Parents, if you find your child needs more Mandarin practice, beyond the Better Immersion program the students are using at school, the following is a list of additional resources.  There are many more resources available on various websites, but we’ve tried to limit the list to resources we’ve used and/or were recommended.  If you find other resources of interest, check the reviews on Amazon and/or post a message in the WCMS families Google group to get input from other parents who may have used the resource.  We’ll continue to add resources as we find more good ones.

FLASH CARDS

  • Chinese Flash Cards: 186 Essential Chinese Characters for Beginners Available on Amazon
  • Tuttle Chinese for Kids’ Flash Cards kit, Vol. 1, Simplified Edition (also includes an audio CD, poster, and learning guide)  Available on Amazon
  • Tuttle More Chinese for Kids’ Chinese Flash Cards, Simplified Edition (includes a poster an audio CD, which is the same as the CD included in Vol. 1) Available on Amazon
  • Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese Kit (flash cards, audio CD and wall chart)  Available on Amazon

BOOKS

  • Little Chinese Readers (online books) – Follow Little Chinese Readers on Facebook; they are currently offering a free 1-year membership
  • My First Chinese Words (36 books and a CD) – check Amazon and ebay for best price
  • Check the public library, Amazon, Asianparent.com, ebay and China Sprouts for more books and book sets; make sure any books purchased are written in simplified characters, not traditional

INSTRUCTIONAL DVDs

  • Chinese for Children Vol. 1 – (** Excellent for teaching vocabulary and basic conversation) Available on Amazon or used copies on ebay
  • Follow Jade Learn Chinese: Let’s Go to Market in China! (2005) – (for beginners) New and used copies Available on Amazon and ebay
  • Follow Jade! Learn Chinese: Let’s Visit Chinese Kindergarten! (2005) – (for beginners) New and used copies Available on Amazon and ebay
  • Play and Learn Chinese with Mei Mei, Vols. 1- 8 (for beginners; Vols. 1, 2 and 4 are best) – New and used copies Available on Amazon and ebay

MOVIES / TELEVISION  (in Mandarin for listening & comprehension practice)

(Note: There are many movies in Mandarin on Amazon and ebay.  Make sure any others you purchase will play on a Region 1 DVD player or you have a multi-region player.)

MUSIC

APPS FOR TABLETS

OTHER MATERIALS

  • Magnetic Poetry – Kids’ Chinese Kit (Refrigerator character tile magnets) – Available on Amazon

BLOGS, BOOKS & VIDEOS FOR PARENTS

LOCATIONS OF SUPPLEMENTAL COURSES AND SUMMER CAMPS