My city

Let's play "I love my city!"

This post is inspired by MadebyJoel's Paper City. I love this blog! It is so creative, so simple yet genius. Develop your artistic side and make this beautiful city with your kids and name the buildings and vehicles you make in Greek!

A few names for buildings:

• ταχυδρομείο - post office
• βιβλιοθήκη - library
• σχολείο - school
• τράπεζα - bank
• παιδική χαρά -playground
• νοσοκομείο - hospital
• φούρνος - bakery 
  

And a few names  for your vehicles:

• λεωφορείο - bus
• αυτοκίνητο - car
• μηχανή - motorbike
• ποδήλατο - bicycle
• φορτηγό - truck
• ασθενοφόρο - ambulance

Do you like fruit?

And vegetables too? Now that the summer is here and lots of seasonal fruits and vegetables can be found at the market, it is a great opportunity to teach your kid (and even learn yourself!) the names of fruits and vegetables in Greek.

An easy activity is to visit an open market (more appropriate and fun now in the summer) and go around asking your kid the name of a particular fruit or vegetable in Greek.

At home you could cut up some fruit for your kid and let her name them for you! if she finds the right name, she gets to eat that fruit (or vegetable). A great way to encourage your little one to eat more fruit and vegetables!

Here is a printable with the names and pictures of fruits and vegetables as well as some fun activities for your child.

At the dinner table

Food time is a great opportunity for your kid to explore new tastes, colours, learn good manners, bond with the other members of the family and - why not - do some language learning without even realising it!

Today's printable is part of our food series and it can be personalised by your child. He could paint it, do some collage, glue real food on it (raw preferably!) such as lentils, pasta, rice or stick food pictures on it and you can then take his art and laminate it. And...voila! Your child's got her very own personalised placemat to use at dinner time! You could also help her make one for every member of the family and use her imagination to customise it.

Don't forget to learn the new words! Here is the audio for them. Your child could also teach the other members of the family!

Bon appetit!

P.S. Maya's creation to follow, stay tuned!

Αα - Δδ: Colour the pictures

Preschoolers enjoy colouring a lot! I know mine does! Now it is the time to experiment with lots of different colours and through them learn new concepts. Why not learn the Greek letters this way?

This is the first of a series of printables for your child. She will come across a new letter on each page plus a few words which start with that letter accompanied by an image to colour. Today's printable is for letters Αα to Δδ. You could make this into a small booklet when we reach the last set of letters. Just print all the letters, plus a cover page and staple or bind them to make a small booklet! You could also use this booklet as a travel colouring book which will entertain your child when out and about! This exercise is mainly for preschoolers who have just started learning the letters. You can help them memorise the sounds by repeating the words and the letter they begin with.

Here is Maya's letter Αα:

Take Greek to the beach with you this summer!

Now that the summer is near we love to go to the beach. The weather is lovely but we still don't dare go into the sea (brrr, a bit chilly still) so we play outside with our beach equipment (sand bucket, shovels, moulds etc) and tons of sand and water.

What a great opportunity for some fun learning! Write letters and draw images on the sand (simple images like the sun or a fish) and encourage your child to tell you the first letter or even write it - one for older kids.

Summer and beach related words that your kid will easily associate with your beach outing and remember are:

• άμμος - sand
• νερό - water
• θάλασσα  - sea
• ήλιος - sun
• κύμα - wave
• κουβαδάκι - sand bucket
• κάστρο - castle
• ομπρέλα - umbrella
• καπέλο - hat
• ψάρι - fish

Check here for their pronunciation!

You could write down each word on a piece of card and then get your child to match them with the right item/concept. To make it easier and more fun you can avoid choosing words which start with the same letter so that your kid doesn't get frustrated. It's easier for your child - at the beginning - to concentrate on the first letter of the word. Once they identify the sound, they will match it to the sound the letter makes.

Roll on summer! :)