Reading Activity Bookmarks for Kids – Chinese Reading Playground

Where to locate MORE Chinese Reading Program resources you can use:

• Mandarin Summer Reading Program poster

• Chinese books for kids booklist

• Playful Chinese reading logs

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar Chinese edition book activity printables

• Elmer’s Day Chinese edition book activity printables

• Good Night Gorilla Chinese edition activity printables

• Dragon Boat Festival ebook and activity printables

• Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus -story read by Miss Panda

• Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see -story read by Miss Panda

• Chinese Reading Playground

• Happy Chinese Playgroup

In addition to the reading activity bookmarks for kids,  I  also want to touch on setting up a Chinese print-rich home or learning space for your kids.

Creating a target language print-rich, text-rich home environment

A target language text-rich home shows kids Chinese is in their everyday life and encourage children to read and write in Chinese.  Creating a Chinese literacy-rich home is easy.  Checking what materials you have first.  Keeping an eye on the resources that you can use as kids advance.  Gradually, adding more to your existing collection.  What’s on top of all the materials is interaction.  Your interaction with your kids every day is the key.    Read to your child in Chinese every day or listen to Chinese stories with your kids every day.  Play with your kids in Chinese.  For non-Chinese speaking parents, you are learning with your children together.  Using and practicing Chinese with a monthly theme to focus on reviewing new vocabulary and expressions.  Here are 9 ways to set up your Chinese print-rich teaching learning zone

• Seeing:  Seeing Chinese books, newspapers, menus, labels, word wall, fun printables… around the house shows kids Chinese is a part of home.

• Listening:  Listening to audio programs, Chinese nursery rhymes, songs, and stories is connecting with the spoken language.

• Reading aloud:  Reading aloud is important in children’s first language and it is even more important in children’s second language.  Use books, ebooks, printable book activities to make playful reading in Chinese a routine.

• Interacting: Reading with your children, playing with your children, using the newly acquired words and expressions are important interaction and bonding with kids.

• Touching:  Using five sense in learning the target language.  Using toys, pets, furniture, household items to engage learning.

• Watching:  Watching children’s cartoons in Chinese, watching Chinese culture movies or documentaries include a virtual Chinese culture experience.

• Writing:  Pre-writing activities are getting to know Chinese characters with sand tray, play dough, Chinese brush, chalk, and different art media.

• Playing: Playing simple games in Chinese creates playful and exciting experience with learning Chinese.

• Observing:  Planning field trips to a Chinese supermarket, a Chinese culture event, a weekend Chinese school, or a Chinese restaurant.  Helping your children to observe the people, the culture, the Chinese Characters, store display, table setting, menu, the decoration, …etc.