7. Next we have song time. Get them moving after sitting for some time. You can use songs such as “Head-shoulders-knees and Toes”, “If you’re Happy and you Know it.”

8. Vowel Drill time. I have a vowel poster with words and pictures glued to a big piece of cardboard and I drill vowels. I say sound and word of a vowel and they repeat. Again speed is key. I also use a funny voice and chant vowel sound and word. Make up some silly chant and they will follow, loving it and you!

9. Counting. I count 1 to 10 but it goes like this. I say one, they say two and so on. Do it really fast and they’ll like it.

10. I throw about 25 cards all over room. Today we are doing vowel “a” so cards are all words and photos starting with letter a. Each card has 4 to 5 of same thing so everyone can get one. Then I call out “Ahhh” and then say word apple! They have to find all cards with an apple on it. Once this is done they count cards and tell me how many they have.

11. They sit down and we do a page from their textbook and workbook.

Next is “Good-bye” song and a big “See you next week!”

I change procedure every six classes but color handouts and textbook materials change every class.

Most teachers will not put this kind of power and preparation into their classes and that’s why they’re part of 80% that are just getting by.

Whatever… Here are key ingredients to remember in order to be successful working with kids.

Every activity should have a goal/objective that contains an educational and entertaining element to it.

Time-wasting, meaningless activities are for weak and lazy. If you do this you are just another fly by night foreigner who will be found out and tossed out.

Touch your kids. Shake their hands, give them high fives, tickle gently them and so on. Kids don’t have word power yet and they depend heavily on their feelings to guide them and communicate with others. Playing with them physically will build rapport which is needed to guide them through your lessons. (Some schools have rules against physical contact but it’s mostly for adult students.)

Respect your kids by thanking them in advance for doing activities. Always use “Please”, “Thank you”, “You’re best”, “Good job” and so on.

Praise them every chance you get and build them up honestly.

If you notice some of your activities are bombing during a class drop them, go into your next one (always have one or two back up, sure-fire activities just in case) without missing a beat. Later, figure out why activities were bombing but don’t discard them. Don’t ever blame kids for your difficulties.

Join ETJ online discussion forum for teachers teaching in Japan. http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=ETJ Here you can ponder with others over activities you are trying to fine tune and find other related help.

Each activity should be done in a different part of room. Keep kids moving!

Of course you should always take courses on teaching kids while you’re here and read as many books as you can on subject.

You can find books on teaching Japanese children English at any online bookstore.

In Japan there are 100-yen shops. Back home they’re called dollar shops. Here’s where you can get ideas and great material to create killer activities for little ones. But don’t spend too much. You many want to put 2,000 yen away per month for this stuff (2,000 yen is about US$19).

Use a lot of TPR in your classes with kids and adults. TRP stands for “Total physical Response Teaching.” Check out following links for info on TPR Total Physical Response

Follow my instruction and you will be way ahead of anyone just coming here trying to figure things out alone.

To your ESL teaching success and beyond,

Craig Desorcy

P.S. Want to live and work in Japan? Already in Japan? Want to do really well in Japan as an English teacher even with no experience? Please have a look at my ebook. http://www.teaching-in-japan.com

*********************************************************************** This article is an inserte from an ebook called “The Super teaching in Japan Handbook” Copyright © 2003, Craig Desorcy Reproduction, translation or electronically transmitted of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of 1976 United States Copyright Act without permission of copyright owner is against law. ***********************************************************************

An interest in animals or dinosaurs can be used when learning how to cut with scissors by relating opening and closing of scissors to opening and closing of an animal’s mouth. You can pretend animal is “eating” lines on paper.

Your child’s surroundings can also play a part in preparing them for school. Providing a number and variety of books for your child and taking time to read to them is one of most important things you can do for their education. Reading to a child teaches them vocal skills, vocabulary, listening skills, left-to-right orientation, cause and effect, knowledge about world around them, and pre-reading skills. Most importantly, it instills a love for reading and books which will benefit them throughout their entire education. After all, every subject (even math) requires reading.

Our brain absorbs information from our surroundings on a conscious and unconscious level, and between 80-90% of all information absorbed by brain is visual. Therefore, providing visual displays in your child’s room or elsewhere can actually aide in learning. Things such as alphabet, colors, numbers, etc. can be hung up or displayed in places where your child will see them. Even magnetic letters on refrigerator can aide in retention and learning. This is why many schools have plenty of visuals displayed in halls and classrooms.

Young children can also learn many concepts through music. For example, they usually learn their abc’s by alphabet song. There are many children’s tapes available that teach concepts through music. Playing these while in car or while your children play can aide them in learning. Even though they might not be singing along or seem like they are even paying attention, subconscious learning can be occurring.

You may also want to practice separating from your child for short periods of time, such as enrolling in a program or play group or having them spend time with a babysitter. Separation anxiety can be traumatic for some children if they are not used to being away from their parents, and this anxiety can inhibit their ability to learn and relax while in school.

Lastly, no matter what methods you try with your child, most important thing to remember is to make them enjoyable. You want your child to associate positive feelings with learning. Take turns choosing activities; give your child some choice sometimes. This makes them feel less dictated to and more willing to learn. Also, offer them some variety in activities, do not always use same learning methods all of time as this can create boredom and disinterest. Choose methods that work best with your child (every child is different) and have fun!

Children are like flowers, they all bloom at different times. But, parents can help nurture them by providing experiences that enable them to blossom into children who love learning and school.

*************************************** Tina O'Block holds a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She has been teaching kindergarten/preschool for 13 years.

She is author of Now I Know My ABCs and a Whole Lot More: Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners which is available at http://www.oblockbooks.com .

You may also contact her at oblockbooks@worldnet.att.net .

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