Often when we are studying about cultures, I feel that it just isn't enough to read what is in the textbook and look at the pictures. I usually want to actually do something as well. (I think this stems from my Grand Canyon trip* about twenty-four years ago.) Learning by reading and looking at pictures is great, but there is so much more we can do. So it was with our attempt at Chinese brush painting. First, I found a simple tutorial here. (It's super easy; all the pictures on this post were done by my 7th and 8th grade students.)
After watching it the whole way through once, I passed out large brushes. Each student was given a little plastic bowl and found a partner. One partner's bowl had paint; the other's had water. Then I gave them thick water color paper and pushed play again. The second time through I hit "pause" after each step and gave them time to complete that step. I also gave them papers which had several of the Chinese characters on them including "faith", "hope", and "love". We also learned about Chinese porcelain making and I passed around a few pieces of that. I hope to try paper making at some point. And the guys want to try making Chinese rockets. That could be interesting . . . .
*After Jeff and I had been married about two years, we made a trip to the Grand Canyon. He was playing in an orchestra out there, and I was about six months pregnant. We kept driving around the Grand Canyon to the observation points and looking down inside the Grand Canyon. I finally said to Jeff, "This is a great view, but I want to go down inside the Grand Canyon."
Yes, I was six months pregnant. Yes, there were danger and warning signs everywhere. Yes, we put several bottles of water in a backpack and headed down. It was fabulous. It was nothing like looking down from the rim. It was silent except for the sounds of birds and our footsteps. It was beautiful, serene, and quite like nothing else I have experienced since. And I'm glad we did it.
Life shouldn't be lived just from the rim.
Teaching shouldn't be just from the book.
