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MuddlePuddle Home Education

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Egypt

These facts come courtesy of my friend Bev – being from Newcastle she has a way of putting things that makes me giggle so much that i left this almost all in her own words… hope you enjoy them – and Bev – I hope for your sake they are true or I’m coming to GET YOU!!!!

*The modern name for Ethiopia comes from the name of the race (not the other way on!) and Ethiopian translates from Ancient Egyptian as “those with burnt faces”


*If you pulled the Great Pyramid of Khufu to bits, you could build a wall 3 metres high around France, and Napoleon sat in its shadow and worked that one out.


*Napoleon once spent the night sleeping in the burial chamber of the Great Pyramid for a bet, and came out the next morning pale, white and shaking. He refused to tell anybody what happened while he was in there. He looked like he was going to on his deathbed, then he said “what’s the use, you’d never believe me” (but in French obviously….) and died.


*There’s a great big lump of natural rock inside each pyramid that forms some of the core to save on building stuff.


*If the cat died the family would shave their eyebrows off and have a week’s mourning. If your RELATIVE died you let your beard grow (for a bloke….I hope….) or cut a lock of your hair off (for a woman) and you didn’t do all the weeping and wailing yourself, you employed a bunch of paid professional mourners who’d tear their clothes, throw dust over their heads, and make that freaky shrieking noise called ululating. I can’t do it so don’t ask.


*If you weren’t married by the time you were 9, you’d be seriously left on the shelf. You’d be some kind of embarassment if you hadn’t had your first kid by the time you were 12.


*Mothers breastfed kids till they were 5. They’d be breastfed one day, and get a job the next…..kids would be employed (like proper jobs!) from about 5 in the fields, picking up grain.


*The pyramids were built without the wheel- that showed up about 1000 years later….people never think of that one….

Italian for Kids

Italian

Countries Spoken – Italy and ?; Continent – Europe

Numbers

One
Uno
Eleven
Undici
Thirty
Trenta
Two
Due
Twelve
Dodici
Forty
Quaranta
Three
Tre
Thirteen
Tredici
Fifty
Cinquanta
Four
Quattro
Fourteen
Quattordici
Sixty
Sessanta
Five
Cinque
Fifteen
Quindici
Seventy
Settanta
Six
Sei
Sixteen
Sedici
Eighty
Ottanta
Seven
Sette
Seventeen
Diciassette
Ninety
Novanta
Eight
Otto
Eighteen
Diciotto
One Hundred
Cento
Nine
Nove
Nineteen
Diciannove
Ten
Dieci
Twenty
Venti,

The numder rule for 21-29, 31-39 etc is as follows…

eg. Ventuno, ventidue,
vent- if the rest begins with a vowel
venti – if the rest begins with a consonant

For postions or places the following apply…

First
Primo
Second
Secondo
Third
Terzo
Fourth
Quarto
Fifth
Quinto
Alphabet

Where N/A is put in, no equivalent to the English exists in this language. The sounds are phonetic.

A
B
C
D
E
uh
bee
chi
dih
eh
F
G
H
I
J
effeh
gee
acca
ee
N/A
K
L
M
N
O
N/A
elleh
emmeh
enneh
oh
P
Q
R
S
T
pee
coo
erreh
esseh
tee
U
V
W
X
Y
oo
vee
N/A
N/A
N/A
Z
tzeta
Days and Months

January
Gennaio
Monday
Lunedí
February
Febbraio
Tuesday
Martedí
March
Marzo
Wednesday
Mercoledí
April
Aprile
Thursday
Giovedí
May
Maggio
Friday
Venerdí
June
Giugno
Saturday
Sabato
July
Luglio
Sunday
Domenica
August
Agosto
September
Settembre
Morning
Mattino
October
Ottobre
Afternoon
Pomeriggio
November
Novembre
Evening
Sera
December
Dicembre
Night
Notte

eg Sunday Evening would be Domenica Sera

Greetings

Hello
Ciao
Goodbye
Ciao
How are you
Come stai?
Good Morning
Buongiorno
Good Afternoon
Buongiorno/Buonasera
Good Evening
Buonasera
Good Night
Buona Notte
Relations

Mummy
Mamma
Daddy
Papá/Babbo
Sister
Sorella
Brother
Fratello
Uncle
Zio
Aunt
Zia
Baby
Bebé
Grandma
Nonna
Grandpa
Nonno
Cousin

Cugino/a

(o for a boy, a or a girl)

Weather

It is… sunny
C’é il sole
windy
C’é vento
rainy
Piove
cloudy
É nuvoloso
hot
Fa caldo
cold
Fa freddo

Colours

Red
Rosso
Yellow
Giallo
Blue
Blu
Green
Verde
Purple
Viola
Orange
Arancione
Pink
Rosa
Brown
Marrone
Grey
Grigio
Black
Nero
White
Bianco
Size and Shape

Small
Piccolo
Large
Grande
Tiny
Piccolissimo
Huge
Enorme
Square
Quadrato
Rectangle
Rettangolo
Triangle
Triangolo
circle
Cerchio
oval
Ell issi
Directions

North
Nord
South
Sud
East
Est
West
Ovest
Left
Sinistra
Right
Destra
Up
Su
Down
Giú
High
Alto
Low
Basso
Question starters

When Quando
Where Dove
Why Perché
How Come
Who Chi
What Cosa

Short phrases to follow but we need to think them up first!

Mandarin for Kids

Mandarin

Countries Spoken – China and ?; Continent – Asia

With very grateful thanks to Laura who took an enormous amount of trouble over these.

Mandarin is a very literal language and a lot of what you say is explained simply by context and by little ‘add-on’ sounds within sentences that mean it is a question or is referring to something that has already happened etc.For example we would say, “It’s a hot day isn’t it?” The Mandarin would say “Day hot + sound to show it wasn’t hot before + sound to show this was a question”

Mandarin is a tonal language so you have to adjust how you say a word to mean something completely different; For example take the word “qing”

If you say “qing” in a high, level voice it can mean “clean, clear and pure”.

If you say “qing” with your voice rising like a question it can mean “feelings and affection”.

If you say “qing” dropping your voice low and then flicking it up slightly at the end it can mean, “to ask”.

If you say “qing” with your voice falling sharply like giving a dog a bossy command to sit, then it can mean, “to celebrate”

These are the four main tones and then there is a neutral tone, which is as it sounds. When you are learning Mandarin then you write a symbol for the tone over the top of the word so you know how to say it – just be aware if anyone is practising some of these words they may not be saying exactly what they think they are!

Numbers

One
Yi
Eleven
Shi Yi
Twenty One
Er Shi Yi
Two
Er
Twelve
Shi Er
Twenty Two
Er Shi Er
Three
San
Thirteen
Shi San
Thirty
San Shi
Four
Si
Fourteen
Shi Si
Forty
Si Shi
Five
Wu
Fifteen
Shi Wu
Fifty
Wu Shi
Six
Liu
Sixteen
Shi Liu
Sixty
Lui Shi
Seven
Qi
Seventeen
Shi Qi
Seventy
Qi Shi
Eight
Ba
Eighteen
Shi Ba
Eighty
Ba Shi
Nine
Jiu
Nineteen
Shi Jiu
Ninety
Jui Shi
Ten
Shi
Twenty
Er Shi
One Hundred
Yi Bai

The number rule for 21-29, 31-39 etc is as follows…

Rule for twenty and above: number of tens + number

eg. 47 is Si (4) Shi (10) Qi (7) Si Shi Qi
83 is Ba (8) Shi (10) San (3) Ba Shi San

Alphabet

Where N/A is put in, no equivalent to the English exists in this language. The sounds are phonetic.

A
B
C
D
E
as in Bun
Hard ‘s’ tongue behind the teeth to make a ‘ts’ sound
as in Dog
short as in jerk
F
G
H
I
J
as in Food
as in Good
as in Hut but with a breath out to make it a soft sound
as in bee*
as in Jump
K
L
M
N
O
as in Kick
as in Log
as in Mouse
as in Nice
‘oh’ as in go
P
Q
R
S
T
as in Panda
Hard ‘ch’ with the tongue behind the teeth to make a ‘tch’ sound
very guttural and slightly rolled like a Scots accent
as in Sing
as in Tag
U
V
W
X
Y
as in too**
as in Wing
Aspirated ‘sh’ tongue in roof of mouth to make a ‘hsh’ sound
Z
CH
SH
ZH
Yi
Hard ‘z’ to make a ‘dz’ sound
as in Church
as in Shout
almost as in Jump but with a slight buzz
As in Bee
EI AO OU AI EN
as in hay as in cow as in show as in tie as in olden times
IE IAO IU IAN UI
ee-eh as is bee-enter ee-ow as in bee cow ee-oh as in bee go ee-en as in bee-ben oo-ay as in too-way

*Except after these Zh, Sh, Z, C, S, R when it is short as is jig

**(except after ‘y’, ‘yu’ is pronounced like “see you jimmy”, when spoken with a strong Glaswegian accent)

Other end sounds are either a combination of the above or as they would be in English but often with a real nasal twang

eg. ‘Tang’ would be a longer nasal sound ‘tahng’

Sounds to practice because they are so similar:

She and Shi

Ji and Qi

Chong and Zhong

Chang and Zhang

Days and Months

January
Yi Yue
Monday
Xing Qi Yi
February
Er Yue
Tuesday
Xing Qi Er
March
San Yue
Wednesday
Xing Qi San
April
Si Yue
Thursday
Xing Qi Si
May
Wu Yue
Friday
Xing Qi Wu
June
Liu Yue
Saturday
Xing Qi Liu
July
Qi Yue
Sunday
Xing Qi Ri
August
Ba Yue
September
Jiu Yue
Morning
N/A
October
shi Yue
Afternoon
N/A
November
Shi Yi Yue
Evening
N/A
December
Shi Er Yue
Night
N/A
Month Yue (moon) Week Xing Qi

In the case of Sunday, Ri does mean Sun rather than being a number.

Greetings

Hello
Ni Hao
Goodbye
Zai Jian
How are you
Shen-ti Hao Ma
Good Morning
Zao Hao

Please is Quig Ni

Thank you is Xie Xie

The old ways of greeting people which go back to when many people did not have enough to eat or clothes to keep out the cold were

Have you eaten yet? Ni Chi Le Mei You

Are You Cold? Leng Bu Leng

Relations

Mummy
Ma Ma
Daddy
Ba Ba
Elder Sister Jie Jie
Younger Sister
Mie Mie
Elder Brother Ge Ge
Younger Brother
Di Di
Uncle
Bo Fu
Aunt
Bo Mu
Baby
Ying Er
Grandma
Zu Mu
Grandpa
Zu Fu
Cousin
Tang

Flag of China

Colours

Red
Hong Se
Yellow
HuangSe
Blue
Lan Se
Green
Lu Se
Purple
Zi Se
Orange
Ju Se
Pink
Fen Hong Se
Brown
Zong Se
Grey
Hui Se
Black
Hei Se
White
Bai Se

The word for colour is Se

Size and Shape

Small
Xiao
Large
Da
Tiny
Ji Xiao
Huge
Ji Da
Square
Fang Xing
Rectangle
Chang Fang Xing
Triangle
San Jiao Xing
circle
YuanXing
oval
Tuo Yuan Xing
Directions

North
Bei Fang
South
Nan Fang
East
Dong Fang
West
Xi Fang
Left
Zuo Bian
Right
You Bian
Up
Shang
Down
Xia
High
Gao
Low
Di
Question starters

I have included these but with Lauras rider that they do not translate well, due to changing with situations.

When Shen-me Shi-hou
Where He Chu OR Zai Nar
Why Wei Shen-me
How Zen Me
Who Shui de OR He Ren
What Shen-me Yang

Some China associations and names

– to be expanded!

China Zhong Guo ( means the central kingdom)

Chinese Han Yu ( as in Chinese language)

Chopsticks – Kuai Zi

Panda – Xiong Mao

Rice – Mi Fan

China Resources

Animals of China

Chinese Matching Cards

Simple World Map Outline

China Map Outline

Fantastic Panda Facts

The following facts have been produced by reading SandiegoZoo‘s Panda Site. This site is well worth visiting as it has lots to look at, including a PandaCam!!!!

Pandas are bears, although very different to other types and are classified quite differently by biologiests.

Pandas use chemical scents (smells) to communicate and have the equivalent of noticeboards where they go to “read” messages from each other.

Pandas are quite solitary animals and seem to dislike too much company. A female will climb a tree to avoid a male if she is not interested in him.

There are “about 1000” Pandas left in the World, but no one knows the exact number. There are about 110 Pandas in captivity.

Pandas eat bamboo and each patch of bamboo will only have a few Pandas within it.

Nobody knows why Pandas are black and white – its probably not camouflage as they have no natural predetors but it may be to help them spot one another or their large patch-like eyes may be to ward off other animals by appearing to have larger, more frightening eyes than they have really.

These facts have been gleaned from reading ChinaUnique. This site has some lovely stuff – check out Panda fun and the panda dance. I just giggled!!!!!

The two kinds of Panda are the black and white, or Great Panda and the Red Panda, sometimes known as the Lesser Panda.

In ancient China, Pandas were believed to ward off evil spirits.

There are 15 types of Bamboo but Pandas prefer the shoots.

Pandas do not hibernate because their diet does not allow them to build up fat stores.

The Chinese use the word “Xiongmao” for Panda which means Giant Cat Bear.

The Red Panda lives in China and also in Tibet, Burma, India and Nepal. It is more like a Racoon, spends time living in trees and eats acorns and roots as well as Bamboo.

A couple of panda pictures to colour in or maybe print out on very thin paper so that you can stick them on your window and see the sun shine a panda in at you! This week we are going to make a little panda habitat – i’ll do instructions with pictures when we have played!

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