2030 Future Dream Space (Chinese Site)

Today, my daughter brought home a sticker pack advertising a government website : 2030未來夢想家".  (Wei Lai Mung Shiang Jia - Future Dream Space)

2030 Future Dreams

Here, children can complete information about themselves and their dreams of what they would like to have/be in 2030.   They can upload photos and videos and store them here until 2030.

When children first enter, they have to type in their school, class, name, and other personal information, so I think it's a parental decision whether or not you let children take part in the project.  There is a video and characters have accompanying ㄅㄆㄇㄈ, so elementary students should be able to navigate their way around the site.

If you want to participate, you have to do so before November 15, 2011.

ㄅㄆㄇㄈ Teaching Website for Kids (And Grownups, Too!)

This is a fun site for kids to use to learn the phonetics of Chinese, Taiwan-style.  It is in cartoon/game format, but also shows details like how to hold the mouth and tongue to make the sounds.  You can either rely on a little Chinese knowledge to get started, or just click randomly to figure out what things do.  Have fun!

Parents' Place - An Activity Center in Neihu

I'm very excited to introduce my friend's new activity space for families in Taipei.  Situated in Neihu, within walking distance of the MRT, it is actually accessible for families outside Taipei, too.  I recommend joining the facebook page to keep uptodate with activities you can participate in, times you can go and just hang out, and products you can look at or buy from the center.

Examples of activities on offer are Kindermusik, dance, martial arts, and prenatal yoga.  But, you don't have to join anything to feel welcome in this space!

How J947 Changed My Life. (You'll Find it at the Library.)

My son is now in Grade Two at public school in Keelung.  An avid reader of English books, he has been struggling to find anything of interest in the Chinese section.  Over the weekend, I asked my husband to come to the library, to help us scout on the fun Chinese books that had the ㄅㄆㄇㄈ and characters inside.  And that was how we found

J947

In the children's section of the local library, this is the number where you find comics and fun books/novels in Chinese.  My son was delighted to find this section of the library, and over the past few days has been absorbed in the books we got out.

So, if you too have a child arguing that English-language books are funnier/more interesting/easier than Chinese ones, go try this number out for yourself!  It certainly worked for us.

(First Week of Sept 2011) English-Language Theater

A friend of mine posted about this Engish language performance, and I am sure she won't mind me cutting and pasting information, about the show that is part of the Taipei Fringe festival:

Their website is here: http://littlefriendstheatre.blogspot.com/
 
Searching for a Song 歌聲奇緣

The 4th Annual Taipei Fringe Festival is coming up at the end of August, and we're getting ready for the premiere of our first show, Searching for a Song, an original children’s play about finding your own way to make your dreams come true. Canta, the main character, is a young girl who lives in a world where words must be bought on paper and then eaten before they may be spoken. Her dream is to be a singer, but she is very poor and unable to buy the words to sing the lyrics to any songs. With her friend Leela, she goes searching to find the perfect words to her own song. Filled with games and songs, this is a play in English for young learners of language.

第四屆台北藝穗節八月底要進行了而我們已經開始準備用我們第一個劇本《歌聲奇緣》在藝穗節中首演！這齣戲關於如何讓夢想成真的兒童劇。主角Canta是一位年輕姑娘住在一個必須用錢買文字的世界，在吃過買下的文字後，才能說出話。她的夢想是當一名歌手，但她很窮沒有能力購買足夠的文字來唱出歌曲。她和她的朋友Leela要尋找文字來唱出完美的歌。由於全劇多以遊戲和歌曲呈現，是一齣很適合年輕語言學習者觀賞的英語戲劇。

Showtimes/演出時間:

Friday, Sept. 2, 2011 at 3:00pm
Friday, Sept. 2, 2011 at 7:00pm
Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 at 3:00pm
Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011 at 3:00pm
Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011 at 7:00pm

All shows will be at Cafe Philo (CP地下沙龍), whose address can be found at their website.

Tickets are $300NTD for one ticket, or get two tickets for $500NTD when you purchase them together in a parent/child pack//一般票價:300元, 親子票(1大人+1小孩): 500元

Got any questions or need some help? 需要幫忙嗎?有什麼問題?  Email us at littlefriendstheatre@gmail.com 

The Permaculture Experience, Shilin - Ongoing Activities

I haven't been here and don't currently have time to write detailed translations introducing this place, but it looks like it has potential for families wanting to do DIY, let children try rice harvesting, make their own cheese or, uh-hum, beer (OK, for the parents) and other nature-like activities as the seasons pass.

Yamanagarden's site is totally in Chinese, so be prepared for that.

Chance to Teach Your Children About Farming and Nature - Neihu

Trying to catch up with some reading on Taiwan's resources for children, I found this English-language article at http://www.culture.tw , introducing a Taiwanese gentleman running classes for kids, teaching them about organic gardening and letting them get right into nature.  Martin Lin's blog is in Chinese, and has details of upcoming courses and enrolment procedures.