Monday, September 16, 2019

Third Grade Celebrates the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival





Third Grade launched our study of China learning about and celebrating one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture – The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival!  Jeanne and Felix gave presentations about the importance of the holiday, as well as its practices and unique features.  We learned many facts about the holiday and traditional customs as well as special foods that Chinese people prepare and eat.  We also learned about mooncakes which are a special pastry with a lotus seed filling (and if you're lucky - a whole egg yolk!)   


On Friday, we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival by making lanterns and eating treats in the shape of the moon. All of our resource teachers participated and guided students in small groups to make beautiful and colorful lanterns.  We decorated glass lanterns and also made paper lanterns to decorate our classroom and hallways.  We had a great time working with many different types of papers and materials to make our lanterns bright, sparkly, and vibrant. 



Lastly, we had the opportunity to taste mooncakes.  Students were so excited to try a new food.  Before we tasted it, we talked about how to approach and respond to a food whether we liked it or not, especially when it is from a culture different than one’s own.   Student reactions ranged “It’s really good”  to “It’s interesting,”  to “It wasn’t my favorite.”   Some kids had tried all the different mooncake varieties, while others had seconds of a flavor they liked.    This month, we’ll continue to study the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival and explore its many fun and interesting practices.  

No comments:

Post a Comment