New School Year Plans

I've finalized my plans for the upcoming school year. I have set goals for each language. I believe each of these goals is attainable.

Arabic - Both boys will recognize each letter of the alphabet and it's pronunciation through the Alif Baa textbook and DVD. They will be able to write each letter correctly with assistance from Arabic without Tears Book 1. Elijah will develop a vocabulary of 200 words demonstrated through flashcards when given the English word. Luke will develop a vocabulary of 200 words demonstrated through flashcards when given the Arabic word.

Mandarin - Both boys will learn the pinyin alphabet and practice the four tones though Chinese Made Easy for Kids Book 1. They will demonstrate a vocabulary of 200 words through flashcards where Elijah is given English words and Luke is given Mandarin words.

Greek - Complete Hey Andrew Teach Me Some Greek Book 1 and be able to recite the Greek alphabet, recognize each letter and the sound it makes. They will also be able to read 20 simple Greek words.

French - They boys will demonstrate a 50 word vocabulary through activities in Ecoutez! Parlez! Learning French for Kids.

French is a new one. They have basically only had exposure to the language this past year. I'll post on how things go.

End of the school year

We have come to the end of our school year. What has worked and what has not? My oldest son is on the second year using Rosetta Stone Mandarin verson 2. While it is a wonderful program, it has not been working well for him. We never seem to get very far with the program. Maybe it will be a better fit when he is older. My boys have learned more through Youtube videos while they ate their lunch. Next year I am going a different route. I will still have Rosetta Stone, but I plan to use the Chinese Made Easy for Kids curriculum for my boys next year. It comes with a text book and a workbook.

They both enjoyed their Greek workbook this year. They are about 2/3 of the way through book one of Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! They are learning the Greek alphabet and doing quite well with it.

This was our first year learning Arabic. Basically, my kids learned the alphabet and about 30 different words in Arabic. It is probably their favorite language to learn. Youtube videos have been helpful for them. Next year they will be using Arabic for English Speakers Junior computer game and the Arabic for Beginners textbook.

The other language we are undertaking is French. This year I have focused on my kids getting exposure to the language. We moved to Canada so that helped! There are French TV programs for kids here and French writing on all labels so it isn't too hard to get exposure. I do need to learn pronunciation so I can read it. Next year I plan to use Ecoutez! Parlez! Learning French for Kids level 1.

We look forward to starting these programs in August. Spanish was a good choice to discontinue. In the USA we heard Spanish quite often. Since moving to Canada exposure to Spanish has become more and more infrequent. On the other hand, we have had increased exposure to French, Mandarin, and Arabic. Just last week we went to a part of town where stores had Arabic writing on their store signs. By middle school I hope to place my kids in a class where they can be taught by a native speaker for French, Mandarin, and Arabic. And I think we live in a great place to do that!

Learning Arabic

So I discovered my little girl trying to say the Arabic alphabet the other day.  She hasn't tried the English one yet.  I guess she has picked up on my boys enthusiam in singing the Arabic alphabet.  Granted her "singing" doesn't sound like the Arabic letters, but she is attempting to sing it.  

We are plugging ahead with Arabic and Mandarin.  French is pretty much only on a exposure basis right now and we are doing more with Koine Greek.  The Greek is slow right now.  My boys are learning the alphabet and the sounds the letters make.  

Spanish

Well, Spanish has fallen by the wayside.  Doing all languages together has not given them enough time on each language.  So we are focusing on learning Arabic and Mandarin and giving them exposure to French.  The Koine Greek program they are doing is a slow introduction to the Greek Alphabet right now so they only spend about 10 minutes on it per week.  It will increase as time goes on.  Arabic and Mandarin have been going well.  For Arabic I am using flashcards.  They learn well when I associate the Arabic word with something they know.  For instance kursee means chair so we made up a story about Percy from Thomas and Friends sitting in a chair.  For Mandarin we have been doing a few flashcards and Rosetta Stone.  Flashcards are more difficult for Mandarin because it is a tonal language and I am still learning the tones myself.

Trip to China

Well, it was not a real trip to China. We stepped into the Chinese culture on the weekend by going down the street. We live in the Greater Toronto area which is very diverse in cultures. All of us went to a local Chinese grocery store. We stepped into the store and were welcomed with the smell of Chinese food cooking at a cafe area. The grocery store was the size of other large grocery stores except the produce area was twice as big and filled with produce unique to the Chinese culture. We ventured into the produce area with my baby in an Ergo baby carrier and holding on to a hand of one son. My husband had the cart and another son. Just making a way down the aisles was an adventure. It was nearly wall to wall people with people bumping each other and moving carts out of the way. There were no "excuse-mes" or "sorry" for bumps - it was something that was normal. My husband described it as chaotic much like some places he has visited in Asia.

My boys were able to walk through the store and see many different kinds of food that they had never seen before. They were able to hear people speaking Chinese around them and see Chinese characters everywhere. They ventured into the meat section of the store where they could see a roasted pig's head, cow's feet, and raw fish sitting out in the open. The smell of the fish market section of the store made one aware that they were not in a western grocery store.

I'm thankful that we live in an area where the boys can be exposed to the Chinese culture. Toronto also has a China town which we do plan on visiting in the future. I had thought we were visiting a small grocery store, but didn't realize the treasure we would find. I'll go back again. While we weren't "brave" enough to buy the meat, the produce variety is worth the trip.

Alif Bah Taa Thaa Jeem Haa Khaa

The Arabic alphabet is becoming well-known in our household. My boys have really enjoyed the alphabet song. You can hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI3oBB_n1AU The boys are learning the alphabet for French, Spanish and Greek as well but Arabic has caught on much more. I caught my 5 year old singing it yesterday and he was so proud of himself. I've caught everyone in our household singing it, well everyone that is except the baby. My 7 year old will make sure he gets the glottal kh sound in khaa correctly. The boys look forward to Arabic and want to learn more. It seems as though French and Spanish are somewhat "boring" when compared to Arabic and Mandarin.

We are starting to learn Arabic script as well. I always wondered how anyone could make sense of it, but not anymore. At the beginning of the year I purchased some magnetic Arabic letters that attach together. Learning the alphabet has helped us start to understand script. Tuesday is the next day we do Arabic and I know we are all looking forward to learning more of the Arabic alphabet.

Right now I am in search of a good Arabic comprehensive program. Rossetta Stone is at the top of our list, but I am looking for what else is out there.

Too much?

What do my kids think of this?

My 7 year old does Rossetta Stone easily. My 5 year old will sometimes do Rossetta Stone easily. So far my 7 year old is learning the languages a little quicker than my 5 year old. I have been surprised at how much my 5 year old remembers. They both earn video game time with each increase in skills so that may have something to do with it.

If Rossetta Stone was the only language instruction my boys would probably be bored with it. We use coloring, songs, games, online activities, videos, writing, and sticker books to help make things more interesting.

So far there does not seem to be overload. They do seem to be enjoying themselves especially with learning Arabic.