Let it snow. And snow.

Hope you all have a safe and snowy break! We're excited for the winter party tomorrow morning.

Just so you and your kids are aware, we're going to be working towards a no english at all classroom in January. They, of course, will not be in trouble if they speak English. But as a class, we will be setting a goal to speak only Chinese when we come through that door. This will help their brains really see a need for listening and trying to communicate with their new words, and help them progress even further with the language.

Winter Celebration

Calling all parents interested in being involved with the Winter Party Dec 22nd. Mrs. Cretsinger and I will both be keeping our home rooms for the day, so if your child is in her class in the morning, please contact her.

If you are unable to come in and help, any treats or little holiday prizes would be great to just send to school with your child to share with the class that day. We have 26 students.

Also, and more importantly, I'm happy to report your students are amazing. Quite literally amazing every day. They are doing so well with the language. They get along with each other, watch out for each other, work hard, and are learning so much every day. I am proud of them. And so happy to get to spend all day with them. Thank you for letting me.

Which country are you from?

We've been talking about various countries and what people from those countries are called in Chinese. It has become clear that the the geographical sense of six and seven year olds is quite varied, often limited, and always amusing.

"Other countries? Yeah, I've been to another country. I went to twin falls once. And you wanna know what's crazy? They just speak like us there. They speak English!"

"Is China almost as big as Taylorsville?"

"My cousins are from another country. They are from West Jordan."

etc. etc.

We've been looking at maps, globes, flags, and pictures from other countries, and learning how to ask what country someone's from, and how to answer that we live in America.

In math, we're working with telling time to the hour, number combinations to ten, using tens and ones to show a number, and adding or taking away a ten from a double digit number.

So apparently personal blogs like mine are not allowed in China. Hence no updates on the trip. I'll try and put some pictures up soon though, along with a summary of the trip.

This week we are talking about what we like to eat, starting with fruits. Ask your child to name a few. We know

apple ping guo

pear li

banana xiang jiao

strawberry tsao mei

grapes pu tao

watermelon xi gua

We're also working with counting like coins. So first recognizing the coin and it's value, then knowing how to count by fives and tens.

China

I've already told your children, and I'll be sending a note home tomorrow, but just so you know that what your kids told you I said really is what I said (I know this is sometimes questionable)...

I am going to China. Wednesday. I will be gone the rest of this week and the following week.

I'm not sure what our internet access will be on the trip, but if possible I will give you/your children updates of what's happening as I go.

I am attending an international convention and training on Chinese language teaching. Hopefully I will return with new ideas and materials for teaching your kids.

I also just want to say again how much I love teaching your children and how proud I am of them for working so hard and making so much progress already. Their brains really are working so much harder than most any other first grader. All day. It is incredible to be a part of.

SEP's and Vocab lists

We have typed up a schedule and will be sending it home tomorrow of everyone's times for conferences next Monday and Tuesday. Many were wondering if the kids will still be having school that day. Yes. They will. We will just have subs that day to allow for enough time to meet with everyone. If your conference is Monday during the day, just check in with the office, get your child out of class, and they accompany them back to class afterwards.

Also, sorry if we are/have been slow at answering emails. Our computers have been down, and our email inaccessible.

I saw on many of the returned forms that you would like to see a list of vocabulary words each week and perhaps a composite of what words the kids should know up to this point. I am happy to do it and appreciate the feedback. I did that last year but many parents felt like they were then responsible for teaching their kids the words.

If I send home a list Monday, it will be with words we will be working on that week, so your child won't know them yet. By Friday they should be fairly comfortable with them. But if there are a few they still do not know, please do not feel like you have to teach them. In fact, as kindly as I can say it, please do not try to teach them Chinese :) This is also what happened last year with the lists, and then some kids memorized words incorrectly or had to learn them twice.

To avoid this, I will record the list on lingt so you can hear them and your child can practice them correctly. Also, we constantly review, reuse, and re-teach vocabulary words, so if the words are not sinking in the first week for whatever reason, they will have plenty of chances to absorb.

Thanks for all you do for your kids! I love teaching and spending all day with them. They are doing incredible things daily.

Math

We are all done with Acuity, the math benchmark test to assess how the are understanding the core curriculum for the state. They all did very well! They are tested in English on concepts they have learned in Chinese and had reviewed in English, and almost every single student got 90% or better!

REMINDER: On the back of the math homework this week is the goal sheet and time preference for SEP conferences. Please send it back Friday, as usual for homework, so we can get on the scheduling. Thanks!

Also, we have some artwork I'd like to put in the hall if any of you are close to the school and looking for a volunteer opportunity. It is in the volunteer desk just outside my door.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Part of your child's homework this week is to fill out and return a goal sheet that we will use during these conferences. You will also be asked what time is most convenient for you. We want to set up everyone's conferences for a time that is good for them, so please let us know if there is a specific time you can (or cannot come).

You will notice the paper says Monday all day and Tuesday after school. In order to meet with everyone, Mrs. Cretsinger and I will both have substitutes Monday so we can conference from 8:30-7:00. On Tuesday we will begin directly after school and go till 7:00.

Please make sure to have this returned Friday so we can make up a schedule and send it home the following Monday.

This week in class is all about birthdays. We will be learning how to ask and answer when each other's birthdays are, as well as how to write all the characters for doing so. We will be taking the Fall benchmark test for math tomorrow.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

So please send your children in enough clothing to make playing outside in the snow during recess a pleasant experience.

Today we learned how to say

Snow _______________ xue

It's snowing! ____________ xia xue le

Snow ball ______________ xue qiu

Snow man _______________ xue ren

I know that xue is close to meaningless to you as far as letting you know what sound to make. When you see an x, you make a sh sound. So the word xue is similar to a "Shhhh" smashed into the front of "weigh". We will keep practicing and hopefully your kids can just teach you how to say it correctly.

In math, we are working more with subtraction. Ask your child to tell you how to say "add", "minus" and "equals" in Chinese. We are also talking about tens and ones. So you can quiz your child by giving them a double digit number and asking how many tens and ones are in that number. We've been using blocks and drawing it, so asking them to draw a number using tens and ones would also be a great review.

Reminder that there is no school Friday.

Red Ribbon Week

There will be no homework to turn in this week. Reading slips and a schedule for what to wear each day for red ribbon week were sent home with my morning class.

It would be a great time to talk with your kids about why they would want to choose to be drug free and the importance of correct choices.

We'll be learning vocabulary for how to talk about the life cycle of a pumpkin as well as an introduction to the house and rooms of the house.

Please keep reviewing:

Month and season order

Money names and values

我爱我的家 I love my family

Loved seeing many of you at the carnival. Halloween doesn't get much better than being six years old.

Tomorrow I will be at a conference for Dual Immersion teachers. Mrs. Wu will be teaching, and they will be making a book about family members. We have been working on how to write the characters for different members of the family this week.

Below is a clip from Chinese4kids.net of a family tree using chinese characters, beginning with grandparents on either side. Father is on the left, mother on the right. The character at the top is "Jia" which can mean both family or home.

This coming week is a short week, with no school on Friday. We will be working on vocabulary for the rooms and things in our houses.

*Something cool: If you eat at Panda express Friday, Oct 22, 20% of the proceeds will go to our school.

Fun with shapes

Here are a few pictures from an activity we did with shapes. Review with your child how to say the names of different shapes in Chinese and English.

In Chinese they know:

• Circle yuan xing or yuan quan
• Square zheng fang xing
• Rectangle chang fang xing
• Triangle san jiao xing
• Star xing xing

In English they should also know:

rhombus, oval, trapezoid

It's that special time of year...

When the leaves are gorgeous, the temperatures ideal, and everyone's sharing germs. I've been sick all weekend and wasn't there today. I'm not sure how many of your kids have been sick yet, but we'll keep reminding them to wash and sanitize while they're at school. If you can also remind them about covering mouths when sneezing and coughing, and washing hands, hopefully we can keep those germs to ourselves. Also, please don't send your child to school sick. It's much better for everyone if they can stay home and recover fully and come back when they are healthy again.

My sub (my Chinese speaking aid Mrs. Wu) told me only my morning class was given the homework. So the rest will get it tomorrow.

Quick reminder about the completely optional and very fun PTA Halloween Carnival after school this Thursday, October 21st.

Picture Day tomorrow!

Just a reminder of the big day tomorrow. And since this week is short week, try to have the homework back by Wednesday. It shouldn't be too challenging of stuff, but good practice.

Many are still having a very hard time recognizing coins. Continue to review names and values with your kids when you get a chance.

We're working on "What's in the backpack?" this week, so vocabulary for school things.

You child should already know

pencil

backpack

white board

book

and we're working on

paper

notebook

eraser

pen

scissors

Months and Money

Please continue to review the months of the year and seasons with your child so they can be comfortable with the order. Also, naming the coins and knowing the value is something they could all use extra practice with. Ask your child to tell you how to say the months in Chinese or to sing the month song for you.

reminder: Picture day will be Tuesday, October 12. There will be no school Thursday, October 14, and Friday, October 15.

National Walk to School Day

Just a reminder about tomorrow, Wednesday, October 6th. Our school has been selected as the national elementary school for media coverage of the celebration. All students (for whom it is safe and reasonable) are encouraged to walk to school.

There will be bagels and prizes and visits from many important people.

ALSO: I know the instructions for the Chinese side of the homework got cut off. Sorry! I explained what to do to the kids, but have this strange feeling they may not entirely remember... They are supposed to write the English name for the month underneath the Chinese name for it.

October is upon us

This coming week we will be working with two books; The balloon flies away, which reviews colors, and What's in the backpack?, which teaches vocabulary for things we use at school. Most are already quite comfortable saying the colors, so this week the focus will be on recognizing the characters for the different colors. On Friday we will be making a book they can take home and read to you about the different colors.

In math we will continue work with graphing, money, and ordering months as well as addition strategies and practice. Distinguishing between a nickel and a quarter seems to be quite the challenge for many. Please help them see the ways to tell them apart, and practice quizing them on money names and values.

For science we will be learning about what things fly and why.

Homework

Your child should have brought home their homework folder today. And if they just turned it in from last week today, it's just fine. When there's no school on Friday, try to have them bring it Thursday, but if they forget, I will still take it the following Monday.

Inside is their math homework, reading slip, and a paper we began (some finished) today that is writing the character for "month" 月

If it is not finished, please have them finish it, making sure to follow the correct stroke order. If it is done, ask them to show you the correct way to write it. (Steps can be found on the top of the sheet)

We'll be working a lot with sorting and bar graphs this week, so if they're eating or playing with anything that could be sorted or counted and put into groups, do it! We're also doing money, beginning with the penny and nickel.

Also, the directory is finished. Look for it in the Thursday notes this week.

click here for a great printable book on months of the year

Fall

This coming week we will be focusing on shapes; their attributes, names, and where they are found in the world around us. If you have time, encourage your child to find and then draw or take a picture of a shape somewhere in their house. They can then share these with the class.

We will be learning circle, square, rectangle and triangle in Chinese. Some of the more difficult ones to remember (in English) are : rhombus, hexagon, trapezoid and parallelogram.

We will also be talking about months of the year and seasons as we watch the leaves start to fall. Review with them the months in order, or ask them "What's the month/season after____?"

Chinese vocabulary will be shape words, how to ask about shapes, and memorzing the characters for the different colors.

I am awesome!

Not me. That's the book we've been working with this week, as we continue to learn vocabulary about ourselves. We've been talking about how to be nice to others and how to make friends as well. So if you're looking for some dinner conversation, ask them what it means to be a good friend, what it means to be a good student, and why would want to be either.

We took our September math benchmark tests today, so I have a much better picture of where each student is and will start to differentiate more accordingly.

Thank you so much to the parents who have volunteered this week! Thanks in particular to Maddison Watt's lovely mother who is typing up the directory for us. We get that copied and sent home to you sometime next week.

This is a great group of kids, and they all seem to be getting along very well. We're having lots of fun and learning so much every day!

Also, this is a great website for parents interested in learning Chinese

http://chinesepod.com/

Who are you?

This first month has been/is focused on learning about ourself and each other.

So we're working with names this week. Asking what their names are, answering, counting letters in names, graphing them, and so on.

Also

"How old are you?". "Ni ji sui?"

"I am _____ years old." "Wo ____ sui."

"I am awesome!" "Wo hao bang!"

SEP's and volunteers

It was wonderful to meet so many of you! I'm so excited your children are part of this great program. It has been so fun so far, and they are soaking up the language.

Many mentioned interest in volunteering. I would love to get a directory put together, if there is anyone available to help with that, I can send home the forms I've collected and you can volunteer from home.

Also, I would love help Monday- Thursday 9:15-10:15 for my morning class and 12:35-1:45 for my afternoon class.

Please email me at bchipman@graniteschools.org if you are interested.

Post labor day labor

We're back! And this short week we are continuing to talk about our family, our names, love, and number concepts. Benchmark tests for reading took place last week and are finishing up this week, and math tests will be next week.

This week's homework was sent home with my morning class, and will be sent home with my afternoon class tomorrow (we had an assembly at the end of school today). See Mrs. Cretsinger's folder for new reading slips.

Math concepts this week are

being able to write numbers 1-10 correctly

associating number symbol with amounts

one more and one less

adding groups of objects together

counting out loud to 20

what an addition sentence looks like (symbols for add, equals, subtract)

story problems

ABB patterns

Math

Great week so far. We're starting to do some simple assessments for math so I know where everyone is. We are working with language to introduce ourselves and our family, such as "This is my father/mother/little sister etc." and "My name is".

I will teach all the math in chinese, but any English words that are necessary (such as months, money names, greater than/less than) will be reinforced by Mrs. Cretsinger.

Here is a website with some online practice for different math concepts that might be a fun way to review with your child at home throughout the year.

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade/first/

Links

Great to meet you all at back to school night! Here are a few links that we talked about.

Also, if you could send a small, store bought snack with your child every so often throughout the year (enough for 26), there would be many happy six year olds when snack time rolls around at 10:30.

Online resources

www.betterchinese.com is the site and company our Chinese literacy program comes from. They have some online stories and games in chinese for free, and you can see the little readers and workbooks we will be using.

http://www.archchinese.com/ is also a helpful site, for learning chracter strokes and pronunciation

http://chinasprout.com/ has some chinese books/movies cd's available

http://www.asianparent.com/ has some great products available for beginning chinese students

http://www.confucius.utah.edu/ confucius institute at the U of U

http://www.chinese4kids.net/ has some fun vocabulary lists, activities, and songs

Here is a link to the granite peaks class for adults beginning chinese:http://www.granitepeaks.org

Click on the lingt link to the right to try out this week's assignment!

Welcome!

A new year has begun!!

And I am so excited about the progress your children have already made! They are doing a fantastic job, and their hard work is paying off.

This week we have been reviewing things learned at Startalk ( numbers, colors, family members, greetings, basic commands) as well as working on how to be polite in Chinese. We will be using a series of readers from BetterChinese.com throughout the year, and have begun work on the first two.

Your child should know/be working on:

Hello!

How are you?

I am well!

Thank you

You're welcome

I'm sorry.

It's alright.

Awesome!

Come with me

Goodbye.

You're child might also be incredibly tired each day when they get home. Their brains have been working harder than most six year olds' :)

Ask your child to tell you what our classroom rules are (They are the same for both mine and Mrs. Cretsinger). And then give them a hug and tell them they are wonderful for trying so hard and doing so well with Chinese.

to answer a few questions

Hello hello

Hope all are enjoying summer. It was definitely fun to see all your kids again for the 2nd grade Startalk. And to see they haven't forgotten everything.

Just to make a few things clear, the classes for next year (2nd grade) were split up in May by Brittney and I. We talked about each child and tried our best to make two classes where kids will get a chance to make new friends and have a different experience than last year. Hopefully you all still have the directory from last year (thank you Brandy) and can find numbers and addresses of these new friends.

It's kind of hard to believe they really are 2nd graders now. But they are in good hands, and I'm super excited for the progress you and they will see as they start to read and write more Chinese their second grade year.

And for those of you that will be coming into the program this year (my first grade classes for the coming year) : welcome!

I had a few parents ask what their child should bring in their backpack to Startalk. Just a lunch. That's it. We'll provide the rest.

Summer training

I am in chinese immersion. This week is our Startalk conference, so all the chinese immersion teachers have been learning together and getting ready for summer camp and the coming year.

It's going to be great! The program as a whole is progressing and maturing, and we are all much more prepared to make the year a success.

I miss the kids already though, so I'm glad I'll get to see everyone again relatively soon at summer camp.

Hope all is well with everyone, and you're still making your kids tell you things in Chinese:)

Gracias!!

Wrong language, I know.

But I just want to say thanks for such an incredible year. I think all involved have learned and grown so much. Thank you for your patience with me and for all your help. Thank you for being awesome parents for your children. They have all progressed in different ways and I am so proud of them.

I am admittedly very sad to see the year come to an end. But excited to see you all again at summer camp. And then next year as well. We will be working very closely with the second grade, so I am sure we will see you and hear about your kids frequently.

As far as the blog goes, I'll try to keep putting up some websites and recordings on lingt to practice over the summer. I can't promise consistency on that. But you are welcome to keep reading and doing any of the assignments you'd like next year. I'd love to hear their progress.

Have a safe and happy summer!

The last little bit

So.

Here are a few important and fun things to know.

Wednesday, May 26th is the school wide SAFETY FAIR. Encourage your child to walk or ride their bike safely to school that day. Assuming it will not be snowing :)

Thursday, May 27th short day

Thursday, June 3rd Movie and field day. We will watch the movie in the morning and have field day that afternoon. If you are interested in volunteering that day please let me know.

Also we will be sending home note with a list of readers we still do not have back from you... so check backpacks for that.

Field Trip

Reminder to all....

Send a sack lunch with your child to school tomorrow unless you sent back the form ordering school lunch.

My homeroom parents be to school a little before 10:00.

Mrs. Strasser's homeroom just before 9:00

A few little things

1)

STARTALK dates:

July 19-23rd (2nd grade)

August 9-13th (1st grade)

Startalk is a summer camp program designed to help kick-start the year in chinese immersion. Your kids will be in the 2nd grade camp, and will spend the day completely in Chinese with myself and the new 2nd grade teacher. More details will be sent home later, but for now, here are the dates.

2) THANK YOU! Thank you so much for letting me spend all day with your children. And thanks for the many thank you notes and gifts.

3) Field trip next Thursday, May 13th. We will be going to the parkway as a whole first grade, but in shifts. So if you volunteered to come that day and are in Mrs. Strasser's home room, please be at the school by 9:00. If your child is in my home room (my morning) please come by 10:00. We plan on being back to school a little after 1:00.

IMPORTANT!! If you did not send back the form ordering a school lunch for your child, there won't be one. So please send a home lunch with your child that day.

Incredible

So I had the opportunity this weekend to host a friend's parents on their first trip to America. They were from Taiwan, and spoke but very little English. As we took them around our beautiful state, watched them touch snow for the first time, laughed with them, and listened to their incredible stories, I just had an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I am able to speak this amazing language. How many doors have been opened and experiences had simply because of this ability.

I am so happy for your children, whom I love so much, that they too will have the ability to converse with and learn from such an expanded number of people. Language is a gift, and I just want to thank you for giving it to your child. Thank you for supporting them and putting them in this program. They have all come so far. And it is a beautiful thing.

flashcards

Here's a site with printable flash cards for character practice. This coming week we'll be practicing animals and animal habitats.

http://www.semanda.com/wordlist.aspx?WordlistID=1

bi sai!

It was great so see so many of you at the race! Our first grade Chinese Immersion class was well represented.

Reminder that all chinese readers are due back to the school by Friday, May 7th. So start looking around your house for any strays. I will be sending home a note with your child letting you know which ones I have not yet received back.

Here's some information on Chinese classes being offered by Granite Peaks lifelong learning this spring and summer. It might be a good way to help your child keep up the language over the break. Or else give you an opportunity to get a basic understanding of how this language works and surprise your child by having something to say back to them in Chinese. Oh yes, and I happen to know the teacher :)

Learning Chinese is fun! Beginning 1 Our teacher opens your child's lingual ability in a whole new way. Without realizing it, they absorb the Chinese language as they color, sing, and engage in a variety of activities that introduce basic written characters and vocabulary. Instructor is an experienced elementary teacher who teaches in the Chinese Immersion program through Granite School District. Watch your child's knowledge grow. Tuesday, Thursday 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm; 9 sessions starting June 1, 2010, ending July 1, 2010 Tuition: $39.00 Instructor: Bagley-Chipman Location: Cottonwood Campus Map Beginning 2

Tuesday, Thursday 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm; 10 sessions starting June 1, 2010, ending July 1, 2010

Tuition: $39.00

Instructor: Bagley-Chipman

Location: Cottonwood Campus Map Intro to Chinese for adults Class Description A civilization dating to biblical times, China has a colorful and diverse history. Tradition is important and cultural development is emphasized. Today, China is a major player in the business world and knowing the language is key to making the connections you need. As a result of this interest, school districts are offering a Chinese immersion program for school students. Whatever your need; whether you need it for business or pleasure, or to help your child in his/her study, we give you an introduction to Mandarin Chinese linguistics, both spoken and written. Thursday 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm; 8 sessions starting May 13, 2010, ending July 1, 2010 Tuition: $65.00 Instructor: Chipman Location: Cottonwood Campus Map see www.granitepeaks.org for more information

homework

Due to the power being out all day at school (which I'm sure you've already heard about from your own 6 or 7 year old) I had to have someone else run off the homework note last minute. Hence you have a full page of what I had typed up as a half page. So sorry for the repetition. I supposed over communication is never a bad thing though:)

It was fun to see and hear many more people using the lingt site this week. It really is an excellent tool for language learning and I encourage you to use it with your child this week. It's a great way for me (and you) to hear your child speak.

Spring is here!

Beautiful day today.

We took our last Math Acuity benchmark test today, and all did very well. You should be proud of your kids:)

Homework will be coming home tomorrow:

Book: We are all very busy at school

This week we will focus on review and expansion of body vocab as well as an introduction to sports words.

There will be an optional assignment on the lingt website.

New words for the week:

打篮球 da lan qiu play basketball

比赛 bi sai competition or race

体育课 ti yu ke p.e.

运动 yun dong exercise

忙 mang busy

Quiz on Friday will be recognition based. They will be asked to match characters to pinyin.

also.

STARTALK dates.

July 19-23rd (2nd grade)

August 9-13th (1st grade)

And last but not least.... hope you're all planning on coming to the PTA run on Saturday, April 24th. A great way to finish our week learning about exercise in Chinese:)

Plants

This coming week we will be focusing on plants as well as a review of color (characters), days of the week (characters), and addition and subtraction math strategies.

The lingt assignment is ready. Click on the link to the right.

Also.....last call for anyone interested in being in the directory. We want to get the put together and sent home as soon as we can.

Thanks for all you do for you kids!

Happy Spring Break!!

Remember tomorrow is a short day.

Have fun and be safe over the break. Again, homework is due the Friday after we get back (next Friday) and you should have the book Clean Clothes to practice.

As far as math goes, here are a few concepts to review with them:

Time to the half hour

Identifying and adding similar coins

Recognizing and extending patterns

Sorting objects according to one and two attributes

Equal portions

I had a few parents ask about the better chinese readers (like the book your child read at parent teacher conferences). Here is a link to the site where you can read about them and purchase them if you are interested.

This this the series we use in the classroom and is primarily designed to help the kids become familiar with basic chinese words and sentence patterns.

http://www.betterchinese.com/My-First-Chinese-Words.html

The other series we use (the books that some of you have purchased and that get sent home every week) are from the Step by Step series put out by Susan Gong and her team at the BYU flagship program. These readers are slightly more difficult, introduce more vocabulary and sentence patterns, and cover science, math, and social studies concepts from the Utah state core curriculum for first grade.

Also just a heads up, tomorrow your child will get homework which will not be due until the Friday after spring break. They will also just keep the Clean Clothes book until then, so they can have more time to practice it.

Feedback requested

Here's how the lingt classroom site works.

If you click on the link to the right, it will take you to a page where you can select which class you're in (am/pm). Then look at the newest assignments/vocabulary. You can have your child practice telling you the sentences and words, then listen the recordings by clicking the blue speech bubbles. Your child can record their voice (so I can hear it too) by clicking on the gray bubble to the right.

Below is an example of what an assignment looks like

Not many people have been using the site so I am not sure if you don't know about it or if it isn't very useful. Please try it out and let me know what you think and if I should keep doing it. Thanks!

Let's eat!

Everyone likes to eat! Here's how to talk about it in Chinese.

I am hungry! Wo e le 我饿了

I want to eat! Wo yao chi 我要吃！

I am thirtsy! Wo ke le 我渴了！

I want to drink water Wo yao he shui 我要喝水。

(Always remember thank you xiexie 谢谢 and please qing 请)

What do you want to eat and drink？

饼干 bing gan cookies／crackers

巧克力 qiao ke li chocolate

面包 mian bao bread

牛奶 niu nai milk

糖果 tang guo candy

果汁 guo zhi juice

水果 shui guo fruit

汉堡 han bao hamburger

热狗 re gou hot dog

Seasons

This week we are working with seasons and weather. The book sent home has lots of words about Spring in it, which we will be using in addition to other words related to other seasons.

Friday quiz

Tomorrow's quiz will consist of me saying a food word in Chinese and them drawing a picture of that food in response. So this week no character recognition or writing is required, just comprehension.

Keep asking your child to tell you what they are eating/drinking or what they want to eat or drink in Chinese.

Next week we will be talking about weather and seasons.

Food

This is a great week to ask your child to tell you all about food in Chinese.

They should know how to say:

I am hungry!

Are you hungry?

Do you want to eat this?

I want this.

I don't want this.

I like this.

I don't like this.

Fruits from last week

We're working on the following food vocab:

Cookies -- bing gan

chocolate--- qiao ke li

hamburger--- han bao

french fries-- shu tiao

juice-- guo zhi (zhrrr)

milk-- niu nai

chocolate milk-- qiao ke li niu nai

sandwich-- san ming zhi (zhrrr)

Lingt site working!

Click on the link to the right to begin. Practice your fruits this weekend, and more food (how to say it at least) will be on the way.

End of Term

Also reminder that tomorrow is short day, so we will be out at 1:05.

Homework will be sent home tomorrow and due next Friday.

Thanks!

Week of Reading

We saw some awesome crazy hair today! Thank you Dr. Seuss

Reminder that tomorrow is crazy clothes (inside out/backwards)

and Thursday crazy socks and clothes with letters/words on them.

Read with your child tonight!

Monday

Here's how you say the birthday song. They all know how to sing it, so you can have them sing it for you as they look at these characters and practice character recognition.

A note went home today, hopefully you received it. If not, let me know and I'll send home another. It was about the classroom directory and a change being made as of this Friday.

Homework will now be sent home on Friday and due the following Friday, giving you a few extra days if you need them to be practicing the words and math skills.

This week we're working on Fruit names.

Grapes--- pu tao

Orange-- cheng zi or ju zi

Banana- xiang jiao

strawberry- cao mei

peach- tao

pear- li

And here's a list of the months to review with your child in both Chinese and English.

(images from chinese4kids.com)

Friday

Just a reminder that there will be a little quiz tomorrow on the three words this week

help (bangmang)

rest (xiuxi) and

wash dishes (xiwan)

as well as a few review words.

This quiz will be listening only. I will say the word in Chinese and they need to know what it means. These quizes are not put on their grade. They are for me to see how much they are getting and where I need to spend a little more time.

Thanks for all you do!

Field Trip

Thanks thanks thanks to all parents for the help today.

Because of the crazy schedule and getting back late, homework folders will be sent home tomorrow.

For those of you reading at home, we are on the book "Take a rest"

Field Trip

The following parents have contacted me to come on the Monday field trip. If you see your name and for some reason now cannot come, or else would like to come and do not see yourself, please let me know. Otherwise, we will plan on the following list.

From my P.M. class

Lexie's mom

Nik's dad

Jenna's mom

A.M.

Tanner's mom

Jessica's mom

Landon's mom

D'mitri's mom

Devin's mom

Thanks to everyone for coming and helping with the Chinese New Year party! What an awesome PTA we have! Xie Xie da jia! (Thank you everyone!)

Here's a few pictures form the event.

video clip from fox 13 news

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1348692117947&ref=mf

An idea: We know that these kids (and you parents) are going to be together in this program for quite some time. So it would be good if you all had a chance to know each other, arrange play dates for your kids, do homework together etc etc. At the very least, have a copy in your hand of all the names of the children and parents and a way to contact them.

So. If you are interested in including your name in such a directory, will you please email me your

1) First and Last name

2)Child's name

3)Phone number you can be reached at

4)email address

5)home address

Just include the information you'd like others to see. Thanks!

Also, we are celebrating 100's day tomorrow. There was a note sent home about that in the homework folder.

Lastly......

This is what I heard back about the Step by Step books for those of you who would like to purchase a set.

Your parents may order individually online at http://creativeworks.byu.edu/catalog/ViewItem.aspx?item=AE200 or by calling 1-800-962-8061. They are welcome to submit an order as a group, but they would have to arrange that between themselves as they would if they ordered from any other store.

Shipping time would depend on what method they chose.