美国的妈妈们常对孩子说的话

空见

中文预留

空见

11. Safety and injuries

Special vocabulary:

safety scissors = scissors with blunt ends and dull blades that can cut paper but can’t injure children

safety plug = a plastic piece put in an electrical outlet to prevent a child from sticking something like a screwdriver or pencil in it

outlet cover = a plastic box that fits over an outlet to prevent children from playing with it

strangers  - any adults the child doesn’t know, and therefore should not trust

bad people   - a term for thieves, criminals, etc, for young children who aren’t ready for detailed discussion of this

  

Sentences:

Don’t touch.

It’s bad for you. (Very common general way of telling a child why they shouldn’t do something.)

Don’t run in the house.                  

Don’t run while carrying that pencil.

These tools are too sharp; they’re only for grownups.

The oven is very hot; you could burn yourself.

Don’t touch anything on the stove.

If you tip that pan over, you will get burned very badly.

Don’t leave toys on the stairs; people will trip on them.

Don’t climb on this table; it can’t hold you / it could tip over.

This ladder isn’t stable.

Don’t touch the electrical outlets.

Don’t ever put anything in the outlets.

Don’t try to plug anything in the outlet.

Don’t chew on that cord.

Don’t sit too close to the TV.

It’s nothing.  It’s just a little cut.  You’ll live.

It’s just a bruise.

You’re lucky; you could have been hurt much more badly.

Don’t use Mary’s cup; you could catch her cold/germs that way.

Don’t ever talk to strangers.

Never accept anything from a stranger.

"Don't play with matches!"

"laying with fire is very dangerous."

  

Traffic safety:

"Don't cross the street without looking both ways."

"Always look both ways before crossing the street."

"Never cross the street without looking to make sure no cars are coming."

"Wait for the green light before you cross the street."

"Remember, some cars don't stop for red lights. You always have to be careful."

  

To make a stronger impression, on a child who tried to do something very dangerous:

That was a really stupid thing to do.

Have you taken leave of your senses?

Are you out of your mind?

What possessed you to do that?

What were you THINKING?

Real swift, you turned the burner on. Don’t you know that could start a fire!?

Climb up on the roof? What, are you crazy or something?

空见

中文预留位

空见

12. Playtime indoors – toys, fun, games

Vocabulary:

stacking cups = a set of cups, each one smaller than the last, which can either nest or stack

blocks, building blocks (whether square or not) - used for construction, usually wooden

rattle - baby toy that makes noise when shaken

stacking rings - toy, a set of rings, each smaller than the last, that stack in order on a pole

floor puzzle - a large jigsaw puzzle meant to be put together on the floor

crayons - made of wax, for coloring

colored pencils - pencils with colored leads

coloring book - book with black and white drawings that a child colors in with crayons

flash cards -cards with pictures, numbers, or sometimes math expressions such as “2+2" on them, for teaching children. The children have to name the object shown on the card, or do the addition “2+2=4", etc.

markers - felt-tipped pens for writing on paper or whiteboards

whiteboard - erasable board for writing on with special markers

chalk board

magnetic letters / fridge magnets - plastic pieces shaped like alphabet letters, with magnets attached so they will stick to a metal surface like a refrigerator. To teach young children the alphabet

stickers = small adhesive pieces of paper with pictures on them, usually meant to be put on a piece of paper or in specially marked places in a sticker book

rubber duckie - typical bath toy, a duck made of rubber that can float

Simon says - game where the principal player says things like “Simon says close your eyes”, and a person loses if they don’t follow the instructions correctly

board game - indoor game involving a board, and often dice, or tokens, or “pieces”.

Snakes and ladders is a common, easy one played by preschool children

slinky - toy made of plastic or metal, shaped like a very long helix. It can “walk” downstairs when started properly.

to play pretend, to pretend – refers to imaginary play, such as a child pretending

that she is a dragon, or sitting in a box and pretending that it is an airplane

hide and seek, hide and go seek – game in which one child hides while the other(s)

cover their eyes. Then they have to find the child that’s hiding.

  

Sentences:

“Don’t leave crayons on the floor where people will step on them.”

“Please put the caps back on the pens/markers when you’re done with them.”

“Don’t waste paper.”

“Want to play hide-and-go-seek?” (also: “hide and seek”)

“I’m going to count to ten.” (Said while playing hide-and-go-seek)

“Ready or not, here I come.” (The standard thing you say after you’ve counted to ten and you’re going to go look for the child.)

“Let’s play ring-around-the-rosie.” (Where the children join hands in a circle. Uses a traditional English rhyme. They move around, and all fall down to the ground at the end.)

“Gotcha!” (slang- Any game where you have to catch someone, you say this when they’re caught)

“I’m just a pretend dragon.” (even though “pretend” is not really an adjective in

English, children very often use it this way, referring to imaginative play)

"Roll the ball. / Roll the ball to me. / Roll the ball over here." (if you want the ball rolled across the floor instead of thrown through the air)

"Roll that (toy) car over here."

  

Board game sentences:

“Move your piece three spaces/squares forward.”

“You lost your turn.”

“It’s your turn to throw the dice.”

空见

预留中文

空见

13. Playtime: Indoors: ABC’s, Learning etc

To sit Indian style = common way children sit on the floor, with legs crossed in front of them

“Let’s see you draw a circle.”

“Can you draw a picture?”

“What does “dog” start with?”

“D” is for dog.

“Color this picture for me.”

“Color within the lines. / Stay within the lines.” when a child is learning to color in a coloring book.

“How many trees do you see in this picture?”

“That’s a great coloring job.”

“This is a sloppy coloring job. You went too quick.  Take your time next time.”

If your child comes to you with a paper full of scribbles: “That’s interesting. What is it about?” or “What did you draw here?” or “Tell me about this picture.”

  

When the child is uncooperative:

“Don't mark on your clothes with the magic markers."

“You tore off that picture again, didn't you?”

“You've been tearing pages out of that book, haven't you? Now what did I tell you about that?”

“Why did you tear up that paper? Now you have to pick up all the pieces off the floor.”

  

You might want to translate instructions in preschool workbooks into English. Here are some typical ones:

“Circle the one object in each row that does not belong.”

“Color in red all the objects that are usually colored red.”

“Draw a line from each object on the left to the object on the right that goes with it.”

“Find three differences between these two pictures.”

“Circle each group that has exactly eight objects in it.”

“How many triangles can you find in this picture?”

空见

中文预留

空见

14. Playing outside

wagon (small cart on wheels, usually has handle for pulling it)

training wheels - two extra small wheels attached to a bicycle for helping a child

learn to ride, and for keeping their balance

swings, swing set

seesaw – a board supported in the center. Two children sit, one at each end, and

the board tips back and forth

slide – children climb up a ladder, then slide down the slide

merry-go-round – or caroussel, a round, revolving structure in a playground that many children can get on; they have to push it around

monkey bars - metal structures set up in playgrounds with bars that children can climb on or hang from

jungle gym – a (usually metal) structure in a playground that children can climb on

follow the leader - a game where everyone has to do what the “leader” is doing

forward roll - when a child tumbles forward by putting head down, the whole body then rolling forward until he has done a complete rotation and is sitting again

  

Sentences:

Want to swing?

Let’s swing on the swings!

Shall I push you? (Said by an adult helping a child to swing)

You can touch the sky! (The child is swinging very high.)

Want to go down the slide?

Let’s play ball. / Let’s play catch.

Catch!

Good catch!

Throw me the ball.

Let’s make a sand castle.

Bundle up; it’s cold out there.

You can’t go out without shoes. (Meaning, you’re not allowed to.)

Want to play outside? Want to play in the yard?

Let’s go play in the park.

Did you get dizzy on the merry-go-round?

空见

预留中文

空见

. Playing with other children  to share – refers to letting all children take turns with toys, etc  to bully – when one child is rude to another, hinders their play or forces them to do things they don’t want to  to get along – children playing nicely together  to have a good/fun time  playgroup – group of children and parents from different families that meet, often once  a week, to play together    “Let’s all help pick up the toys.”  “Let’s all just get along.” (Adult says this to a group of children that were fighting.)  “Now, isn’t it more fun to play together?” This has the tone of a friendly scolding.  “Why are you always picking fights?”  “I’m going to tell.” = A child saying, I’m going to inform a grownup of what you just did.  “Don’t be a tattle-tale.” = don’t always be reporting to grownups what other children are doing that might be wrong.  “He’s not sharing.” = He wouldn’t let me play with his toy.  Children use the verb “to share” a lot because adults are always using it with them.  “She hurt my feelings.” another phrase used very often in connection with children. Adults, especially teachers, use this when explaining why you shouldn’t call your classmate an ugly witch, etc. (“Don’t hurt people’s feelings.”)  “That’s not playing fair!”  “You cheated!” (A common accusation that one child makes to another.)  “You have to learn to stand up for yourself.” (This is for children who allow other children to bully them too much)    When things get too rough:  “Don’t play rough.”  “Don’t kick.”  “Don’t step on his toes.”  “Don’t hit him.”  “She doesn’t want to be held like that.”  “No bullying.”  “Don’t pull her hair.”  “Pulling hair isn’t nice. It hurts people.”  “Don’t trip her.”  “Stop punching each other.”  “No more roughhousing.”