Hot and Cold Game

In the familiar version of this game, an object is hidden from one child and his friends watch him/her bumble around the room trying to find it.  The friends give the person who is "It" clues such as "You're getting warmer" when the person is getting closer to finding the object, and clues like "You're freezing" when the person who is "It" is very far away.

In this Chinese classroom version, one child is still "It" but instead of his/her friends giving clues such as hot/cold, the friends chant the name of the object hidden (or of the target vocabulary word on a hidden flashcard).  As the person who is "It" gets closer to the hidden object/flashcard, the children chant louder and louder.  And as the person who is "It" gets farther away, the children chant softer and softer.

What a great game to get the kids to practice saying the target vocabulary!  Kids remember better when they are having fun!  Also, this is a nice game for helping quiet kids find their voice in the classroom.

I must acknowledge that Nicholas O'Brien, from Kalona Elementary, Iowa showed me this game (here's his blog).

Clapping Game

Clapping Game- Here is a wonderful game to use with young kids who are learning new vocabulary.  What's really nice about this game is that every kid can participate at the same time and they are all actively engaged in the activity.  In addition, this is a great way to encourage children to say new vocabulary several times (which can help them memorize the target).  Not to mention, this is a great way to get quiet kids to practice saying the vocabulary as well.  I picked this up from Mr. Nicholas O'Brien who is the Chinese language instructor at Kalona Elementary, Iowa (here's a link to his blog).

Here's how to play the game- Create a set of flashcards.  You can use a picture of the target vocabulary or the Chinese character.  Make sure the cards are large enough that the whole class can see the picture/character.  Show the class one of the flashcards and say the name of the picture/character.  Have the kids repeat it back to you several times.  Then ask them to chant the name as you mix the target card back into the deck.  Next, hold up one card after another.  Tell them to clap/applaud when they see the target card.

What Does the Wind Blow?- Game

My understanding (and please, correct me if I'm wrong) is that 吹什麼吹? (Chuī shénme chuī?, What does the wind blow?) is a traditional Chinese children's game.  It is similar to musical chairs in that there is a ring of chairs and one child sits in each chair.  There is another child that stands in the middle with no chair.  The child in the middle says, "大風吹," (Dà fēng chuī, A big wind blows) and the children sitting in the chairs respond, "吹什麼吹?" (Chuī shénme chuī?, What does the wind blow?).  The child in the middle then calls out something that some of the children have in common like a color.  For instance, if the child in the middle called out "藍色," (Lán sè, blue) then every child wearing blue would stand up and try to get to a different chair.  The child in the middle will also find an empty chair so that (hopefully) a new child is left in the middle standing and the game begins again.

This game helps to develop listening skills and practices target vocabulary.  Colors and clothing are natural vocabulary to use with this game, but you could also get creative and call out things like, "有第第得人." (Yǒu dì'dì dé rén, (People that) have a younger brother.)  You could also pass out papers with the target vocabulary (for example, 在, 是, 很 (zài, shì, hěn, to be at, to be, very).  Just be sure each vocabulary word is passed out at least twice.

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

Dragon Lollipop With Caramel Art !

Dragon Lollipop With Caramel Art-  A Chinese street vendor uses melted caramel to make an edible work of art.  This is just so different from what an child in America experiences on a day to day basis, that I felt this warranted culture-exposure status.  I hope your kids enjoy this! 

Want to get an idea about how to create your own sugar art?  Watch this Sugar Art Instructional Video.

And here is another video I happened across that demonstrates the Art of Sugar Blowing. Very cool!

Character Artwork With Tissue Paper

This is a supplementary post for "Getting Your Young Child to Write."


To decorate a character start by creating an outline of the character.  I created mine using Microsoft Word.  After typing the character, I enlarged the character and then (by going to the font tab) I selected "outline".  This created a hallow character my kids could fill in with tissue paper, buttons, beans, or fill in with crayons and markers.

If you are less tech-savvy, you can simple draw out an outline of the character.

For this art project, we glued tissue paper onto the outline.  I recommend that you do this with kids ages 5 and up.  I tried it with my four year old and she tried and had fun, but it didn't come out so well.  My five-year old was more successful.

Remember the point of this project isn't to make a beautiful picture (although that is nice, too).  It's to help the kids focus on the parts of the character.  As you will notice above, we used different colors for the different parts of the character, which really allows us to see the different components (such as 艹 and 人).

Animated Stroke Orders for Common Characters

 Animated Stroke Orders for Common Traditional Characters-  Here's a great place to find out the stroke orders of common traditional and simplified Chinese characters.  This site is maintained by The Ministry of Education, R.O.C. (Taiwan).  The site is available in English or Chinese (you can click on your language choice in the upper right-hand corner).  Furthermore, characters can be searched for through several different input methods including:  radicals, 注音符號, 漢語拼音 (Hànyǔ Pīnyīn), stroke order, or (if you can type characters on your computer) via characters.  It also provides animation on the correct stroke order for 注音符號.