Mini Study on Tigers with Ms 2 👧🏻 + a little encouragement for bilingual parents
#funplaywithchinese
Featured: NEW!《老虎来喝下午茶》on our webstore!
🐯 Look at the bookcover
🐯 Focus on pages she stops at / like - no, we didn't read the whole book
🐯 Have a pretend tea party
with soft toy tigers. Love the @sarahssilks gifted by @miraculove_sg too!
🐯 Sing 《两只老虎》song and recite 《一二三四五》rhyme
🐯 Play peek-a-boo with tiger just like in the book!
🐯 Bring tiger soft toy and book to 阿嬷家
🐯 Show 阿嬷 the photos we took that looks like the book
🐯 Watch 阿嬷 sew an orange-colored cushion cover
🐯 Gather orange stuff from around the house
and learn 橙色 chéng sè orange
(Real mandarin orange from 阿嬷's fridge, orange craft, orange cushion, tiger)
🐯 Check the mandarin orange out, eat, describe
香香的、圆圆的、冷冷的、酸酸的、甜甜的
xiāng xiāng de, yuán yuán de, lěng lěng de, suān suān de, tián tián de
真的橘子 / 假的橘子
zhēn de júzi/ jiǎ de júzi
This bookish play is all impromptu,
happened just this morning!
Don't think you can teach your child Mandarin?
I once was clueless and felt hopeless,
when my firstborn said “I’m English, not Chinese” and resisted so much when I tried to introduce Mandarin at age 3+.
Let's start small.
I’ll journey with you.
Here are some tips:
#1 Follow the child
#2 Use real-life objects / experiences
#3 Use rhymes and songs
#4 Incorporate movement
#5 Involve grandparents or community where possible
Choose one aspect, try it.
It get easier with practice.
Let’s learn alongside our kids,
one word at a time,
with curiosity, resourcefulness and grit.
The awkwardness will slowly reduce,
our forgotten Mandarin vocabulary will slowly come back,
we’ll be more confident to speak more Mandarin.
Over time, if we persevere,
and support them well,
our kids will start to understand more Mandarin,
they could be less resistant,
more confident!
There WILL be good and bad days.
Motivated days and discouraging days.
But with our little consistent efforts,
Mandarin can become a bigger and more “normal” part of life.
One day, they may even find pride & joy in our language and culture.
And who knows… pass it down to the next generation!
Cheering you on, bilingual mama or papa 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻