learn chinese – Motherly Notes Methods

Book Review: 月亮莎莎系列 Isadora Moon

Age: 6+ (with Zhuyin and Parents) Purchase Link: 月亮莎莎（1-4）： Isadora Moon Books 1-4 月亮莎莎（5-8）： Isadora Moon Books 5-8 This is a cute set of books great for readers that know Zhuyin. Each book is probably about 3000-4000 characters with Zhuyin (that’s an estimate). The language is easy to understand as is the story.…
Book Review: 樹旅館系列 Heartwood Hotel

Age: 8+ (Read without Zhuyin) Purchase Link: 樹旅館（1-4）：Heartwood Hotel Book Set 1-4 This is a cute set of book translated from English. It’s about a cute mouse and friend who go on adventures. It’s written all without Zhuyin so it’s fit for someone who already knows Chinese quite well and can read without assistance…
Book Review: 漫畫昆蟲記──酷蟲學校甲蟲這一班：爆笑全集(共5冊) Bug School Science Comics Series

Age: 8+ Independent Reader or with Parent (reading level grade 4+) Purchase Links: Series of 5: 漫畫昆蟲記──酷蟲學校甲蟲這一班：爆笑全集(共5冊) I rarely find a series where I find the pictures to be interesting, ugly and cute at the same time. This series looks cute, grotesque, interesting, and educational all at once. How genius. It’s for both boys and…
Book Review: 褲子小偷系列 Pants Burglar Series

褲子小偷系列
Book Review: 年糕奶奶@便便變系列Poopy Rice Cake Grandma Hero Series

年糕奶奶@便便變系列
Book Review: 12歲之前一定要學的生活大小事 Things you should know about life before you’re 12!

Age: 9+ with parent or independent Purchase Link: 12歲之前一定要學的生活大小事 I love books that teach my kids on how to be a good person… because… what’s the point of life if you don’t know how to get along with others? You’ll have no friends and be very unsuccessful in life. This set of books is very…
Book Review: 汪喵偵探系列

Age: 6+ independent if they know Zhuyin Purchase link: 汪喵偵探 This is a cute set of books and it really mimics our beloved 屁屁偵探系列 because they’re detective stories, gives out puzzles and mazes and little exercises. I didn’t personally do a video because my little one wanted to read the first part for our little…
遊戲介紹 (Games Rec)：我想聽你說 Popcorn Talks

我想聽你說 Popcorn Talks 桌遊來了!
Motherly Notes 注音班, 國小一年級班來了! Zhuyin Class, First Grade Chinese Class

To get more information on our classes, please visit their class websites: https://class.motherlynotes.com/collections?category=live Our Classes After teaching virtually and witnessing the hundreds of children we’ve have taught, we are starting a program that has worked for us and hopefully will bring Chinese joyously and effortlessly into your home. – Julie & Nancy Information about our…
Book Review: 神奇酷數學 1-8 Murderous Maths

Age 7+ if advanced, age 9 by self if advanced in math as well as Chinese Books links: Box set 1-4 神奇酷數學 1-4 Box set 5-8 神奇酷數學 5-8 This set of books is the translated version of Murderous Math series. This set has no zhuyin to assist and the math is set for middle to…
如何用唱歌來教中文：Use Karaoke to Teach Chinese

Using karaoke to teach Chinese is very powerful. It’s how many adults learned Chinese and it’s how older children learn Chinese. I have countless friends who have learned Chinese through singing with friends. I’ve learned so many phrases in other languages from singing as well. Not only are there hard phrases and idioms in Chinese…
Book Review: 幼兒心性開發套書 12本

Age 5+ This is out of print and we loved it. My little one read through all of them with ease when she started bridge books. Classic stories, thick paper, huge words, simple but long sentences. Different twists on stories. We really enjoyed this set. They are about 100 pages per book. Most used books…
康軒: 需要買哪些課本或練習簿來學中文? Which Books Do I Need to Buy from Kang Xuan to Practice Writing Chinese?

Many moms from our Facebook Group: Motherly Notes have seen my original post The Battle of the First Grade Chinese Textbooks: China vs. Taiwan vs. States and have asked me about what to buy in KangXuan’s website because there seems to be a million items in there. Well, the answer is… you should really buy all their workbooks…
Member Post: Non-Native Mom’s Second Year Chinese Journey (5.5 Yr Old Reads Beyond Native Level) by Melissa C.

This is a follow up post. As you may recall, I started teaching my daughter characters in July 2017, when she was four. Almost 1.5 years later, she and I are reading bridge books together. We are reading 1st grade level books, and our comprehension level is roughly that of a slightly behind Kindergartner. I…
Book Review: 我最喜愛的中國神話 (My Favorite Chinese Fairy Tales)

Age: 5+ with parent or independent 我最喜愛的中國神話 My Favorite Chinese Fairy Tales Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ I love this Chinese Fairy Tale book. It’s WELL WRITTEN!!!!! My kids love love love love love love love this book. It’s come to a point where I have to re-read stories to them.…
Book Review: 每天一篇故事，10天學會150個成語 (10 Days, 150 Idioms)

Age: 8+ (third grade reading level) 每天一篇故事，10天學會150個成語 (1) 每天一篇故事，10天學會150個成語 (2) Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ I listed this book as age 8+ (second grade) and stated third grade reading level due to the content of the books but that doesn’t mean younger children cannot do it. With parent guidance, younger children…
Book Review: 誰吃掉了 Who Ate It?

Age: 0-2 Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Purchase Link: 誰吃掉了 This is by a really famous Japanese author and both my kids just loved this book because they loved finding the fruit or vegetable or food that each page introduces. The way they incorporated the look and find is super sweet…
Game:成語接龍撲克牌 (10 盒) Idioms Playing Cards (10 Boxes)

Reading levels in Chinese is hugely dependent on how well you know idioms. The harder the books, the more idioms there are. Why? Well, it’s using four characters to describe something or a situation or feeling that could take a whole paragraph to explain! This is why the Chinese language is so beautiful. Every feeling…
Book Review: 好忙的遊樂園, 好棒的海灘 Busy Amusement Park, Amazing Beach

Age: 0-2 Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Purchase Link: 好忙的遊樂園好棒的海灘 Who doesn’t love books that you can make balls bounce and make people pop up? These are really thick board books and every page is very very strong so it’s great for babies up to two. It’s bilingual and easy…
Member Post: Super Speed Teaching Chinese (learn 1500-1800 characters in 6 months) 六歲半小男孩在半年內認1500-1800字的心得分享 (by Jon. Lin)

To learn more, join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ The following is a post from our group member in our Facebook Group. She’s ONE AMAZING MOM but as all Chinese mothers are, she fails to ADMIT THAT. I will try to translate the best that I can her journey. Down below she’ll say she’s lazy and…
Book Review: 格林童話貼紙書 , 安徒生童話貼紙, Grimm Tales and Andersen Tales Sticker Books

Age: 2+ Purchase links: 格林童話貼紙書：三隻小豬(1套6冊) 格林童話貼紙書：小紅帽(1套6冊) 安徒生童話貼紙：醜小鴨(1套6冊) 安徒生童話貼紙：賣火柴的小女孩(1套6冊) http://www.MotherlyNotes.com Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ This is a cute set of sticker books that are open ended. You can use it for your 2 year old to play with stickers or you can use it all the way up to lower elementary…
Book Review: 「查理和蘿拉」系列 Charlie and Lola Collection

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent with zhuyin Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Purchase Links: 我絕對絕對不吃番茄照顧我們的地球我太小，我不要上學我那顆在搖的牙齒絕對絕對不能掉我不睏，我不要睡覺但我們到底在哪裡? For a Set of Three This is a very popular set of books! It’s translated, has DVDs and there are a ton in this collection although I was only able…
Book Review: 國語日報孩子的第一套節日讀本！(Chinese Holidays Bridge Set – 8 Books)

Age: 3+ with parent 5+ independent (with zhuyin) Visit our Facebook Group to learn more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Purchase link: 國語日報孩子的第一套節日讀本！(Chinese Holidays Bridge Set – 8 Books) I really love this set of books for the holidays coming up including New Years. I was never attracted to the book covers on this set but I bought…
Book Review: 爱之阅读桥梁书 Love Reading Bridge Books Simplified Set 简体书

Age: 5+ (with a few hundred characters and with parent) Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Titles: 鸭妈妈的蛋箱子最好最好的朋友皮普要去美食国蕾妮病了对不起，乖乖信乖乖和乐乐去海边泰尔，明天见罗萨想当女巫卖哥哥弗兰克老师是兔子这是个秘密广场上来了马戏团妈妈要去旅行绿眼睛给梅特的礼物在院子里露营我想写信儒尔迷路了 This is a really nice set of picture book like bridge books! There are a…
親子天下: 閲讀123 / Reading 123 Collection

Age: 6+ independent *note the picture above also shows 樂讀456 which is a series for upper elementary so ignore those for now. I’ll review those later. I also have 5 more sets of those that need to fit together with the others! Yikes! #NoMoreShelfSpace This is an amazing set of books with all different authors,…
Book Review: 還要睡幾個晚上才到聖誕節? How Many Sleeps Till Christmas?

Age: 2+ with parent, 5+ independent http://www.MotherlyNotes.com Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Puchase Link: 還要睡幾個晚上才到聖誕節? – How Many Sleeps Till Christmas This is a story about a little bear who can’t wait til Christmas and wakes up Papa bear every morning for the four nights before Christmas. Every day they have…
Book Review: 閲讀123 / Reading 123 嬉遊民間故事集 – Chinese Folk Tale Collection

Age 6+ Purchase links: 奇幻蛇郎與紅花 – Snake Lord and the Red Flower 一個傻蛋賣香屁 – The Dummy Who Sold Farts 機智白賊闖通關 – The Smart Liar 黑洞裡的神祕烏金 – The Treasure in the Dark Hole This is a set from 閲讀123, Reading 123. Previous posts on other sets are: Book Review: 閱讀123 / Reading 123 換換書 Change Change Change! , Book Review: 閱讀123 / Reading…
Book Review: 寫信給耶誕老公公 : My Penpal, Santa

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent http://www.MotherlyNotes.com Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Purchase Link: 寫信給耶誕老公公 – My Penpal, Santa This isn’t a book about adventures of Santa but a book about a little girl who writes to Santa monthly. You’ll get a feel for holidays that occur in the year and…
Book Review: 好忙好忙的耶誕老公公 – The Very Busy Santa

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent http://www.MotherlyNotes.com Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Purchase Link: 好忙好忙的耶誕老公公 The Very Busy Santa This is a cute book about what Santa Claus does on a monthly basis. Children can learn the months of the year, how it correlates to weather, some holidays and the most interesting…
如何加快小孩閲讀的速度? How to Increase Reading Speed (Chinese/English/etc.)

I’m getting this question so often now. Somehow people like to gauge reading level by speed. So many parents are so in a rush to have their child reading faster. You can’t just force them to read faster. You can’t just force them to read faster. You can’t just force them to read faster. I’m…
Book Review: 瑪德琳系列 Madeline Series

Age: 2+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Purchase links: 瑪德琳、瑪德琳的親愛小狗、瑪德琳的耶誕節 – Madeline series of 3 books 瑪德琳+大象巴巴 Madeline and Barbar the Elephant Who doesn’t love Madeline? I don’t think I need to convince any Madeline lovers that these books are true classics. I struggled a bit to…
Book Review: 國語周刊 (基礎版, 小學版), 國語月刊 (成長版), Chinese Weekly Newspaper for Kids (MWM)

Age: Varies depending on level. In this article, ages 4+, 6-8, 9-12 I have been really loving magazines and newspapers lately because when school started, we’re always on the run somewhere and sometimes do not have the concentration to just sit there and read a whole bridge book or get into the depths of a…
Book Review: 姊弟倆 Big Sister Little Brother

Age: 5+ independent Purchase Link: 姊弟倆 Big Sister Little Brother This book is part of a set of 40 that I purchased. Yesterday my little one took it out and cracked up big time to a point where I find it worthy to just feature the book by itself. This book talks about the daily…
Member post: Amazing Twin Boys Who Are Reading Chinese and English At Least Two Years Above Grade Level (Sin Yee T.)

Hi Members of Motherly Notes! Once in a while I find a gem in the group and I pester invite them to share their teaching methods with us because I find it truly valuable to the community to know how miracles happen. Actually, miracles don’t just “happen”… they were created by mothers who put in an…
Book Review: 魔數小子 – Marilyn Burns Brainy Day Collection – Math Set (25 Books)

Age: 4+ with parent or independent if they know zhuyin, 5+ independent Where to Puchase: 魔數小子 – Marilyn Burns Brainy Day Collection This is a set of math picture books great for smaller kids to an introduction of “concept” of different topics in math. There’s everything from counting, addition, subtraction, to multiplication, division, measuring, time,…
Chinese Teaching Systems: 樂樂文化聽讀套書 Le Le Chinese 300 Books, 1000 Characters (Traditional & Simplified)

Introduction Video This is a set of 300 little books ranging from 8 to 12 pages. There are three levels with 100 books a level. You can do them in any order you wish when you’re within the level and pick up characters from each book. Each level introduces a few hundred new characters as…
Book Review: 小兵快樂讀本系列 90 本－ Little Soldier Happy Reading 90 Books

Age 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ 快樂讀本第一輯 Set 1 快樂讀本第二輯 Set 2 快樂讀本第三輯 Set 3 Needed more practice readers? Here you go! 90 Books, all different authors and illustrators. Great variety. There are roughly 3000 characters in each book and they are illustrated simply alternating between black/white and color pages. I like…
Book Review: 神奇樹屋系列 52本 +小百科套書 20本－ Magic Tree House and Fact Tracker Set

Age 6+ Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Purchase Links: 神奇樹屋 1－52 ：Magic Tree House Set 1-52 神奇樹屋小百科套書（全套20冊） :Magic Tree House Fact Tracker This is a really popular set. It’s used in the states in schools as readers. It has 52 books and grows in lexile level book after book almost. The…
Book Review: 樂讀123 系列 44本 Happy Reading 123 － 44 Books

Age 4+ with parent or independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Purchase Link: 樂讀123 系列 – Happy Reading 123 Series This was a set much loved by our Facebook group members! Each book is roughly 3000 characters and if you wanted practice reading, this is a good set to begin after the…
Using a Dictionary: 5000字多元學習國語圖典 – 5000 Character Dictionary

Age: 5+ For more information, please join our facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/motherlynotes/ Purchase link: Gloria Bookstore If you are teaching your child Chinese, you’re probably starting to wonder when to start them on using a Chinese dictionary. For me, it’s: when the child knows how to differentiate radicals, when they know pinyin/zhuyin, when they can respect a book…
My Journey in Teaching My Children Chinese (Teaching Children Chinese From Age 0-5)

Note: The above video physically shows you some main points I listed below. I didn’t go over everything in the video but I think it’s the ideas that needed a video. Also, I’m not a professional blogger and this is written for my own records only as well as to share with friends and family.…
Book Review:刷牙小小兵勇闖蛀牙王國 & 把飯吃光光好棒！Tooth Kingdom Invasion, Finish Your Food!

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Although there isn’t a whole bunch of technical terms, the message is very strong and clear through the crazy pictures. You should brush your teeth. This book is full of cuteness and at the same time presents disgusting facts about cavities. The illustration is to die for though. My…
“懂了” 識字卡！ (简体 + 繁體）Dongle Flashcards Simplified and Traditional – 2,346 Cards

I’m super excited to introduce this set of flashcards. You can purchase through Taobao or through their own company. Their website has a lot more items you may be interested in purchasing… Dongle 懂了: http://www.idongle.cn/ This is a set of 2,346 flash cards with both traditional and simplified fonts! Simplified in the front and traditional…
Book Review: 湯姆的服裝店，加油！熊醫生，Tom Dress Maker, Go Bear Doctor!

Age: 2-5 with parent, 5+ independent Where to Buy: 動物村翻翻書 – 扮演遊戲禮物盒（醫生扮演組）- Go Bear Set of 3 books including the one in video 湯姆的服裝店 – Tom Dress Maker The Bear Doctor book is a book that my kids read over and over and learned quite a bit of characters from without zhuyin! It was fun…
Book Review: 羅北兒故事集 Arnold Lobel Book Collection

Age: 3+ with parent 6+ Independent Where to purchase or for more information: 羅北兒故事集 – Arnold Lobel Collection Whole Set 1. 大巨人約翰 – The Big Giant 2. 明鑼移山 Ming Lo Moves the Mountain 3. 露西兒- Lucille 4. 小豬離家記 – Small Pig 5. 老鼠爸爸說故事 Mouse Tales 6. 貓頭鷹在家 Owl At Home 7. 老鼠湯 – Mouse Soup 8. 蚱蜢旅遊記 Grasshopper on…
Book Review: 小小兵有絕招(一套12本+2CD) Little Soldiers’ Smart Tricks (12 Books, 2CD)

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! You can purchase this at Books.com.tw: 小小兵有絕招 -Little Solders’ Smart Tricks This is a really neat set of books. There are 12 books and 2 CDs. The CDs follow the book verbatim! Yay! Each book is roughly 1000 characters and is…
Reading Pen Review: C-Pen 2.0 點讀筆, Listening and Reading Tool for Kids

Introduction Video: I’ve used a lot of pens and this one I’m quite happy with! There are many functions of this pen: It can record your voice so you can read books to your children without you even being there! Whoo hoo. You can input MP3 files in there! Great for language learners so…
Book Review: 亮亮的成長 30本+6 CD , All About Vicky Set (30 Books + 6 CDs)

Age: 3-6 ######DISCOUNT CODE ##### Now sold on Gloria’s Bookstore: 【全新再版】亮亮的成長 (免運) Shipment date: August/September 2018, sold until sold out Use the coupon code: motherlynotes Special Pricing: $65 including shipping , $10 rebate if you pick up at her warehouse in Sunnyvale, CA Join our Facebook Group to learn more about this set! Click here:…
Book Review: 愛挖耳朵的國王 Ear Picking King

Age: 4+ with parent, 6+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 愛挖耳朵的國王 The Ear Picking King This book is part of the Ferris Wheel Collection Book Review: 故事摩天輪系列 Ferris Wheel Bridge Book Series. It belongs in the lower elementary reading bracket with about roughly 3000-5000 characters. Characters are large and easy to read…
Book Review: 啊！睡覺的時候最幸福 Oh! The Joy of Sleeping

Age: 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! Purchase link: 啊！睡覺的時候最幸福 Oh the Joy of Sleeping! Although the book is labeled for lower elementary, I think an avid kindergartner can read this just fine. It has very very few words on a page and the words repeat! It’s about a sloth who “sleeps”…
Book Review: 南瓜弟弟忘東西，南瓜弟弟去遠足 Pumpkin Forgets His Stuff, Pumpkin Goes Hiking

Age: 6+ Independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 南瓜弟弟去遠足 Pumpkin Goes Hiking 南瓜弟弟忘東西 Pumpkin Forgets His Stuff This is a set for lower elementary students to read. It’s very much a first grader type of book. The book I read in the video is about how pumpkin forgets to bring his stuff to school…
Book Review: 冰箱放暑假 Refrigerator Takes a Summer Vacation

Age: 6+ Independent Join our Facebook Group for more information and worksheets on this book! You can buy on 博客來：冰箱放暑假 Refrigerator Takes a Summer Vacation This is a book about a refrigerator who decided not to be cold because it’s summer and it wants to take a vacation. The family was surprised to see…
Book Review: 直映认字教材 Picture Guided 1500 Character Learning Set (Simplified,简体）

Age: 2+ Join our Facebook Group to learn more from other crazy parents! This is a very very affordable set and teaches a lot of characters. It has 6 books with 11-13 lessons in there and for each lesson there are “black” characters and “red” characters. Red characters are for the kids to learn and…
Book Review: Magic Math Stories Set 數學故事魔法盒

Age: 2-5 Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 數學故事魔法盒 Magic Math Stories Set This is a cute set of 8 books with CD. Note that the CDs do not follow the book. If you are native, then I think the math inside is really fit for kids under five but the reading could be…
Book Review: 小小地球人 Little Earth 36 Book Set

Age: 5-10 Please join our Facebook Group for more information!!! I want to mention that I said this is for age five and up because I feel that children can still benefit from looking at the photos and absorb a lot of science related information from this set. However, the information in this set of…
Book Review: 新小小牛頓高幼版 + 南門書局寄到美國 unboxing of Nanmen Bookstore Package

Age: 5+ So I finally got my magazines!!!! These are one step harder than 小幼 version of the magazines and they are all science related!!! YES!!! I have a lot that includes stories coupled in with science but these are all about science topics and they have workbooks along with game items with each magazine.…
Book Review: 屁屁偵探讀本 (1-3) Butt Detective Bridge Book Series

Age: 6+ Independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 屁屁偵探讀本 (1-2) – Butt Detective Books 1-2 黑影竊盜團入侵 – Butt Detective Book 3 This is a set of bridge books for lower elementary grades in Taiwan. It has some harder terms but coupled by really really really colorful photos and makes reading fun for the kids.…
Book Review: 屁屁偵探繪本(1-5冊) Butt Detective Picture Book Series (6th one: 屁屁偵探噗噗！有兩個屁屁偵探？！)

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 屁屁偵探繪本(1-5冊) – Butt Detective Picture Books 1-5 屁屁偵探噗噗！有兩個屁屁偵探？！ – 6th book (NEW) – 2 Butt Detectives? Who doesn’t like butt face? Come on! It’s a butt as a face! He’s a detective who solves cases and always farts in the bad…
Reading “Short” Essays with Kids Daily to Develop Confidence, Patience, and Comprehension

I’ve heard it many times before. Bridge books are scary. They’re long. They have less pictures, etc. There’s a constant issue of kids not wanting to read with their parents or do not want to move on to the next level. They see a thick book and they run. I’ve found that it’s not the…
Book Review: 二十一世紀人格養成繪本系列 – 21st Century Personality Development Series

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent This is a set of 12 books with CDs in each book. It’s goal is to develop a better personality and gives topics on how to make the right choices, how to be happy, how to respect others, and all the way to where Christmas came from (weird to…
Book Review: 螢火蟲美德易開罐 – Firefly Book Set: Morals

Age: 8+ For more information, please visit our Facebook Group. This is a set of bridge books that I think is relevant for second grade and up not because the words are hard (because they’re not) but because of the concepts that are taught. This who set is about being a good person with good…
Book Review: 螢火蟲無奇不有的魔法學校 – Firefly Book Set: Magic School

Age: 7+ independent For more information, please visit our Facebook Group This is a set of bridge books for first graders. It’s a set of 12 books based on funny stories. The stories are all written by well known authors and the words are big. Books are typically about 3000 characters? That’s my rough estimate.…
Book Review: 巧連智，小一版裡面內容有什麼呢？ , Qiao Hu First Grade Magazines

Age: 7+ I am only reviewing the magazines in this review and didn’t review any of the toys and other workbooks that usually come with the set. I bought a set of these magazines “used” and I am using them as just readers in the household instead of utilizing their usual monthly toys. If you…
Using Heart Attack As a Game to Learn New Chinese Characters 用“心臟病” 的遊戲來認國字

There are many card games that are used in our Facebook group and I decided to use one on a daily basis with my two kiddos. To my surprise, it hasn’t gotten old yet. Many people use the game heart attack differently. For us, I call out the word they’re supposed to slap down on…
Using “Build Up” Method for Flashcards (20 Characters in 20 Minutes) – 如何用識字卡來認國字

Everyone does flashcards differently. I do a “Build Up” method that’s shown on the video and the steps are listed below. I led the example with my four year old in the video: Do a once over. Go over each flashcard ONCE with a pronunciation and meaning (I didn’t do this in the video for…
Book Review: 14隻老鼠系列套書 — 14 Mice (12 books)

Age: 3+ with parent or independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 14隻老鼠系列套書 14 Mice Book Set I love this set of picture books. The words are simple and I am intrigued every time I flip through it since there’s always a new detail that I’ve missed before. It’s a set of picture…
Book Review: 天才認字王套書, 成語書苑 Genius Chinese Character Reading Pen Learning Set , Idioms Set

Age: 3+ independent or with parent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 【智點】基礎語文認知套組(含新型點讀筆) 天才認字王套書 Genius Chinese Character Reading Pen Learning Set 【智點】成語書苑點讀學習套書 – Idioms Set There’s a slight correction for the stuff said on video. There are 1200 characters in this set, not 1600. This is a character learning system. It won’t help…
Book Review: 漢字說故事Ⅰ自然篇，漢字說故事Ⅱ物象篇，漢字說故事Ⅲ人事篇 – Stories Of Chinese Characters Learning Set

Age 2+ with parent, 6+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 漢字說故事Ⅰ自然篇 – Nature 漢字說故事Ⅱ物象篇 – Objects 漢字說故事Ⅲ人事篇 – People I was hesitant to put the topics of each book on there because truthfully, the words are all from differing categories that “somewhat” fits in those descriptions. Nonetheless, that’s what the books say on the…
Book Review: Grace 說恆心 – Grace Said Persistence

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! Grace 說恆心 Grade said Persistence Grace 說專心 Grace said Focus Grace 說耐心 Grace said Patience This is the story about persistence and perseverance. I really love this book and I’m glad it’s still in print. I bought this when my daughter was two because…
Book Review: 阿黛兒與西蒙美國旅遊記 – Adele and Simon in America , 阿黛兒與西蒙東方歷險記 (China), 阿黛兒與西蒙巴黎放學記 (Paris)

Age: 3+ with parent 6+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 阿黛兒與西蒙美國旅遊記 Adele and Simon in America 阿黛兒與西蒙東方歷險記 Adele and Simon in China (no zhuyin) 阿黛兒與西蒙巴黎放學 Adele and Simon in Paris I love love love this set of books. It’s the most beautifully drawn classic book I have seen (ok, maybe not MOST but really…
Book Review: 公雞的新鄰居 Chicken’s New Neighbor

Age: 2+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 公雞的新鄰居 Chicken’s New Neighbor This is the story of a Chicken who lived next door to an empty house. Then one day, the house looks like a new neighbor moved in. Excited that he has a new neighbor, he waited to meet…
Book Review: 請問一下，踩得到底嗎？Excuse Me, Does Your Feet Touch the Bottom?

Age: 2+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 請問一下，踩得到底嗎？ Excuse Me, Does Your Feet Touch the Bottom? This is the story of three animals who forgot their lifesaver in the bus and one even forgot to bring it altogether. As they’re walking down to the beach, they ask each animal…
Book Review: 挖鼻孔好好玩 It’s Fun Picking Your Nose

Age: 2+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 挖鼻孔好好玩 It’s Fun Picking Your Nose Yes, yet another boogers book. They are popular in this household for their very educational values! This one is about an elephant, a frog, and a mouse going to ask if they could pick their nose.…
Book Review: 小恐龍，幫大忙 Roo The Roaring Dinosaur

Age 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 小恐龍，幫大忙 Roo The Roaring Dinosaur I love this little dinosaur. The illustrations are just so cute. This is the story about a dinosaur and his lovey. He is with his lovey all day. One day an animal fell down from the…
Book Review: 阿文的小毯子 Owen

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 阿文的小毯子 Owen This one is a Caldecott winner and it’s super cute. Everyone know a kid always has his or her lovey and this is the story about a little mouse and his lovey. He doesn’t want to let it go…
Member Post: How Her Daughters Learned to Read Chinese Fluently (Nelli C)

Another inspirational member of our Facebook Group has shared their incredible journey of how their children learned to read fluently in Chinese at an early age. You are welcome to join our group to learn more from our members! 感謝Julie Liu的邀稿。我的女兒們,一個七歲一個五歲。沒有去中文學校、一直以來都是我自己教中文。老大在努力了兩年之後, 中文漸漸趨近我一開始的期待— 讀少年小說, 目前閱讀速度約1分鐘250-300字, 堪稱中英可齊步；小女兒也以超出期待的速度穩定進步中。 I have two daughters ages seven and five who have…
How to Elevate Reading Comprehension in Chinese (Age 5+) 如何提升閱讀理解能力

My biggest issue in having my girls advance in reading comprehension is … “comprehension.” Ok, that sounds dumb. It’s a pain explaining a phrase every single sentence and you really want to give up sometimes. It’s tedious during reading and the truth is, you’ve already lost the excitement of the story since you’re reading so…
Member Post: How We Learned Mandarin With Perfect Accent

We have an amazing member in our Facebook Group. They speak Cantonese at home but Jennifer C (an amazing mom) was determined for her children to learn the proper tones for Mandarin. She suggested: Put the phonetic guides next to each word you are learning and make sure your kiddos are pronouncing it right every…
Book Review: 勇敢的贝雅和她的朋友 – Beya and Her Friends (简体书，Simplified)

Age: 8+ Independent Each of these books has over 10,000 characters. However, each page is full color! Lots of characters but very fitting for a second grader in maturity or maybe a tad higher. It’s definitely a book after you have at least 800 characters under your belt to start reading. It’s about a girl…
Book Review: 劳拉的星星 Laura’s Star Series (简体书，Simplified)

Age: 6-9 Years Independent This is set of cute readers from a German author translated and it’s not hard to read after you have your first 500 characters down. It will add more characters to your vocabulary as well. It’ll be harder than Book Review: 大人不知道的小秘密 Secrets Adults Do Not Know Series (Simplified) I see this as…
Book Review: 大人不知道的小秘密 Secrets Adults Do Not Know Series (简体书，Simplified)

Age: 5+ independent I’ve finally found an easy reader set in simplified and where the stories are not dead boring. You can read this after you know about 200+ words. Sentence structure is easy and only a few lines on a page. There are 12 books in the series and they all look somewhat similar.…
Book Review: 外公的大衣 My Grandfather’s Coat

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 外公的大衣 My Grandfather’s Coat This book has a no fail crying spell on me every time I read it so I apologize for the bad read in the in end. It’s yet again another book I was afraid to review for you…
Book Review: 阿摩的聰明藥 Gorilla’s Smart Pill

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 阿摩的聰明藥 Gorilla’s Smart Pill Yet another booger book! This is the story of the Gorilla who secretly ate a booger which he likes to do but the owl saw it. Scared that the owl would find out he ate his own booger,…
Book Review: YES！也算是小超人 Yes, Supergirl!

Age: 6+ independent This is such an interesting bridge book. They got me right on the first page. It’s another monster’s book. There are monsters at the school and in this city. The cute monster looks cute but then spit out a huge bubble to trap the teacher and the girl’s dad! They are…
Use This To Practice Reading Characters When You Can’t Find Better Books

When you cannot find the right books for your kids to read in Chinese without phonetic help, you can try using Post Its! Post It’s has a “Labeling and Cover Up Tape.” It doesn’t harm the book, perfectly removable and it’s a good way to just cover up the zhuyin so your child can practice…
Book Review: 鼻屎大冒險 Adventures of Booger 鼻屎大冒險2：鼻屎總動員 Adventures of Booger 2

Age 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 鼻屎大冒險 Adventures of Boogers 鼻屎大冒險2：鼻屎總動員 This is the story about a booger who has never left the nostril until one day, he met with the booger from the other nostril that told him the outside world is wonderful. Then they think of…
Book Review: 子兒吐吐 (中英雙語書+CD) Spit Out The Seeds!

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 子兒吐吐 (中英雙語書+CD) Spit Out The Seeds! This is a very creative book. It’s about a big faced pig who loved to eat and one day, he ate all the papaya and even the seeds. All the other little pigs whispered and…
Using Reusable Sheets to Learn Chinese Phonetics ㄅㄆㄇ

Many friends have asked me when to start writing or learning the phonetic system in Chinese and in my article My Journey in Teaching My Children Chinese, I mentioned that I always started them early. Toddlers have very less refined motor skills but if they try, they’ll be able to trace anything big. I made these ㄅㄆㄇ…
Book Review: 老鼠郵差來了! , 老鼠郵差去度假 The Mouse Postman is Here!, The Mouse Postman Goes on Vacation

Age: 3+ with parent, 5+ independent Please visit our Facebook group for more information! 老鼠郵差來了! The Mouse Postman Is Here! 老鼠郵差去度假 The Mouse Postman Goes on Vacation This is an insanely cute set of books and the size of it is huge. It’s about a foot tall and maybe 7-8 inches across but that’s because it has…
Book Review: 小妖怪系列書 Little Monsters Series

Age: 6+ Independent reading 小妖怪系列套書 Little Monsters series with 4 books: 海洋裡的小妖怪、森林裡的小妖怪、城市裡的小妖怪、校園裡的小妖怪 Ocean, Forest, City, School 鬼怪不想讓你知道的50個祕密 50 Secrets of Monsters I love this set because my kids love it and they can go at it for a long time “without” me. I would purposely only read ONE out of the four books so they can sift…
Book Review: 工藤紀子系列2 工藤紀子 Series 2 小修與沃特, 海盜船 , 冬天是什麼樣子？ , 叢林之王

Please visit our Facebook group for more information! This is the same author as the Little Chicken, Penguin, and Wild Cat Series. These are their comic books and one new book with little bear and one with the life of the Cicada. The comic books have no zhuyin but are great practice for kids who…
Book Review: 工藤紀子系列小雞，野貓軍團，企鵝 Little Chicken, Wild Cats, Penguin Series

Please visit our Facebook group for more information! Age: 3+ (with parent or independent) Everyone loves the Little Chicken Series. This author is known for being very random! The stories are super cute and it’s told through pictures. Because this series was so popular, the author came out with an extra book of Little Chicken…
Book Review: 紅豆綠豆碰系列 Red Bean Green Bean Series

Age: 5+ independent I’m so excited to find this series of comics with zhuyin! It teaches good behavior and whatever your child has come across at school, it’ll probably have a story that goes with it. It has topics on how to make friends, why studying is great, things about the earth, school, EQ, etc.…
Book Review: 小兵童話精選 Little Soldiers Fairy Tales Series (6 Books)

Age 4+ (with parent) 6+ (independent reading) Please visit our Facebook Group for more information! I’m rating this set to be at a higher age for independent reading because it is a lengthier book than regular picture books and has 3000 characters each book. This is a 6 book set. You can try out one…
Interviews With Parents Who Have Successfully Taught Their Children Chinese

We frequently get asked the questions of how to teach our children Chinese in the states and there’s a lot of resistance from children here in the states. All sorts of problems come up and every family has a different situation. In all differing situations, how do parents set up their children for success in…
Book Review: 閱讀123 / Reading 123 換換書 Change Change Change!

Age 6+ Visit Us on Facebook for More Information! 換換書 Change Change Change! This is a book recommended by one of our members! It’s about changing body parts, changing names, changing even their own moms! Teaches you what it’s like to live in the life of someone else. Really cute book and definitely first grade beginning…
Book Review: 閱讀123 / Reading 123 小東西系列 Little Things Series

Age: 6+ This is one of the really cute series. It talks about the little things we have in life like cups and spoons, etc. and what their lives and viewpoints are. Whimsical stories about the lives of little things. I show pages of the stories inside. It’s divided by one chapter per item. The…
Book Review: 閱讀123 / Reading 123 我家有系列 Our House Has Series

Visit our Facebook Page for more information! Age 6+ This is a really educational series where they embed all sorts of science like knowledge in cute stories and in forms that’s easy to understand. The series consists of a Turtles, Plants, Backyard Discoveries, and Building Homes. In each book, there’s a topic that they cover.…
Book Review: 閱讀123 / Reading 123 – 屁屁超人系列 Fart Superhero Series

Join our Facebook Group for more information! Age: 6+ Yes, I know I’ve mentioned this many times that my kids like all the stuff that’s not high level intellectual material. Anything to do with fart, butt, nose holes, boogers, it’s fascinating. Yes, even for my girls who think they are total princesses! Here’s a set…
Book Review: 白熊的內褲 (White Bear’s Underwear)，叫我第一名 (First Place)，小小迷路 (Lost Little Owl)，不行 (No!)

This is a collection of 4 books. Links below: 白熊的內褲（White Bear’s Underwear) Age (0-3) – Super cute book about a bear trying to find his underwear and it’s a guess and look book where you can peep into what the picture will be next. In the end, the bear found his underwear on himself because…