake” is also known as the “Year of the Little Dragon?!” Here is a Fun Spiral Snake craft you can make at home with your child. I have created the design for you to print out on stock paper. What you need: 1. Stock paper any color 2. Scissors 3. String 4. Glue
Read more →
Chinese people put red banners with lucky words, phrases and sentences on their front doors, as well as their interior doors, to welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year. These red banners and lucky word signs are called “chūn lián” (春聯). The paper for the banners is always red, while the words are in gold or black. The Chinese regard red as an auspicious color. Follow along below to see how you can
Read more →
Apps offer a fun way to learn at home and at school. The iPad apps listed below are my personal picks for Chinese New Year-themed learning, teaching and fun! We are always open to new ones so please feel free to share your favorites too! Note: This is not a sponsored post. These apps are currently on my iPad for my children and students to use. 2013 Happy Chinese New Year
Read more →
February 10th marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2013. This coming Saturday evening we say “farewell” to the auspicious dragon of 2012 and “welcome!” to a prosperous Year of the Snake! Chinese people also call the Year of the Snake the Year of the “Little Dragon.” In Mandarin Chinese rather than call this occasion “the Chinese New Year ” we call it “the Spring Festival” (Chūn jié –
Read more →
I have very fond memories of Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in Taiwan. The New Year markets, the red spring scrolls and lucky words, preparing the lunar New Year’s eve feast, games, stories, firecrackers, the red envelopes, relatives and friends visiting from near and far, and the holidays with the family all kick off the new year with a lot of excitement and joy. No wonder it is my favorite Chinese festival! When we are
Read more →
“The pine tree and crane herald longevity” Sōng hè yán nián – 松鶴延年 Our guest artist for 2013 Chinese New Year coloring pages is Rebecca Yi-Lun Lee 李佾倫, a Taiwan-based artist and an amazing art teacher. You can view her art show collections and her students’ projects on Rebecca’s art blog Qoo’s Teaching Journal. Rebecca is also an experienced writer. You can see her poems and short stories in Chinese on her writing
Read more →
Let’s sing the “Ni Hao” (Hello!) and “Numbers” songs with Miss Panda! (These two songs are also included in the “Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda!” audio CD/MP3 album.) Singing, dancing, and finger play are lots of fun for young children. Kids enjoy rhythmic patterns and music. It is a joyful shared experience when we sing with our little ones. We clap our hands, stomp our feet, jump up and down to
Read more →
