Starr King Elementary School

December 2009

A Place for Everything

Whatever you might think or be told, very few elementary-aged children seem to do homework at a desk in their room. They want to do it where everyone else is (i.e. you, the parent) and it usually happens in the kitchen or the living room. Making a space where homework to be done, homework that’s finished, paper, pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers and dictionaries live will save endless hours of “I can’t find XXXX!” and let you get down to the actual job of doing the homework. This is often as simple as file folder and a shoebox tucked on a kitchen counter or a bookcase. But get them in the habit of always putting it back so that finding things doesn’t take up all their energy that should go towards homework.

Get a Grip on What Need to be Done

-Have your child count total pages of homework and make a chart showing how many pages he or she needs to do each day.

-Make a checklist that goes on the refrigerator, which you refer to when anything is asked for. “Did you do your homework yet?” should send them straight to the list.

-For other kids, the idea of X pages of homework is overwhelming, so the dad just says “Do as much as you can for 30 minutes.”

– Some teachers assign a weekly homework package, others send home daily worksheets. For weekly homework, one Kindergarten family goes to the library Wednesday for a couple hours. The dad and his son review the homework from the previous week, look at the new package, do a couple of pages and read a couple of books. “It’s been effective and enjoyable, our little routine.”

Be Flexible About When & Where

– One parent realized that mornings were a better time than evenings, so they get up at 6:00 and do homework for a half an hour in the morning when everything is calm and there are no distractions. That leaves after school and evening for fun stuff.
– One family keeps the list of the English spelling works in the car, so that on the way to school each morning she can quiz her daughter. It’s quick  and then it’s done for the day – and it happens 5 times a week. This also works well for times tables. It’s hard for character flash cards as non-Chinese-speaking parents can’t read the pinyin while they’re driving, but if you carpool or have more than one child in the car they can quiz each other.

– Another driving tip: CDs with Chinese songs in the car are a nice way to reinforce Chinese. Ask your teacher for appropriate CD titles.

– Break up the monotony by using different locations and settings. For example, when the weather is good, I often meet my son early at his offsite after school program and have a picnic. We eat, chat for a bit, then start the homework. I know another family outside the school that often goes to the zoo, and then at some point they take a homework break for 45 minutes while they’re there.
– Play games: One first grade family used the flash cards to play a Charade game, though the fun did fade after awhile.

– One family kept all the flash cards in a box, and the daughter was always very proud to take them out and show everyone exactly how many Chinese words she knew.

Getting Them to Do It

No television during the week.

Plan out the number of pages a day so that it’s done during the week, making weekend’s less onerous.

If your child is in the after school program there’s space build in for homework.

One family lets pick a special kids movie on Sunday, which they can’t watch until homework is all finished.

One family faithfully schedules a playdate on Monday, but only if homework is completely done.

Different Kids Need Different Things

– One family mentioned that their boy needed to take an exercise break. He does 10 minutes of homework, then a bunch of jumping jacks, then another 10 minutes.
– Sometimes it’s too hard. So I say, “OK, just do the easy stuff first”. Especially if he’s cranky, then just let them do what’s easy, and hit the hard stuff when they’re in a better mood.
– Praise effort, and celebrate accomplishments/growth/progress.
– My daughter is focused and ready to do her homework the moment she comes home from the after school program.  My son on the other hand wants to play and do homework after dinner.  I find flexibility, especially at this point in their lives, to be productive.

Motor and Sensory Development

Tips from a Kindergarten MI mom who is a pediatric occupational therapist:

For movement and attention

Briefly warm up the hands and wrists before writing

Try a hand fidget (koosh balls, stretch balls, fabric swatches, curly shoe string, etc)

Frequent movement breaks (yoga moves are great for learning about where your limbs are in space and help support upper body strengthening)

Chew toys, gum, dried fruit, hard candy, ice water etc. Mint flavors and aromatherapy (e.g. mint) are alerting.

Seating Options

Foot rest for dangling legs. Feet should be flat  (phonebooks work well).

Back cushion or pillows for support

Lying on the floor on  stomach with a pillow to support chest.

Use a slant board at a desk.

Different size and shape pencils (triangular).

Small crayons or pencils (so only three fingers will fit!).

For kids that have a lot of movement, have them do homes work with a slant board in a rocking chair

Letter/Character Formation

Use index cards to glue, sand, salt or string on paper in desired shape.  Have the student trace the letter/character in the correct stroke formation.

Practice shapes in shaving cream, Kool-Aid powder with water, or corn starch with water.

Mandarin-specific Tips

– Invest in at least two dictionaries, a Chinese-English and an English-Chinese. See the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council website for dictionary names and a lesson on how to use a Chinese dictionary.

– If you get stuck, email your room list, or either of the Mandarin lists. Someone is online and can probably help you.

Online Dictionaries

Recommendations from parent David Lin

Google Translate  – Instant and highly accurate, open editable model, grammar help

http://translate.google.com/#en|zh-CN|

MDBG – The audible sound is indispensable, well paired to the pin-yin, in addition to the numerous English translation selections

http://de.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php

Note by the MIPC webmaster Scott Olson:  I also like Yellow Bridge…

http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/chinese-dictionary.php

Collected by Beth Weise

weise@well.com

Many parents in San Francisco are spending this month deciding which schools they will list on the SFUSD lottery form. For parents interested in Chinese, there are five possible schools, three offering Cantonese immersion and two offering Mandarin.

A parent on the SF K Files found an interesting site that discusses the differences and similarities between Cantonese and Mandarin, from an English-speakers point of view. The author was a Mormon missionary so there are a few references that are obscure for non-Mormons, but overall it’s a very thorough (and at times extremely technical) description of the two languages. It might be a useful read for families pondering which programs to apply to.

I’ve posted the beginnings of the essay below. The full essay can be read  at:

www.chinese-lessons.com/cantonese/difficulty.htm

————

Mandarin vs. Cantonese:

Which is more difficult, Mandarin or Cantonese?  To properly address this question, there are a couple things that need to be cleared up. First, what relation do Mandarin and Cantonese have, and why should they be compared?  Second, what exactly is meant by “difficult?” In order to answer the first question, a little background on Chinese language is needed.

Many believe that Chinese is the language spoken in China. In some ways this is true; in others it is misleading. The statement is akin to remarking that European is the language spoken in Europe. Just as people in various nations of Europe speak different languages, Chinese in different provinces of China speak different languages. Ignoring the 56 official minority languages spoken in mainland China, there are over a hundred dialects of Chinese. These dialects are closely related and come from a common parent language.

The term “dialect” can be misleading. Generally, the idea of dialects differs from that of related languages in that dialects of the same language are mutually intelligible while separate languages are not. Chinese dialects are an exception. Part of the reason Chinese languages are referred to as dialects is that they share a common written language. Another reason is that there exists a continuum of intelligibility within Chinese: some dialects are more closely related than others.

Mandarin is clearly the most influential Chinese dialect and Cantonese is arguably the second most influential. They are also dialects on opposite sides of the Chinese language spectrum. While some speakers of Cantonese who have grown up in close contact with Mandarin speakers often learn to understand spoken Mandarin and vice versa, many others do not develop this ability and those who do not have the advantage of hearing the other language on a regular basis generally understand nothing of the other dialect. Those cases where speakers of one dialect comprehend the other can easily be understood as second language acquisition.

There is something of a rivalry between Mandarin and Cantonese. While Mandarin currently enjoys an exalted position as the official language of The People’s Republic of China and of Taiwan, Republic of China, Cantonese has a long history and closer ties to classical Chinese than Mandarin. Additionally, Cantonese still has a strong hold on important business centers in Southeast China and has its own measure of prestige. Cantonese is also the second most widely taught Chinese dialect for non-Chinese.

So then, as a matter of practicality and as a matter of pride, the question of which dialect is the more difficult becomes intriguing. Who has the right to boast, and which requires more effort to learn? Most English speakers who have learned both languages will say that Cantonese is the more difficult. Yet, is there any substance to that claim?

Chinese people can be just as cliquish as any other race, and language can be as clear a dividing line as any. To that end, native Mandarin speakers mock deficiencies in Canton people’s pronunciation of Mandarin. There’s even a cute rhyme that they use to express this sentiment succinctly:

天不怕，地不怕，只怕廣東人說普通話！

“Tian bu pa, di bu pa, zhi pa Guangdong ren shuo Putonghua.”

Translation- I fear neither heaven nor earth, I only fear Cantonese speakers trying to speak Mandarin.

Mandarin speakers learning Cantonese generally are encouraged in their efforts, but Canton people are no less proud of their language and culture. The Cantonese version of the rhyme sounds equally true:

天唔驚，地唔驚，只驚北方人講廣東話唔正！

“\Tin\ \mh\ \geng\, deih \mh\ \geng\ /ji/ \geng\ -bak- \fong\ \yahn\ /gong/ /gwong/ \dung\ wah \mh\ jehng.”

Translation- I fear neither heaven nor earth, I only fear Mandarin speakers speaking Cantonese so inaccurately.

Many natives of Hong Kong and Guangzhou (where Cantonese is the provincial mother tongue) speak Mandarin as a second language. Relatively few Chinese in Northern China (where Mandarin is the provincial mother tongue) ever learn Cantonese. This is certainly due in large part to the importance of Mandarin as the national language and the government mandate that Mandarin be taught in schools. However, could there be some basis for this in one dialect being more difficult for speakers of the other?

Click here to continue reading the original essay.