Children's Day

International Children’s Day was a wild success!  I’m not sure how international the day really is.  I hadn’t heard of it until we moved here.  But it is a huge deal in China and tends to be super fun!  Preschools and primary schools have big performances, field trips, or parties.  Our preschool does Children’s Day in big fashion that is seriously exciting to be a part of.  Each class spends the month of May practicing their performance non-stop.  By the time the big day rolls around they are ready to go and so excited to show off for their parents and grandparents.  This year they also asked the parents to join in the performances.  I was skeptical at first, but in the end it turned out to be so much fun.  Providentially my performance was in traditional Chinese Tai Chi because after watching the other parent’s performances, I realized how lucky I was.  My performance didn’t include any hip shaking J




 
Rob cancelled his morning class, and his parents drove over from their city.  We woke up very early, got on our costumes on, and headed off to the big show.  My performance was up first, and I managed to get through it without dropping my fan or losing my balance.  Maddie was next and she made for the sweetest little cheerleader around.  Robbie followed with a fun jump-rope routine and finished off with his rollerblading class.  All of the performances went great, but the grandmother’s definitely stole the show with their traditional marital bliss dance.  They were downright funny! 




After the performances we ran all over the school playing carnival style games with bean bags, ping pong balls, water, and more.  When our crazy race through the games was complete, we met up with their classes, and paraded down the block to the waterfront.  There we set up for a big picnic style lunch done in true Chinese style, everyone sharing mountains of food with each other.  All the kids walking around in their class and passing out food left and right.  Then photos, singing and games altogether.  It was an exhausting and exhilarating day. 




Watching my kids sing, dance, play and laugh, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness.  Thankfulness for their sweet and loving teachers, thankfulness for friends, thankfulness for their budding language abilities, and thankfulness for their happy smiles.  We moved here with no guarantees that our kids would be happy, the odds are against them in terms of age, language and culture.  But thanks to God’s faithful direction of our every step, we found a wonderful preschool with a thoughtful director, loving teachers, and sweet children.  The road hasn’t been without bumps, but our time spent in this environment has been a joy.    We have learned much and been loved much through these precious relationships.  

Comments

  1. KatieJune 15, 2013 at 10:21 AM

    It's a joy to see those words and know they are true. I'm so thankful for your joy, thankful for the joy I see on Robbie and Maddie's faces. He is a GOOD God! He is a loving Father who delights in his children.

    ReplyDelete

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