I am tutoring a Chinese woman who is moving to Canada in 6 months with her daughter.  She is looking at getting some information about enroling her child in kindergarted in Vancouver.  I am Canadian and I have a lot of information about how to prepare your child for kindergarten.  What I am wondering is if there are some good websites for finding vocabulary that I could teach her that is directly associated with her taking her child to kindergarten.  I know this is a specific request, but anyone who has some ideas, please let me know.

 

Thanks a lot and hello from Shanghai,

 

Fletsch

Kids that age need basic communicative language (what �s your name, My name is..., come here, please, thank you, sit down, stand up, make a circle, wash your hands, can I have..., etc.) and vocabulary groups such as: numbers, colours, food, animals, toys, family, perhaps jobs, some weather, feelings, clothes... I would suggest you use a lot of picture flashcards, memory games, nursery rhymes(music helps a lot and there are lots of free sites for that), practical small props such as toys, etc. Visual and tactile objects help children retain vocabulary faster and better because they jump over the obstacle of the �middleman �, i. e. their mother tongue. The eye sees a monkey and memorises the word monkey without thinking about it in both languages. If you jump and say jump, the child will jump and say/memorise the word jump without translating it in his/her head. Hope this helps some...

Check some of these out.

- http://www.teachersfirst.com/par-esl.cfm (Look for "Tips for Parents" under different grades)

- http://www.yourdictionary.com/esl/How-Parents-Help-Their-ESL-Children-Learn-English.html

while there isn �t a list of vocabulary on this site, you can group the vocabulary/topics under the headings provided.

- Here are some ideas: vocabulary about the school staff, school routines, school system (hierarchy), materials she would need, some of the basic activities especially children �s songs, mathematics, alphabet (she will need to learn the Western alphabet b/c Chinese writing is different), basic phrases she would need to communicate with the kindergarten teacher

Sorry if I �ve said anything you already know.  Just some ideas. 

Good luck!