News / Nunn Road / 2019 / September 2019

We just celebrated our Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon-cake Festival with the children at Nania. I hope you enjoyed the mooncakes that children made for you.

In the time leading up to this celebration, the children picked the ‘blue flowers’ in the garden during their playtime. They passed the flowers to Auntie Janet who washed and kept them aside. The flowers were later processed into blue food dye. At the same time, green food dye was obtained from pandan leaves. 

Two days before the celebration, we brought the children to the kitchen to see the food dye-making processes carried out by the Auntie Janet.

During one of the morning artistic activities, the children made and coloured their own lanterns.  The 5 and 6-year-old children used their nimble fingers to make chain strings for use as handles for the lanterns.

On the morning of the celebration, the children gathered in the dining area to make their own moon cakes consisting of 1 blue and 1 green mooncake.

First, they flattened the mooncake skin with their hands and then placed the lotus paste ball in the middle.  Then, the skin is wrapped round the paste and the mixture was rolled into a ball again.  Lastly, they placed the rounded mixture into a moon-cake mould and pressed it till it fitted perfectly into the mould. The moon-cakes were then placed taken out of the mould and put into the fridge to set. The same process was repeated for the other coloured mooncake.

During our snack time, we gathered both classes in the dining hall. We teachers enacted a simple play by acting out the meaning behind this celebration i.e. the roundness of the moon symbolizes the unity of a family when everyone gathers happily together to eat the delicious moon-cakes and to drink tea.

We ended the play with a moon-cake festival song and enjoyed eating the homemade mooncakes with the children. These mooncakes had been made a day before by the teachers and kept in the fridge to set.

In the afternoon, the children with the teacher’s help packed the beautifully set mooncakes the children had made. When they went home, each child was given that box of mooncakes together with their handmade lantern to take home. During the story time, I told the children the legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival. They heard about Hou Yi and Chang Er.

  

  

   

  

 Teacher Ang and I attended the 1^st Waldorf Early Childhood Conference last week. Junko sensei and her husband, Mr. Ong were among the keynote speakers who shared their stories and insights to the kindergarten teachers in attendance. I was very moved to meet so many teachers who strive to meet children’s needs and guide them into this world that is full with wonder. When we were practicing the Eurythmy and singing together, I felt grateful that we can work as a team to share our experiences.

The children are practising songs and poems for the coming Harvest Festival. The big koko and jiejie in the class lead the younger ones during practices in our morning ring time.

In Nania, we celebrate Harvest Festival to thank Mother Nature for the sun, rain and wind.  Through the poems and songs, the children express their gratefulness for the food on their plates and to the farmers who work hard to grow the crops as well as to their parents who lovingly prepare food for them.

We look forward to seeing you and your family on the 4^th of October (Friday). Please be punctual.

                                                                                                         Teacher Thian