Your biggest competition in keeping their attention is their GAMEBOY and GAMECUBE and that is some REAL competition.

Not to worry because I got this down big time and I’m going to give it to you. The Key points I will share with you are GOLD so don’t think because it’s simple you can skip taking mental notes. This act could be fatal to your success in working with kids.

Have you ever watched Sesame Street? I grew up watching that show. I suggest you watch it again to refresh your mind. What you should be looking for is flow of how they educate you. It’s very interesting.

There is a theme for each show and all activities are wrapped around this theme.

Each show may be only thirty minutes. However, in this time they manage to get about 11 to 13 powerful activities into this short time frame!

I call this style “edutainment” - education / entertainment.

In Japan children English classes that are in top 20% are very entertaining and educational.

If you feel you can’t teach kids, don’t worry. On my first day teaching kids I came home after work and told my wife that I would never do that again! But I learned and you will, too. Remember, too, that I had no one to guide me back then but you’ve got me !

Let’s take a walk through one of my kid’s classes together.

My kiddy class has 6 kids from three to five years of age.

The class is forty minutes, once a week, four times a month.

Each child has a nametag. If your school doesn’t have them, you can make them.

Before class starts I’m playing some kid’s music in background (Ever been to Disneyland? The music you hear sets tone as you approach that awesome place.).

The kids always come a little early, so before class starts music is playing and I toss a balloon around with them. On floor or table are their nametags. Help them put them on and soon they can recognize their own name in English.

(You must, no matter what, remember all their names and use them through out class at least five times per student.)

1. As soon as it’s time I put away ball, put on my hello song and start singing and waving my hand high in air. They will follow because I have built considerable rapport with them before class started.

2. I sit on floor and pull out a card with letter I on it. I point to myself and say, “I am Michael” and pass card. Each kid will do same and if one child doesn’t, then I just move on to next child. (I do this with YOU cards, YOUR cards, HE, SHE and so on.)

3. I pull out a bag and ask what’s in it? They have no idea. I put my hands in air and say “I don’t know with a confused look on my face. They all repeat and they have just learned expression, “I don’t know.” I pass bag to all students, they feel it and try to guess what’s inside. If a child keeps it too long I say 3, 2, 1 pass!

4. I tell them to go sit down please because we are now going to play bingo. Each bingo I do has a total of six pictures with English word for picture under it. For example I have vowel bingo that has only “A” words with pictures of things like a ball, apple, ant and so on.

5. After Bingo comes story time. I read a story book to them which has an easy sentence structure and kids can repeat after second time of reading this book to them One book I use is called “I like.” I like to eat, I like to play ball, I like to read and so on. These books are a set from http://www.scholastic.com/elt/highfrequency.htm They are over-sized books and these are exactly type of books you want to be using to keep students attention. These books are by far best investment I have made in my teacher’s toolbox since I’ve been here!

5. Now I show them fish cards with many cool colors. We flip them trying to make a set. (Always team students up in pairs. If there are not enough students you will need to jump in and play.) Before you do this game you may want to drill colors for a minute and ask them what colors are. Now is a good time to teach them to raise their hand saying at same time say “I know!” If they get it right give them card but get it back quickly so you can play real game.

(While doing activities make sure you are working room. Letting your students know that they’re doing well, lots of give me fives and smiling! Encourage and support them and they will just love you and your class!!)

Your child’s first year of school should be a fun and exciting time. Children who are comfortable with and prepared for this first school experience are more likely to have rewarding and productive years, and therefore associate positive feelings with education. Since parents are children’s first and most important teachers, you can play a key role in preparing your children for a successful school experience by pre-exposing them to key concepts they will experience in school. This can be done in a fun, enjoyable manner by making everyday play experiences learning experiences as well.

New learning builds on prior knowledge, therefore more exposure or background a child has with a concept easier it is for new learning and deeper comprehension to occur. Providing your child with pre-exposure to concepts such as alphabet, numbers, following directions, listening, reading, cutting, tracing, etc. will help them feel more comfortable and confident when they experience these similar concepts in school, thus better enabling learning to occur. Schools are becoming more academic, dependent on standardized tests, and fast-paced. Giving your children some familiarity with concepts they will encounter can help lessen anxiety and stress that often accompany these experiences. Children who are overly stressed or uncomfortable are less likely to be able to concentrate and learn.

Children have a natural motivation to learn and a curiosity about world. You can enhance and nurture this natural motivation by making enjoyable play experiences learning experiences as well.

For example, children’s games are great resources for combining learning with physical activity. Duck, Duck, Goose can be a way of reinforcing concepts such as alphabet by having children say name of a letter in place of word, duck, and a word that begins with that letter in place of word, goose.

Hide and Seek can become a learning experience by hiding numbers, letters, colors, your child’s name, phone number, address, etc. around house and asking your child to find them.

Simon Says is a great game to practice following directions and positional words such as on, above, below, etc.

Bingo can be used to reinforce number recognition, letter recognition, difference between upper case and lower case letters, letter sounds, colors, etc.

You can have a treasure hunt while shopping, driving, or at home by seeing how many letters, numbers, colors, or shapes your child can find.

You can also play I Spy where you state, “I spy with my little eye something that is…” and you describe a letter, number, shape, color, etc. that you can plainly see. Your child then tries to guess what you are describing. Your child can also take a turn describing something (this helps develop verbal skills).

Children’s individual interests can also be incorporated into learning experiences.

Blocks or Lego’s can be used to teach patterns (have them build towers with alternating colors), counting, sorting (separate blocks by colors, shapes, size), etc.

If your child likes to color, have them create rainbow tracings of letters or numbers by tracing them with as many colors as possible.

Play dough can be made into shapes, letters, and numbers.