A Chinese character is a story.
From its form to its connotation, a Chinese character
is a unique symbol of writing that
It is a vivid cultural element
It is a symbol of national cultural wisdom.
Follow the footsteps of LWS Kindergarten
Join us in the wonderful world of pictographs.
Explore the cultural treasures of Chinese characters together ......
As the children move into the middle and older classes, their interest in Chinese characters grows and they are often seen discussing.
"What is this character?"
"I know this character, it's the third character of my name"
"This character looks so difficult to write."
"This character feels like a tree"
......
The Kindergarten Education Guidelines state that "children should develop an interest in simple marks and word symbols that are common in their lives, and stimulate their interest in the meaning and use of word symbols in books and life situations. "
Chinese characters, one of our symbolic signs in China, contain a vast culture.
Children are curious and eager to explore the Chinese characters in their lives.
The LWS kindergarten follows the children's interests and focuses on the theme of "The Story of Chinese Characters", with questions that link different areas and disciplines and expand horizontally. The whole brain, body, mind and soul are engaged in a full time approach to learning, starting a journey of enquiry into Chinese characters!
1. Be interested in the origins of Chinese characters, know that Chinese characters were invented by the Chinese and feel proud and honoured to be a Chinese.
2. Understand the evolution of Chinese characters: the shape of things - pictographs - Chinese characters, and try to match pictures, pictographs and Chinese characters.
3. Understand the patterns in the production of Chinese characters through observation and analysis and apply and transfer the principle of similarity.
Recognise that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways.
Understanding the evolution of Chinese characters
Chinese characters have evolved over a long period of time and the children were able to experience the mysteries of Chinese characters as they enjoyed the stories, collected and shared the evolution of the pictographs! After learning about the origins of Chinese characters, the children became interested in pictographs and linked the pictures to the pictographs one by one, experiencing the beauty of the images and contexts of Chinese characters.
Write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed.
Spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters.
Write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.
Reading picture books and drawing simple "oracle bones"
"What does this oracle bone read? What does it mean?"
"Teacher, I know this oracle bone character!"
Through the fun reading activity, the oracle bones are no longer just a difficult Chinese character, but a vivid story and a beautiful painting for the children.
Develop their small motor skills so that they can use a range of tools competently, safely and confidently. Suggested tools: pencils for drawing and writing, paintbrushes, scissors, knives, forks and spoons.
Every stroke of Chinese characters is a story.
During the free time activities, the children were eager to try their hands on the pictographs, one by one, with their paintbrushes, experiencing the wisdom of the ancients in every stroke.
They used different materials and toys in each area and worked with their peers to explore different Chinese characters and create more interesting pictographs. They also further appreciate the concrete images and unique and interesting nature of pictographs through hands-on experience and practical work.
The Chinese Character Maze "Addition and Subtraction of Chinese Characters
The ancients also used their imagination to the full when creating their characters. What interesting characters did they create?
Children discover that Chinese characters can be turned into addition and subtraction calculations just like maths.
一-二-三
人-从-众
口-回-品
木-林-森
Personal,social and emotional development
Because children grow up, we think a child's purpose is to grow up. But a child's purpose is to be a child.
It is more important to become the child first than to focus on the child's development.
"The EYFS puts together the domains of personal, social and emotional development, which also reveal to us that the most important thing is to "become oneself, to become a child".
The programme moves from solitary play to parallel play, to joint play and finally to cooperative play, ultimately helping children to integrate into cooperation, a process in which they build relationships.
From "solo play" to "cooperative play"
During the group activity on the Oracle, each child has a chance to speak.
When one person speaks, the others listen and the children learn to listen.
When there is a problem, they communicate and discuss it on their own, learning to negotiate and work together.
This is the development of skills and learning qualities that are not achieved in traditional teaching, where the teacher teaches the children to listen.
Communication and Language
Children at the expected level of development will:
Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary;
Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate;
Express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support from their teacher.
Making 'My First Chinese Character Book'
In this themed activity, the children created, made and presented 'My First Chinese Character Book'.
Based on children's interests and prior experiences, this activity is a play and learning activity that uses shapes and words to convey messages, express feelings and construct pre-writing experiences to those around them through sensory perception, drawing, scribbling and simulating the use of words or symbols.
Once children have mastered their own system of 'words' or 'symbols', it is inevitable that they will use them to express their perceptions, thoughts and feelings. This makes 'writing' the most challenging and fulfilling act of pre-writing.
The LWS Nursery presents the children's pre-writing work in a variety of ways, allowing them to enjoy, share, imitate and learn from each other, and to stimulate their desire to recreate.
Expressive Arts and Design
Listen attentively, move to and talk about music, expressing their feelings and responses.
Watch and talk about dance and performance art, expressing their feelings and responses.
This thematic activity enabled the children to gain a deeper understanding of the origins of Chinese characters, to feel the charm of language and writing, and to develop a strong interest in Chinese characters.
The children's study habits such as concentration, persistence and planning demonstrated in the activity will help them to be better equipped for their new learning tasks when they enter primary school and will benefit them for life.
This activity fully respects the laws of children's physical and mental development and aims to develop the core experience of children's word awareness. With the help of playful, contextual and life-like means to stimulate children's interest in symbols and words, this activity allows children to gain that word re-recognition is the result of natural acquisition and to accumulate pre-writing and pre-reading experiences in a subtle way.
