Teaching Chinese at Home

[laughingcat]

sean wife:

Hi mummies using the si wu kwai du…


How often do you revise the words which your kids have learnt before in the series? Do you make them read the single words, or try to incorporate them into simple sentences for them to read? Which do you think if more effective? Personally I find that as the words they learnt increase, it becomes very time consuming to go through single words every now and then ( I think there’s a recommendation in the book on the frequency of revision), so I try to write my own short sentences for them to read, but it can be quite time consuming and may not cover some words….if only there is a set of readers which follows the sequence of the series for them to revise the words they have learnt previously.

I also find that it’s still difficult for them to read along with me for Chinese books unless specifically asked to (but doesn’t work all the time…)…

Hello sean wife,

On a daily basis, I will selectively revised some of the single words and totally revised new words.

Like yourself, I will get my boy to piece together compound words and even sentences. After that we played some games (as mentioned in the book). When comes to reading, I am using the 学前阅读计划 幼儿首 (100-800) 字 extensively. On top of that, we also cover the basic chinese 500.

Everynight, I will read some chinese and english books to him. Of which some are his selection and some are mine.

[sean wife]

Hi laughing cat,


Thanks for your sharing…Yes, I do intend to get the学前阅读计划 幼儿首 (100-800) 字….in fact, I already have the first 100 words and intending to get the rest of the series. How do you use them? Do you let your child read a few pages each day or finish the whole book at one time? And do you only ask him to read the same book one time or many times? I am just thinking should they be used the same way as Peter and Jane series whereby I only ask them to read out one page a day and move on to the next page tomorrow since the words are repeated throughout the book? For the学前阅读计划 幼儿首 (100-800) 字, are the first 100 words also repeated in the subsequent books in the series? BTW the way, how old is your child? Mine just turned 3 this month….

[laughingcat]

Hello sean wife,


I used the same concept as Peter & Jane. He is now into 幼儿首 300-400 字. Everyday, he will get to read 2-3 new pages only. And yes, the words in the readers are repeated along the way. And that is why by the time the child completed the whole series 幼儿首 100-800 字, the child already knows 800 words.

If my boy has finshed reading that particular book, I will just ask him to read the last few or selected pages. But sometime, he requested to read the book by himself.

He is now 3 yrs and 10 mths old.

[tamarind]

Dear all,

I have compiled the list of wonderful Chinese story books in my home library here :

http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-raise-bilingual-child.html

I am also sharing my experience teaching Chinese at home. Please feel free to view and comment.

I will be adding more books to this list in the future.

[tamarind]

sean wife:

Hi mummies using the si wu kwai du…


How often do you revise the words which your kids have learnt before in the series? Do you make them read the single words, or try to incorporate them into simple sentences for them to read? Which do you think if more effective? Personally I find that as the words they learnt increase, it becomes very time consuming to go through single words every now and then ( I think there’s a recommendation in the book on the frequency of revision), so I try to write my own short sentences for them to read, but it can be quite time consuming and may not cover some words….if only there is a set of readers which follows the sequence of the series for them to revise the words they have learnt previously.

I also find that it’s still difficult for them to read along with me for Chinese books unless specifically asked to (but doesn’t work all the time…)…

Hi sean wife,
I usually let my kids practice one lesson for at least one week before I move on to the next lesson. I followed the instructions in the book, first use games to teach the new words, then read the stories in the book. I also let my boy read all the 2 word phrases every day. This series of books do revise the words that they have learned in previous lessons, reading every story in every lesson is sufficient. It is like Peter and Jane. I also revise the old words using the games suggested in the book.

It is important to revise the words. I usually revise the words in the earlier lessons in the same book once a week.

When I am teaching the Si Wu Kuai Du series of books, I did not ask my kids to read other Chinese books. Both of them enjoy reading the stories in the books because they know all the words. By the time my girl completed book 6, she is confident reading any Chinese story books.

[kids_r_innocent]

tamarind:

Dear all,

I have compiled the list of wonderful Chinese story books in my home library here :

http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-raise-bilingual-child.html

I am also sharing my experience teaching Chinese at home. Please feel free to view and comment.

I will be adding more books to this list in the future.

Dear Tamarind,

Thank you for your effort and time in posting those books and advise; appreciate it.

My girl is coming to 6 yrs old, and has finished Bk 6 of SiWuKuaiDu a few mths ago. I have juz started her on 笑猫日记 and though she is willing to read abt 3 pages a day for me, i find that she doesnt know how to read about 30% of the words(per page). Do you think it's too early to get her to read it now?? :idea:

[sean wife]

Hi Tamarind,


Thanks for your advice. I do ask them to read out the 2 word phrases and sentences in the book. But I find that if they read the same sentence more than one time, they seem to be remembering the sentence structure and reading out from memory rather than from reading the individual words…that’s why I thought it’s good to let them read more variety of sentences to ensure they can really recognize the word itself when it appears in different combinations with other words.

Anyway I have gotten the 学前阅读计划 幼儿首 (100-800) 字 as laughingcat recommends. It’s supposed to work like P&J, but I realise the major difference is the words from the earlier series are not repeated in the more advanced series. So each series will teach a new set of 100 words. But the words are big and clear and easy to start with I guess…

[ccgoh]

tamarind:

ccgoh,

All thanks to this series of books
http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2009/12/teaching-chinese-at-home.html

and also for the fact that my girl attends Berries since 4 years old. She knows more than 80% of the words in the long chapter books after she completed the Si Wu Kuai Du series of books. I asked her to read out loud to me, and I teach her to read the words that she does not know, so it is easier for her. Also, the books that I let her read are very interesting, and she really loves the books.

It is important that we do not make kids check the dictionary as they read. That will definitely kill their interest.

Good resources are more important than a good tutor. I highly recommend the Si Wu Kuai Du series of books to be used by tutors to teach. Also make sure that the tutor reads the first 30 pages of book 1 in order to know how to use the books effectively, we should be using games to teach, not just point and read.

The best way to get a child interested in Chinese, is to find good books for her. I have listed many books in my blog, and I will also be listing new books soon.

Hi tamarind,

Thanks for your help! Really appreciate it, if your daughter does not know how to read a word, how do you get her to understand it then?

Do you know where to get the Si Wu Kuai Du series? (not sure if you have posted about it before, but a bit lazy to scroll back to the earlier pages

[tamarind]

kids_r_innocent:

tamarind:

Dear all,

I have compiled the list of wonderful Chinese story books in my home library here :

http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-raise-bilingual-child.html

I am also sharing my experience teaching Chinese at home. Please feel free to view and comment.

I will be adding more books to this list in the future.

Dear Tamarind,

Thank you for your effort and time in posting those books and advise; appreciate it.

My girl is coming to 6 yrs old, and has finished Bk 6 of SiWuKuaiDu a few mths ago. I have juz started her on 笑猫日记 and though she is willing to read abt 3 pages a day for me, i find that she doesnt know how to read about 30% of the words(per page). Do you think it's too early to get her to read it now?? :idea:

kids_r_innocent,
After book 6, I did not let my girl read chapter books immediately. Before she started on the books in the 6 to 10 age group, she read many of the picture books listed in the 3 to 6 age group :

http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-raise-bilingual-child.html

Most of the books in my list for the 3 to 6 age group are actually very challenging even for P2 or P3 kids in Singapore.

笑猫日记 is meant for kids 8 years old above, I find that the subject matter may be too mature for a 6 year old child. Those books listed in my list of books for age 6 to 10 are actually much better than 笑猫日记. I would suggest that you read those books in my list first.

[markfch]

tamarind:

kids_r_innocent,
After book 6, I did not let my girl read chapter books immediately. She read many of the picture books listed in the age 3 to 6 group :

http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-raise-bilingual-child.html

before she started on the books in the age 6 to 10 group.

笑猫日记 is meant for kids 8 years old above, I find that the subject matter may be too mature for a 6 year old child. Those books listed in my list of books for age 6 to 10 are actually much better than 笑猫日记. I would suggest that you read those books like those books in my list first.

Thanks Tamarind. You're really a blessing to us all :celebrate: