Animation Chinese Characters - Twelve Birth Signs Video

The twelve Chinese Birth Signs, all twelve animals are in this short video. You can see the animals with their matching Chinese characters in this animation. The order of the animals is:

(1) Mouse 鼠 (2) Cow 牛 (3) Tiger 虎 (4) Rabbit 兔
(5) Dragon 龍 (6) Snake 蛇 (7) Horse 馬 (8) Sheep 羊
(9) Monkey 猴 (10) Chicken 雞 (11) Dog 狗 (12) Pig 豬

Dog - 狗 is also known as [犬] in classic Chinese and that is what you will see in the video.

Twelve Chinese Birth Signs

Are you a Rabbit? Are you a Ram? Are you a Dragon? Chinese children ask their friends this question for fun. With 2012 approaching and the Chinese New Year coming in a month we are going to take a look at the fun twelve Chinese Birth signs.

There are twelve animals and it is a 12-year cycle. If a baby boy and a baby girl were born this year, the year of Rabbit, they will turn 12 years old when the next Rabbit year comes. Let's see if you can find the animal signs for each of your family members. See the chart below in English, Chinese characters, and pinyin to learn the twelve animals. Find the birth sign according to the year you were born.

A song to go with this theme would be the Chinese classic for children, "Two Tigers"!

(C) 2011 Chia-Chen Hsiung-Blodgett www.MissPandaChinese.com All Rights Reserved.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Chinese Play Time with Miss Panda introduces songs and activities to children and parents.

Today we are singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas in Chinese. You know this song very well and now you can sing it in Chinese.

Activity:
Party Time! Take out the bells and instruments and have fun!

Listen to Miss Panda and sing with her and MeiMei! Click the link below for audio track.

Miss Panda Chinese Play Time - I WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(C) 2011 Chia-Chen Hsiung-Blodgett www.MissPandaChinese.com All Rights Reserved.

Fun with Chinese Characters Part Three

Introduction to Chinese characters Part Three and the last one provided by the publisher. In this video you are going to see 11 Chinese characters from two pictures. One is an animal, the other is a house. It is a lot of fun. Chinese characters in the pictogram group are easy for children to remember.

Activity idea: It is fun to play a match up game with the characters and the pictures. Enjoy!

Sponge Bob Theme Song in Chinese

Are you ready to listen to Sponge Bob and his friends speak Mandarin Chinese? Oh Yes! My kids could not stop laughing when they heard the theme song in Chinese the very first time. How about you and your kids?

Sponge Bob's name in Chinese is Sponge Baby - hǎi mián bǎo bǎo - 海綿寶寶 .

Click here to link to You Tube to view the video

An Introduction to Chinese Characters - Part Two

Introduction to Chinese characters from the pictogram group (Part 2). You will see the transformation of 10 characters in this short and fun video. Enjoy!

Music Video: Mandarin Chinese - Zhong guo hua 中國話

Sing along and dance! Mandarin Chinese - Zhong guo hua 中國話 by S.H.E. Thanks to M.J. for this great version with translation, lyrics, pinyin, and Chinese characters.

Video: The Ugly Little Duckling - Chǒu xiǎo yā - 醜小鴨

Chinese Play Time with Miss Panda introduces songs and activities to children and parents.

Today we are singing a classic Chinese song for children - The Ugly Little Duckling. This little duck has a small body but it has a big loud voice. Follow Miss Panda and have fun with this cute song. Let's sing it together!

Activity:
(1) Xiao = small, little. We make ourselves small like a ball to show "small".
(2) Da = big, large. We stretch our arms to show "big".
(3) Ya zi = duck. We waddle in the play area.

Game: "Big Duck, Small Duck"= "dà yā zi, xiǎo yā zi" in Chinese
Pose like a big duck with arms stretched. Pose like a small duck, curl up like a ball. Use the concept of Simon Says to play the game.

Explore & More introduces Cultures to Children

Curious about other cultures? Can you locate China on the globe? Explore & More takes children to see the similarities and differences in different part of the world. Learn about music, language and more. Have fun exploring!

Enter Explore & More

Childroad

Here is a very nice learning website for children who already speak and understand Mandarin Chinese. You can listen to Chinese stories on www.childroad.com

Go to the homepage, click on the FREE sample and choose the books you like to read and listen to. There are over 10 books available in the free sample selection. The Mandarin Chinese pronunciation is accurate and the recording has good audio quality. Stories are written in simplified Chinese characters with pin yin. There is no English translation or subtitle available.

My 6-year-old daughter enjoys listening to the stories and she gives it a Very Fun Happy Face rating. Miss Panda also gives CHILDROAD website a Happy Face rating for its quality and content.

Reading Time: Look What Came from China

Can every one say your name correctly in your class? I remember when I came to the States my friends had a hard time to pronounce my name. When I first moved to Morocco one of my friends called me on the phone to invite me to a party. I told her twice that she got the wrong number since I could not recognize the name of the person she would like to talk to. I had no idea she was looking for me. The way she said my name sounded like a Chinese snack. Then I realized that was ME she was looking for... So the third time she called I figured it out, we laughed so hard on the phone.

On the list for December, "The Name Jar" is a story about the name of a girl when she just moved from Korea. Going to university for a Chinese girl decades ago was a big thing. How did Ruby make it happen? Let "Ruby's Wish" tell you the story. Do you like Fortune cookies? Do you know there is no Fortune cookie after a meal in a Chinese restaurant in Taiwan or in China? "Fortune Cookie Fortunes" is an interesting read. "Look What Came from China" shows children neat inventions and discoveries in China. And here is the reading list. Have fun!

(1) Ruby's Wish
by Shirin Yim

(2) The Name Jar
by Yangsook Choi

(3) Fortune Cookie Fortunes
by Grace Lin

(4) Look What Came from China
by Miles Havey

Reading Time: Red is a Dragon

How many siblings do you have? What is going on with "The Seven Sisters"? Dragon is from China and the color red is the lucky color for Chinese. Let's take a look at "Red is a Dragon" and see what we can find! Who is the fastest one in "The Great Race"? The Rat or the pig? Here is the reading list for November. Enjoy!

(1) The Seven Sisters
by Kathy Tucker

(2) Red is a Dragon
by Roseanne Thong/Grace Lin

(3) The Great Race
by Dawn Casey

Reading Time: Dim Sum for Every One

My children enjoy the following books. A lot of facts about China and Chinese culture in the Ms. Frizzle's book. An interesting introduction to Chinese characters in "The Pet Dragon". After reading "Dim Sum for Every one" a family field trip to a Dim Sum restaurant is a great choice. Here is the list for October. Have fun reading!

(1) Ms. Frizzle's Adventure Imperial China
by Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen

(2) The Pet Dragon
by Christopher Niemann

(3) Dim Sum for Every one!
by Grace Lin

Reading Time: Thanking the Moon - celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival

Moon Festival is also known as Mid Autumn Festival. Moon Festival is the theme for September. Here is the reading list. Don't forget to try some moon cake!

(1) Thanking the Moon - celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
by Grace Lin

(2) Thank you, Meiling
by Linda Talley

(3) Mei Ling in China City
by Icy Smith

Do you have any favorite culture books you would like to share? Leave a reply and let me know.

Family Members

Who do you have in your family? Who plays basketball? Who bakes the best cakes? Let's take a look at our family members. Join Miss Panda and have fun speaking Chinese! Ready? Let's go! My special guest today is Ge Ge - big brother! Click link below to the podcast.

Click HERE to listen to Miss Panda Chinese Podcast

Word List for this edition of Podcast: English/pinyin/Chinese traditional

Daddy/Dad - bà ba - 爸爸

Mommy/Mom - mā ma - 媽媽

Older brother - gē ge- 哥哥

Younger brother - dì di- 弟弟

Older sister - jiě jie - 姊姊

Younger sister - mèi mei - 妹妹

These are your family members in your family.

Family/ Family member(s) - jiā rén - 家人

Have fun and see you next time!
(C)2011 www.MissPandaChinese.com All Rights Reserved.

PBS Kids-Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat

Check out PBS Kids for "Sagwa-The Chinese Siamese Cat" interactive games for young children. Fun exposure to kids for Chinese culture and China's historical past. Click Link below.

PBS Kis Sagwa-The Chinese Siamese Cat

Jackie Chan Singing in Mandarin - Mulan

Who's speaking Mandarin Chinese? Jackie Chan! Jackie Chan did voice over for the movie, Mulan. Listen to Jackie Chan singing in Mandarin Chinese for movie, MuLan. What do you think?

An Introduction to Chinese Characters - Part One

Here is a short video giving an Introduction to the beautiful Chinese characters in the pictogram group. Many Chinese characters are like pictures and those are the basic elements/words to form the compound characters. Enjoy the beauty of Chinese characters and culture!