Thanksgiving is fast approaching and, though this year has thrown curve balls at every single one of us, we want to shift our focus to everything good in our lives. Now is as good a time as ever to take a breath, step back, and reflect on what we are so blessed to have.
Free Thanksgiving Printable Now Available on aerilynbooks.com
We’ve added a new FREE Thanksgiving activity sheet to our online store so you and your family can think about all you are thankful for, as well. Our little ones have had so much fun making their lists and I was pleasantly surprised by some of their answers! Every day, I learn a little bit more about each of these amazing people they are growing up to be!
Though social distancing is keeping us physically apart from many of our friends and family members, we are still together in heart and in spirit – with many ways to keep in touch – and for that we are thankful. Reach out with a letter, a phone call, an email, a text, or however works best for you, and embrace the true meaning of togetherness this holiday.
We are always looking for fun ways to merge learning activities with play time and the classic children’s game, “I Spy,” is a perfect opportunity to do just that! “I Spy” is a guessing game where, traditionally, players take turns choosing something in the immediate area and reciting the rhyme “I spy with my little eye, something that is…” and the other players try to guess what the object is based on the singular clue.
One of the great things about this game is its incredible flexibility – you can use colors, shapes, sizes, and other adjectives as clues (or combinations of them); play the game anywhere you happen to be; practice target-language vocabulary… there are so many ways you can tailor it to your own personal needs!
“I Spy” Glasses template available for download on aerilynbooks.com
To make this game even more fun, we added a craft element to it. Our kids love to make things by hand, so this was right up their alley! Plus, it provides the extra benefits of strengthening their pincer grip and exercising their creative skills.
Use our FREE Downloadable Template to make your own looking glasses.
What you need: 🔹 FREE Downloadable “I Spy” Glasses Template 🔹 Colorful Paper or Cardstock 🔹 Kids Scissors 🔹 Heat Resistant Acetate Sheets (Optional) 🔹 Double Sided Tape (Optional) 🔹 Popsicle Stick (Optional)
What you do: 🔸 Print “I Spy” Glasses Template on Colorful Paper or Cardstock 🔸 Cut Along Solid Lines to Create “I Spy” Glasses
Optional: 🔹 Cut the “Lens” Out of Acetate Sheet and Use Double Sided Tape to Adhere Between the Paper Cut-outs 🔹 Use a Popsicle Stick to Create a Stronger Handle, Taping it Between the Paper Cut-outs 🔹 Decorate with Stickers or Washi Tape
“I spy with my little eye, something that is…”
Use your newly customized looking glasses to play “I Spy” and practice shapes, colors, and vocabulary – your child will love having their very own “magnifying glass” to search for objects around the house! Try playing in your target language, for some bilingual fun, or even go on a bug-hunt – how many activities can you think of for these looking glasses? We’d love to see your ideas in action – tag us in your pictures on Instagram and we just may feature them on our page!
Emotions are high as we continue to practice social distancing and follow stay-at-home orders, in our best efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. Many of us are experiencing feelings of anxiety, helplessness, frustration, and worry – all as a natural response to the stress involved in our current global circumstances. All these emotions can be difficult to navigate, and especially so for children who are looking to us adults for comfort and security while they continue learning from home and are missing their friends and extended family members. It can be difficult to manage such big emotions!
It got me really thinking about some effective practices for managing stress and the negative emotions that often come with it. I wanted to have some activities ready for a moment when any one of my children might need some extra comfort or help with addressing their fears or worries. Dealing with depression myself, I know the importance of being able to talk about my struggles with someone I trust and to be able to level my emotions so I can more easily manage them. I wanted to be able to use some of these techniques in a child-friendly way while also integrating some bilingual education and simple facial recognition activities.
Sample pages from Emotions Workbook
I created a 20 page workbook that’s all about emotions! I’ve included some of the most common emotions we experience from day-to-day, and created some activities for recognizing, discussing, and managing these emotions in healthy ways. Included are social emotional activity ideas, coloring pages, reading and writing practice, drawing activities, illustrative journal pages, and, of course, bilingual vocabulary practice. You’ll have the opportunity to open up to each other and address the big emotions your children (and you!) may be experiencing – and set in place great emotional health practices for years to come!
You can find the downloadable workbook here in our online store. The material supports bilingual education in English and Korean languages, but can be completed and enjoyed by our monolingual friends, as well!
Being home from work and school is an important public safety measure during our current pandemic, but it can be rough – for all of us. Kids and adults alike are trying their best to transition from their usual school and work environments to working remotely, from the comfort of their homes… where their TV and all their favorite snacks are… where the couch is comfortable and Lego sets beg to be played with. It can be a real struggle to focus!
We’ve been trying to keep our kids on track with their virtual classrooms, while also entertaining them in quiet times between classwork. The balancing act between parent, employee, home-school teacher, and chef is leaving most of us feeling… well, unbalanced. Fortunately, I’ve found some activities that have successfully entertained (and educated) my younger kids – and it isn’t over in a mere five minutes!
Every Spring, we tend to our vegetable garden. The kids love to help me clean out old dead plants, turn the soil, look for worms – all of it. But this year, our weather hasn’t exactly been cooperative. It’s the middle of April and we still have snow – YIKES! We haven’t been able to shake off our desire to get planting, though, so we started some seeds indoors. This has been great for teaching our sons how plants grow, observing the parts of a plant, and using a small magnifying glass to take a close look at roots and germinating seeds. And it doesn’t stop there!
Sample sheets from How Plants Grow Workbook
I’ve put together a 20 page workbook to go along with this activity. The workbook includes coloring sheets, bilingual vocabulary practice, a Plant Growth Process wheel, cut-and-paste charts, matching games… enough to last a week or so. You’ll be able to teach your child about the parts of a plant, about the growth process, practice reading and writing, solve puzzles, and play games – all while watching it happen in front of them! It’s a hands-on learning experience that is sure to fill in some of the gaps of their remote learning!
You can find the downloadable workbook here in our online store. The material supports bilingual education in English and Korean languages, but can be completed and enjoyed by our monolingual friends, as well!
Stay safe and healthy, friends! We are in this together!
안녕하세요! With Valentine’s Day approaching, we wanted to create a few heart-themed worksheets that integrated some Korean-language learning. These worksheets are free to download and you can print as many times as you’d like!
Valentine’s Day Color-By-Number Worksheet
Kids have the opportunity to practice their vocabulary with color-by-number and counting activities that pair well with our Bilingual Learning books – PLUS they can print out and color their own Valentine’s to give to friends and family!
Head over to our online store to download our new Valentine’s Day worksheets – and any other worksheets you might like! We hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!
새해 복 많이 받으세요! Lunar New Year (설날 – Seollal) is just around the corner and we wanted to share a few activities for you and your little one to enjoy in addition to your family’s traditional celebrations!
But first… let’s talk about the Lunar Zodiac!
2020 is the year of the Rat! According to the Lunar Zodiac signs, the year of the Rat is a great year for starting new things and getting a fresh start. This may be a good time to try something new, set new goals, and really put yourself out there! If you’ve been thinking about learning a new language, starting a new job or even starting your own business – maybe this is your year to do it! It is said that those born under this sign are charming and ambitious, but also logical and realist. Were you born in the year of the Rat?
Paper Fan Craft found on aerilynbooks.com
Whatever your traditions are for celebrating the new year, we have a few kid-friendly activities to add to the fun! We’ve added coloring sheets and paper fan crafts to the FREE Downloadable Worksheets section of our online store. Design your own hanbok, make your own paper fans, and color a simple Seollal celebration – and choose from several other learning activities, while you’re at it! They’re all FREE and available to you on aerilynbooks.com. We hope you have a happy new year!
