Texas Southern University Confucius Institute successfully held Chinese cultural experience activities in Lucille Gregg primary school .

May 4, 2017

May 4, at the invitation of Lucille Gregg Primary School, Prof. Yi Xiao, Dean of the Confucius Institute at Texas, Southern University along with all the Chinese volunteers organised a large Chinese cultural experience activity there .Near 500 students from kindergarten to fifth grade participated in the event.

In accordance with the cognitive styles of different age groups, the Chinese volunteers set up four booths of different cultural activities including colouring, Chinese martial arts, paper cutting and Chinese painting and calligraphy .

With rich experience of teaching in American primary schools ,volunteers Mingchi Zhang, Tianxuan Bai, Yuanjing Liu designed a colouring activity for pre-kindergarten students for these children are too small to do some complicated activities. After watching a video of Chinese Zodiac, the students are given a picture of zodiac animals to color.

Volunteer Zhijie Ren decided to incorporate the element of panda in teaching martial arts. Despite the high temperature, he put on panda costume and showed martial arts to the students. Attracted by the martial arts, the students of second and third grades got quite soon and imitate the moves of Ren.

In the same area, volunteer Yabao Wang was responsible in paper-cutting activity. She first led the students to read the Chinese characters of some animals and guided them to find the similarities and differences between Chinese phonetic system and English one. Subsequently, she took the second and third grade primary school students to draw and cut out the small animals on the paper.

To welcome the arrival of Mother's Day, volunteers Yawen Cao, Chenxi Du incorporated the theme of Mothers’ Day in their Chinese painting section by asking the fourth and fifth grade children to draw something with brush for their mothers . In order to stimulate their interests, they chose to tell a classic Chinese story of the “where does the little tadpole find her mother” and taught the students to draw with ink and brush.

This event is the first time that Chinese culture has entered the school and these lively activities with Chinese characteristics were welcomed much by the children. After experiencing, the children have stayed around the teachers to inquire about China and posed for pictures with them.

After witnessing a variety of Chinese activities, Ms. Yamamoto, Vice-Chancellor of Lucille Gregg took pictures with the people from Texas Southern University Confucius Institute and thanked them for bringing them such a big cultural feast. In addition, the school principal David Jackson also expressed an interest in Chinese language and culture and talked with Xiao Yi, the director of Texas Southern University Confucius Institute about cooperation in the next semester.

This shows that Texas Southern University Confucius Institute has made some move in establishing a connection in the community.