Children's Day pictures

This post has been a long time coming. I've been avoiding it, because there are so many pictures to post. Plus, Children's Day was at the end of May, so it's become history in the time that I've neglected it.

I figure this post will take awhile, but tonight seems like a good night to give it a go. I'm trying to stay up for the Euro2008 final between Germany and Spain, and have napped as much as I could. I also tried to stay up really late last night to get my body ready. I have a lot of time to fill before the game starts, and figure I might as well tackle the daunting Children's Day post.

This is another post mainly for Carol, since she'll recognize the kids in it.

Children's Day. It happens once a year at the end of May. You can read this post to familiarize yourself with the concept, and to see pictures of our dress rehearsal.

It was supposed to rain on the big day, but for the whole week before it had only started to rain in the afternoon. Since Children's Day was to happen in the morning, the thought was that we would miss the rain. The school was set up as an alternate location just in case.

Here are the pictures of the big day.

The day started early, at 8am. The children were already in the school basement getting ready by the time I arrived. By the time I had had breakfast, they were all costumed and getting their make-up put on.



This is the makeup staging area. There were four teachers in the assembly line, each doling out different cosmetic products. One was for eyes, one for cheeks, one for lips, and one for something else.



Here are three of my afternoon students whom I only teach for half an hour every day. Nina's in the middle, Sara is on the left, and Rachel is on the right. By virtue of growing up Chinese, Nina has not been diagnosed with ADHD. She's nuts! But I really like her, since she's always so happy to see me around the school and is always waving to me and showing me hyper jumping and spinning moves.





After the makeup was finished, we all went outside the school to the bowling alley, which was near where the big stage was set up. All the kids would wait here until it was time for them to be on stage. Carol's kids as well as my kids (in silver) wait.





Li Lau Shi was scheduled to perform a piano piece, so she got all dressed up. It's always interesting to see co-workers looking a lot different than you're used to. Li Lau Shi had makeup on and was wearing non-teaching clothes. Looking swell, Li!

Our class was to use the piano too, accompanied as we'd sing The Wheels on the Bus, ABC, and Happy and You Know It. Here it is being unloaded from a truck. I think one of the worst jobs in the world would be piano moving. They're so heavy and awkward.





The performance started with a selection of the school's best dancers doing the dance they did at New Years. With this dance they ended up winning some sort of prize at some sort of competition. It was spitting rain at this point, and you can see a few parents breaking out their umbrellas.



Carol's class was up next, and their number was cut short by harder rain and a crack of lightning. I like this picture as you can see the concern in the kids' faces as they cower under two umbrellas.





The parents also take cover under umbrellas, and soon it's decided the show can't go on and we must move into the school. Thirty seconds later, the parents have abandoned their chairs to escape the rain.



Because the children are all wearing costumes, they can't walk the rainy fifty metres back to the school. A Dunkirk-like rescue effort is begun, the children being ferried from the shelter of the bowling alley to the school, in school busses. The baby class is the first to be evacuated.



Everyone must patiently wait for a seat in the bus. Two of Carol's kids appear bored.



The parents have gotten themselves settled in their new digs, and eagrely await their children's appearances.







The classrooms and basement are now used as prep rooms instead of the bowling alley. Carol's kids get ready in their army fatigues and homemade berets, while my kids change from one costume to another.

Helping eighteen children get changed is a lot of work...imagine trying to get kindergarteners into snowsuits, finding their mittens, and making sure they wear their own boots, on the correct feet. I don't know how Mom lasted more than twenty years doing that!

One of my afternoon classes put on a fashion show. While I was skeptical at the rehearsal, it actually turned out really well and was a fan favourite. It was a nice change too, since most classes were doing choral speaking and dancing.



Mia is bored while she waits for the show to start. Carol named her Mia, as her Chinese name is MiMi. She was transfered to my class later, and now I always forget which is which and call her one or the other. She's smart, but never listens or pays attention in class.



This is one of my favourite pictures. No wonder the kids were nervous...look how daunting the situation seems! The teachers organize the kids from behind the barriers.



Karena and Joe got in their costumes and put on their dance. It was a big hit with the audience, but I still can't appreciate traditional Chinese dances as much as native Chinese people do.

The children were asked to make their own costumes that promoted recycling and re-using. The Children's Day program was to end with a parade of individual costumes across the stage. The costumes they made were great, but it ended in a disogranized mish-mash as they had to parade on the school floor instead.

The children ended up mixing with parents, teachers, grandparents trying to go home, and other people who got in the way. The recycling parade lost its panache without the stage...the idea was great, but it eventually fell victim to the rain and having to be held inside.



Chang-Chang displays his newspaper pirate outfit. I wonder if he made it himself!



Jennifer, Cherry, and Lily all grow tired of getting their picture taken. They are pretty cute though. They're all very polite, happy, and smart kids who are easy to teach. Obviously(!) I don't have favourites in my classroom, but if I did, these three would top the list.



These girls have edible headwear and jewlery! Notice the necklaces made of vegetables, and the tiara. It's made of a watermelon headband, with carrots cut in the shape of flowers and fastened with toothpicks. Think of all the effort!



Here's Benny with a costume that also took a lot of effort. Benny is one of my most frustrating kids. He entered the class two months ago (you can come to the kindergarten any time...four of my eighteen students enrolled after Lunar New Year) and is between half an hour and an hour late, every day.

He knows no English, and doesn't care about the classroom rules or procedures. His mom can't get herself together to deliver him on time, cutting down on his oppurtunities to learn English and the way things work. So frustrating. Often I have to spend my time policing him rather than teaching the kids who have been in class every day, on time, since September. He tries my patience like no other student.



Li Lau Shi seems to have limitless patience. Maybe I should trade Benny to her class for a box of crayons. No, that's obviously an unfair deal. Maybe Li will go for half a box.

I've never seen Li get frustrated or upset, and she teaches the most frustrating and upsetting class of crying two year-olds. I think Li actually really and truly enjoys teaching. I didn't think it possible, but Li Lau Shi seems must look forward to teaching every single day. Model teacher, Li Lau Shi.

Here she is saying goodbye to one of her kids before they leave at the end of Children's Day.

Children's Day ended just before lunch, and most of the kids went home. Only sixteen children out of the school's seventy-five didn't leave with their parents, so I only had to teach one class that afternoon. It turned out to be a great and restful finish to the day.

Once Children's Day was over, all the teachers were much less stressed, and the school's atmosphere in the following weeks was much improved. Before Children's Day, the teachers were agitated and tense. Afterwards, they were more relaxed. Oh Children's Day. Such a stressful event!