Celebrating Respect & Gratitude: Chinese New Year at Bethesda (Depot Walk) Kindergarten
When Chinese New Year comes, the children of Bethesda (Depot Walk) Kindergarten will greet their parents, elders and visitors with the same blessing other children have also been taught throughout the country. But behind their greeting is a chance to share God’s blessings as well.
For the preceding two and a half weeks, the children would have learnt about respect and gratitude regardless of race and religion: why that is important in the family and how to show it. The celebration of Chinese New Year is the perfect occasion to emphasise these values.
Mrs Chan Lai Youk, the Principal, described how activities ranging from group talk, role-play, art, story-telling and music energise the Centre during this time and is part of the Christian preschool education that they provide. Through it all teachers and children explore and express the true spirit of Chinese New Year. It is a time to reflect on God’s command to us to honour and respect our elders as in Lev 19:32: You shall rise before the aged, and defer to the old; and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
The direct connection between fearing God and respecting our elders in the same breath is literally breath-taking!
Since the most common ritual during Chinese New Year is the presentation of two oranges with a bow to parents and grandparents, an art project is the decoration of a brown paper bag with an appropriate greeting. Two oranges and a tract will be placed in it, ready for the big day.
Children, including those of other races, role-play the offering of oranges and reciting a blessing in Chinese and English. The cross-cultural sharing comes very naturally to them and parents appreciate such exposure.
It is quite obvious that while the occasion for the learning and craft work might be Chinese New Year, what is taught is not just cultural practice. In a subtle way the value of respect is infused through the expression of gratitude. When we are grateful for something we will respect it. The children learn this intuitively in this activity and there is no barrier for children of other races to participate as enthusiastically as the Chinese children.
In K1, Teacher Sheila leads her children in making a paper orange ornament with leaves that carry words of thanksgiving.
Bethesda (Depot Walk) Kindergarten takes God’s word seriously. It translates it into actionable, concrete behaviours and activities accessible to preschoolers.
Behind their curriculum is their list of core values, embodied in the acronym, H.E.A.R.T. These are: Helpfulness, Empathy, Appreciation, Respect and Truthfulness. These values are reflected in all that they do, teach and learn and is part of the Christian preschool education they receive.
Right from Playgroup, children are taught to respond in obedience for starting with teachers, it extends to God. Where there is bullying among the children, the teacher reminds them that every person is made by God who loves them, no matter how weak, slow or fearful they are. When a meal is especially good, they are encouraged to thank the cook. So in big and small ways, the children are made aware of the presence of God among them.
Suffice to say, when their day at school begins with singing their praise and thankfulness to God, it is perfectly natural for them to bring the Creator in when they talk about their bodies, the plants they see around them, and the caterpillar that turns into a butterfly. These children are mini but the wonder and awe they share is mighty.
Parents who believe in God will appreciate the freedom with which teachers speak of Him. When children learn from their earliest years that there is a God who cares for them and who wants them to behave in certain good ways, a seed is sown in their hearts.
The Christian, Muslim or Hindu understands that there is a connection between acknowledging an unseen Power to whom we are answerable and the lives we are to lead. For this reason the Centre receives enrolments from all racial groups and has not encountered any resistance or reservations to their God-centred curriculum and environment.
So let us enter Chinese New Year with the blessings of the children of Bethesda (Depot Walk) Kindergarten ringing in our ears!
