Whatever the age, women have always shown more strength than we could have imagined: they can be a wonderful wife, pretty and intelligent, be diligent and thrifty in their management of their household. She can be a filial daughter, who can attend to and please her parents. Whether they are full-time mothers or working women, they deserve to be respected and recognised for whatever life choices they make.
It's International Women's Day again, and Ardingly College Zhongshan(Kindergarten) held a special family field day to let children understand the meaning behind each holiday from an early age, and to pay tribute to the ordinary, great and indispensable "female power" in every family.
A Field Day for
Dads and Kids Only
"Today, Dads their children join and compete together, and all our Mums needed to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the competition!" Unlike a normal Field Day, Ms. Hannah, the Chinese Head of Early Years, and Mr. Colby, the International Head of Lower School, made it clear in their speeches that the event was intended to be a special tribute to the dedication of the mothers.
After the rousing entrance, all that was needed was a warm-up exercise to invigorate the day! Whether it was the Monkey Dance or Baby Shark, the enthusiastic smiles and dance moves were proof of how much parents and children were looking forward to the games!
As a whistle blew across the playground, the dads led the children into a quick and exciting adventure. The physical games, crafted by our teachers, were designed to work on the children's gross motor development, with many sessions designed for Dads to show off their skills and encourage them to get more involved.
After a few competitions, the playground seemed to be filled with more boisterous shouts: a test of tacit understanding, skill and strength was waiting for all the Dads to join us! Unlike the leisurely time between parents and children, the dads' competition was obviously more dashing and exciting.
As the Dads took their places, the "Drumming" and "Tug of War" competitions showed the power of unity and the valuable sense of team honour, and attracted a group of children who were watching the competition to give it a try. We are sure this special competition brought a lot of inspiration and motivation to the children!
There was also the final moment of awarding, which was one of the most anticipated parts of the day. The Homeroom Teachers of each class, both Chinese and International, presented the children with medals symbolising recognition for the bravery, solidarity, resilience and hard work they had shown today! We think that this scene will be remembered by the children for many years to come, and will even support them in their next stage of growth.
Today You are
All Leading Ladies
on Stage
As the absolute protagonists of the day, Mothers will be surprised by more than just a "relaxing" arrangement, as the springtime and elegant floral activities were even more dazzling and exquisite. Moving indoors, Mothers chose to participate in the Flower Arrangement, sharing the fragrance of spring with the whole world, or you could get involved in the dried flower creation, expressing their hopes for the future through the language of flower making.
In a blink of an eye, the "First Women's Day and Family Field Day" came to a successful close, but what is still fresh in everyone's mind is the pure smiles of the Mothers who were at the heart of the day. While the world has given them many labels, they still managed to embrace the world with gentleness, grace, honesty, resilience, strength and courage, and enthusiastic care for their families.
Just like "Female Power" which cannot easily be defined, ACZS(Kindergarten) also hopes that our children will fully understand the uniqueness of them as an individual and grow up without being defined by gender or bound by labels, to be their own sun and bloom their own flowers!
