Confucius is the teacher of all teachers. Benevolence rén 仁 is the core of Chinese culture and it is the fundamental teaching of Confucius, the greatest teacher in Chinese culture. Chinese children study Confucius words, The Analects at school. However, they learn about Confucius’ basic teachings way before they start school. Chinese kids learn about being kind, helping others, and practicing what you have learned from their parents. They learn from the culture that they live in.
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“London Bridge is falling down…” I started singing with my hands patting on my knees. The tots quickly stood up, moved to their parents’ knees, and were ready to sit down for the song, London Bridge is falling down. Many of the tots in this class didn’t talk very much yet in their native language, English. But, they listened to Chinese and followed my direction. They giggled as they were getting ready for the song. Listen! Listening
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What Chinese expression do you say when you meet someone new? What do Chinese people say when they meet a friend? There are several commonly used Chinese expressions along with “Hello! | nǐ hǎo 你好.” “What’s up?” “How’s everything going?” “How are you doing?” We hear these greeting expressions all the time. But, how about in Chinese? Hello! | nǐ hǎo 你好 is just the beginning. Chinese people say Hello! | nǐ hǎo 你好. It literally means
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Got apps? “Let me take a picture of your screen!” “What apps do you have on your phone?” “Which app is your favorite?” Tools. Apps are tools. Tools that can help you and your child find the words or Chinese expressions you need. They are handy tools that can help you listen to the pronunciation of a Chinese word or a Chinese phrase. How many apps do you have on your devices? Do you use them
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Preparation for launch! Sometimes we spend time a lot of time to prepare for an event. We want to make sure everything is in place. We ask ourselves, “Is there anything we are missing?” “What else should we have for the grand opening?” How about the launch date? Maybe we are not ready. We need to make it perfect and we might need more time. So, let’s push it back and postpone the grand opening day. Are
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Bumper cars! The trip started with a sunny day. We all got to the school at around 5:30am. Kids were excited. But, as we were approaching the amusement park after participating in the music festival the rain drops started falling. We had five buses filled with kids. There was no turning back. It was a go. Kids were off the bus and they headed directly to the gate followed by the teachers and parent chaperones. Kids immediately headed
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I always enjoy attending Maker’s Faire. Every time I attend the event I meet many creative people. In addition, I experience a lot of surprises. However, what interests me the most at every Maker Faire is seeing children can easily engage in building, creating, and designing. Kids ask questions. They are curious about the out-of-the-box designs. And, children are eager to make their own design with the materials provided to them at the event. Making something is
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Dedication. A mother said it to me. “That takes dedication.” she said again. Introducing a new language to your child needs dedication. Raising a bilingual child needs dedication. When you make the decision you make a promise and it goes forward from there. Dedication means you will be consistent. Smile, play and introduce Mandarin to her. Learn with your child together. You will walk with your child on this learning journey little by little today, tomorrow and
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“Chinese is fun!” “What are we going to learn next time?…” The kids are having a good time and they are eager to know what is coming up in the next class. I am gathering all my materials and am ready to head to the classroom next door. When young learners are engaged and enrolled in learning they are excited and fearless about learning something new. “Miss Panda, I know that song!” As I started singing
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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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