This project was very fun. My kids enjoyed learning about numbers and colors while having fun and eating M&Ms at the same time. :)

To do this activity I used:

1 Paper bag (large)
Sharpie
M&Ms
Ice cube tray
Crayons
Glue

Draw a gingerbread man or woman on a paper bag (or any piece of paper if you don't have one) using the Sharpie.

Sort out M&Ms by color, place each color in a different compartment of the ice cube tray.

Have your child color the picture and decorate the picture by gluing the M&Ms on the picture.

During the activity talk to your child about the colors of the M&Ms and the colors of the crayons they are using. Find opportunities to count the M&Ms out loud, for example say "Lets put 1-2-3-4 M&Ms on the gingerbread man's shirt and lets eat 1 each. Here i one for you and here is one for me".

Ask your child questions and describe every step of the process. Remember that this is not just an artistic activity but also an opportunity for dialogue in the target language.

The following websites are not affiliated with Simple Bilingual.

Chinese

This website by California State University offers a comprehensive list of online resources for learning Chinese.

http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/online2.htm

French

This adorable Winnie the Pooh website includes activities, coloring pages and stories, including "The Little Prince".

http://www.abcdespetits.biz/

Kidadoweb includes an amazing list of websites tailored for kids. Many of the websites include videos and activities.

http://annuaire-enfants.kidadoweb.com/sites-pour-enfants/heros-tele/index.html

Italian

Bambini includes a slew of learning materials including songs, nursery rhymes, worksheets, games and stories.

http://www.bambini.it/

Russian

This great blog features fairy tales, nursery rhymes and songs for kids.

http://russianforkids.blogspot.com/

Spanish

This webpage from the University of Northern Iowa includes a directory of webpages, some free and some not free, for children.

http://www.uni.edu/becker/children.html

More will be added. Feel free to send any suggestions.

Always screen videos before showing your kids.

French

TFou offers many cartoons and activities for preschoolers including Dora the Explorer, Chuggington, Franklin, Babar and Olivia.

http://www.tfou.fr/

Spanish

RTVE offers a wide variety of children's cartoons that include simple vocabulary and phrases in Spanish. Some of the ones I found are Caillou, Arthur, Spongebob, Clifford, Dora the Explorer and many more.

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/programas/tve/infantiles/1/?emissionFilter=all

Italian

RAI (Radio Televisione Italiano) offers a wide variety of children's cartoons that include simple vocabulary and phrases in Italian. Some that I found are La Pimpa, Mickey Mouse Club, Pororo, and L'Albero Azzurro (a show similar to Sesame Street).
RAI also includes "Lo Zecchino D'oro", a show which features simple and catchy songs sang by children.

http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/cerca_tematiche.html?Junior

Cartoonito offers cartoons, activities and printables aimed at preschoolers. Cartoons include Caillou and Looney Toons.

http://www.cartoonito.it

German

Tivi offers cartoons for all age ranges along with activities and games.

http://www.tivi.de/

Russian

This blog features video clips from some Russian classic films such as "The Adventures of Buratino" and "Adventure Electronics".

http://clipmovies.blogspot.com/

The eye of the child offers simple cartoons for children. The Russian track is recorded over the English track. I found it annoying at first, but got used to it.

http://wwitv.com/tv_channels/b4974.htm



All Languages

BookBox is a website that offers videos featuring storybooks with subtitles. It includes stories in more than 20 languages.

http://www.bookbox.com/index.php?pid=95

Viki offers entire episodes of popular foreign TV shows in 20+ languages.

http://www.viki.com/channels?category=tv

Use a 3 hole binder to collect your child's worksheets, drawings, etc.

The binder can be used not only to monitor progress, but also a tool for review. Periodically, have your child look over the work he has done already. This will not only help your child remember what he has learned in the past, it will also boost his confidence in the new language.

It also makes a great memory keeper :)

I would strongly suggest having a plan as far as what material to cover.  Plans can be used not only as planning tools but also as checklists to mark your child's progress and ensure all topics are eventually covered .

Here is the plan I am using:

1. Simple Greetings (Hello, my name is, goodbye, how are you?, yes and no)
2. Numbers 1-10
3. Your Family
4. Your house (rooms, items in rooms)
5. Outside
6. The farm (animals)
   
7. The zoo (animals)
   
8. The store
9. The school
10. Numbers from 11-20
11. Colors
12. Other expressions (do you like this? I do or I don't)
13. Questions and Answers (Who, What, When, Where, How)
14. Days of the week, Months of the year
15. Weather
    
16. Foods
17. Other locations

This is a simple plan for beginners and young children. The lessons should be tailored to your child's learning level and should include a variety of exposure to the material. Make sure and integrate various methods of learning and media. You will know it's time to move on to the next lesson when your child has mastered the current lesson.

The world has hundreds of opportunities for learning new words. Point to everything and talk about it. Here are some examples:

1. The park: trees, swings, children, cars, birds
2. The zoo: animals
3. The store: clothing, food, money, register
4. Church: Bible, altar, priest
5. School: Classroom, teacher, books, blackboard, chalk, students

Sky is the limit to the places you can go and the new words and expressions your child can learn. Remember that everywhere you go offers a learning opportunity.

Children love to learn through play. Get role play toys such as kitchen items, dolls and doll houses, play cars, etc. Name and talk about each item. Role play and incorporate greetings in the target language.

For example, my daughter has a dollhouse with dolls and furniture. When I play with her, I name the different rooms, the items of furniture and the clothes the dolls are wearing. Dolls and action figures are also great for learning body parts.

Find simple recipes and have your kids help you cook. It can be something simple as a sandwich or a fruit salad. Make sure you name and show all the ingredients. Talk about each step in the target language. Ask lots of questions such as:

1. Can you pass the bread
2. What is the next step?
3. Do you like chocolate?
4. What else should we add?
   

It is important to integrate all forms of learning when teaching Italian. Seeing, hearing and doing can really help children remember what they are learning. This is more so important if your child prefers to learn in a non traditional way such as hands-on, musical, auditive or visual. Some children may need multiple kinds of exposures to the language in order to learn. For this reason, it really helps to use multiple mediums to aid learning and retention.

Like I mentioned in the past, I use Youtube to look for a lot of the multimedia I use. It's free and it has a wide of variety of cartoons, movies and music. I would recommend to ALWAYS screen videos before showing your children, you never know.

I also like to look for music CDs made specifically for language learning and play them while the children are playing in their room or riding in the car. I found that by playing the same CD (repetition) children internalize what they hear and soon enough they sing the songs and in turn learn to apply what they hear in the songs.

One series of music CDs I really enjoy is the "Teach Me" series. I use the Italian version and my kids love the songs. The songs cover vocabulary, greetings, days of the week, numbers and lots more. The songs are very catchy and I often find my kids singing along to the music. What I also like about them, is that they are affordable. I invested hundreds of dollars in a learning system and the quality of the music was nowhere near this.

The holidays are nearing, what a great opportunity to find holiday music in your target language and play them to your children. For affordable holiday music, or any learning resources, Google can be your best friend. Always remember to screen everything before you expose your child. I would also try and use music that uses relevant and simple language that your child can understand. For example, I found an Italian Christmas carol on Youtube, and although it was beautiful, it was in old Italian which is not only complicated but also irrelevant.

Of course if you want to make things really affordable, make up your own songs, perhaps by using new vocabulary you would like to introduce or words you are currently covering. Songs needn't be complicated or with music. You can even use songs you already know in English and simply translate them to your target language. If all else fails, buy a CD or Google a song.

As usual, I welcome your questions. Feel free to post your questions to the questions page or email be by using the contact form on the 'Contact Us' page.