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: 

Two different sets of free downloadable Wear or Carry Tiles

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

CAPTAIN NO BEARD! by Carole P. Roman

Shiver me timbers!

Welcome aboard the Flying Dragon, a mighty Frigate that belongs to Captain no Beard and his hearty crew. 

There's Mongo the monkey who climbs the mast every morning to watch the horizon looking for storms, islands or big sea animals.

There's Linus the lion who's in charge of roaring the alarms.

There's Fribbit the floppy frog who can fast reach every spot of the ship whenever it  is necessary.

And, finally, there's Hallie the captain's first mate and cousin.

Together they live fantastic adventures, but also learn important lessons about friendship.

They teach each other what means to be a team and work together, even if you're the captain!

Based on a game the author Carole P. Roman used to play with her son, these books about pirates will surely inspire your children and launch them into their adventurous world of hearty pirate!

But... Look out! Being a captain is hard work!



            

More books for young readers:
THE LORAX by Dr Seuss


THE MOON IS COLD by Enrich Lluch


AT THE FAIR by Enrich Lluch


WITCH HAZEL by Enrich Lluch
 
MARY'S TOOTH by Enrich Lluch

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

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS LUCY'S TEACHING FUN!!!

Birthday celebration today! Miss Lucy's Teaching Fun is 5 years old!!!

To celebrate this milestone I'm making a special offer for all readers of this blog:

If you buy the GUESS WHAT vocabulary game, writing and speaking activity pack (to prepare the Cambridge Flyers Exam) by Wednesday May 29th, on my online store 

http://childreneslworksheets.bigcartel.com/

I'll send you 2 additional worksheets of your choice!!!

Thanks a lot for making this blog a success! 

I wouldn't be here without wonderful readers like you!

Fiesta de Cumpleaños por Miss Lucy's Teaching Fun! Hoy el blog cumple 5 años!!!

Para celebrar esta ocasión tan especial voy a hacer una súper oferta para todos los queridos lectores de este blog:

Hasta el miércoles 29 de mayo, si compras el GUESS WHAT vocabulary game, writing and speaking activity pack (para prepara en examen Flyers de Cambridge), en mi tienda online 

http://childreneslworksheets.bigcartel.com/

Te enviaré 2 fichas de actividades más, de las que tú elijas!!!

Muchísimas gracias por contribuir al éxito de este blog! 

No sería posible sin lectores tan maravillosos como tú!!!

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

THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK by Kristin Levine

Little Rock, Arkansas, 1958. Marlee is a shy and introverted twelve- year-old. She loves maths and prime numbers, but she finds it really hard to talk to anyone except for her family. 

She has got a special relationship with her elder sister, Judy, who pushes her to talk to people, but especially to look for real friends, someone she will have something in common with, and to stop letting herself being bossed around by Sally, her supposed current best friend.

One day, a new girl arrives at her school. Her name is Liz and it seems to be the friend that Judy was hoping that Marlee would find. 

They start a school project together, where Marlee will have to give a speech, right in front of the class, about natives of Arkansas, and Liz manages, not without a huge effort, to convince her to do it, demonstrating that she really cares about her shy friend.

"It's important to face your fears," said Liz. " It makes you a better person."

Things continue improving in Marlee's life till the day Liz, suddenly, disappears from school, apparently without any reason.

In the meantime Little Rock's high school is being kept closed by the local governor to protest against the new Integration Laws and to avoid white students from mixing  with Negroes.

It's President Eisenhower's time and many southern States are struggling to preserve their way of life. It's all about states' rights and segregationists against integrationists.

So, due to this tense situation, Judy is forced to move to her granny's house to be able to go to school, leaving Marlee without her friend nº1.

At least she still has Liz by her side, but the same day of the presentation, Liz doesn't show up.

And it's awfully hard for Marlee to discover why. What happened was that Liz, taking advantage of her light skin and straight hair was signed up by her mum for the school for white people to get a better schooling and life opportunities.

In some way, she had been discovered to be a Negro and therefore, to avoid any persecution for her and her family, she had to disappear.

At that time Little Rock had a Negro neighborhood with its Negro church, cinema etc.

The KKK was generally accepted and black people were harassed despite the new integrationist laws.

Despite this environment, Marlee, after a first moment of feeling betrayed, decides that her friendship with Liz must go on, even secretly. 

This decision will bring very nice moments but also a lot of problems and dangerous situations. 

I'm not telling you anything else about the plot because it's really worth reading the book to find out for yourself what happens.

I enjoyed this book so much!

First of all because historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. It takes you to another historical moment, in a different place, with unknown people and their lifestyle. 

You can live another life and at the same time learn from it as it were your own experience.

The characters are really complex and the first person narrative style is deeply involving. It wakes up the ten year-old inside you.

It's easy to identify yourself with Marlee, blushing with her when she almost falls on her secret love's knees at the football match, or suffering with her when she has to put up with Red's bullying and racism, without been able to do anything to protect Liz.

And you also worry about her secret friendship being reported.

This book will dramatically increase the sense of justice naturally carried in every child. 

Your children, as Marlee, will also learn a good life lesson, explained by the Maths' teacher.

The world is not straightforward, and even if adults tell kids that if they do something good they will get that good result they're expecting, most of the time it's more likely a long complicated equation: people have to break it down into smaller parts to factor it. 

Winning the referendum about integration was the first step, and not the end of the struggle as Marlee had hoped, of a long walk on the path of solving the world's problems.

Good Classroom resources and activities are available on this web pages:

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/desegregation/printable/73231.html

http://lionsoflittlerock.weebly.com/activities.html

Enjoy them!

You might be interested on these books too:

THE EVOLUTION of CALPURNIA TATE by Jacqueline Kelly

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE by Laura Ingalls Wilder

THE ADVENTURES of HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain

Writing Tip nº 6: THE CREATIVE MISTAKE

Gianni Rodari's Grammar of Fantasy is an endless source of ideas for making up stories.

Today we'll talk about the CREATIVE MISTAKE. 

This technique makes the most of children's mistakes at writing or pronouncing words. An example of this case is in the worldwide famous fairy tale 'Cinderella', written by the French author Charles Perrault.

As we all know, Cinderella drops her glass slipper, running away from the prince's castle while the clock is striking the Midnight.

Well, it seems that originally that slipper was made of 'vaire' , a sort of fur, but for a fortunate coincidence, maybe a mistake of transcription, it was changed into 'verre', glass. Perhaps, a much more appropriate shoe material for a fairy tale.

Here some mistakes that can be inspiring for eccentric stories:

Work station ---> Working station ---> A station that works by itself while human beings spend their lives doing whatever they like

Post horse --> Posting horse ---> A horse that is in charge of taking mails and parcels to the post office could be a big surprise in big city.

Break dance --> Breaking dance ---> A cursed dance which break the bones of people who try to performance it.

etc.

Moonbeam---> Moon bean

Serial Killer --> Cereal Killer ---> Panic in the cupboard!

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

A bloody scream pierced the silence of the kitchen. The boxes, bags and tins woke up from their nap and gathered round to see what had happened: Quaker, their friend and comrade, was lying on the floor, his oaty guts spilled everywhere, his box smashed.

"Is he…?" said the tin of sardines in a quavery voice.

"Yes. He's dead."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then the bottle of olive oil started to cry, oily tears rolling down his face.

"Quaker was a great guy." he said. "He was a wonderful box of oatmeal."

Life in the kitchen continued for a few days. Everyone calmed down and started to forget what had happened to Quaker. Prepackaged foods aren't known for having excellent long memories. Eventually a new box of oatmeal appeared in the cupboard. 

But late one night when everybody was asleep, there was another shout, followed by a plastic crunch. 

The food awoke to find Uncle Ben, the bag of rice, dead. He had been smashed under a sack of lemons.

The boxes, bags and tins sat around till morning talking about what happened. Was it some sort of accident? It couldn't be! First Quaker and now Uncle Ben… 

It was the jar of mustard who was the first to say what everyone was thinking… He spoke in his thick French accent, "Lediz ahnd Gentlemahn. Ah tink we hahv a… a cereal killer among ahs!"

To be continued?

Contributed by Daniel Welsch, internationally bestselling ESL author. 

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

We can even take into account typical pronunciation mistakes:

Sheep --> Ship --> A flock of ships?

World War 2 --> Word War 2 --> Nice words against bad words?

Beard --> Bird --> A beard's nest? Flying beards?

Boat --> Boot --> Wearing a pair of boats? A fishing boot?

Anyway… Mistakes exist because the right words exist, so the creative process of inventing stories is inspired by the relationship/contrast between them. A sort of fantastic binomial that once again allows our young writers to explore many fantastic possibilities.

So, by all means correct your students' homework but at the same time don't forget to take note of their mistakes… Potentially they might be a good source of inspiration for their next writing project!

MORE TIPS ABOUT CREATIVE WRITING HERE

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