Learn Chinese in Springtime – What to Learn and How to Learn_updated

After a long, dull, cold and wet winter, it starts to feel great to see grass turning green, flowers blossoming, sprouts appearing on the braches. It is great to hear birds chirping and to see baby animals near ponds and in farms.

In this beautiful season,  what Chinese can a child learn and how to make the learning fun and engaging?

What Chinese to Learn in Springtime?

One purpose of learning any language is to use it. In Springtime, it would be great if children can learn something relevant to this season.

General Springtime Chinese Vocabulary

Equip the kids with common Springtime words such as sun, flower, grass, bird, chick etc first. Kids associate these words in Chinese with the images/objects they see, which make the Chinese words more meaningful. You can display the words at home or in the classroom so to expose children to the words all the time.

For example, the word wall as below is a perfect word wall for your display.

*Source: Chinese Word Wall for Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winer

*source: Farm Animals Chinese Learning Pack

Animal Sounds in Chinese

Apart from farm animals, animal sounds are also interesting for kids to learn in Spring.

*source: Chinese Animal Sounds Theme Learning Pack Flashcards and Worksheets

Chinese Nursery Rhythms about Animals

Kids are genuinely interested in animals in general. Springtime is the perfect time to learn about animals because kids now come across  them, for example, in the park, at the zoo or simply in their community.

＊Source: Animals Rock: Chinese Animal Nursery Rhythms including Workbook

This is an example of a Chinese nursery rhythm about goats/sheep. After reading the nursery rhythm, kids can draw what they imagine from the lines. All the kids love this activity.

Learn Chinese Poems

There are some great Chinese poems for children. Studying the poems is a brilliant way for kids to learn Chinese. Here are two examples:

＊Source: Spring Theme Learning and Activity Worksheets

＊Source: Spring is Getting Near Chinese Poem for Kids and Activity Worksheets

After learning the poems, working on some activity worksheets can enhance the whole learning experience.

Gardening

A nice activity which gets all the family members involve is Gardening. Visiting gardening centers is great fun for kids. Planting the flowers or vegetable plants they choose is even more fun.

When we do gardening together with the kids, it is also a good chance to introduce them to the different tools, ways of planting and how a plants grows. The items can be introduced in Chinese and a follow up lesson going through the vocabulary and practicing writing the characters would deepen the whole Chinese learning experience.

Source: Gardening Theme Chinese Learning Pack for Kids

Seasonal Clothing

Spring is one of the four seasons in a year. It is a good idea to learn about what clothes we wear in each season.

*source:  Theme Vocabulary Pack – Seasonal Clothes in Chinese for Kids

Easter

Easter is the highlight of the Springtime. Kids love it because of the beautiful Easter decoration, delicious food, especially the egg hunt! Some useful Easter Chinese words are as shown below:

I created some bookmarks for you to use with your kids: cut them out, laminate them and use them at reading!

How to Learn Chinese in Springtime?

1. Learn the general Chinese Spring vocabulary

Learn the general Spring Chinese vocabulary lays a foundation for further learning. So don’t skip this .

2. Learn outdoor

Now that the weather is warmer, get out of the room and enjoy the sun and fresh air. It does not matter if it is a field trip, a walk in the garden or simple outside the room,  learning in the outdoor environment just makes learning more memorable.

3. Learn while doing

Working in the garden, playing Chinese vocabulary memory games, doing crafts, coloring, cutting/pasting/assembling are all good activities to engage both the hands and the brain. All the learning resources mentioned above include this type of hands-on activities.

4. Record the learning

Ask the child to summarize what they have learned in Chinese; take a photo of what the child has made; let him/her draw what they know about certain topic… find a way of recording the learning journey and cherish it with the child in the near future!

Spring is here. Let’s make Chinese learning fun and engaging!

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Resources mentioned above:

• Chinese Word Wall for Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winer
• Farm Animals Chinese Learning Pack
• Chinese Animal Sounds Theme Learning Pack Flashcards and Worksheets
• Spring Theme Learning and Activity Worksheets
• Spring is Getting Near Chinese Poem for Kids and Activity Worksheets
• Animals Rock: Chinese Animal Nursery Rhythms including Workbook
• Gardening Theme Chinese Learning Pack for Kids
• Theme Vocabulary Pack – Seasonal Clothes in Chinese for Kids

You may also be interested in:

• Chinese Children’s Song Lyrics 
• My Colorful Fruits and Veggies (mini books and worksheets on Colors, Fruits and Veggies)