It is definitely valuable to introduce to the children existing blessings passed down over the generations, like 常常喜樂 (Be joyful always), 出入平安 (May you be blessed with safety). They may pick up the rhythm and the literary elements of these phrases. Alternately, writing their own blessings can also be more personal to their lives.

 

You may want to try this third idea. Most know that it is a tradition to have an elaborate feast during this holiday, usually with dishes with special names that sound like blessings, e.g. 發財好事 (dried oysters with black moss), 年年有餘 (we always have a surplus; fish sounds like something left). The issue is that children today, especially those raised overseas, may not have the delicate taste buds to enjoy these fine dishes.

 

To pass down this tradition more effectively, we may start to ask what foods the child likes to have for the new year, then work backwards.

 

A scenario: A child came up with sausages, eggs, onion and duck. Another child said we need vegetables, so they added broccoli and cauliflower. Then based on the food names, they came up with rhymes that may help make up a blessing The teacher may need to add some linkage to tie up the phrases, asking intermittently whether that is the blessing they wish to receive.

新年大餐

花彩家愛 (花菜雞鍋) Radiant Family Love
椰菜花 西蘭花 花調雞 (cauliflower, broccoli, chicken with huadiao wine pot)

 

常常是但 (腸腸豉蛋) Always Be Easygoing ( “是但”不注重過程, 但注重结果)
香腸豉油炒蛋 (sausages and eggs with soy sauce)

 

衷心萬得 (蔥心Duck) (Sincerity of the Heart Makes Everything Work)
洋蔥爆雞心鴨絲 (chicken hearts and shredded duck, stir fry with onion)

 

The advantages? The level of the word usage and understanding is adjusted for both the child and the teacher. And the child

1. makes up blessings he likes to receive
2. learns the words of the food he likes
3. actually eats the food

Every child is different! Each remembers things via different cues. Some are kinesthetic and some are visual. There was once a character presented raw many a time to a child, but she never memorized it. The character was 實. Even when we pointed out that the middle was like a fruit (e.g. an acorn, as in 果實); but because we were not using this vocabulary as much in casual Cantonese conversation, that was not particularly helpful.

It frustrated the teacher as much as the child. Finally, a light bulb came up. Using what was available at hand, the teacher tied a used sock with two metallic twist ties that came with those clear plastic bags, and made the sock very tight. In conversational Cantonese, the word 實 also means solid and pulling tight. Ever since then, the child has never forgotten what the character is, just because she sees that sock in the middle of the character!

The principles learned:

• Know how the child learns (e.g. kinesthetic, visual, audio). Even if you know it is visual, is it pictures, patterns, or colors that click with the child?
• Make use of what the child already knows in his own daily conversational Chinese and objects he is familiar with. Draw from existing and prior knowledge.
• Make it fun and memorable. Who would forget the look and smell of your papa’s old sock! Have fun touching it (visual and kinesthetic) and making it “tight”!
• That is why you who know your child can best supplement what he is learning from others. Because your lesson can tailor to his individual needs.

*Notice that at times, the simplified version of a character (e.g. 实 for 實) may miss the visual cues that can be useful in drawing literal meanings. Hence, it is a decision you should make when you are deciding which version to teach. Please refer to Situation #4.4: I am not sure whether my child should study simplified characters or traditional characters.