The ESL market is awash with kindergarten texts. And yet we made our own. Why?
Let’s take a look at what we didn’t like about existing texts.
And what we changed to make a kindergarten text WE (and our students) like through My English Book and Me 1 and 2.
1. Not challenging enough.
Many texts introduce 4 - 7 words a unit. Not only are there not enough NEW words, many words are easy to remember (similar to the Japanese word). And to add insult to injury, many texts suggest teaching the SAME unit for a month?!! Does it really take kids a month to learn a few new words? We don't think so. Challenge kids. They CAN do it.
In My English Book and Me 1 and 2, we introduce 8 - 10 words a unit. Our students remember these words each week and go onto the next unit, learning 10 more new words. Students using My English Book and Me 1 and 2 will have a LARGE vocabulary BEFORE beginning elementary lessons.
2. Too much color.
Most kindergarten texts burst with color. Why? Children LIKE to color.
My English Book and Me is black and white. Children can learn vocabulary AS they color and make the book their own (hence the title).
3. Characters.
We are not a fan of characters: Tommy Toenails. Penelope Peacock.... It gets a bit silly when there are a plethora of characters and the students are encouraged to remember the names. This is NOT USEFUL ENGLISH. This is brand recognition.
With My English Book and Me—-the CHILDREN themselves are the MAIN CHARACTER. Each unit focuses on THEM—- what they like / don’t like / have / don’t have….. with vocabulary centered around THEIR lives.
The hint is in the title: My English Book and ME. It's all about the
children and THEIR lives.
4. Not enough activities and / or overly simple activities.
Full color books can’t be colored. Matching activities (if there are any) are often ridiculously simple (choice between 2—-how hard can that be??).
With My English Book and Me, students can color, match, write, answer the about me questions, practice the question and answer with the vocabulary….. There is SO much they can do AS they learn.
We made the My English Book and Me series/ the games and the flashcards for our classrooms.
We KNOW they work well because we use the texts and games we use them ourselves.
Our school has a very good reputation BECAUSE of the texts / games and curriculum. They make teaching and learning easy.
If you would like to know more about HOW / WHAT we teach, feel free to contact us.
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