“Together we are a family
A loving family
We meet by fate
We cherish by the heart
Don’t let dark clouds cover our eyes
Together we are a family
A loving family
Happiness should be shared
Difficulty endured together
Stay with each other forever”
As the moving melody sounded, the familiar faces of the children appeared on the screen. In this moment, we ushered in the most special class of this semester – the online Closing Ceremony. Although the students were spread across Shanghai, when they received the blessings from the teachers, their eyes were filled with surprise, and they were touched…
On the first day of this semester, when the children dressed up and excitedly entered the campus, everyone was full of longing for the new semester ahead. They were hoping to make great progress, when suddenly the pandemic brought a “big shift” to everyone. The enthusiastic interactions and discussions among the teachers and students in the spacious classrooms suddenly changed to lessons on a small computer screen. Although separated by distance, our teachers were still determined to lead the children to finding their better selves!
What do you do when you feel bored at home? Look at how we spent our time inside!
The plan for the day starts in the morning. Our “Morning Talent Show”, involving activities such as singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, doing experiments, and telling stories and jokes, welcomed the new day. These fabulous shows were so much fun that the children did not want to leave the classroom!
Don’t be a Couch Potato during the lockdowns! In the online lessons, the PE teacher became fitness expert “Liu Genghong”, leading the children to do various home sports and to work up a real sweat!
Strive to be an excellent housework expert. When parents were struggling with all kinds of trivial chores, could warm-hearted children simply stand by and watch? No. They quickly ‘rolled up their sleeves’ and helped to do housework. As you can see, the little housework experts appeared like ‘mushrooms after the rain’!
No matter how scarce supplies became, it could not impact the foodie-at-heart. “Hey! My tomato salad looks tempting, right?” “I ate the noodles I cooked myself today, and they were delicious!” “That milk tea with bubbles I made was absolutely amazing! I’ll let you try it next time!” The children proudly displayed their latest new food creations on their screens. How wonderful it was to eat the fruits of our labour in the kitchen!
“Little Masters of Life” helped students to unlock different life skills. “Do you feel that life is not exciting enough?” We joined “Online CCAs” and followed our little lecturers to fold flower baskets, create rabbits, make cookies, bake egg tarts, rustle up some muffins, mix a tomato salad, and do all kinds of science experiments. It was even more interesting than offline CCAs!
With all these efforts, teachers and students not only enriched their home lives, but also shortened the ‘distance’ between them. Although we have been separated from each other because of the pandemic, our hearts became loser and closer. This was called “small luck” during home learning throughout this special period of the pandemic!
Embracing yourself, loving families
“Mom and dad, you worked hard! Let me give you a massage!” “Mom, I’m very strong. Let me help you carry the food packages in the future!” “Brother, I’ve finished my homework, let’s build something with Lego together!” Although the things we have done may not seem like a big deal, they show how deeply we love each other. Staying at home during the pandemic was also a rare opportunity for us to spend good, quality time with our families, every single day.
“Thinking of a mother’s benevolent eyes and silver strands of hair, wondering children dreamt about how to reward their mother’s love.” As Mother’s Day was approaching, students carefully prepared gifts for their mothers. The “Egg Guard” action helped children learn how difficult it is to be pregnant for nine months. Making Mother’s Day vouchers served to treat mothers like queens. Preparing a delicious meal for them helped to express our love for them, and all these “sweet bombs” made mothers feel warm and loved.
Father’s Day arrived during the period of the summer solstice. Our creative students gave their ‘heroes in their heart’ an exclusive certificate and a loving hug. Hearing “Dad, thank you for your hard work! I love you!” and receiving a small and practical fan made by their child really cooled off fathers during summer heat.
Every loving moment was recorded, and every scene of loving memories was preserved. The children listened attentively and learned to care, understand and share.
Staying at home during the pandemic cannot stop children’s thirst for knowledge and curiosity about the unknown world!
Through solar calendar activities such as the Qingming Festival, Corn Rain Festival, Beginning of Summer and the Summer Solstice, the students not only learned about the origin and customs of the solar calendar events, but also celebrated traditional events by making handicrafts, food and paintings, all the while taking in traditional Chinese culture.
The children actively participated in a series of Chinese cultural activities such as the reading of the Confucian Analects and then roleplaying these stories whilst accumulating a lot of knowledge about the Analects, all of which can be put into practice in our daily lives.
On Junior High School Experience Day, students conducted interesting experiments and various activities. They were full of expectations for their junior high school life after experiencing special subjects such as geography, chemistry, design & technology (engineering design), computer science and general science classes.
These colourful activities were deeply interesting for our young learners. In addition to solidifying their own subject foundations, the students also enjoyed accumulating, expanding, experiencing, expressing, and moving forward on their amazing journey of learning!
As studying at home during the pandemic made it impossible to “walk ten thousand steps”, we “read ten thousand books”. The ‘worlds’ experienced in books were equally wonderful, engaging and vivid.
Self-reading: On a warm afternoon, in a quiet corner of the house, with a book that you love, let time flow freely and gently. Turn the pages of the book with your fingertips. It is an intersection of the heart and knowledge. Students kept reading every day and recorded their progress in their Chinese “Reading Passbook” and English “Reading Journal”, which not only increased their knowledge, but also allowed them to exchange reading rewards for green cards from the teachers.
Reading Club: On a quiet night, under the warm light, read a book with your family; let happiness and laughter accompany us as we relax. Or, invite three or five friends to read a book together, exchange reading notes, and travel together in the world of books!
Classroom Book Sharing: In Chinese and English classes, teachers encouraged everyone to share their favorite books through presentations, which not only exercised their oral expression, but also encouraged them to share knowledge. After a semester of practicing and perseverance, the students gained a lot!
We look forward to growth, because we desire the beauty of growth;
Sometimes we refuse to grow, because we fear growing pains.
Growth is the contradictory heart intertwined with longing and fear, but it is still needed to move forward. Growth is accompanied with bitterness, such as when a cocoon breaks so that a butterfly can emerge, or the rebirth of the Phoenix.
Inherit the revolutionary spirit and cherish the good times. We put on red scarves and fearlessly announce, “I joined the Chinese Young Pioneers!”
The Star of the Cloud Classroom encouraged every effort and progress of the students, and helped them to shine with confidence on the podium.
As little volunteers, we contributed to but also harvested growth. We were willing to become volunteers, share our own experiences, resolve the worries of our younger brothers and sisters, and use fireflies to gather the glimmer of light.
At the online birthday party, a small milestone in life, students presented online performances to wish themselves a high-spirited growth.
Looking back on the transformations that occurred throughout the semester, every challenge, effort, innovation and growth in our students was worth seeing. For the graduation ceremony, the teachers carefully prepared an interesting awards session based on the growth and progress of each child. Each certificate was full of teachers’ earnest expectations and the warmth of encouragement. The faces of the children were filled with happy smiles. This exclusive certificate bore witness to the children’s growth in the pandemic period. They love life, love their family, love learning, and love reading… Perhaps, this is the best praise for life and the most beautiful interpretation of growth! Goodbye to the ignorant self! Goodbye to the willful self! Goodbye to the playful self! The future is full of infinite possibilities – bravely pursue your dreams and embrace your better self!
