Teaching Chinese at Home

[schellen]

Charmaine_chong:

Hi all mummies,


Just for sharing...

I found a chinese readers that similar to Peter & Jane. Please click on the link for further information.

http://www.odonatabooks.com/webshaper/store/viewCat.asp?catID=3

Thanks! It's based in M'sia, right? The prices look reasonable. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find scans of how the book looks like inside.

[Charmaine_chong]

Hi mummies,


Yes. it is available in Malaysia.

Please see the samples. It uses the same theory as P&J.

http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq5_hZJ

http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq5_ktS

http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq5_mZ0

http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq5_pt9

[schellen]

Thanks, Charmaine_chong, for the pics! Is this book under the Pre-School 1st-100 words series? I notice a lack of hanyu pinyin except at the bottom for the newer and more difficult words. If that's the case, I don't think I can use it for my DD cos she can't read without hanyu pinyin.

[Charmaine_chong]

Hi Schellen,


The samples are for advance level. The 600 words. No hanyipinyin.

It has just launched 900-1200 words which is more complex.

The 1st few hundred words are taught with 2 new words introduction per page.

I personally find that han yi pin yin is good for them to pick up reading chinese, but will they rely heavily on han yi pin yin?

[schellen]

Charmaine_chong:

Hi Schellen,


The samples are for advance level. The 600 words. No hanyipinyin.

It has just launched 900-1200 words which is more complex.

The 1st few hundred words are taught with 2 new words introduction per page.

I personally find that han yi pin yin is good for them to pick up reading chinese, but will they rely heavily on han yi pin yin?

Of course cannot rely on hypy forever, especially for commonly used words but for my DD who started late, she is slowly gaining interest and a more positive attitude towards Chinese so I still find books with hypy for her. She has shown improvements in pronunciation and word recognition without hypy so hopefully when she reaches P2, she will be less reliant on hypy.

[Yong HL]

How to teach chinese at home - Preschoolers


My k1 dd just started her Berries lesson mid this year. And i really think that i have really started her late. While she can only recognise a few high-frequency used words, there are still many many words which she cant recognise at her berries level. I read somewhere that berries books are somewhat similar to Peter & Jane series. But there are just simply too many words that were already taught at prior levels that she has missed. And i am trying hard to figure out how to really teach her to recognise the words at home to help her catch up. i tried to drill her but this method is really not working out for both of us - we ended up in frustration at every lesson. So i must think of other way to make her learn in a more enjoyable way (if there is i hope!)... While it seemed teaching her Peter and Jane series a challenging job, this is even more challenging. While english more or less has a phonetic way to decode word, chinese words in Han is really really hard... sigh... HELP!!!!!

[tamarind]

Yong HL:

How to teach chinese at home - Preschoolers


My k1 dd just started her Berries lesson mid this year. And i really think that i have really started her late. While she can only recognise a few high-frequency used words, there are still many many words which she cant recognise at her berries level. I read somewhere that berries books are somewhat similar to Peter & Jane series. But there are just simply too many words that were already taught at prior levels that she has missed. And i am trying hard to figure out how to really teach her to recognise the words at home to help her catch up. i tried to drill her but this method is really not working out for both of us - we ended up in frustration at every lesson. So i must think of other way to make her learn in a more enjoyable way (if there is i hope!)... While it seemed teaching her Peter and Jane series a challenging job, this is even more challenging. While english more or less has a phonetic way to decode word, chinese words in Han is really really hard... sigh... HELP!!!!!

For Berries it is best to start a child no later than 4 years old. My boy started last year June in N2, he is coping very well now at K1.

Yes Berries books use the same method as Peter and Jane series, children learn a few new words every lesson, and these words build up since N2.

For the Peter and Jane series, it is very important to start from book 1a.

For Berries, you also need to start from the early N2 books. May be you can try to speak to the staff at Berries. They may be able to sell the N2 books to you.

If they don't sell to you, then look for the books \"Ji chu han zi\". I post the photos here :
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3878&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

These books use the same method as the Peter and Jane series, and book 1 starts from the very basic.

[tamarind]

schellen:

Of course cannot rely on hypy forever, especially for commonly used words but for my DD who started late, she is slowly gaining interest and a more positive attitude towards Chinese so I still find books with hypy for her. She has shown improvements in pronunciation and word recognition without hypy so hopefully when she reaches P2, she will be less reliant on hypy.

Ideally young kids should learn as many Chinese characters as possible before starting hypy, which is what the Berries class is doing. But when it comes to higher levels, hypy will help the child to read more advanced Chinese books and learn to read independently.

[Yong HL]

Thanks Tamarind


I went to popular yesterday and got a copy of the Ji Chu Han Zi as recommended in your earlier post. But its a pity that they have only 1 book left. Will check out Union if they still have the whole series fingers crossed

I checked out with the staff at berries… they only allow purchase of 1 term down books from the level i hv started. So no point to get that i guess.

Do you teach english, chinese and even maths at home? And are you working? somehow i just feel time no enough… or am i just not planning effectively? …

[tamarind]

Yong HL:

Thanks Tamarind


I went to popular yesterday and got a copy of the Ji Chu Han Zi as recommended in your earlier post. But its a pity that they have only 1 book left. Will check out Union if they still have the whole series *fingers crossed*

I checked out with the staff at berries.. they only allow purchase of 1 term down books from the level i hv started. So no point to get that i guess.

Do you teach english, chinese and even maths at home? And are you working? somehow i just feel time no enough... or am i just not planning effectively? ............

I teach English and Maths at home For Chinese, the kids have been attending Berries since 4 years old. I don't have enough time to teach Chinese at home.

For English there are lots of learning materials. I only have to teach phonics (with help from Leapfrog DVDs), and let my kids read one page of the Ladybird Peter and Jane series everyday, total not more than 15 minutes everyday. These materials worked wonders for my kids. Because both of them are reading very well, they don't need any help to do their kindergarten homework. Spelling is also very easy for them, so I don't need to spend time on that.

I still have no idea how to teach my kids to read Chinese like that. I am planning to stop Berries class at K2 for both kids, and do the Chinese enrichment at home. That's why I started this thread to find better materials. I think Berries has the best teaching materials, too bad they don't sell them outside.

For Maths, I am not ambitious. I don't need my kids to be very good at mental calculation, I see no point in sending them to learn abacus, etc. Anyway kids can use the calculator from P5. I teach them maths once a week on weekends, about 20 minutes for each child. For my girl, who is now in K2, she already knows the four operators very well, I am teaching more advance concepts like algebra and fractions, but no drilling for her. My boy is learning addition and subtraction, drilling is needed for him. I got him Kumon workbooks to do at home, don't need to send for classes.

I actually don't spend much time teaching my kids, I am also a full time working mommy and it is difficult to find time. But for kids below the age of 6, about 30 minutes a day should be good enough, so long as they study consistently everyday, even on Sundays, public holidays and school holidays. There is no need for them to study a few hours a day at home. Kids at this age should spend most of their time playing