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A visit to the zoo – fun Mandarin activity sheets
December 5, 2019
2 min
Mother Tongue Learning
Have you ever wondered how to get your child to pick up Mandarin in a joyful and meaningful manner? Learning Mandarin is not just limited to the time they spent in school; be creative and create immersive opportunities for them to learn!
One way is through exposing them to Mandarin in their everyday lives especially when you bring them out to play during this holiday season. A visit to the zoo is a popular destination for most families and our Education Development Specialists have specially developed two holiday activity sheets just for you! Download and use them as a guide to help your child to learn Mandarin in a fun way while honing his/her observation and communication skills as well!
亲子活动
动物园是全家出游的好去处，对孩子极具吸引力。在动物园里，孩子不仅可以认识各种动物，根据动物的特征和习性展开讨论，还可以培养孩子对动物和大自然的热爱。
去动物园前，家长可以与孩子讨论：
- 需要准备哪些东西？
- 你想看到哪些动物？
- 参观时有哪些注意事项。如：爱护动物和安全问题等。
- 家长也可与孩子一起上网查找与动物相关的资料。
活动
- 参阅宝贝背包清单，与孩子讨论还需要带哪些物品，再加进清单里。然后，鼓励孩子依照与父母一起列出的背包整理清单，准备需要携带的物品，装进背包。
- 让孩子绘画和写出最想看到的动物。
在动物园时，家长可以：
- 与孩子商讨两种动物的异同。可以用简单的文字、绘画或照片呈现。
- 家长以问题或提示引导孩子观察引导孩子观察动物的外形特征、活动方式、食物和生活环境等。
- 进一步与孩子探讨：为什么不同的动物生活在不同环境中？如：企鹅和北极熊能够生活在寒冷的地方。
- 与孩子的交流时，介绍相关的动物知识。
从动物园回来后，家长可以：
- 让孩子说说在动物园看到了哪些动物，这些动物有什么特征，以及观看动物表演的感受。
- 参阅表格，让孩子选择两种动物，讨论它们的异同点。
Parent and Child Activity
A great and fun way to spend the holidays with your children is a visit to the zoo! Besides having fun, parents can take the opportunity to turn the visit into a learning experience! Parents can discuss about the different types of animals, their features and habitats while inspiring their children to develop a love for animals and nature.
Before going to the zoo, discuss these with your child:
- What do we need to prepare for a visit to the zoo?
- What animals do you want to see?
- What do we need to take note of at the zoo? For example, how should we interact with the animals, what are the safety issues to take note of.
- Optional : You can also do some research on the animals online before the visit.
- Go through the checklist with your child and discuss if there are any other items to add to the list. Encourage your child to pack his/her own backpack according to the packing list.
- Encourage your child to draw the animal he/she wishes to see most.
During your visit to the zoo:
- Discuss the differences between two animals with your child. Write down or draw the differences.
- Ask a variety of questions or provide clues and guide your child in making meaningful observations. Encourage him/her to think about the features, movements, food and habitats of the animals.
- Follow up with more questions: why do different animals live in different environments? E.g. Why can penguins and polar bears live in extremely cold regions.
- While interacting with your child, introduce relevant facts of the animals.
After the visit:
- Encourage your child to talk about some of animals that he/she has seen at the zoo such as what are the characteristics of the animals etc.
- Go through the activity sheet and let your child choose two animals to discuss the differences between them.
