'Wild Things' in Feng Tai

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It is hard to believe that tomorrow morning will bring the closing ceremony and bittersweet end to our journey here in China.


The last few days have flown by! They have included a great deal of teaching as well as some unforgettable outings with our students. Monday we visited the Great Wall, which was both a breathtaking and surreal experience. We even ate lunch sitting atop one of the many lookout towers! Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon we visited the Science and Technology Museum as well as the Olympic Park. The field trips are great teaching opportunities because they provide students with the most opportunity to use their English and develop conversational skills. We typically notice that the field trips are more 'work' than in-school teaching days! This is because it's a continual flow of conversation with students and every word must be carefully chosen (and mimed much of the time!) to communicate clearly. These field trips have provided time to really get to know our students and we are all grateful this has been part of the camp.

Today we had our final class rotations in the morning and rehearsed for closing ceremony in the afternoon. The students have accomplished so much in these two weeks! We are incredibly excited to share it with their families and honored guests who will be in attendance, including the Minister of Education for the district. We used the book 'Where the Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak as the common thread for our camp curriculum and this theme will carry through the ceremony. In art, students learned watercolor techniques and then created a Dream Landscape that they would like to escape to, like Max in 'Wild Things'. These paintings were then used as inspiration for students to write about their magical place of escape. Students also created Wild Thing masks using various paper cutting and sculpture techniques. These masks will be worn during the Sabre Dance, which they will perform during the ceremonies tomorrow. The Sabre Dance, as well as several other songs, coordinate with themes and motifs in Sendak's book. Students will even be playing one of the many new games they learned in PE called King Pin! This game is a great example of the teamwork and strategy they've been developing throughout camp. Teamwork has been a particular focus, one the Feng Tai teachers have been impressed by. All of these elements are being combined for what will no doubt be a fantastic display of the students' abilities tomorrow! We are so very proud of our students, and will miss them dearly when we leave. We are honored to have been a part of this camp and know it will leave a lasting impression on all those involved. We are so very happy (Crystal, Tobi, Jen and Grant that line is for you!) that this is not just the end of camp, but the beginning of an ongoing partnership with Feng Tai and Jenison. To our students: You will be dearly missed and have left a lasting impression on every one of us- thank you for this amazing gift!

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Comments

[Deb]

Wow!
So excited to see what you are doing! I can't wait to hear about how your students feel about American art lessons! Have a safe trip home!

[Carey Korpi]

Safe travels home!