Chinese Evening- Rolling with the punches

I had been planning our "Moving On" ceremony for the end of the school year for months, when parents let me know that 4 out of my 6 oldest children would be leaving early for vacation (one of them 4 weeks early!). It would be very tricky to honor the "graduates" if only 2 of them were present at the end of the year! So I scratched that plan, and I found another way of honoring their confidence and skill before they all move on.

The oldest children are putting together a performance for a "Chinese Evening". The whole school will be decorated with red lanterns and Chinese characters! The whole idea started with the intention of having them put on a play for their younger peers. Out of several choices, they chose the book "Tiki Tiki Tembo" to base the play on. And little by little, the idea grew until we now have a performance in 5 acts!

We will have the "Chinese Evening" on a Saturday, from 4-6 pm. It will also serve as our first fund raiser for the school (we are planning on purchasing a dish washer for our kitchen, and some more outdoor play equipment.)

The five acts of the performance:

1) The two oldest girls will give a short presentation on some basic facts about China (they are independently preparing their poster to go along with it)

2) One of the boys will teach the audience how to count from 1-10 in Chinese (with big flash cards that he is making, that have the numerals 1-10 on one side, and the Chinese symbols for 1-10 on the other)

3) Two boys will do a short Chinese inspired dance

4) The children who are taking violin lessons after school will do a demonstration of how to stand, hold, and play notes on the violin.

5) All the oldest children will present the play "Tiki Tiki Tembo". They have been painting the scenery for the play in the mornings, and practicing their lines and blocking in the afternoons. It has been such fun!

The play will include a song in the middle from the movie "Big Bird In China", which is my niece's and mother's favorite movie to watch together. The clip is unbearably cute, and now to have all the children in the class singing it is even more so! Here it is:



For the fund raising part: We will be selling popcorn, baked goods (that the children will bake at school during the week), school stickers, and we are having a raffle for which lots of parents have donated prizes and teachers have donated baby sitting services.

It will be the first event of its kind at our school and I'm really excited about it!

PS. Here's a post from NAMC Training Center with some really nice ideas for "Moving On" ceremonies.