Welcome to my learning space!
Ms. Claudia Lee Kimura
This is a place where you will find my memorable lessons as an educator, teachable moments with my children at home, and my journey as a lifelong learner.
You can read about me here
I feel blessed to be able read, speak and write Chinese, Japanese and English, and am able to create a lot of resources to support language learning and English literacy. I hope my blog will be able to support you and your child’s literacy journey in whichever language that you have decided to focus on.
For my most recent posts, please visit here
Below are some of my most popular posts:
What we need to know about children’s stages of writing development
Many parents ask me: When does a child start writing? It is difficult to answer this question since writing could be anything from “meaningful scribbles,” “letter formation” to “spelling accurately.” Children as young as 2 years old begin making marks on paper to show their thoughts and ideas. Children go through stages of writing development whenContinue reading “What we need to know about children’s stages of writing development”
Supporting your child to write stories with a clear Beginning, Middle and End- foldable trilingual template
Every story should have a beginning, middle and end (BME). One of the many literacy skills a child needs to learn early on is is BOTH to identify BME of any stories, and to write a story with a clear BME. The Picture Book Teacher (here) has a great blog post on the importance ofContinue reading “Supporting your child to write stories with a clear Beginning, Middle and End- foldable trilingual template”
10 ways to use sticky notes to support literacy at home
I use a lot of sticky-notes in the classroom! I use them for assessments, I use them for Reading Groups, and I use them during Writer’s Workshops. It’s no surprise that I’ve found ways to incorporate them at home when working with Kai and Kei. I use them so much that I keep a stashContinue reading “10 ways to use sticky notes to support literacy at home”
Using “Touch and Tell, Touch and Say, Touch and Read” strategies to foster independence in writing
These are the 3 strategies that I teach in the classroom which I have recently introduced at home to help Kai and Kei with writing. I find that when children are encouraged to say things aloud, they often notice things that are often overlooked when they “think silently” to themselves. Encouraging children to use theirContinue reading “Using “Touch and Tell, Touch and Say, Touch and Read” strategies to foster independence in writing”
How we practice writing Chinese at home without using any worksheets
This is going to be a quick post to document what I’ve been doing with Kai and Kei to encourage writing Chinese. I am not particularly fond of worksheets, and try to come up with alternative ways to incorporate writing as part of our weekly Chinese homeschooling routines. Kai- Almost 6 years old 1. MorningContinue reading “How we practice writing Chinese at home without using any worksheets”
Maximizing 洪恩识字 to learn Chinese (7 tips and printables)
**iHuman has kindly reached out and offered a discounted bundle for my followers (here) on the apps and add-ons: 识字永久+识字子集永久+成语永久+拼音永久 Technology can be useful to support learning so I am not entirely opposed to apps as long as children use technology with the right intentions. I started looking into Chinese learning apps after Kai finishedContinue reading “Maximizing 洪恩识字 to learn Chinese (7 tips and printables)”
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Ms Claudia Lee Kimura 