Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds English

Teaching young children English (1-3 year olds) is a fun and challenging experience. Children at this age have a lot of energy, so they can be a lot of fun. However, it is a special challenge to harness that energy and focus it on the English lesson. For this reason, my style of teaching these young children is to incorporate a lot of songs, dances, and movement in general. I also mix this up with book reading time, and other activities that give the children a rest like coloring or passing around objects in a circle and saying the name. There are many things you can do.

This is a new page to the Dream English site, and I will be adding much more in the coming months. Below are some suggestions and links to materials, lesson ideas and more to get started. If you have any suggestions/ideas for me please send me an email and let me know.

Teaching Children with Songs: Below are my favorite songs to use in class with 2-3 year olds.

1. The ABC Song: While this song is a little difficult at first with small children, I highly recommend teaching it from the beggining. I have heard children as young as 1 year old singing this song, at least parts of it, as it is a really catchy song. If you make a simple dance, with children waving or clapping their hands, they will really enjoy it!
To download the Dream English Traditional ABC Song for free, click here to go to the ABC Song page.Also, MES English has some great free ABC coloring sheets, click here to go to MES English.

2. Let's Count 1 to 10: This song is so simple that even 1 year olds can quickly pick up the dance. I have teaching suggestions and a video on the Dream English Let's Count 1 to 10 page, where you can also download the song for free, click here to check it out. Again, I recommend the free numbers coloring sheets at MES English.

3. It's a Dog: Children love animals, so this is an easy fun song for them. For It's a Dog lesson ideas, the free song mp3 download and more click here.

4. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes: A classic song, simple and kids just love it! I always start off by teaching the body parts by pointing to them and saying the name, then we sing! This song is a free download on my other site freeabcsongs.com to check it out click here.

5. London Bridge is Falling Down: Some times its good to take a break and just do something simple and fun with the kids, and this song is great for that. The traditional way to play this song is have two people (probably teachers or parents) hold their hands together like a bridge, and the children walk under it. When the verse ends with "my fair lady!" the bridge "falls" and you can hold onto the students who are under your arms. Of course, be careful! to check out this song, click here.

6. Halloween Song Walk Like a Ghost: This is a simple fun Halloween song, walk in a circle with the kids, and pretend you are a ghost, a witch, a black cat, and a pumpkin. It's not scary at all, so great for little kids, get the free download on the Dream English Halloween page here.

7. Goodbye Song: This song has a lot of actions, so it is fun for the kids. Starting at 2 or 3 years old, the children can definitely sing the song. It may sound difficult at first, but with repeated listening they can sing it! Check out the Goodbye Song.

8. What's Your Name? This is a really fun and easy name song, with only a few lyrics and a place for the kids to say their own name. Even if they can't quite say, "my name is...." they can at least fill in their own name. Catchy, I have had kids hear it once and start singing it after class to their Mom's! This is one of the few songs from Dream English that is not a free download, but you can check it out here.

Coloring: Coloring is a great activity you can do with young children. Before we start, I always review all the colors, and have the children ask for what color crayon they want by saying, "blue, please" etc. My favorite place on the web for free coloring sheets is, again, MES English.

Lesson Plans: There are so many different ways to teach this age, and it really depends on your situation. Are you teaching with the parents in the class as well, with 3 or 20 kids... all situations are different. I have written some blog posts about teaching this young age, and I will be adding some downloadable lesson plans in the near future. In the meantime, please check out these blog entries:
Teaching 1 to 2 Year Olds English
Sample Lesson Plan 2-4 Year Olds

 

If you like this page and song, please tell a friend!

Also, feel free to email me with any questions!
email: matt (at) dreamenglish.com
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