Kindergarten Revel in Celebrating Dragon Boat Festival

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By WISS Admin | June 8, 2009

On May 28 children and staff in the WISS Early Childhood Program joined together in the Community Room to mark the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar in China.

Juliet Zhu, Early Childhood Chinese Coordinator, unveiled the celebration by bringing festive ornaments for the students to smell and feel, including Artemisia, calamus and fragrant silk pouches Chinese people use to dispel mosquitoes, flies and evil spirits in this season. Then another Chinese teacher Jennifer Li told of the origin of the festival through an enchanting story, which was in commemoration of the patriotic minister Qu Yuan in the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC).

The celebration moved on to a lively Q&A session which encouraged the children to inquire into zong zi, the special rice dumplings consumed on the day. They asked questions such as “Why does zong zi have this shape?” “Why is it covered with string?”, “Why is it green?” With all the questions resolved, the zong zi maven, Mary Tan from Nursery team, took the stage by demonstrating how to artistically wrap up zong zi in mere minutes. Two of the kindergarten students and Primary Principal Mrs. Siggs took on the challenge to learn zong zi making from Ms.Tan. After that, the students were enthusiastic about sharing zong zi of different flavors and bamboo leaf tea with their fellow classmates. The celebration reached its zenith when a pretend yet exhilarating dragon boat race was kicked off between classes in each grade, and then a fierce staff competition.

This joyful but illuminating celebration is just another testimony to WISS’s continuing effort to promote its well-rounded Chinese Language and Culture program which is incorporated in its International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. “It’s apparent that our students’ curiosity into Chinese traditions has been aroused through this kind of fun activities. I’m pleased to see they embody the IB learner profile, such as being risk takers while trying zong zi, which they may have never tasted before, as well as open-minded, while embracing the Chinese culture,” said Zhu.