stuffedveggies

Monday, July 23, 2018

Foreign Language Teaching Games for Kids

Teaching a Foreign Language to a child is a challenge - especially if you're not living immersed in that language. Immersion teaching is often touted as the ideal, and these games offer some of the immersion benefits - without the plane ticket.

Here are some games that we have enjoyed as part of our Foreign Language studies. We alternate between make believe games and board games. In any board game, you can practice words like "Your turn" and "My turn," "I win!" and "Ten spaces." In any make believe game you can practice greetings and small talk "Good morning!" "Isn't it a lovely day?" and "This is my brother, Aristotle." For beginners, you can do the talking, and have them simply perform what you're requesting - for instance, you say, "May I have a cup of tea?" - and the child pretends to pour tea.

Playing one of these games occasionally helps make your language learning more fun, while at the same time giving practice in actually forming sentences and making conversation.

Look these over, and see if some will work for your students : )

Teddy Bear Tea Party - (make believe) Pull out the toy tea set and the teddy bears or dolls. Practice such things as greetings and making introductions, and social niceties. Practice, "Sugar, please" and "Would you like a cookie?" and "More tea?"

Bingo - this is a great way to practice saying and recognizing numbers from 0-99. Make sure the kids get turns both to call numbers and to fill in cards.

Grocery Store - (make believe) set up a small area with items that you're learning. Have one child play storekeeper and another play customer (obviously, if you have a only child, you're going to get to play a part!). Each player gets to practice greetings, asking for items by name, saying "Here you are" , "How much is. . . " and "Do you have. . . ?" Also they can practice money terminology ("That will be two Euros" "Here's your change"). We have even played this one bilingually (with one English learner and one Foreign language learner playing together - so the children are practicing each other's language : ) As children get more proficient, they might enjoy doing the actual family grocery shopping in the target language, as you tell them things like "three red tomatoes, please" and they pick them out and put them in the basket. This is even more appealing when you tend to yield to the occasional request for a treat - it it's done in the target language ; )

Candy Land - Perfect way to practice color names! Simply make a rule that you have to name your color before you can move to the color you drew.

Real Estate Lady/Man - (Make Believe) Child gets to give a tour of the house to a perspective buyer, naming each room and describing how lovely it is and saying things like, "Don't you love this Fuchsia color?"

Dolls- This is a perfect way to practice family relationship terms, "Daddy's home!" "Mommy, lets go to the grocery store!" and "I need to go to the potty!" etc.

Restaurant - Take orders, read menus, complain about the food ; )

Flash Card War - Make flash cards of difficult vocabulary words, with the English (or First language) on the reverse. Each person takes a turn saying the English for the Foreign word as their turn comes. The right answer wins the card, the wrong answer loses the card. Whoever gets the most cards wins. You can also play with the English word up, and say the Foreign word for the answer. When my daughter and I are learning the same words, we play together. If your students are not matched for ability, they can each play their own stack, and compete for the highest number right on their own level.

Charades - A friend who teaches foreign languages told me that she plays vocabulary charades (pantomime) with her students to help them study their words. An improvised "Pictionary" or "Win Lose or Draw" would also be great.

This is being shared on:
Booknificent Thursday
This is How We Roll
Healthy & Happy Living
Encouraging Hearts & Homes

Wise Woman
Funtastic Friday
Pretty Pintastic Party
Home Matters
Schoolhouse Review Crew
Our Mini Linky Party
Modest Monday
Inspire Me Monday
Tuesdays with a Twist

Literacy Musing Mondays

Booknificent Thursday
Homeschool Highlights

Monday, July 9, 2018

July Vegan Menu for a Week

In the heat of the summer, it's nice to have a menu that's a little cooler & lighter than usual, but
still provides enough energy for all those outdoor activities.

Here are some ideas - as usual, 7 Dinner Ideas, One Breakfast, One Lunch & One Dessert Idea : )

Day 1

10 Minute Asian Noodles

Day 2

Greek Broad Beans

Purslane (Glysterida) Salad

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Marinated Grilled Tofu

Quinoa & Lime Salad

Day 7

Asian Peanut Sauce Noodles

Breakfast Idea:

Cool, Creamy Maple Sunrise Breakfast Bowl

Lunchbox Idea:

Tabouli, Oil Free or Traditional with Dolmades & Olives

Dessert Idea:

Kids' Favorite Breakfast Ice Cream

Snack Idea:

Smoky Hummus

Enjoy!

This is being shared on:
You're the Star
Modest Mondays
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
What'd You Do This Weekend?
Tasty Tuesdays
Home & Garden Thursdays
Healthy Living

Monday, June 25, 2018

American History Fun Parody Songs

American History Parody Songs

To me, an educational win is when you overhear your child singing an outline of the U.S.
Constitution, or the Gettysburg Address, or an overview of basic information about the Civil War, Jamestown, or Roanoke.

It's SO much better than hearing the theme song to Sponge Bob Squarepants or even a "classic" like the Flintsones!

I have to admit, I never really expected to find myself writing a review of a Youtube channel, but that's exactly what I'm doing here!

Mr. Betts Class on Youtube is a delightful source of History Parody Songs done to Pop Hits - so they're very sing-able. Mr. Betts himself isn't afraid to be a little silly (perhaps even a bit of a "ham" - I mean that in the best sense of the word)- which of course is just the kind of things kids tend to enjoy.

He offers really well-done, funny, songs that are memorable and enjoyable enough to be watched repeatedly - which really drives the lessons home.

I was so curious about who I was watching that I did a little online research (which is to say, I went beyond the first three links on the internet search ; ). I discovered that Mr. Betts teaches at an upscale Catholic school with tuition that is about the same as that of an Ivy League University. He's highly qualified. And it is such a delight that he makes his expertise available to the WHOLE WORLD for FREE! : )

His songs are outlines - so if we hear a term that is unknown to us (Who was the Garrison in the context of Abolition? for example) we search for an informational video on Youtube - adding the words "for kids" to our video search.

A few caveats: Occasionally he uses a word that I'd rather he didn't - such as H*** or D*** (especially when quoting historical figures- but occasionally just gratuitously). His parodies are written to modern Pop Songs - so some of the songs his songs imitate may not be as wholesome as you would like in their original forms. So, you might want to caution your kids about doing a search for the original titles, if you don't normally allow a wide range of modern Pop Music in your home. Beware videos that deal with more graphic content - for instance, he has a warning about his "Donner Party" video - so we've never watched it. He does dress as female characters now and then for comedic effect. His work is usually unbiased and wholesome.(with the notable exceptions of his videos on President Trump, and his "Flying Squirrel" Character which express some pronounced biases. Those I would rate "PG" - which is to say - watch them with your kids and discuss where you agree or disagree : )

Overall, I find his work just delightful. And, if you start listening to his work, you might find that your kid can list all sorts of details about U.S. History and Government that the average college grad can't : )

For starters, here's a sampling:

The U.S. Constitution: