20 May | Theme: Explore Ink Painting — ShuiMo City
In this session, students continued developing their ink painting project, building on the previous week’s theme. Having gained familiarity with ink, colour, and brushes, they showed growing confidence and control in their artistic expression.
To introduce material diversity, I brought in small twigs and encouraged students to paint using natural objects. This not only sparked curiosity but also helped them explore the connection between art and nature in an intuitive and engaging way.
Students began creatively combining rivers and urban structures, using dots, lines, and Planes to depict unique cityscapes. Some even focused on atmospheric elements, such as capturing the glow of a sunset along the riverbank — a testament to their growing sensitivity to visual storytelling.
In the final part of the lesson, students were guided to integrate Chinese words into their paintings — for example: Shanghai, London, Hello, and River. This activity linked language and image, encouraging them to express meaning across cultures. They also learned about the traditional Chinese art practice of adding an artist’s seal (luòkuǎn), giving their work a meaningful and authentic finishing touch.
5月20日｜主题：水墨城市探索
本节课延续上周的水墨主题，学生们完成了作品的第二和第三部分。在前两次的练习基础上，孩子们在使用墨汁、毛笔和色彩方面逐渐熟练。我还带来了小树枝，引导他们尝试用自然材料作画，提升对材料多样性的认识。
随着技巧提升，学生们的表现愈发自信、自由。他们开始将河流与城市建筑巧妙融合，利用点、线、面创造出独特的城市风景。有的同学甚至加入了夕阳、倒影等氛围细节，展现出对自然美的细腻观察。
课尾，鼓励学生将词语融入画面，例如“上海”、“你好”、“河水”等，并介绍了中国画中的“落款”印章，帮助他们完整一幅具有传统韵味的作品。
3 June | Theme: Starting from “舟” (Boat)
This was the first lesson after the Half Term break. Students returned with high energy and enthusiasm. We began by reviewing the Chinese words for “river (河水)” and “house (房子)”, creating a smooth transition into the new topic.
The core focus of the lesson was introducing Chinese pictographs, one of the oldest writing forms in Chinese. We explored how visual symbols evolve into written characters, helping students understand how meaning and form are connected in Chinese script.
Starting with the character “舟 (boat)”, we examined how the structure of characters can spark imagination. One student observed that the right part of the word “船 (boat) ”looked like a smiling face, as if someone were joyfully sitting in a boat — a creative interpretation that was shared and celebrated in class.
This curiosity naturally extended to other characters. Students eagerly asked about stroke order and the meanings behind their Chinese names. I guided them using visual metaphors and drawings, helping them understand character structure through storytelling and imagery.
The lesson helped students engage with Chinese writing in a hands-on, exploratory way. Writing no longer felt like rote practice — instead, it became a fun, meaningful part of their creative journey.
6月3日｜主题：从“舟”出发
假期后的第一节课，学生们以轻松愉快的心情回到课堂。我带领大家回顾了“河水”“房子”等中文词汇，为新主题做语言铺垫。
本节课引入了中国最古老的文字形式之一——象形字。我们从“舟”字出发，观察其形与义的关系。有同学发现“船”字的一部分像一个笑脸，像是人在船上快乐地坐着，激发了大家的想象力。
学生们的问题逐渐延伸，从“河水”的笔画顺序，到自己中文名字的写法与含义。我通过拟物画图的方式讲解字的结构，帮助他们在视觉与意义之间建立连接。
整个课堂轻松、有趣，孩子们在探索中主动进入汉字的世界，感受到了书写汉字的乐趣。
10 June | Theme: Collage “Boats”
In this lesson, we expanded on the previous week’s theme by introducing collage art as a creative technique. Students used collage to explore different types of boats in Chinese, such as fishing boat (渔船), cruise ship (邮轮), and wooden boat (木舟).
While working, they learned and practiced action-related vocabulary like tear (撕), cut (剪), and draw (画), integrating language learning with artistic expression.
The students demonstrated outstanding creativity. Some used leaves and flowers to create vibrant scenes, such as sisters enjoying a summer day outdoors. Others continued building river-city landscapes from previous lessons. One particularly impressive piece combined a traditional Chinese wooden boat with a British-style boathouse, creating a visually rich and culturally blended artwork.
This session not only reinforced students’ vocabulary and understanding of Chinese characters, but also encouraged intercultural imagination and visual storytelling.
6月10日｜主题：拼贴“船”
延续上节课“船”的主题，本节课引入了拼贴这一艺术方式。通过“渔船”、“邮轮”、“木舟”等中文词汇的学习，学生在动手拼贴过程中深化了对词义的理解。
我还引入了“撕”、“剪”、“画”等动词，让孩子们边操作边学语言。学生们想象力丰富：有的用树叶、花朵拼出姐妹夏日出游的画面；有的则继续构建水岸城市与船只相融合的场景。
其中一位学生将英国船屋与中国木船结合，创作出一幅中西文化融合的作品，令人印象深刻。
这节课不仅加强了词汇记忆，也进一步提升了孩子们用中文表达想法的能力与文化理解力。
Amazing job!