One way for those households that don’t have a native speaker is the hiring of a nanny who speaks Chinese. The NY Times had an article noting the upsurge in au pairs from China. Additionally it is possible to arrange play dates with other children that are learning Chinese as well as getting a Chinese speaking babysitter. Local universities will often have spouses of Chinese working on Masters and PhD’s who are looking for extra income. Another option is getting a local nanny, and there are a number around. If you are in public service, please remember Zoe Baird on certain requirements for legally hiring a nanny. Truth to be told, there is a large population of people in the US from China who don’t have papers who are nannies, so be cautious. Nannies are also taking care of your children, so picking the proper person is extremely important, particularly if they live with you. Friends of ours have gone through multiple nannies and it was not a good experience.

Private Chinese Schools

Traditionally non-public Chinese Schools in america start teaching children if they are old to sit still and copy characters. Most schools are still using traditional teaching rote teaching methods still used in Taiwan and China. For the most part with children in america, it does not work due to culture classes. There exists a huge amount of independence in children in america and using boring teaching methods that not capture the interest of the child so they want to go to school without a lot of parental pushing find yourself in failure. With the child being forced to go to school and often treating it as just babysitting, and not learning Chinese.

An alternative is finding a school that uses more of a Montessori Method or what’s used in ESL where there is a lot of conversation. I was amazed by my daughter’s public school language teacher who spoke of like this in the classroom, instead of the traditional concentrate on grammar in learning many foreign languages. At a young age, I will suggest programs that teach utilizing a lot of singing and other fun activities.

Chinese Learning Products

CD’s for Learning Chinese

CD’s come in two different kinds. One is products which are 100% Chinese of Chinese Children Songs or stories only in Chinese. best ways to learn mandarin include a book of lyrics in Chinese, and other’s don’t. Other products are made to teach Chinese and also have a booklet with lyrics in English, Pinyin, and Chinese Characters. The teaching Chinese products are both from from the united states (almost all) and a string from Singapore. The products for Teaching Chinese are bilingual, therefore the songs are sung in both Chinese and English. What I love about the CD’s is they give a parent an opportunity to be part of the procedure where they are able to Sing Happy Birthday in the Teach Me Chinese CD and Book in both English and Chinese (this series targets popular songs in Chinese and English). Another series have specially written songs for Teaching Chinese. The Teach Me Chinese Series has Teacher Guides available. The Sing & Learn Chinese CD & Book carries a an eye on the songs without words (like Karoke). Let’s Sing Chinese is a 3 product series from Singapore which has both familiar songs and new ones. 3 may be the most I’ve seen of any series of Cd’s for Teaching Chinese to Children.

Video’s for Learning Chinese

Video’s such as for example from Mei Mei use more of a practical approach teaching basic vocabulary and she currently has five video’s in her series. From the first one that teaches counting and areas of the body with songs via an approach that children want to later ones that progress such as her Play and Learn Chinese with Mei Mei where a genuine Chinese Kindergarten is visited. What’s great about this video is it gives your Child the chance to compare their experience and start to see the differences between their school and the one in the video. From lunch to PE to naps. To choose the right video for the child, I would recommend reading the reviews (both good and bad).

Books for Learning Chinese

A great book for all those just starting to Learn Chinese is I WILL NOT Bite. It’s a touch and feel book that has Pinyin, Chinese Characters, and English. The task of using a book is often you need to know how exactly to read Chinese, to be able to teach from it. A fun book for exposing Children to Chinese Characters is Long Is A Dragon by Peggy Goldstein A selection of books for Learning Chinese Character