Mini-Book 7- 動物護照 (Animal Passport)

動物護照 (Dòng Wù Hù Zhào, Animal Passport)- I'm branching out a bit and trying something new.  This is actually a project that I have wanted to do with my own kids (ages 5 and 7).  It is a "passport" listing some of the animals at the zoo.  The book is designed to reinforce some of the animal names they already know (but haven't learned to read yet) and to introduce some new words.  It is not a teaching book; any learning the kids do will be a result of hearing the words over and over again as they are used while at the zoo.

Inside the book are 14 animals names and the corresponding animal stickers.  As the kids travel through the zoo, the animal stickers can be placed next to the correct Chinese name.

HAVE FUN!

Notes on Printing-

• Printing a file makes 2 copies of a passport.
• The passport is simply much more cooler if the cover (first page) is printed in color on white card stock.
• When you print the animal stickers, print them on Avery Shipping Labels 48863.  They can be found in the office section of large retailers.
• After printing the animal stickers, cut the stickers into sections of 2*2 pictures so that the sections fit the dimensions of the passport book and you can staple the stickers into the book.

Click here for a Video Tutorial.

動物護照- traditional characters with 注音符號

動物護照- simplified characters with 漢語拼音 (Hànyǔ pīnyīn) 
Animal Stickers
 

Create Your Own Handwriting Sheets-Chinese Vocabulary Book

Create Your Own Handwriting Sheets-"Chinese Vocabulary Book" is FREE!  It's a very basic worksheet generator, but is worth posting because it offers teachers the option of including the

注音符號 with traditional characters or the 漢語拼音 (Hànyǔ Pīnyīn) with simplified characters. Each worksheet will contain rows for tracing and rows for copying.

This link is from Chinese Normal University.

Here's a sample worksheet of numbers 1-5:

Worksheet-  注音符號

Worksheet- 漢語拼音 (Hànyǔ Pīnyīn)

Create Your Own Handwriting Sheets-Hanzi Grids

Create Your Own Handwriting Sheets-"Hanzi Grids" provides leveled membership.  That means it provides access to the website with many features as free.  However, you can upgrade by paying membership.  This is a very neat website.  It has several features including:

• Control of spacing between characters grids/boxes,
• Control of the size of the characters within each grid/box,
• The option of using either traditional or simplified characters, and
• Control of whether the Learner is copying or tracing the character (slide the "Visible Characters").

Here's a sample worksheet of numbers 1-10:

Tracing

Copying

Color Coding Worksheet

This Color Coding Worksheet helps kids focus on the shape of the character or  注音符號 or 漢語拼音 (Hànyǔ Pīnyīn) letter that you want them to recognize.    Choose 3-4 characters or "letters" and assign each a color (see the key in the upper left-hand corner of the worksheet).  Ask your child to color each apple according to the key.

Below is a sample Color-Coded Tree and a blank one for you to create your own worksheet using characters you are practicing in your home.

Color Coding Tree- 注音符號
Color Coding Tree- 漢語拼音 (Hànyǔ Pīnyīn)
Color Coding Tree- Blank

Travel Bingo

Here's a way to practice Chinese in the car- Travel Bingo!  Print of one of the sheets below and then have your child look for the various items on his/her sheet.  Reminder him/her to call out the items as he/she sees them so you can verify it's correct.  Then let your child cross it off her sheet.  Try to find three in a row (up and down, across, or diagonal) or try to find everything on the sheet.

Here's several options for checking off the items.

• Reusable:
• Place sheet on a small magnetic board and use large (kid-safe) magnets to check off various items.
• Place sheet inside a plastic coat and use a dry erase marker.
• Got an iPad?  Save your Bingo card as a pdf file and then open it on your iPad using the app "pdf-notes."  It's free!
• One-Time Use:
• Check it off with a marker directly onto the sheet.

Travel Bingo- Blank  Draw in your own items to be found around town.  Don't forget to include the Chinese characters at the bottom (This is good exposure even if your child isn't reading yet!) and the pronunciation guide if they have learned that.

Stuck for ideas?  Check out the examples below:
Travel Bingo-Sample with 注音符號
Travel Bingo- Sample with 漢語拼音 (Hànyǔ Pīnyīn)

Ni Hao Kai-lan

Ni Hao Kai-lan is a good resource for young children who are just being introduced the Chinese.  Not only is some Chinese introduced, there is also an attempt to familiarize viewers with the Chinese culture and traditions.  Check out the website for a complete list of the activities they have available.

Create Your Own Handwriting Sheets-Hanlexon

Create Your Own Handwriting Sheets-This website was free up until September 2012.  I very much enjoyed it.  However, now it requires a membership fee.  Here is another awesome free website- Hanzi Grids.

"Hanlexon believes that only you know what your kids/students need to practice in order to learn Chinese efficiently, so we give you this tool to:

• Create and save worksheets and lessons out of any Chinese text.
• Annotate your text with pinyin and/or stroke orders.
• Share and search Chinese learning material.
• Create flash cards and big-sized worksheets.
• Browse what's popular in Hanlexon.
• Scamble Game Added!" 
 

 

Here's a sample worksheet of numbers 1-10:

Tracing

Copying

Venn Diagram, Who Live in Water & Who Lives on Land?

Venn Diagram, Who Live in Water & Who Lives on Land?-  This is a cute idea to help review animal names and the characters 水 (shuǐ; water) and 土 (tǔ; land).  It also introduces the character 都 (dōu; both).  Cut and paste animals into the correct section in the diagram.  Who lives in water; who lives on land; who can do both?  The pictures and the idea come from http://kinder-pond.blogspot.com/. I've adapted it to make it Chinese friendly.