A lot of parents have asked me what they could do to encourage their children to learn/speak English at home. Of course, the answer is learning through play, because games, songs, pretend play, and hands-on activities will always engage children more than worksheets, coloring pages, or repeating words. The former are means of promoting meaningful learning, because the children will not just acquire information, but also be able to transfer this information to other contexts and situations. Teachers should promote the retention and transfer of information, rather than rote-learning. By actively engaging in learning activities, the children will learn skills, not just information.
That’s why I have put together a folder for parents. Let me explain a little what I mean by FOR PARENTS. It’s actually something that the parents can borrow, take home and use with the kids. It contains lots of resources and props for hands-on activities, such as stick puppets for stories and songs, the text of some well-known stories, finger puppets, masks, pretend play props, lyrics to the songs that we have learnt in class and flashcards with images (most of them are my own or from Super Simple Learning), and some articles from my blog.
The photos will offer a more clear idea of what I have included in the folder and how the borrowing system works.
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| I used a large ring binder and plastic pockets for each area of interest/subject |
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| Parents have to write their name, the date, and the parts taken |
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| I printed out the texts from British Council Kids and the stick puppets I made using clipart from Little Red |
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| Most songs come with lyrics and stick puppets or flashcards |
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| I printed out some of the games I’ve posted in my TPT store |
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| These are vocabulary games from MES English |
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| This part contains lots of number flashcards, math games, number puzzles, things I’ve created for Grumpy Dumpling |
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| The flashcards come with suggestions of games |
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| These are thematic flashcards, that parents can use to play vocabulary games |
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| These daily routine flashcards might be useful with new children |
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| Thematic Flashcards |
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| These are just a couple of laminated mazes that children can draw on with dry-erase markers |
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| I printed out some of the articles from Grumpy Dumpling and PPT webinar presentations that the parents might find useful |
What would you add to these?
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What I have in My Teaching Suitcase
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What a wonderful idea, Grumpy Dumpling! We love how you are giving parents the opportunity to work with their kids at home, and making it so fun and easy. Thank you for including some of our resources and songs.
Sara
Super Simple Learning
Thanks, Sara! How can I not include Super Simple songs in this folder? They have transformed the way I teach English. 😉