The mission: Chinese = fun
Once upon a time, I was looking for fun stuff in Chinese for my kids. I wanted my kids to have fun with Chinese. To have encounters with Chinese of the enjoyable kind. To know about Christmas as well as 中秋节, Romeo and Juliet as well as 梁山伯与祝英台. To embrace both the language and the culture.
I totally shudder at the idea that Chinese equates to spelling, composition, tuition and all things torturous. It’s a sure-fire way to dislike Chinese. It’s no wonder many would ditch it when school is over.
华文 = 听写+ 作文 + 补习 + 。。。
悲哉！！
The obstacle: Tough finding ready-to-go Chinese fun
However, obstacles abound for my fun-with-Chinese mission. It didn’t take me long to realise this was akin to mission impossible. Toys, games, cartoons, movies, attractions, activities …. they were awash in English. It wasn’t that I was looking at only educational choices. In fact, I would consider a game just because the packaging had Chinese words. Yup, I wanted that badly for my kids to associate Chinese with fun. However, off-the-shelf fun stuff proved elusive. Over the years, except for books and songs, the hunt netted only a handful of games and cartoons .
This crazy mama decided to have a go at creating fun stuff herself. Behold her creation.
Kid enjoyed solving it. Mama enjoyed creating it. But, the then frazzled, time-starved mama didn’t manage to find enough hours in the day to produce another. Fortunately, there were other fun stuff I managed to call upon to continue with the mission. Fun which I didn’t have to create.
The light bulb: This site
Fast forward many, many years. The kids are grown and I have time to twiddle my thumbs. It was while twiddling the said thumbs when a light bulb went off. Why not create Chinese crossword puzzles and put them on the web for other kids? For parents too. Chinese resources are always welcome, right? Especially fun ones which don't require one to create.
Hmmmm … how to up the fun quotient? Aha! How about stickers? Yup, yup, no writing. Instead, stick the answers into the puzzle grid. And, so is born stiXzzle. The game of Chinese crossword puzzles with stickers.
With stiXzzle, I hope, this site will make a difference - no matter how teeny-weeny, itsy-bitsy - for kids to have fun encounters with Chinese.
Huh? That’s all? Yes, that’s all. Because when kids have fun, interest ensues. Motivation comes next. Then, magic can happen. Vocabulary grows. Reading becomes more interesting. Less torture, more joy. Need I say more?
The mission: Accomplished!
And, oh, my kids did have fun with Chinese. Beyond academic rigors, Chinese has been and still is part and parcel of their daily lives. Bonding over WeChat stickers. Shredding their vocal cords with KTV Mando-pop. Following 梦想的声音 (Sound of My Dream). And, oh, the fun way played a big part in their As for Chinese, but that’s another story.
Here’s to fun with Chinese! Enjoy!