a little help with kindergarten?

[alan33]

Hi, I'm a TEFL qualified teacher working in Taiwan. I've taught kids as young as 5 before, but I'm now faced with totally different brief: a class full of 3 year olds.

I'm mildly petrified. Are there any links with kindergarten tips; I've looked all around here and elsewhere but I keep coming up short with advice for children this young.

I'm used to 40 or 50 5/6 year olds (in China!) chanting "HELLO!!" as soon as they see me, but when I was introduced to the 3 year olds, there was nothing. No hello. No response to "how old are YOU?"

Thanks a million,
Alan.

[Hay]

I had the same experience, in Hong Kong, so I know how you feel. I wasn't under a lot of pressure to "teach" the children, though, just to make English fun and familiar for them, so they wouldn't be afraid of it. (I'm not EFL-trained; just have experience from my own children growing up bilingual). So at the beginning I basically just sang lots of very simple, repetitive songs, which they all picked up very quickly (wheels on the bus, head shoulders knees and toes etc); the more actions the better. Then we did very basic stuff like colours, and animals, with loads of goofing around games. I only have them for 20 minutes each week, and many of them are still very shy of saying anything in English, but their understanding is growing, which surely is the first step.

If you've come across any brilliant ideas in the meantime, please let me know. Have u checked out www.eslkidstuff.com . It's geared to kindegarten age and has some useful stuff.

[Sally Olsen]

We had a wonderful class in Japan with this age. The parents stayed with the kids (and sometimes brothers and sisters). It was called Rhythm and English. We played games - they loved slap - you have big flash cards and teach four or five and then spread the cards out of the floor and they slap what you call and get to keep it. Of course we did all those great active songs. We had puppets and acted out Billy Goats Gruff and Three Little Pigs. We did a lot of finger plays. We drew and the parents talked to them - what a pretty green line, what is that? (Japanese answer) Oh, a dragon. We had a routine - an opening song, the weather, the colours, active songs, active game, finger plays, and drawing before they went home. We would gradually drop the weather and add transportation or family and so on. We had a little performance for the parents at the end with a kind of play made out of all the songs strung together. I would google nursery school sites for 3 year olds rather than kindergarten. Montessori stuff in the best. Co-operative games work the best and the parents played.

[Sally Olsen]

northonline.sccd.ctc.edu/eceprog/games.html
for Co-operative Games

www.amonco.org/
for Montessori Activities

[musica5]

Try some music.. Go to http://members.shaw.ca/pamsouthwell for CDs that have been used by ESL teachers in Taiwan, and Japan. They are perfect for the age group you are having problems with. there are also lesson plans for the songs if you need them, The Five Little Finger Rhymes cd was especially good with kids your age. Actions the kids are engaged in. The cd has all the lyrics and the actions as well.

Good Luck

[theresa]

İ put some useful online resource sites under ' Need Elem text bk recommendation'. Good luck!