Babel School in Taiwan

How does Ania learn new vocabulary? A year ago she could only speak Chinese, did not understand any Polish or English and now? Now her Polish is quite good, she understands everything and can say anything she wants to. Her English is also catching up. She listens to songs and stories in English, I read to her in English and she also hears us speak English at home. To expand her vocabulary I use some of the language materials I've prepared years ago for Zosia and Jaś. Let me show you the materials for teaching the names of fruits and vegetables. A set of cards with pictures of fruits and vegetables plus small objects to go with the cards: Ania is supposed to lay the cards out and match the objects to the pictures saying the name of the fruit or vegetable at the same time. I also ask her: "Show me ..." or "What is this?" I ask these questions is English or in Polish depending in which language we are working. A set of cards with pictures of v...

Years ago, when Zosia was Ania's age (or even younger), I bought a simple game of domino in IKEA.  I played this game first with Zosia, then with Jaś and now with Ania. All three of them liked it very much. The cards are large and durable, the pictures are simple, nice and clear.  While playing this game kids not only learn the numerals and counting, but can also learn words in a second (or third) language. That's what I use this game with Ania for. Ania also likes to lay out the domino cards by herself and that's what she was doing today. After a few minutes I joined her and we had a very nice time together.

Sobota, a więc czas na pieczenie! Wczoraj Jaś planował upiec ciasteczka, ale ... wstał trochę za późno, więc sama zabrałam się za pieczenie. Dawno nie robiłam mufinek, więc na nie padł mój wybór. Mufinki pomarańczowe z makiem 1 3/4 szklanki mąki 1 łyżka cukru pudru 3 płaskie łyżeczki proszku do pieczenia 1/4 łyżeczki sody 2 łyżki maku 90g masł 1/2 szklanki dżemu pomarańczowego 1 jajko 3/4 szklanki mleka Piekarnik nagrzać do 200C. Przygotować formę do 12 mufinek (można ją natłuścić lub wyłożyć papilotkami). Do miski przesiać mąkę, cukier puder, proszek do pieczenia i sodę. Dodać mak i wymieszać. Po środku zrobić zagłębienie. Masło i dżem pomarańczowy podgrzać w garnuszku na małym ogniu  aż do rozpuszczenia. Po lekkim przestudzeniu dodać razem z jajkiem wymieszanym z mlekiem do suchych produktów w misce. Wymieszać tylko do połączenia się składników. Nakładać ciasto do formy mufinkowej (do 3/4 wysokości). Wstawić do nagrzanego piekarnika i piec ok. 12-15...

Czas na kolejny wpis w drugiej edycji "Dziecko na Warsztat". W tym miesiącu wybraliśmy się do Afryki. Tematem przewodnim miała być sztuka ludowa, rękodzieło. Ale jak tu mówić o Afryce nie wspominając np.o zwierzętach afrykańskich ? Tak więc postanowiłam podzielić nasz warsztat na kilka części. Zapraszam! I - Gdzie jest Afryka? - Położenie na mapie i na globusie W domu mamy mnóstwo różnych układanek puzzle. Ani ulubionym puzzle jest mapa świata ze zwierzętami. Ucząc się więc o Afryce należało koniecznie ułożyć tę mapkę. Na tym nie koniec z ukadankami i mapami! Kolejne puzzle: II - Jak wyglądają ludzie, a w szczególności dzieci, mieszkające w Afryce? W końcu miałam okazję wyjąć nasze montessoriańskie foldery o kontynentach. Przeleżały na półce kilka lat czekając na najmłodsze dziecię.  Co to są za foldery? Każdy kontynent ma swój folder, a w środku są zdjęcia przedstawiające codzienne życie ludzi zamieszkujących dany kontynent jak i pocztówki z widok...

How about a round of Bingo with your preschooler? After Ania learned all the letters (both upper and lowercase) I pulled out one of the old language materials I made for my older kids - a special Letter Bingo.  How to make one? It's easy! On A5 size sheets print grids of different sets of letters - all mixed up, lower and uppercase, some letters can appear more than once.  Print one set of alphabet in lowercase and another set in uppercase. The letters can be made to fit the size of each grid on the card. Cut black construction paper into little squares the size of each grid. Laminate the Bingo cards and the letters (remember to laminate the letters before cutting them). Before presenting Ania with whole alphabet Bingo game, I played with her an easier version - with only a few letters. The letters to choose were also much bigger. Bingo cards, letters and small cards (in the box) Ready to play! How to play? Pick a letter and say the 'l...

It's been a while since I took my kids to a playground. Why would a teenage girl and her tween brother want to play at a playground? Playgrounds are for little kids! Going down the slide? Hanging from monkey bars? Playing on see-saw? Where is fun and excitement in all that? But imagine that they did want to play at playgrounds in Warsaw! Why? Simple - the design of these playgrounds was suitable for kids of all ages. Everyone could have fun. Not far from our house there were 3 playgrounds for both younger and older children. There was also an area with exercise equipment for adults! Take a look at the fun all three kids had: The blue padding you see, is quite soft so falling on it does not hurt too much. There is a fence all around the playground so younger children won't be running too far from their caregivers and dogs won't be getting. This very tall slide was Ania's favourite. At first she didn't know how to climb up, but older siblings help...