What fun ideas or resources have you tried lately?
Sept 23, 2014 5:49:44 GMT 9
Post by Adam Beck on Sept 23, 2014 5:49:44 GMT 9
I thought I'd start a thread for sharing the fun ideas or resources we've used lately. These are the little things that make up our daily progress, but others don't often see, and I think it would be interesting, and instructive, to hear what people are doing in their efforts to support the minority language. So feel free to sing out with your successes!
Here are a couple of mine...
Ideas
I mentioned this the other day, in a different thread, but I've stumbled upon another nutty idea that has been a hit with my kids--it's both very playful and very effective in motivating them to use the minority language. Now it isn't for everyone, but basically (I'll describe it at the blog in more detail one day), parent and child take turns "insulting" the other using this sort of structure...
Your (noun) is so (adjective) that (insert insult).
A couple of concrete examples would be...
Your mouth is so big that a bear crawled in there to hibernate.
Your heart is so cold that it snows everywhere you go.
With the right kids, and a playful spirit, it can be more fun than "insulting." (The "insults" are so obviously "over the top" that you can't really take them seriously.)
And not only does it stretch language ability, it promotes creative thinking. My son and I (as in How I Get My Bilingual Son to Talk His Head Off in the Minority Language) have some particularly lively duels as we try to top one another with our wild exaggerations.
Resources
I have a large collection of games (card games, board games, words games, etc.), which I use regularly with my kids and students, but I just got a little card game that has quickly proven to be my family's favorite. It's called Sushi Go! and it's a really fun, clever game for both kids and adults that could be played in any language. (Apart from the English instructions, the English text is minimal--just labels on the cards.)
When the four of us played it (in English, our minority language), we had a blast and because adults don't really have any significant advantage over kids, the game can go anyone's way (though luck is only part of it). In fact, my wife won the first game, but my 7-year-old son won the second game! Highly recommended, whether or not you like sushi!
Here are a couple of mine...
Ideas
I mentioned this the other day, in a different thread, but I've stumbled upon another nutty idea that has been a hit with my kids--it's both very playful and very effective in motivating them to use the minority language. Now it isn't for everyone, but basically (I'll describe it at the blog in more detail one day), parent and child take turns "insulting" the other using this sort of structure...
Your (noun) is so (adjective) that (insert insult).
A couple of concrete examples would be...
Your mouth is so big that a bear crawled in there to hibernate.
Your heart is so cold that it snows everywhere you go.
With the right kids, and a playful spirit, it can be more fun than "insulting." (The "insults" are so obviously "over the top" that you can't really take them seriously.)
And not only does it stretch language ability, it promotes creative thinking. My son and I (as in How I Get My Bilingual Son to Talk His Head Off in the Minority Language) have some particularly lively duels as we try to top one another with our wild exaggerations.
Resources
I have a large collection of games (card games, board games, words games, etc.), which I use regularly with my kids and students, but I just got a little card game that has quickly proven to be my family's favorite. It's called Sushi Go! and it's a really fun, clever game for both kids and adults that could be played in any language. (Apart from the English instructions, the English text is minimal--just labels on the cards.)
When the four of us played it (in English, our minority language), we had a blast and because adults don't really have any significant advantage over kids, the game can go anyone's way (though luck is only part of it). In fact, my wife won the first game, but my 7-year-old son won the second game! Highly recommended, whether or not you like sushi!