Showing posts with label Child development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Child development. Show all posts

22.6.13

Anorak - We love Writing... And your kids?


Summer is very close and many children around the world will be soon on holiday--if they aren't already.

Entertaining them during the next long, hot days is going to be quite easy if you're able to get the next issue of Anorak Magazine, dedicated to writing!

Writing is the most fun and, secretly every elephant wishes it could write!

It's true, spelling isn't always easy, but your fingers could become round like sausages if you never use a pen.

Which was the first writing system ever created, who invented it and why?

How did we arrive in the digital era and its keyboards?

Find it out in the history section and then try to correctly answer the writing trivia!

After that, you will have the great opportunity to write something in Russian, just to impress your classmates!

For the youngest kids there's an alpha-forest full of letters A-a, but how many?
There's a ancient Roman inscription to crack besides a coloring page and a 'spot the animal on the bus' activity.

As always you'll find comics, rhymes, drawings and books reviewed by children.

Definitely another Anorak issue for your collection!

More about Anorak - The happy Mag for Kids

More about Writing

16.6.13

June Intensive Course - Update - Inglés en Madrid con niños de infantil


Hola a todos!

Un pequeño post sobre lo que estamos haciendo, yo y mis brillantes alumnos de 1º y 2º de infantil, en un colegio de Madrid, durante este mes de junio.

Hemos hecho muchas preguntas: What's your name? What's your brother/sister/ mother/father/granny/grandfather's name? What day is it today? What's the weather like? Where do you live? How old are you?

Seguimos con las canciones: hasta ahora hemos leído, cantado, bailado y jugado con The Wheels on the Bus, We're Going on a Bear Hunt y Five Little Monkeys.



Después hemos visto varios animales de la selva: bear, crocodile, lion, bird, giraffe, zebra, elephant, hippo.

Hemos jugado a Good Afternoon Mr Jones, para aprender esta palabra' afternoon' súper complicada :o)

También hemos jugado a What's the time Mr Wolf? para repasar números y animales ( se dan ciertos números de pasos según el animal elegido) y I can see, I can see…(a red bird) …across the sea, un juego donde se necesitan a captain/pirate y a shark más flashcards (o dibujos), que resulta muy útil para empezar a poner adjetivos delante de los sustantivos.

También hemos explorado las emociones haciendo muecas y por fin…pintado!

Hemos pintado palabras que empiezan por J (jump, jellyfish, jet, juice), K (kite, king, kitten), L (leaf, lemon, lorry, lion, Lollipop) M (mitten, milk, moon, monkey) y P (penguin, pie, pig, pencil). Las hemos revisado cada día con juegos y adivinanzas.

En fin, mucho trabajo! Y mucha diversión!


..............................................

Hi everyone!

This is a little post about my June Intensive Course. I'll tell you what my young students and I  have been up to over these past 2 weeks of English classes.

First we've been asking and answering several questions: What's your name? What's your brother/sister/ mother/father/granny/grandfather's name? What day is it today? What's the weather like? Where do you live? How old are you?

Then we've been singing along to these songs:

We've been doing many activities to learn them such as reading their books, playing musical chair, musical statue and listening to them during painting time.

We've also seen the words for many wild animals, such as bear, crocodile, lion, bird, giraffe, zebra, elephant, hippo.

We've played 'Good Afternoon Mr Jones' to learn this word 'afternoon' that seems a little tricky to pronounce. 

We've played What's the Time Mr Wolf?' to review the numbers and animals, (every turn we pretend to be an animal, and we walk and produce strange sounds).

We've played I Can See, I Can See… ( a red bird) …Across the Sea, a game that needs a captain/pirate and a shark, to learn that in English adjectives go before nouns. 

We've played Cops and Robbers and Bump the Color, also.

We've explored our emotions by pulling faces and finally… We colored!!!

We painted words that start with J (jump, jellyfish, jet, juice), K (kite, king, kitten), L (leaf, lemon, lorry, lion, Lollipop) M (mitten, milk, moon, monkey) and  P (penguin, pie, pig, pencil).

We've been reviewing them every day through quiz games.

Actually, a lot of work, but also a lot of fun!



6.6.13

CLASES DE INGLÉS PARA NIÑOS EN MADRID



APROVECHA LAS TARDES DEL MES DE JULIO PARA QUE TUS HIJOS 
 ¡¡¡HABLEN INGLÉS!!!

En el mes de julio, por las tardes, estaré disponible para clases de inglés, apoyo, repaso, preparación de exámenes oficiales (Starters, Movers, Flyers, Ket, Pet), clases para mejorar la competencia comunicativa y babysitting (juego, merienda, parque, mínimo 1 hora y media).


Clases individuales o en grupo, en la zona centro y sur de Madrid.

Para más informaciones, puedes contactar conmigo mandándo un correo a:

5.6.13

Free downloadable game about clothes WEAR or CARRY?


Have you spent the last 2 weeks teaching the difference between CARRY and WEAR? If your answer is Yes, this new post is for you! 

This is an activity I designed for my 6-year-old learners a couple of years ago. 

It's composed by several tiles, on each one the students had something to do to complete it. On one half they had to write the name of the article of clothing / accessory I had drawn, in the second half they had to draw the garments I had previously written.

In those days my class was composed of 15 students, so I prepared, more or less, 3 tiles for each one to complete.

I had also prepared 'Wild Tiles', the green ones you can see in the pictures, to keep the game going in case of some missing word/drawing.

Once they (had) completed the tiles we started to play in teams of 3 pupils each. When they were putting down their tile, they had to say:  "I'm wearing / carrying … " the object they were placing. Of course the rest of the kids had to check if he was right or not. 



If you don't have time to make it by yourself, you can find the photocopiable PDF of the same game plus a suitable version for children who cannot write by themselves yet (4-5-6 years old) on this link: 

Enjoy it!

I design series of activities based on a communicative method that will help children to practice the grammar they're learning at school.

Many ESL activities, I see, are nothing more than 'fill in the blank' exercises that only teach kids how to fill in blanks and miss the whole point of learning to speak and understand a new language.

It's much easier and more fun to learn by doing, and you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll see valuable results. 

You can get my activities on my online store:
http://childreneslworksheets.bigcartel.com

1.6.13

SHAPES FOR TODDLERS


Shapes and colors are the first subjects that a child who attends
kindergarden must assimilate.

I prepared some activities, inspired by Maria Montessori's books, that
will help our toddlers learn about circles, squares, rectangles,
diamonds, stars, hearts and triangles!

Besides the classic counting, coloring tracing and bingo activities,
they will learn how to organize the shapes according to their
dimensions and hue, and about sequences.

Finally, they'll get more conscious about the physical differences
between each shape, by making their own, using some colorful bars and
pins.

You'll find this brand new worksheet (40 pages) on my online store:
http://childreneslworksheets.bigcartel.com/

As always… Have fun!



More activities for toddlers:
THE SHOE BEHIND YOU

JUMPING IN AND OUT OF SHAPES

COOTIE CATCHER

25.5.13

Niños bilingües en Madrid: Meblis


Aprovecho de que en EEUU mis lectores estén celebrando 'Memorial Day' para escribir un poco en español :o)

Hace un par de semanas me fui a echar un vistazo a uno de los 'playgroups' semanales que organiza  Meblis aquí en Madrid. 

Pic: Whitney Museum of American Art



Meblis es una asociación, nacida originariamente en Roma gracias a la idea de una joven mamá española, que se propone de ayudar a las familias multiculturales en conseguir el objetivo de crecer a sus niños de manera bilingüe.

La idea se extendió a España gracias a varias otras jóvenes familias italo-españolas y, desde el año pasado, todos los fines de semana, niños y niñas acompañados por sus padres se encuentran en un espacio de Madrid con una educadora de la asociación para jugar utilizando un idioma común, diferente del castellano.

¿Playgroups? Qué son y como funcionan.

Estos Grupos de Juego que desarrolla Meblis son encuentros de 1 hora y media donde los niños siempre juntos a unos de sus padres juegan, cantan, leen cuentos y hacen manualidades 'dirigidas' por una monitora que les habla constantemente en el idioma elegido para ese grupo.

Es una hora y media muy entretenida y divertida en la que niños de 3 años y medio / 4 años aprenden un segundo idioma (principalmente él de uno de los papás, pero también hay niños que van porque sus padres quieren que aprenda ese idioma aunque no se use en casa) sin darse ni cuenta, como siempre pasa en el aprendizaje que se basa en juegos y actividades educativas lúdicas!

Los niños tiene la oportunidad de expresarse y utilizar el conocimiento que tienen de su lengua minoritaria, ganan confianza y dan un sentido al hecho de estar comunicándose en dos idiomas cada día. 

Lo que más me gustó fue el hecho de que estuvieron constantemente presentes sus papás para animarles, dirigirles y abrazarles, todo el tiempo del taller. Fue muy tierno.

El objetivo último que Meblis se propone es que el bilingüismo sea un derecho de todos. Yo asistí al 'playgroup' en italiano, porque de momento es el único activo, pero la meta es crear grupos de todos los idiomas! 

También organizan talleres para adultos sobre el bilingüismo, para despejar dudas  en los padres que hayan decidido emprender ese enriquecedor camino juntos con sus hijos.

Si deseáis organizar un grupo para disfrutar con vuestro hijo el aprendizaje de otro idioma diferente del castellano no tengais ninguna duda en poneros en contacto con la asociación!

Estarán encantados de ayudaros!

Más actividades para niños en Madrid

7.5.13

Teaching English Through Games 3: ORCHARD TOYS


One of the best aspects of my job is the opportunity to use toys and educational games as tools for teaching English.

I really enjoy playing with my young students, noticing their concentration and the effort they put into doing their best and actively participating in the game.

But, what's even better is how easily they learn from play experiences. After a couple of times they've already acquired vocabulary and grammar structures without even noticing it!

One of my favorite educational games producer is Orchard Toys, a company based in Norfolk, UK.

Their games and puzzles are highly educational and at the same time really nice, creative and fun.

I personally had the opportunity of using 'The Shopping List': a memory game where each player has to fill his own shopping trolley with all of the items on his shopping list.

The items are drawn on little square cards, that have to be placed face down on the table. The first player turns over a card and if the item is on his shopping list then he can put it in his trolley. If not, the card must be placed face down again on the same place and the turn passes to the next player.

So, while you're trying to fill your trolley you can also review or introduce new vocabulary, some place prepositions like in and on, besides having your  students 100% concentrated.

Orchard Toys really sells many products that, as they say, make learning fun. 
I warmly recommend them!

             



I design series of activities based on a communicative method that will help children to practice the grammar they're learning at school.

Many ESL activities, I see, are nothing more than 'fill in the blank' exercises that only teach kids how to fill in blanks and miss the whole point of learning to speak and understand a new language.

It's much easier and more fun to learn by doing, and you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll see valuable results!!! 

You can get my activities on my online store:



20.4.13

Build Your Own Neighborhood!


Mari Richards is a toy designer who delights us with her nice little paper houses, all downloadable for free on Vivint's The Neighborhood web page. 

It's a really good resource if you're teaching vocabulary about the city, its shops and places.

The houses themselves don't present any shop signs, but you can always let your students draw one, directly on the house's surface or on a sticker. 

However, if you like them as they are, using some toothpicks, you can even make little flags showing the shop's name.

Then, on a big piece of cardboard, draw streets, railways, pedestrian crossings and…there you are!  

Your city is ready to practice how to ask for and give directions!

Thank you Mari Richards!!!

More ESL GAMES AND CO.

Do you need a ready made game for tomorrow's English class? Miss Lucy's Teaching Fun: Guess What?!? ((Vocabulary Activities for Young Learners of English)) is the solution!



I design series of activities based on a communicative method that will help children to practice the grammar they're learning at school.

Many ESL activities, I see, are nothing more than 'fill in the blank' exercises that only teach kids how to fill in blanks and miss the whole point of learning to speak and understand a new language.

It's much easier and more fun to learn by doing, and you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll see valuable results. 

You can get my activities on my online store:

2.4.13

TWINKLE TOTS, CantaJuegos en Inglés


Empezamos con este post una nueva sección del blog dedicada a las actividades para peques en inglés. Estrenamos desde Madrid con el primer invitado: TWINKLE TOTS, una idea de Sara

Hola Sara, háblanos un poco de tu idea, ¿qué es Twinkle Tots?
He trabajado desde 2005 en España con actividades creativas en inglés para niños y jóvenes. 

En principio era a través del teatro. Yo veía el nivel bastante malo de inglés que tenían la mayoría de los jóvenes y la presión que había para que aprendieran el idioma. 

Esta presión también pesaba en mi situación personal; cuando conocí a mi pareja, él estaba un poco disgustado de descubrir qué yo fuese inglesa, porque pasaba totalmente del fanatismo del inglés. 

Entonces me di cuenta que parte del problema era la enseñanza - que los profesores nativos eran muy escasos (insisto que hace falta un nativo para poder coger buen acento y soltura) y había tanta presión que los niños se volvían rebeldes!

Entonces pensé que, quizás, lo que les ayudaría sería una actividad en inglés MUY divertida, sin exigencias, desde una edad muy joven para crear ya una buena base para el resto de su aprendizaje. 

Básicamente mi pensamiento era 'si tienen ganas de verme y jugar conmigo a mi estilo (en inglés) pues quizás no estarán tan resistentes en las aulas'.

Vaya historia no?!?
Bueno, entonces surgió Twinkle Tots. La música es ideal para la estimulación temprana. Y como yo soy actriz y cantante....


¿Qué es lo que más te gusta de tu trabajo?
Cuando me sorprenden los peques. 

De repente un niño que lleva un mes sin responderme se pone a hacer los bailecitos, o me dice 'bye bye, Sara' al final de la clase! Me encanta!


¿Qué es lo que más les gusta a los niños?
Les encantan las pegatinas! 

Empiezo la clase dandoles una pegatina con su nombre a cada uno y es un momento muy especial para ellos. 

También les encanta tocar los instrumentos

¿Cuál es la canción qué tiene más éxito?
Uff, pues será un empate entre The Wheels on the Bus y Five Little Monkeys

¿Realmente Funciona?
Sí, pero no lo puedo hacer sola. La participación de los padres es esencial. 

Se nota muchísimo cuando los padres se lo curran para aprender las canciones y los gestos, porque los niños vuelven la semana siguiente muy familiarizados con las canciones. 

Hay padres que me piden dejar a los niños solos en clase, pera la verdad es que lo pasan mucho mejor bailando y cantando en familia - otra cosa que creo que es esencial para un buen  aprendizaje: hay que hacer las cosas JUNTOS.

>>INFO CLASES 
Todavía no tengo un lugar propio - ese es el meta!
Nos pueden encontrar en los siguientes lugares:

Los lunes en El Bosque Encantado 17.15 y 18.15

Los miércoles en Sus Pequeños Pasos 16.45 y 17.30

Los jueves en la Bolsa Mágica 12.00
Baby Deli Lagasca 16.00
Grey Elephant 18.00

Los viernes en Baby Deli Pozuelo, 16.30

Los sábados y domingos en lugares distintos:
Entre Mamás, El Mundo de Mozart, Fun& Fit, Living Baby, Quisicosas

También hacemos fiestas de cumpleaños y talleres puntuales para colegios.

CONTACTOS



         

22.3.13

Teaching English through games 2: GO FISH!


Apart from 'Guess Who?' I also use this simple card game called 'Go Fish' that can be played by a small group of children (from 3 up to 10 players).

You need a deck of matching cards (like the ones we use for a memory game). So for example I have a deck of cards representing animals in which there are 2 elephants, 2 mice, 2 penguins etc.

Deal 5 or 6 cards to each player, depending on how much time you want to spend playing, and leave the rest of the deck, faced down, in the middle of the table.

The aim of the game is to get pairs of cards. 

One kid, Antonio, starts asking to his classmate, Luis: "Luis, Have you got a TURTLE?"

If Luis has indeed a turtle (yes, I have), then he will give it to Antonio, who gets a point for the pair of TURTLES.

If Luis hasn't got any card showing a TURTLE (No, I haven't), then he will tell Antonio to 'Go Fish'
In this case Antonio picks a card and the game passes to the next player.

The next guy will ask another about an animal he needs to match cards, and so on, until someone ends up with no cards left in his hands. 

Afterwards the children have to count their cards. 
The winner is the one who collects the higher number pairs.

The best part of this game is the attention that your students will pay to the other players, even if it's not their turn to play, because they need to discover and remember who has got which card.

VARIATIONS

1 - You can use any set of matching cards you want. It depends on what vocabulary you need to reinforce or teach.

2 - I usually have two winners: the first, who ends up with no cards left, and the one with the higher number of couples. That way I can keep playing longer.

3 - Arranging your students into teams allows them to use the pronoun WE: Yes, we have or No, we haven't.

WHY SHOULD YOU US GO FISH TO TEACH ENGLISH?

1 - Because you'll be able to study and review any vocabulary you want.

2 - Because students can practice the interrogative form of the structure 'have got' and its affirmative and negative short answers.

3 - Because it is a fun way to teach English!!!


Teaching English through picture books: ERIC CARLE


      


I design series of activities based on a communicative method that will help children to practice the grammar they're learning at school.

Many ESL activities, I see, are nothing more than 'fill in the blank' exercises that only teach kids how to fill in blanks and miss the whole point of learning to speak and understand a new language.

It's much easier and more fun to learn by doing, and you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll see valuable results. 

You can get my activities on my online store: