I'm Still Here!

Just thought I'd pop in and let you know that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Also a BIG welcome to all my new followers!!! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey. I hope you find this info as helpful as I have!

I have just had a wonderfully sick pregnancy and even though I'm over half way now, I'm still getting sick at least once each week which is very annoying. I'm also a little sidetracked with sewing and knitting baby stuff. :-)

Aside from that, I did start reading our Chinese books to my son again and he has now been asking me what each page says and then repeats it back to me. He just turned 3 and has realised that when you read a book, you read the words (or in Chinese, characters) that are on the page so he likes to know what they all say. I finally got my ipod replaced too (there are some perks to having my husband work in an Apple store!) so we have been able to listen to his Chinese songs again. It's so cute to hear him copying everything they say and sing. He still isn't really doing tones yet but I can hear some tonal change in his voice which is an improvement. I can't wait to see how our new little bub takes to Mandarin as he (yes, it's a boy!!!) will get to hear it from the moment he is born. He'll also have his big brother using Chinese so it won't just be me talking.

Well I hope to get back into this very soon. I have the rest of the flashcards for my 1st textbook to post and I am always stumbling across more wonderful Mandarin resources that I can't wait to add here.

Thanks for reading!!!

My Review of 'My First Chinese Words Teacher/Parent Guide'

Originally submitted at Childbook.com

Handy Parent Guide

4out of 5

Pros: Detailed, Educational

Cons: A little confusing

Best Uses: Education

Describe Yourself: Parent

I have found this book quite helpful and full of useful ideas to help my son learn Chinese with the My First Chinese Words set. For each of the 36 books, you get the vocabulary list, sentences taught, teaching objectives, songs & rhymes, craft activities, games, references to the corresponding activities in the exercise book that you can buy as an extra, references to online activities, and homework.

To do some of the activities and work, you do need to purchase extra items such as the 'Sing With Better Chinese' CD set, 'My First Chinese Exercises' books, and subscribe to the online learning.

The parts of the book that are in Chinese are also in traditional Chinese which is a bit of a pain if you are using the standard Chinese set of books like I am. Some parts are confusing because they reference specific products or songs/activities that I don't know how to find. Despite this, I am still very happy with the book because the rest of it is very useful and has given me some great, practical ideas that I can use at home or with a class.