We've put together a treasure trove of ideas to engage your child in Mandarin. 

Easter Series Part #1: Story of the Chinese Character "Rabbit" 《兔》 

Did you know that Chinese characters have a history of over 3000 years? 

Roughly 600 (or less than 10%) of all Chinese characters are pictographs - stylised drawings of objects they represent. These are generally among the oldest characters. For example, to symbolize a person “人”, they used “”.

While words that are pictographs make up a small percentage of all the Chinese characters, they are still useful to learn. It is also an interesting and fun way to introduce Chinese to young children.

Try these conversation tips with your child:

• Rabbits are commonly associated with Easter.

兔子和复活节（fù huó jié）时常被联系（lián xì）在一起。

• Let’s watch how the word “兔" has evolved! 

我们一起来看看 “兔” 这个字是怎么演变（yǎn biàn）成今日的模样（mó yàng）。

• Can you guess which part of the word represents the head, body, legs and tail of the rabbit respectively?

你看得出兔子的头，身体，脚，和尾巴，分别在中文字的哪一个部分呢？

• You learnt a new Chinese word today. Wasn’t that interesting?

你今天学了一个新的华文字。有趣（qù）吧！

Easter Series Part #2: Classic story and song 《小兔子乖乖》

Have you told the classic story of 《小兔子乖乖》 to your children yet?

It is the story of Mama Rabbit and 3 little rabbits. Mama Rabbit has to go out of the home to find food for the little ones. So she teaches them to shut the door tightly while she’s gone and not to open the door to any strangers. The Big Bad Wolf comes while she is gone hoping to trick the little rabbits into opening the door for him. The little rabbits remember what Mama Rabbit has said, and stay safe!

This is a great story to use when teaching your children not to open the door to strangers.

Here we suggest 2 videos.

The first is a story version. There is some violence depicted in the story. Parents should pre-watch this video to determine if it is suitable for your children.

The second video is a song version which is suitable for all children.

1) Story Version

(Some violence depicted. Parental guidance required)

Pro Tip: Young children will enjoy acting out the story. You can assign roles or let them choose.

• Let's role play this story together.

我们一起来扮演《小兔子乖乖》的故事吧。
wǒ mén yì qǐ lái bàn yǎn 《xiǎo tù zi guāi guāi》 de gù shì ba

2) Song Version

Lyrics:
小兔子乖乖 把门儿开开
快点儿开开 我要进来

不开不开 我不开
妈妈没回来 谁来也不开

小兔子乖乖 把门儿开开
快点儿开开 我要进来

就开就开 我就开
妈妈回来了 快点把门开

Pro Tip 1: Watch the mama rabbit when she’s singing and observe her actions. You can also do the actions with your child while singing the song! 

Pro Tip 2: Learn the song well yourself, so that you can sing the song to your child repeatedly over the day and over the week even without watching the video. The more he hears it, the better he will remember it.

Pro Tip 3: To spice things up, you can do different voices when singing the song. Sing it fast, sing it slow, sing it with a high voice (like Mama Rabbit), sing it with a low raspy voice (like the Big Bad Wolf).

Easter Series Part #3: Easter-themed books for the rabbit-lovers

Are you looking for some Easter-themed books to share with your child?Or do you have a rabbit lover at home?

Entice your children into the exciting world of Mandarin through these books.

• 逃家小兔 (Runaway Bunny)
• 古纳什小兔 (Knuffle Bunny)
• 我的兔子朋友 (My Friend, Bunny)
• 先有 (First the Egg)
• 我的连衣裙

Easter Series Part #4: How to Fold an Origami Rabbit 《折纸：小兔子》

Here is a video for you and your children to watch together. In the video, you will learn how to fold an origami rabbit. 
(Suitable for 5 years old and older to do independently. Younger children will require some assistance.)

Pro Tips:
1️⃣️ Watch the video once with your child before embarking on the craft. Select "HD" under options if the video looks blurry. 
2️⃣ ️Play the video with sound to listen to the instructions in Mandarin. Your child will benefit from this. 
3️⃣️ Feel free to pause  the video several times, whether to make sure you did the right step, or to help your child with his.
4️⃣️ Celebrate with your child on his effort regardless of the end result! 

Easter Series Part #5:  

Ok, we heard you. 

Some of you are saying, "I get that Chinese is really important for my kids, and I wish to read them more Chinese books too. But, my Chinese is terrible, and I don't know how to choose books that are suitable. Help!"

This is the first of our book introductions, to give you a peek into what's inside our books, and to show you that it really isn't that scary reading to your kids! You can do it too!

Synopsis: 

A little bunny keeps running away from his mother in this imaginary game of hide-and-seek. Children will be profoundly comforted by this lovingly steadfast mother who finds her child every time.

The Runaway Bunny, first published in 1942 and never out of print, has indeed become a classic. Generations of readers have fallen in love with the gentle magic of its reassuring words and loving pictures.

Video:

This is an introduction video for The Runaway Bunny.

(Skip to 1:34 for the actual book reading if you are re-watching it)

Easter Series Part #6: More Ideas & Conversations Prompts

Happy Good Friday! While you are enjoying the public holiday and hopefully some quality time with your family and children, you can start making plans on how to include more Mandarin into your activities and conversations. 

Here are some conversation prompts for you to use. You may use as much or as little as you choose. Hopefully this will give you an idea of how easy it can be to incorporate Mandarin into everyday life.

Idea #1

Do some large motor movements and have fun! If you have more than one child, you can even have a simple race/ relay race. (suitable for 1-4 yo)

• Can you hop like a rabbit/bunny?

nǐ huì xué tù zi tiào mā

• Hop to the right/left/front/back.

向右／左／前／后跳。

xiàng yòu/zuǒ/qián/hòu tiào

• Hop quickly/slowly.

快快跳／慢慢跳。

kuài kuài tiào/màn màn tià 

• Hop on one leg. Now use the other leg to hoop.

用一只脚跳。换脚再跳。

yòng yì zhī jiǎo tiào。 huàn jiǎo zài tiào。

• Let’s have a race/relay race!

我们来比赛/我们来个接力赛吧！

wǒ mén lái bǐ sài/ wǒ mén lái gè jiē lì sài ba

Idea #2

See real rabbits (suitable for 2-6 yo)

Now we have been talking about rabbits for quite a while since our first Easter Series post here. This is a good opportunity to go see real rabbits, either at a pet shop, a friend’s home, or a farm. Depending on where you go, you may even get to feed the rabbits. Little children will be thrilled. 

• Let’s go see some rabbits at the (pet shop/our friend’s house/a farm)!

我们到（宠物店／朋友的家／农场）去看看真的兔子吧！

wǒ mén dào (chǒng wù diàn/péng yǒu de jiā/nóng chǎng) qù kàn kàn zhēn de tù zi ba

• This rabbit has (white/brown/black) fur.

这只兔子的毛是 （白／咖啡／黑）色的。

zhè zhī tù zi de máo shì (bái/kā fēi/hēi) sè de

• Would you like to feed the rabbit?

你想喂兔子吗？

nǐ xiǎng wèi tù zi mā

• These rabbits are so adorable!

这些兔子好可爱啊！

zhè xiē tù zi hǎo kě ài a

• This rabbit looks friendly/sleepy/scared.

这只兔子看起来很友善／很困／很害怕。

zhè zhī tù zi kàn qǐ lái hěn yǒu shàn/hěn kùn/hěn hài pà

Idea #3

Talk about Good Friday and Easter Sunday (suitable for 4-8 yo)

Your kids might ask you about the significance of the holidays, and who celebrates them. Or you might want to talk about them to your kids. 

• Today is Good Friday/Easter Sunday.

今天是耶稣受难节／复活节。

jīn tiān shì yē sū shòu nàn jíe/fù huó jié

• Why do Christians celebrate these festivals? What special significance do they have?

为什么基督教徒要庆祝这些节日呢？这两个节日有什么特别的意义呢？

wèi shěn me jī dū jiào tú yào qìng zhù zhè xiē jié rì ne?

zhè liǎng ge jié rì yǒu shěn me tè bié de yì yi ne?

• Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death on Calvary. 

耶稣受难节是基督教徒用以纪念主耶稣基督在各各他被钉死受难的节日。

yē sū shòu nàn jié shì jī dū jiào tú yòng yǐ jì niàn zhǔ yē sū jī dū zài gè gè tā bèi dīng sǐ shòu nàn de jié rì

• Easter or Resurrection Sunday is a festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 3 days after his death. 

复活节是基督徒用以纪念耶稣基督被钉死后第三天复活的事迹。

fù huó jié shì jī dū tú yòng yǐ jì niàn yē sū jī dū bèi dīng sǐ hòu dì sān tiān fù huó de shì jì.

• To Christians, Easter Sunday symbolizes hope.

对基督徒来说，复活节象征希望。

duì jī dū tú lái shuō, fù huó jié xiàng zhēng xī wàng.