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. She looks at me with a smile and holds up a word card.
We are an event for Chinese heritage speakers and their families. We have kids big and small come to the table to play with Chinese characters and have a “chat” with us in Mandarin if they are comfortable to do so. This girl has been standing close to the table a few times. She was watching the other kids playing the sand tray, building Chinese characters with spaghetti noddles and marshmallows.
Some kids come to the table with grandparents and some come over with their parents. The ones who come back for more than one round are usually on their own with their siblings. A grandfather tells me that “This is fun.” as he happily takes pictures and videos of his grandchildren building their Chinese characters.
Play with a purpose.
I design the table setup to be inviting to the kids. And, when they join in they can choose what activity they want to start with. Every activity is about Chinese characters.
This is something you can do at home as well. It is an effective way to introduce new topics, practice new expressions, and review what has been taught to your child earlier.
Here is what you can try:
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Listening: use head, shoulders, knees, and toes as an example.
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Sight word reading: pick up to three expressions in the song to start with. You can also consider Basic Chinese Character series.
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Phrase reading/Short sentence reading: try the animal topic with this one.
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Character writing practice: use a sand tray. Need a sand tray? Just use a baking sheet with parchment paper.
What is your next playful learning topic? What will you try first?
The Miss Panda Chinese Guided Program is a learning community for parents and kids. If you are interested in this program you can sign up here to receive your invitation.
photo by Photo by Markus Spiske
Teach Kids Chinese: Play With A Purpose