Family Guide — Session 19: My Body, Part 2

A one-page guide for parents, after-school caregivers, or co-teachers. Plain English. No teaching experience required.

What we learned today

Your child can now name seven parts of the body in Arabic:

They also met today's letter — ص (sad) — a strong, deep "S" sound. It's the first letter in صَدر (sadr, chest), so we put a hand on our chest every time we say it.

Why this matters

Body words are the second-most-used vocabulary in a child's life (right after food). Your kid will say my hand hurts, my belly is full, my foot is stuck in the shoe roughly forty times a week. If even one of those moments happens in Arabic, the language stops being a "class thing" and starts being a "real life thing." That's the whole game.

We also taught both يَد (the formal/written word for hand) and إيد (what your Lebanese teta actually says). Kids can hold both. They don't get confused — they get bilingual within Arabic.

What to do this evening (3 minutes total)

You don't need to drill or quiz. Just do these three tiny things:

1. At bath time or pajamas, point and say:

"وين الـبَطن؟" (Wayn al-batn? = "Where's the belly?")

They point. You cheer. Try رِجل, قَدَم, إيد.

2. When they get a bump or scrape, ask in Arabic:

"شو صار؟ وين بيوجعك؟" (Shu sar? Wayn byiwja'ak? = "What happened? Where does it hurt?")

Let them answer with one Arabic body word. That's a win.

3. At bedtime, put your hand on their chest and say:

"هَيدا الـقَلب." (Hayda al-qalb = "This is the heart.")

Quiet, slow, no quiz. Just the word and a touch.

What to do this week (5 minutes total)

Pick one of these:

• Play "Simon Says" in Arabic. Touch your batn! Touch your qadam! Touch your qalb! Mix in English body parts to keep it silly.
• Sing the head-shoulders-knees-and-toes song with the new words swapped in. It doesn't have to rhyme. Kids don't care.
• Doctor game. Your child is the doctor. A stuffed animal has a hurt رِجل. They have to say which part hurts in Arabic before they can "heal" it.
• Body trace. Lay down a big piece of paper. Trace your child. Label the parts in Arabic together with a marker. Hang it on a door for the week.

If you don't know Arabic yourself

You've got this. Body words are the easiest Arabic vocabulary to use, because you can always just point.

• Point first, word second. If you can't remember qadam, point at the foot and check the card. Your kid will often remember before you do — let them.
• The "h" in batn is silent in fast speech. It sounds almost like "batn" with a soft ending. Don't overthink it.
• You're allowed to use English in the same sentence. "Go wash your yad before dinner" is real bilingual parenting. It's not cheating.

If you're a heritage Arabic speaker

• Use whichever dialect is yours. If your family says إيد for hand and never يَد, that's perfect — use إيد at home. Your child will meet يَد in writing and reading at school.
• Don't skip ص. Many heritage kids can say the sad sound but have never seen the letter. Point it out in صَدر, in store signs, on menus. Reading is where heritage kids deserve extra attention.
• Body words are a great correction-free zone. If they say qalib instead of qalb, just say the word back correctly in your next sentence. No "say it again." Just model and move on.

What's coming next session

Session 20: How I Feel (كيف حالي) — Your child learns to say happy, sad, tired, hungry, and thirsty in Arabic, plus the letter ض (dad) — the famous letter Arabic is named after.

Materials needed: nothing new. Just bring this folder.

Questions or struggles?

Email: dabagh_safaa@smc.edu Or visit: https://learnwithoutwalls.com

Yalla Arabic · Family Guide · Session 19