February at Tiger Cub Immersion School was dedicated to exploring “Friendship,” where we talked about what makes a good friend, how to show kindness, and the importance of friendships in our lives.
Throughout the month, we delved into the theme of friendship with numerous stories and activities. We explored the concept through books like “I’m Sticking With You,” “Dream Friends,” “How to Help a Friend,” and “Making a New Friend is Not Difficult,” and these stories helped us to identify kind and unkind behaviors and led to discussions around how to be a good friend and how we can show kindness to others. Students shared personal stories of friendships and participated in role-playing activities to practice empathy and effective communication. In line with our monthly theme and in honor of Valentine’s Day, our students worked on creating paper friendship chains and painted hearts using their handprints. Additionally, students crafted renditions of their best friends using colorful materials, as well as personalized valentines for their families to celebrate the importance of friendship and love in our lives.
In terms of academics this month, our students spent much time honing their language and mathematical skills. From stories such as “Where Are You From?” and “Different But Still Friends,” students learned the names of various places around the world and added new Chinese characters to their vocabulary such as 贝, 友, 从, 王, and 国. In addition, we learned the poem “To Wang Lun” by the famous poet Li Bai, written as a parting gift to his friend. Meanwhile, through stories such as “How Old Are You?” and “What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?,” students reviewed their knowledge of Chinese characters for numbers as well as how to tell time. Students also practiced measuring lengths, composing numbers, and completing patterns.
Many traditional Chinese holidays also took place in February, including the Lantern Festival and the Lichun Festival, which celebrate the end of New Year festivities and the start of spring, respectively. To honor the Lantern Festival, we read short books such as “The Story About Lantern Festival,” crafted paper lanterns. We also worked together to make sweet sticky rice balls from scratch. For the Lichun Festival, students created colorful paper collages and rolled and pressed yellow clay onto paper to depict spring sceneries, and they also made “spring roll” crafts from construction paper in honor of the traditional food consumed around this time of year.
Looking ahead to March, we are excited to start a new exploration of "Spring." Stay tuned for more updates and stories from us!
Students recreated their best friend on paper, utilizing colored pencils and textured materials.
Students traced their hand onto paper and cut it out to create a personalized valentine for Mom and Dad.
Students decorated their crowns with markers and pictures of their best friends.
Students read “How Old Are You?” and practiced writing 两, 四, 五, 六, 七, and 九.
Students learned to tell time on an analog clock.
Students made their own paper lanterns to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
To celebrate the Lantern Festival, students made sweet and sticky rice balls from scratch.
Students rolled and pressed yellow clay into paper to create a scenery of spring in celebration of the start of the Lichun Festival.
Students cut “toppings” and “dumpling skin” out of construction paper and pasted them together to make “spring rolls.”
Students colored and cut out "petals" made out of paper and pasted them down onto a scene depicting a magnolia tree branch.
