Russian Riches – Program 3
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Teaching Children Russian Through Story and Song
Charlotte Mason recommended teaching children languages through "living speech". True fluency goes beyond memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules; it starts with instilling a love for the culture. Research shows that, much like an infant hears a language long before they start speaking it, a new language should be listened to before a student is required to try to speak it. This is why we recommend a multi-faceted approach to language learning and include resources for folk songs, stories, singing games, and more.
This program is laid out for homeschoolers, but can be used by anyone who wants to teach their children Russian. It is split into three terms, since that is the most common way homeschoolers divide up their academic year. Feel free to adjust this to fit your schedule better.
Program of Study
Printable
Russian Riches Songbook
Now available!
Loving my Russian Riches enrichment program and want a printable songbook? This will help you instill a love for the Russian culture in your home. In addition to all of the lyrics (in Russian and English!), we have included additional bonus resources.
Teaching Yourself First
It is easiest for the mother to know a language, if she wants her children to learn it. I have approached the below recommendations as a personal "mother's education". Though Russian was my first language as a child, I lost much of the language as I grew up. Having a child made me realize just how much of that language I had lost. My husband and I didn't bother speaking Russian much amongst each other when we first married, but we did naturally want to speak to our little baby in Russian. Cooing and telling her she was cute in Russian was easy enough, but as she grew up it became much more difficult. When she started to point to items and ask what they were called, I couldn't remember the simple words for common household objects, such as faucet or sink.
I jumped headfirst into re-teaching myself the language. I used a Russian/English dictionary app on my phone. I stumbled through picture books. I only allowed her to watch Russian cartoons (Малышарики is my favorite). And her main caregivers were native Russian speakers (her baba, as well as good friends in our community who also strove to speak Russian with their children). Hearing the language all the time made such a difference, to the point that, before we knew it, she was teaching us new words!
My confidence quickly waned with our second child. I didn't realize that the biggest factor was our choice in caregivers. We did everything else the same, but having him basically in an English-immersion program at daycare (a wonderful place, but English was the main language spoken by the other children) made him refuse to speak in Russian at home. I've been home with him for six months now and he is finally okay with repeating words and phrases that I ask him to say.
Devotional Poetry & Folk Songs
Start by hearing the language first. Listen to the audio and videos a few times. Use the Total Physical Response method below to introduce some of the vocabulary and phrases through actions and imagery. Listen again to the first line and try to repeat it in Russian. Use the line for copywork, or write down just the new vocabulary (wait on this if the student is new to the language). In following lessons, recite or sing what you know so far and continue working through the lines.
There are four songs for each term. That is a lot! You are not expected to learn to recite all of these. Instead, work through the lines for one or two of them, and just listen to the rest. Cultivate an ear for the language and the music and bring the Russian culture into your home by playing them throughout the day.
Singing Games & Dances
Learn the language through play. In addition to the singing games included in the program, think outside the box. Jump rope and count using Russian numbers. Play games such as Mother May I, Simon Says, Charades, and Go Fish by using Russian words.
Tongue Twister (СКОРОГОВОРКА)
Ехал Грека через реку,
Видит Грека в реке рак.
Сунул Грека руку в реку,
Рак за руку Греку цап!
Greka was crossing a river;
Greka saw a crayfish in the river.
Greka put his hand in the river;
The crayfish bit Greka's hand.
Youtube Video with motions.
HAND-CLAPPING GAME (ЛАДУШКИ)
Летела
ворона
по синему
небу,
читала
газету
под
номером…
Flew
a crow
in a blue
sky,
reading
a newspaper
under
number…
TRADITIONAL FOLK DANCE
Children's Song: ПУСТЬ ВСЕГДА БУДЕТ СОЛНЦЕ
Пусть всегда будет солнце,
Пусть всегда будет небо,
Пусть всегда будет мама,
Пусть всегда буду я!
May there always be sunshine,
May there always be blue skies,
May there always be mommy,
May there always be me!
FINGER PLAY: РАЗГОВОР ЖИВОТНЫХ
Повстречались два котёнка: «Мяу – мяу».
Повстречались два щенка: «Гав – гав».
Повстречались два тигрёнка: «Ррррр..».
Повстречались два жеребёнка: «И-го-го»
Повстречались два быка: Поглeди, какие рога!
Two kittens met: “Meow - meow.”
Two puppies met: “Woof - woof.”
Two tiger cubs met: “Rrrrr…”.
Two foals met: “Neigh...”
Two bulls met: Look at those horns!
Game: ПОТОЛОК, НОС, ПОЛ
Point at the ceiling (потолок), your nose (нос), the floor (пол), saying the corresponding word in a random order and then start saying the words and pointing at the wrong thing. Players are expected to point at the right thing. Second stage of the game is to have those that mess up step out of the circle and see who is left standing after several rounds.
See how the game is played in this video.
NURSERY RHYME: БАЮ-БАИНЬКИ
Баю-баиньки, бай -бай,
Не ложись-ка ты на край.
Придёт серенький волчок,
Тебя схватит за бочок.
Унесёт под кустик
И домой не пустит.
Hush-a-bye-bye,
Don't lie down near the edge.
The little gray wolf will come,
He'll grab you by your side.
He'll carry you under a bush
And he won't let you go home.
FINGER PLAY: ЧЕРЕПАХА
Шла по полю черепаха
И дрожала вся от страха:
"Кусь-кусь-кусь, Кусь-кусь-кусь,
Ничего я не боюсь!"
A tortoise was walking in the field,
She was trembling from fear,
"Yum, yum, yum. Yum, yum, yum.
I'm not afraid of anything!"
Line 1: Seated, mimic the tortoise walking with
forefinger and middle finger on your thigh. Line 2: Mimic trembling with both hands. Lines 3 & 4: Mimic a mouth talking with both hands. Line 5: Say "no" with your finger.
GAME: ПИФ ПАФ
Stories
I have chosen simple picture books that are traditional Russian stories. Point at the pictures as the stories are read. Be careful not to translate the Russian words to English. Instead, mime actions and point to images to explain the meaning of the words. Ask the student to narrate after each reading. It is okay for them to narrate with a mix of Russian and English at first. Their vocabulary will grow over time.
Vocabulary
Parents should take opportunities to practice using the language in a natural way through out the day. For those who are fluent in the language this can be fairly easy: use a picture dictionary to progress through the rooms in your home and teach the words for all the objects in your home and areas of your life. Russian books have been difficult to come by in recent years, but not impossible. Usborne's First Thousand Words In Russian with Internet-Linked Pronunciation Guide is a wonderful place to start, as well as My First Russian Book, a Russian-English Book for Bilingual Children for younger children.
However, if you are not fluent in Russian, it can be difficult to use these words correctly in sentences. For this purpose, I have been a huge fan of Talkbox.Mom. Their "Use Russian at Home" phrasebook is something I turn to all the time, and we have worked our way through the first five of their subscription boxes with great success. And that brings me to the most important part of the program:
Total Physical Response
Charlotte Mason recommends using the Total Physical Response approach to learning languages, by connecting the new words that you are learning to images and actions and by listening and speaking fluently first, before moving on to reading and writing.
The ULAT does a wonderful job of explaining this method, and teaching it, but sadly they do not yet have Russian. The Natural Language Acquisition Sequence involves spending a considerable amount of time having the children listen to and understand the spoken language and learn to speak it fluently before introducing the written word in the form of reading and writing. English translation should not be used in the teaching of a language. Meaning should be conveyed in a visual fashion, through mime, video clips, gestures, still images and drawings. Students should be trained to think like a native speaker. To take a visual concept to an inner verbalization and then to an outward expression.
The best Russian language resource I have found for this is Youtuber: Russian with Max. He has a series of videos where he teaches beginning Russian using Total Physical Response. As you learn how to do this, you can apply the same concept to teaching with other resources, such as Talkbox.Mom.
Bonus: Tutors
Tutors are a great way to increase the opportunities for your child to hear the language and practice speaking it themselves. One-on-one is best, and if you don't have local tutors, there are live native speaking tutors available online. We use Kidskey, and my daughter absolutely loves her weekly lessons. She has worked her way through Bukvaryata, Reading Trainer I and is halfway through Reading Trainer II. The price per lesson is very cheap when you compare it to the cost of in-person tutors.