A Review of the Mid-Autumn Festival Activities at Hiba Academy Hangzhou (Nursery)

In this poetic season, children and parents of Hiba Academy Hangzhou (Nursery) spent an unforgettable Mid-Autumn Festival together. To help the children better understand and inherit China's excellent traditional culture, they carefully planned a series of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration activities, helping the children to appreciate ancient charm, admire autumn scenery, attend garden tours and celebrate the festival. 

How do children understand the Mid-Autumn Festival with the moon, Chang'e, the Jade Rabbit and mooncakes? Let's look back at how Huili's children celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival. 

On the day of the event, a story woven with light and shadow puppet play unveiled the Mid-Autumn Festival. The multifunctional classroom was filled with joy and laughter as children and parents enjoyed the wonderful shadow puppet show together. Shadow puppetry is an ancient Chinese folk art that brings endless surprises to children through changes in light and shadow. With their eyes wide open, the children watched characters like Chang'e, the Jade Rabbit and Hou Yi jump and tumble on the screen, feeling the charm of traditional culture. 

Strolling to the little wooden house, a unique lantern riddle guessing activity was underway. Colourful lanterns adorned the small wooden house, and children and parents solved lantern riddles together, immersing themselves in the festive atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival. When they solved the riddles correctly, the children cheered and smiled with joy. 

In the Atelier, teachers, pupils and parents participated together in making glutinous rice cakes. Glutinous rice cake are a traditional Mid-Autumn Festival delicacy symbolising reunion and happiness. The children pounded the glutinous rice with their own hands and moulded it into round cakes, experiencing the joy of labour while deepening the bond with their parents. 

In the reading area, an activity of face painting with floral designs attracted many parents and children. Floral face painting is an ancient Chinese women's facial decoration symbolising beauty and auspiciousness. The children had floral designs painted on their foreheads, as if they had travelled back in time to the poetic ancient era. 

In EY2A's classroom, the children tasted delicious mooncakes. Various mooncakes filled the table, and as the children tasted them, they learned about the mooncake-making process and the different flavours. They also listened to the teacher's stories about mooncakes, gaining insight into their cultural significance. The sweetness of the mooncakes lingered in their mouths, with each bite embodying the best expression of family love and reunion. 

In EY2B's classroom, children and parents made rabbit lanterns together. Under the teacher's guidance, they carefully folded and pasted the paper to create adorable rabbit lanterns. The rabbit lanterns became lifelike in the children's skilful hands, and when lit, it seemed as if little rabbits were hopping around the classroom. This activity not only enhanced the children's hands-on skills but also added a touch of festive fun. 

In EY2C's classroom, the children not only made osmanthus honey but also tasted their own creations. During the making process, the children learned about the craft of osmanthus honey and appreciated nature's gifts. They also played a rabbit bowling game with their parents, creating a lively atmosphere filled with laughter. This simple game not only added fun to the event but also promoted the children's motor coordination skills. 

This Mid-Autumn Festival activity allowed children to thoroughly experience the cultural connotations of the Mid-Autumn Festival through various activities and helped enhance parent-child emotional exchanges. Immersed in traditional culture, the children gained knowledge and experienced the charm of art and the joy of the festival. We hope that such activities can leave each child with beautiful and unforgettable childhood memories. 

Let us look forward to the next traditional cultural journey at Hiba Academy Hangzhou (Nursery), accompanying the children in their growth, inheriting the excellent culture of the Chinese nation, and sowing hope for a beautiful future.