For those of you who have not yet bought the book, now is the time to get it! The 2nd edition of Tiny Chinese Homeschool Vol. 1 has 46 more pages and is on sale for a limited time. For those of you who already have a 1st edition in your hand, check the bottom of this post!
Why make a 2nd edition?
The very first buyers of Tiny Chinese Homeschool Vol. 1 have given me great feedback. Some have said how invaluable the audio has been. Others have complimented the artwork and structure. There was one piece of feedback that really hit a chord with me, and it was from a friend with no previous Chinese experience. She said, “We tried to introduce our child to Chapter 1 today and only got to one page. The material on there is packed!” At the time, I interpreted it as the book being well worth the price because there was so much to learn on one page. As time went on, I’ve thought back and realized the density of information could make it less approachable to new learners and especially young children, the very people this book was made for.
Then, as if I had an itch to scratch, I started making simple worksheets to supplement the lessons already in the workbook. Instead of worksheets that tested both the vocabulary and dialogue phrases, I created mazes and dot-to-dots that simply reestablished one vocabulary word or one phrase. Last year, when I was creating the graphics to the book, I only had access to Illustrator on my computer, so graphic creation was slow. This year, I could create graphics on my tablet so I was able to draw in shorter but more frequent spurts–making it possible for the new worksheets to have original artwork.
After a couple weeks of feverish activity, I had the new manuscript as it was always meant to be. Please scroll through the first chapter and note some of the changes:
Some of the changes include:
- 2-3 additional worksheets per chapter
- colorful and simple activities for younger children
- easier character practice sheets in EVERY chapter with pinyin practice
- no additional vocabulary or audio (for easy integration with the previous assets)
Additionally, the review chapters are expanded to include cut-out pages that you fill in with information about yourself. After you have finished all the review chapters, you will have a book that answers the following questions about yourself: How many people are in your family? How old are you? What do you look like? What do you like to eat?
Originally, the Pinyin Playground had no worksheets because I just assumed the learner could practice on their own. I’ve since added 3 worksheet pages to that chapter to help reinforce pinyin writing and tone writing.
When I submitted the new manuscript for print, I had to raise the price of the book to compensate for the additional printing costs of a thicker volume. To my delight, Amazon has decided to discount the new book to the original sale cost of $19.99 (at no loss to me). This might be for a short time only, so for any one still thinking of trying out this book in their family, now is the time.
What about those who already have the 1st edition?
For those of you who were the pioneers of this learning material and purchased the 1st edition, I thank you! It was your support and your interest that helped me value the book enough to make improvements.
I am offering the digital version of all of the new worksheets for free so long as you contact me with proof of purchase. Just email me through the contact form. In the comments section, type the worksheet instructions you see on page 50 of your Vol. 1 book. I will respond with a link to the newly added digital pages.
What things are on the horizon?
Vol. 2 is in the works and will continue to learn from the lessons from Vol 1. There will be more worksheets with simpler activities, repetition, and utilizing vocabulary in mini-stories. Hopefully this volume will be finished at the end of this year!
Next month is the release of another easy-reader: Turkey Rides a Rocket. Think of it as the Chinese “Hop on Pop,” where two words are introduced and then put into context–usually in a humorous way. It is fun, fresh, and there is simply nothing out there like it. I’m excited to tell you more about it next time.
Thank you to all of you and your love of learning. Never give up! You got this.
-Enge
Tiny Chinese Homeschool 