Norlinah Binte Salamat

PCF Sparkletots Preschool @ Sengkang Central Blk 210 (CC)

Norlinah Binte Salamat
15 Aug 2020

Appreciating our heritage in food and arts

Our heritage is part of our fabric of life. For this year’s SSDB project, the children from K1 and K2 set their trail on local food and art which are passed down from generation to generation. As it is part of our living, it is important that our children learn about our heritage so that they will appreciate its uniqueness as well as on how to preserve it. In view of the COVID-19 situation, instead of making the food, they explored our heritage with stories, videos, presentations as well as creating art and crafts. They talked about the local food and the festivities associated with them. In appreciating our art heritage, the children made artworks such as batik prints from the Peranakan culture, Ketupat Weaving, Wau Bulan or Moon Kite from the Malay culture, Chinese papercut and Indian Rangoli.

Chinese Food Heritage: Rice Dumpling

The children started off the project by creating ‘Zongzi’ or rice dumpling during the Dragon Boat Festival. They learned how to fold paper dumplings using strips of green construction paper and tied them with a piece of string. After that, they created a watercolour painting of the dumplings and dragon boat race.

The children enjoyed and had fun during the activities. They also shared their feelings during a show and tell. They described the making of dumplings as something that is quite difficult to do but, the result was satisfying as they liked the look of it as well as the taste of dumplings which they made with their parents or grandparents and ate at home. They realized the importance of preserving the tradition of making dumplings as it is part of the Chinese culture, history and heritage that brings people together.

Chinese Art Heritage: Paper Cut

The children learned about the art of Chinese papercutting which dated back to the 2nd century in China as paper was invented then. The folk art of papercutting is used to decorate doors and windows so the light from the inside would shine through the negative space of the cutout. Chinese paper cuttings are usually symmetrical and are made of red paper, as red is associated with festivities, luck and happiness in Chinese culture.

More Related Stories