Asian Arts & Music
Our fifth session last Sunday 4/26 focused on exposing the kids to different Asian music and arts. We started with an exploration of Asian music, from lion dance (which many of the kids have seen!) to taiko drumming to modern music like Kpop. The kids had a lot of fun trying their hand at Taiko drumming, a traditional form of Japanese drumming commonly performed at Matsuri (Japanese festivals). It was a lot harder than it looks!
Then we transitioned to talking about different Asian arts. We discussed the history of calligraphy and the Four Treasures of the Study in China (brush, paper, ink, inkstone). Then our wonderful mentor Linda led a session where she taught the kids how to hold the calligraphy brush and write their names phonetically in Chinese. The kids were engrossed, and many wrote other Chinese characters like those for "father", "mother", and "happy birthday."
With a quick break for snack time where we munched on delicious Chinese crackers and lychee and mango pudding, as well as Vietnamese coconut rolls and White Rabbit Candy, we explored origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. It turns out that most of the kids had done origami before, but we were still able to learn some new folds - including the crane, balloon, frog, and box. Each of the kids made their own to take home!
See you all next month for our End of the Year Celebration and discussion on Asian American role models!