Print, print, everywhere

"Look, daddy!  'Stop'!" Felix exclaimed excitedly.  That followed the most adorable laughter from Rachel and him.  I smile.  "Yes, daddy stopped the car...  How do you spell the word?" I replied.  I was secretly glad that they could recognise and spell the word, at the ages four and three respectively.  I am not sure if I could have spelt the word when I was their age.  No, I don't think I could.

Yes, their play-school has played their part in teaching them to read, to recognise letters.  I reckon the 'Hi-5!' and other CDs must have aided their learning.  The Government and everyone else chip in by displaying signages (some worded) in numerous places.  Yen and I would make use of these to try teach our elder children to recognise those words and if possible, try spell them.

I go a step further.  I try to seize every opportunity I can to help them spell words.  If they are learning and remembering due to phonics, that is great.  Else, I try to make them repeat after me.  To me, a word learnt now at their tender age means a word less to learn for spelling, or whatever, later.  Felix can spell quite a few names of animals, many simple words (like 'go', 'team', 'love', etc.) and 'one' to 'ten', with aplomb!  Now, even some of my former students cannot do that in primary three / four!

I tried to list out the words that Felix can spell, and at age three, the number of words amaze me.  I lost count.  Sure, I worry that it is memory work mostly.  I know that when I read with him, and he constantly get words that he should be able to pronounce wrong.  But there is a long way ahead, a long time to learn.

Just today, I decided that since the walls of the passageway leading to their room is bare, and we have bought a few wall charts for them, I should make use of the charts to decorate the wall.  In the same way, I hope my two elder children and later, Kayleen, will always stop by and recall the words and how they are spelt.

I have seen it somewhere that some take greater effort, by labelling the things around the house and sticking them on the things (e.g. Stick the word 'Refrigerator' and its chinese characters on the item itself).  At this moment, I need not do that.  But who knows, in a year or two, I'll make it into a game and ask the children to stick the words onto the items by themselves.  *Tsk tsk*

I think I have bought more of such charts and stashed them somewhere earlier.  Better find them soon and put them up.  Bought them anyway - better make the money 'money well spent'!   They enjoy reading and listening to us read to them.  Again, I make a conscious effort to make them lead me through the words and help them when they are stuck.  I'll be glad if they can finish books (albeit short ones) by themselves a little later.

I am a little worried at their ability to converse in Mandarin, though.  Our children seem to prefer using the English language, even when we speak to them in Mandarin.  Not that there is anything wrong, but we want them to be effectively bilingual.  Not to mention that it is still going to be tested later in school.  We have bought them Chinese CDs, tried speaking to them and insisting that they answer in Mandarin...  Ha.  Starting to see the anxiety parents have when their children take examinations.

Does anyone tried sucessfully for their children to converse in mother tongue?  Do give me some ideas.  Or is tuition classes the way to turn to??