Category Archives: English for parents

English for parents – Phrase books!

So they’re finally done. I’ve written a book! In fact I’ve written two books, with the help of my awesome husband. So if you’re a Japanese parent and you’re going to live in an English speaking country, you need this phrase book to help you talk to doctors, teachers, shop assistants, other parents and otherContinue reading “English for parents – Phrase books!”

English for parents – playground games

I could write a whole book about the games children play, but I’m just going to talk about a few here. Do you know…? Grandma’s footsteps What’s the time Mr Wolf? British bulldog 40/40 or 123 Blocky

English for parents – grumble and grizzle

Two of my favourite words are grumble and grizzle. Not because of what they mean, but because of how they sound. They are onomatopoeic words (they sound like what they mean) so they sound like the sound they represent. Got it? hummmm….

English for parents – mucky and grubby

Two words that parents love; mucky and grubby.  Both mucky and grubby mean dirty, and always physically dirty. Especially the kind that children get. When your child has finished jumping in muddy puddles, you can say ‘You’re a mucky pup!’ ‘She’s a bit grubby’ ‘He’s a bit mucky because he was playing in the garden’.Continue reading “English for parents – mucky and grubby”

English for parents – tag, tig, touch

Children all over the world come up with very similar games, hide and seek, grandma’s footsteps, and tag, or is it called tig? or touch? or it? or chase? Tag is the game where one player is ‘it’ (decided by playing dip), they have run after the other players and try and touch them. TheContinue reading “English for parents – tag, tig, touch”

English for parents – potty training

Potty training, or sometimes, toilet training. We have to go through it. That time when children must learn to use the toilet and forget about nappies. In British English, potty only means the small pot that children learn to use, like the one in the picture at the top. This is a potty. ‘Do youContinue reading “English for parents – potty training”

English for parents – tantrum

The day is going so well, you’ve been to the park and had a lovely lunch, then suddenly, your toddler wants another ice-cream which you won’t give him, and you’re in the middle of tantrum city. Tantrum is the word for the sudden crying, screaming and angry behaviour that 2-3 year olds often go through,Continue reading “English for parents – tantrum”