Category: Products

Events, Products

Tiny Chinese Homeschool Vol. 2 Book Launch!

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It is finally here! I think I learned a lot from making the first book, so this second instructional installment is even better! More creative and colorful worksheets, more cut-outs, addition of short stories to review all the vocabulary–you’ll just have to see it for yourself.

If you need a sneak peak, the book launch is a perfect way to see the book, to ask questions, and to win a free copy. Here is how you can join:

Tiny Chinese Homeschool Vol. 2 Book Launch

I have 3 free copies I want to giveaway and it’s really easy to enter if you have Facebook. All you need to do is share our book giveaway post and write one Chinese-learning goal you have. If I can see that you shared and commented, I will add your name to the drawing! Here is the link to the giveaway post:

https://fb.watch/8M0NpmumGc/

Thank you!

I realize there was a lot of people that helped me with this book. I had my friend from Taiwan and her perfectly fluent kids do most of the audio. My cousin, who has a hidden talent for character voices, did the recordings for the short stories. My niece expressed continual excitement for the next volume. And complete strangers would offer encouragement and share their interest in future publications. Every bit of it was essential for me. Lately I’d like to share a huge accomplishment. Just a few days before the book launch, the book has achieved the #1 new release badge in Chinese Children’s Literature category on Amazon.

That’s something that I’ve only achieved on a couple of my other releases, and that happened after the launch, so this is a big deal to me. So thank you for your support and for teaching your children Chinese. I hope you feel it’s already worth it!

2021-10-26T19:00:00

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Tiny Chinese Homeschool Book Launch Countdown

See you at the book launch!

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Vol. 2 is Just Around the Corner!

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With the start of a new school year, I promised a new volume of Tiny Chinese Homeschool. And now the release is just a few weeks away! You’ve helped me with feedback on the cover and now I am happy to review a sneak peak of the final product:

This volume focuses on speaking Chinese in the community: at school, with your neighbors, while taking a walk, at the grocery store, and more! It uses the same methodology as Vol. 1: each chapter teaches 7-12 vocabulary words and 1-2 target phrases. But this volume is different because now there are more worksheets and games to reinforce learning in a fun way. Here is an example of some of the games:

Like the last volume, after every 3 chapters is a review chapter. Each review chapter contains a short test, and now introducing short stories! This is exciting because the short story uses words almost exclusively learned in the previous 3 chapters so it is simple to read. At the end of each story is a reading comprehension test. In short, it is a fun treat to reward the learner and showcase their improvement. Here is an example of one of the short stories:

Character practice is also included. This volume chooses two characters from the whole chapter to learn. Now, stroke order is taught. Here is an example of a character writing practice:

These are just a few key differences that you will notice in this volume. Like the previous volume, dialogues and corresponding audio are provided so you can hear the language in context. Each chapter glossary provides grammar tips and cultural insights. This is a great resource for those who want to learn Chinese but need small steps to do so.

Keep your eyes peeled because it is just around the corner. See you at the book release!

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Let’s Vote: A New Cover for Vol. 2

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Vol. 2 is set to be released this fall (September 2021). It is still centered on every day vocabulary within the family, but it takes the learner outside the home to their community. You will learn to introduce your classmates, to ask your neighbors where they are going, to order food, to buy groceries with a grocery list, to tell time, and more! So a new and exciting cover is in order–one that shows a child exploring their world.

I created a couple options for covers, and now I need your help! I’ve decided to publish the cover the receives the most votes. Look at the options below, and see which one gets you most interested in the book.

Option 1 shows my daughter laughing at some bugs in the air. It is very simple graphically. There are some drawings in the corner of some vocabulary they will learn in the book, but no explanation. Just a taste.

Option 2 shows my daughter and son together looking at bugs. I thought it might be better representation to show both a boy and girl on the cover. I also put more technical detail in the corner of the page.

So which option should be the official book cover? Time to vote! Comment on this post if you have an account, or visit Tiny Chinese Homeschool on Facebook or Instagram to see our post about the cover and comment on which cover works best for you.

Thank you so much for everyone who has helped support this endeavor. I can’t wait for you to have Tiny Chinese Homeschool Vol. 2 come September!

Products

New Book! Dinosaurs Bam Bam! 恐龍碰碰！

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I love rhyming books, and there aren’t many Chinese books that lean into the great possibilities of Chinese rhyme. So I created this book, and my kids thought it was so fun to read out loud. Here is a short clip showing how much fun they had reading it:

紅紅恐龍 – Red Dinosaur

重重恐龍 – Heavy Dinosaur

嗡嗡嗡嗡 – Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz

恐龍蟲蟲 – Dinosaur Bug

A dinosaur bug causes one dinosaur to fall into another. This little misunderstanding turns into a jurassic mess! How can two very different dinosaurs bridge the gap and feel what the other feels? It’s a simple story with a big message, and your kids will learn to apply empathy in their lives.

Here are some previews of the interior of the book:

The book has simple, colorful illustrations that help explore their dinosaur world. Each page has both Traditional Chinese characters and pinyin romanization–with English translation in the back. After the story, the book includes discussion questions for both old and young to explore how to apply empathy in real life. For those just beginning Chinese, online audio (complete with music and sound effects) are available on this website.

I’m so excited to share this book with you, as part of the book launch, I am giving away 3 free copies! If you would like a free copy, here are the instructions to enter:

  • Check out the book launch post on Tiny Chinese Homeschool’s Facebook page.
  • Like the post and in the comments, write one sentence answering this question: What does empathy look like to you? Insightful/creative definitions are more likely to win!
  • Check back onto Tiny Chinese Homeschool’s Facebook page on Friday, January 15th, at 12:00 p.m. EST for the live video Book Launch.
  • I will announce the winners that will receive a free copy of the book on the live video. (I will private message you after for shipping information).

I hope you are able to enjoy this book. It’s about a subject that is dear to my heart. Dinosaurs? Well, that too. But reaching out to someone who is different than you and trying understand them. That is something that will make the world a better place.

Ready to buy the book? It’s up on Amazon, ready to ship to you! For just a limited amount of time, I am selling the book at 7.99 (20% off). Catch it while it is on sale!

Thank you! I wish you and yours some happy learning.

Update: Thank you for everyone’s participation in our book launch! Here is the live video where we had a book reading and a prize drawing:

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New Book Release: Turkey Rides a Rocket

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The inspiration for this book came from one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books, “Hop on Pop.” I loved how he introduced just two words and used these words to create a simple sentence–all while telling a funny story. It is more challenging than it looks. I decided to take this idea–this challenge–to create story that utilized the unique nuances of the Chinese language. I like how Chinese words are made up of components that describe the word quite literally. For example, “balloon” in Chinese is “air-ball.” “Train” in Chinese is “fire-car.” So I made a book centered around the word, “fire” and all the words that stem from it.

Hence, “Turkey Rides a Rocket” was born, and I’m excited to share it with you and your family. It follows a turkey on a dangerous adventure, one that will have you laughing.

Here are previews of some of the inside pages. You can see the book uses a big font and colorful illustrations to engage young readers. Each story also is supplemented with parent tips and a game at the end to encourage further application of the vocabulary you have just learned.

There are two other stories included in this book as well. The second story, “Where is Little Brother?” is a finding or I-spy story, where you can encourage your child to find an item in a detailed 2-spread picture. This has been very effective in teaching my daughter how to say, “Where is_____” in Chinese, even if she does not know how to say the item in Chinese, it has made that phrase useful to her.

The last story is called, “Mama’s Tea.” This one is a rhyming story, and works to reenforce reading and pronunciation. The mom in this story goes crazy after she finds that the dad has been drinking her tea. Perhaps it is how I wish I could act if I could let my emotions fly loose.

All in all, it is 66 pages of easy, useful Chinese. If you are not a Chinese speaker, you can listen to the online audio for this book and never miss a beat. Below is a video where I read the book, cover to cover.

I hope this book gets you excited to use more Chinese in the home! Let me know your thoughts and if you get the chance to review it on Amazon, that would help me to be able to produce more books for you.

Happy Learning!

Available in paperback on Amazon!