Best 5 Apps For Learning Chinese With Your Kids

"I'm afraid to send my kid to Chinese school because I am worried I can't help them with homework."

If this sounds like you, don't worry. In this digital age you will get plenty of help in the form of Chinese Learning Apps. As a non-Chinese speaking parent, can you put your child in Chinese school and still support them in their school work? Yes, you can. Even if you are much too busy to sit and learn with your child using these apps, you always have whatsapp and  Facebook. Just whatsapp or post your child's homework and you get instant help. However, we are not going to talk about that today.

Today, we will discuss the best 5 apps for learning Chinese with your kids.

1. Pleco - the number one Chinese Dictionary app for iOS and Android. Learn Chinese using a dictionary app? Yes, that is right. Pleco is incredibly powerful.

If you are not sure how to start using it, you can read up a more detailed post from earlier on how to use Pleco to help your child learn Chinese including "ting xie" (Chinese spelling) with step by step guide on how to search and organize the Chinese characters from his school text books into folders for easy reference.

2. TrainChinese - TrainChinese is an excellent app to help you learn Chinese vocabulary by using flashcards. TrainChinese will train you in your ability to read, write and recognize by sight and through listening to the Chinese characters that you are learning.

Besides the main app, it has other related apps like the pinyin trainer, Chinese numbers and apps to help you improve your Chinese writing and listening skills. Of course, you need to pay for some of them but the free one is still pretty good.

3. Google Translate - You might say "What? Use a translation app to learn Chinese? The translation is really bad it is laughable" You may have a point there but it is being improved and the translation is getting better all the time. This app is not so much for learning Chinese but rather to help you help your child with homework.

The good thing is it supports optical character recognition which means you can take a picture of the Chinese text from your child's school text book or workbook and get the English translation immediately with little effort. Sure, the translation may be a little off but all you need is a rough understanding of it to be able to explain to your child. This feature is wonderful and it is free which makes it even more wonderful. Read How To Use Google Translate For Education for a step by step guide on how to use Google Translate to help your child with homework in Chinese.

4. Chinese Skill - Unlike the other apps above which are dictionary and translation apps, Chinese Skill is a Chinese Learning App. It is game based which makes it fun to learn for both parent and child and it is optimized for learners which English speaking background. You will learn essential and common Chinese characters, Chinese grammar points, sentence patterns, key words and phrases. 

Game based means you level up and unlock new levels as you learn. Good to encourage the kid who always say "I hate learning Chinese!"
5. Memrise - Memrise is not a Chinese learning app per se. It is an app for you to learn anything that requires repetition and memorizing including any language, musical terms and much more. You can use it for learning Chinese Mandarin too. For example, you can learn Chinese radicals, commonly used Chinese words etc. You can make your own memorizing/learning module or learn from those created by others like this one on Chinese Measure Words or Chinese Classifiers. It is an awesome app for learning just about anything! Just search for a module that interests you and give it a try.

With these apps, you will be able to support your child who is studying in Chinese school, even if you are English educated and Chinese illiterate. All of these apps are available for both iOS and Android and some are accessible on PC as well.

Happy Learning together with your child. Make learning Chinese fun with these apps! To encourage your child to love studying Chinese, you have to love it too. Love studying Chinese and your child will love it too!

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The Unofficial Guide To Online Registration For Primary Schools In Selangor And Putrajaya

Firstly, let me stress that this is an unofficial guide. For the official guide, please refer here. You can also go here for more information.

This guide is put together from comments received from helpful parents from our Facebook group - The Malaysia Primary and Secondary School Parents On Facebook.

Let's begin.

1. The link for online registration for primary schools in Selangor and Putrajaya is https://public.moe.gov.my/. This is the new system started in 2016.

2. Dates for online registration =  The best thing to do is to check with the school that you want to register with as some schools state it as 30 March (as in previous years), some 28 Apr, 29 Apr and 30 Apr.

3. Upon successful online registration you are required to print out  your online application form and submit supporting documents to the school for verification. Here is a good example of documents required. You can find this information on the FB page for SJKC Yuk Chai Petaling Jaya.


During Registration

In case you encounter some issues during registration for standard one, here are some tips from parents.

1. If you are facing difficulties,  try changing browsers. So far Chrome and mobile devices seem to have the most success.

2. If you get logged out repeatedly, try this tip from a parent:

• Use Google Chrome
• Reset your browser, goto Settings and Advanced Settings and scroll to the end and click Reset Settings
• When you login for the first time, google will ask you whether to Save Password, click Yes
• If you already have login and selected Never Save Password, you can go to Settings and Show Advance Settings
• Under Passwords and forms, click Manage Passwords and remove public.moe.gov.my

3. If the "Penafian" box blocks you from keying in the school information as in the following screenshot, try zooming in and out, use different devices or Press Ctrl and '-'. to minimise the screen and fill up the rest.

4. If you made a mistake and wish to edit, click BATAL and KEMASKINI

5. If certain areas are greyed out and you can't key in your details, try logging out and logging in again later. 

6. If you can't find the print button, try this. Click on UTAMA....then click on Tahun 1....then click on Semak Permohonan...then click on Semakan...it will show all the particulars and u will notice on your right will have the check icon so you click on it 

7. If you are unable to print and get this error message:

One possible reason is because you may have left some optional fields empty. Try to do a "BATAL" and "KEMASKINI" to fill the blank parts. One parent shared that the maximum number of "BATAL" you are allowed is 3 times based on previous year's experience but we can't confirm that it is the same this year.

8. If your printed form has missing information or blank fields, try checking with the school to see if they will accept the form as it is.

9. If you change your mind about your school choice before submission, click BATAL and then do a KEMASKINI. You can do this even after you have hit HANTAR.

10. Remember to print out two copies, one for the school and one for yourself.

During Submission

Here are some tips for successful submission of documents at the school for verification

1. To speed up registration, ensure all documents required are photocopied and don't forget to bring the original
2. Surat Pengesahan Majikan. Not listed on most school forms but listed in the online website. Check with your school whether this is required and whether the offer letter from employer is accepted if required.
3. Make sure you dress appropriately. 
4. Envelope and stamps. The purpose is for the school to inform you of the status of your application in August. Some schools require self-addressed, some window envelope. The amount of stamp required is different too so find out from the school. The school usually has forms on the requirements at the school office or on the schools FB  page, if any. You can also check from the parents in our FB group.

Disclaimer: Please note that this is not an official guide. This is a summary of  parents helping other parents on our Facebook group during the online registration. We sieved through hundreds of comments and Q&A by parents to compile this. We did not include the practical tips given for specific schools, only general ones. There may be changes to the system so please refer to the official page for the latest updates.

Join our Facebook Group to network with other Malaysian Parents

What To Do If You Registered For Primary School Last Year 2015 Under The Old Online System

FAQ: I registered last year (2015) under the old online system. What should I do?

This question is frequently asked by parents in our Facebook group: The Primary and Secondary School Parents On Facebook

This unofficial guide is for parents in Selangor who registered for primary school last year 2015 under the old online system. It is based on the questions and the answers provided by the helpful parents in our group.

On whether to register under the new online system and how

If you wish to update information using the new website, please ignore last year's registration password. You cannot use it on the new website. Here are the steps:

1. Go to https://public.moe.gov.my/
2. Create a new ID and password. Click PENGGUNA BARU and daftar using parent's name and I/C. There will be pop-up showing "Anda berjaya mendaftar if you have registered at the old website.
3. Go back to the main page. Key in your new ID and password which you created in step 2. Click DAFTAR MASUK. Then click, Tahun 1 Permohanan/Semakan.
4. Click PERMOHONAN BARU. (Do not click Semakan even though you have registered last year because this is a new system)
5. Click MYKAD and key in  YOUR CHILD's IC. You will see another pop up.
6. Check the information that you entered last year and fill in any missing information. Whatever you key in please click SIMPAN.
7. If you wish to make any changes, click KEMASKINI (Kemaskini means updates).
8. Move along the tabs until PERAKUAN.
9. Once all information is correct, click HANTAR/SUBMIT.
10. After HANTAR at the perakuan column, you need to find a green tick to print and save a copy as pdf

Extra Tips: 

• If you are logged out and logged in again, click on SEMAKAN. Do not click on permohonan baru.
• If you wish to check the "maklumat sekolah", the "penafian" notification may block out your space. So please switch to handphone or laptop, zoom in or zoom out or switch to tablet or landscape or portrait or minimize etc until you can see the information.
• If you registered last year but wish to change schools because you changed your mind. Do the above, then click BATAL and do a KEMASKINI. You can do this even after you have hit HANTAR. However, you must remember to bring the birth certificate to the first school for cancellation and to the second school for stamping.

On whether you need to resubmit hard copies of supporting documents plus the new form to the school

Please check with the school. Some schools require resubmission and a copy of the new application/registration form printed out from the new website while others do not require it if you had the back of your child's birth certificate stamped by the school last year. Please check with the school.

Special thanks to the parents who contributed to this unofficial guide.

        

Science Mind Maps In English For Primary 4, 5 & 6

With term tests around the corner, this week and next, these Science Notes for Years 4, 5 & 6 should be useful for students in primary school. These are basically short visual mind maps. They are in English. They are not the latest syllabus but you can't run away from the similarities in syllabus so they are still very useful.

• They are useful especially for parents who want to teach Science concepts in English and then the child can do it in whatever language he studies in school, BM, Chinese or Tamil. 
• They are also useful for students in schools doing the DLP who can't seem to find workbooks for now. 
• They are useful as a quick overall summary of various Science topics and chapters covered in upper primary school

Credit: These were shared by the user called Nabihah7 on Slideshare.

Science Mind Map For Standard 4

Mind map year 4 from nabihah7

Science Mind Map For Standard 5

Mind map year 5 from nabihah7

Science Mind Map For Standard 6

Mind map year 6 from nabihah7

March 2016 Calendar For Kids With Malaysian School Holidays

Last month, I did this March 2016 Calendar For Kids with Malaysian school holidays ready marked for parents with school going kids who are subscribers to our website but I've been so busy, I forgot to post it up. Yes, I forgot!

Fortunately, it is only 2nd March, 2016, so here it is. Better late than never, yes?

This is a sample of our March 2016 calendar for kids for our site members.

Members can sign in here to download this free printable March 2016 calendar for kids in pdf format without the watermark image. The March 2016 school holidays has been shaded in blue to help you and your child plan your month.