January at Tiger Cub Immersion School was an exciting journey through the world of "Clothing" that also culminated in a vibrant celebration of the Chinese New Year.
Throughout January, students delved into the world of clothing, learning about its history, functions, and the different types that we wear today. We read a variety of engaging books, such as "Little Owl’s Orange Scarf," "Can't Take It Off," "My Dress," and "Seven Frogs Wearing New Clothes." These stories sparked lively discussions in the classroom about the purposes and designs of various garments, knowledge which we put to use in activities such as identifying different clothing items and matching them to the correct part of the body. Some of our hands-on activities this month included creating colorful designs on dresses and traditional Tang suits, matching bears to their themed clothing, and "weaving" sweaters for paper bears. Students also had the chance to practice weaving on a loom, turning colorful yarn into a beautiful tapestry.
On the academic side, our students worked hard this month learning new Chinese characters and vocabulary words. From various stories such as “Whose Gloves Are These?", "Joseph Has an Old Coat," and “Putting on Clothes” students learned to read and write characters such as 衣, 子, 我, 了, 手, and 上, which they also practiced using to make sentences. In addition, our students also worked on their mathematics skills. They practiced measuring lengths of various articles of clothing using Unifix cubes, as well as learning to compose numbers in several ways to make larger numbers.
As we approached the Lunar New Year, the excitement in our classrooms was palpable. In honor of the festivities, we read numerous books on the topic, including "Winnie's Chinese New Year," "Grinding Tofu - The Chinese Flavors of the Fox Family," and "Ten Frogs Celebrate the New Year." Students also learned traditional poems and made crafts featuring symbols of the New Year, such as fish for abundance and the character “福” for fortune, as well as snake-themed crafts in honor of the new Zodiac animal this year. And of course, the highlight of the month was our Chinese New Year Festival held at the end of the month, where we invited families to join us at the school for a wonderful celebration featuring collaborative hands-on activities for parents and their children.
Looking ahead to February, we are excited to explore the theme of "Friendship." Stay tuned for more updates and stories from our classrooms!
Students dipped cotton swabs in watercolor paint and made colorful designs onto a tissue folded in the shape of a dress.
First, students colored and cut out a bear design. Then, they selected colored strips of paper and “wove” a sweater for the bear to wear.
Students learned how to weave using a loom. As a collaborative project, students took turns weaving the colorful yarn into a tapestry.
Students read “Whose Gloves Are These?” and learned to recognize and write Chinese characters such as 衣 (clothing) and 子 (child).
Students measured the length of a sock using Unifix cubes.
Students pieced together various shapes of colored paper to form the character 福 (fortune) on a red diamond background while also adding on the face of a snake to the character.
Students cut and glued together a fish, a symbol of prosperity as the word for fish (鱼, pronounced yú) is homophonous with the word for abundance (余).
Using pompoms, paint, and markers, students designed their own Tang suits, a traditional style of garment worn in ancient China.
Students made a paper chain snake, connecting loops of paper together to form the body and adding details to the face.
On the eve of Chinese New Year, we invited families to join us in the school for a festive celebration.
