Add Mandarin Chinese to Your Child’s Education with a Kingka Game!
Posted Apr 15 2010 4:19pm
The world gets smaller every day, and one of the best things you can add to your child’s education is the ability to speak a second (or third or fourth!) language. But, let’s face it, learning a language can get repetitious and boring. Therefore, any tools that can make the process more exciting can be very valuable. One such tool is called Kingka , a game that teaches Mandarin Chinese to children!
Kingka was developed by a Chinese-American mom, children’s book author and educator named Sholeen Lou-Hsiao. Kingka combines the elements of several games, such as Bingo and Memory, to teach the 54 basic Chinese characters and more than 1,000 words. There are several ways to play the game, which keeps it interesting and provides multiple methods for the material to be absorbed by children.
When I first saw the Chinese characters on the cards, I wondered if they might be too complicated for my six-year-old boys. Fortunately, I worried for nothing! I was amazed at how quickly my twins were able to distinguish between the different symbols and match them up. They also really enjoyed the pictures on the cards, which show everyday items such as “fork,” “umbrella” and “car.” And Kingka 2 and Kingka 3 games are also available when your child is ready to learn more.
Kingka has won numerous awards and is just as much fun for adults as it is for children. You can make learning Mandarin Chinese a family activity. Next time you schedule a game night, play Kingka! You’ll have a lot of fun and learn a very valuable skill at the same time.