When children should learn a second language?

Did I mention that it is also so much fun to connect with your child in such a meaningful and exciting way? It was strange, my mother was the one to first communicate with Johnny through sign language and she and I both noticed an almost immediate shift in his temperament. He became even more relaxed than before and seemed to be much more contented during those times when he would normally be frustrated with us not understanding his needs because he now was able to tell us!

I recommend to any parent, guardian or child worker to start small with simple signs for words you use every day. Remember that baby/small child hands are not quite as nimble as ours yet so the more simple the better. I found a book that really works for us however there are many many resources available to you for free on the Internet. Keep an eye out also for any courses locally available to parents, guardians and child workers as those can also be an excellent way to learn and share the joy of being able to communicate with your little one(s).

Treasure each moment with your child. These times won't last forever but the memories will!

English Learning Resource for Children

• ESL Kids Lessons. Free Video Slide Lessons, ESL Printables – Worksheets, Flashcards, and Phonics.



• Disney website - great for kids including activities, games, music, song



• English songs for childrenKizclub.com provides lots of educational activities in language arts for preschool and elementary age children



• Starfall.com The Starfall learn-to-read website is offered free as a public service. A fun site to learn to read English.



• Woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/onlinestory.htm - Online stories - children can hear and read stories online



• Cartoon Network - The kid favorite site for games and cartoon



• Discovery Kids - Check out Discovery Kids shows, games and more online



• Website for Children of AmericanOnlinePBS Kids. A lot of activities for kids to learning English: Games, stories, music.



• British Council's Learn English Kids. You can listen to songs, read and listen to stories.



• Sillybooks.net A lot of free audio book and stories for children.



• Internet4classrooms.com A great website for children to learn Math - from grade 1 to grade 8.

• Time for Kids. A weekly magazine for kids that delivers the most current news.

• School Discovery. Discovery Channel's Website with lesson plans and learning contents for all kinds of subjects for K-12.

• Kids' Health. Dealing with feelings, recipes, everyday illnesses, injuries, and kids' talk.

• Kids Domain. A great site with a lot of games and free software to download.

• Picture Books. Free online picture books by professional illustrator and Writer Dandi Palmer.

• Franky Fox & Friends. Free online picture books by professional illustrator and Writer Dandi Palmer.

• Weekly Reader. A popular site for kids and teens. Read this week's feature story.

• Room 108. A primary education site for kids with lots of free online games but all with an educational focus.

• ESL Kids Lab. Printable ESL Worksheets, Games Videos, Kids Vocabulary & Grammar Quizzes,Powerpoint downloads.

• PBS Kids. Games, stories, music, and coloring.

• Story Place. The Preschool Library and Elementary Library with new activities and themes being added each month.

• Kids Web Japan. An attractive site for kids to learn about Japan.

• Space Place. NASA's Website for kids. Games, animations, projects, and fun facts about Earth, space and technology.

• British Council's Learn English Kids. You can listen to songs, read and listen to stories.

• Education Place Kid. Wacky Web tales, brain teasers, and best reading activities.

• International Children's Digital Library. The best in children's literature are made available online.

• Scholastic. Popular website of the largest publisher of children's books.

• Brain Pop. Popular site for kids to learn English and other subjects.

• Fairrosa Cyber Library of Children's Literature. A fairly big collection of classics, folk tales, and professional journals.

• Kid Genius. Free educational software to teach alphabet, numbers, counting, and so on.

• Phonics. There are phonics posters, flash cards, coloring sheets, game cards, handouts and more.

• KidSource Online. A parenting newsletter with a lot of good advice.

• Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site. This is a collection of reviews of great books for kids, ideas of ways to use them in the classroom.

• ESL Play House. An excellent resource for teachers of young learners.

• Teach children ESL. Download free worksheets and flashcards, play free games and songs.

• ESL Kids Stuff.Some excellent links for both teachers and students.