Hand in Hand Chinese Culture Program

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2010-08-17T22:13:00.001-07:00

All updates will be given at the main website: handinhandchinese.org

Culture Camp Day 5: Holcomb Bridge Park

2010-06-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

On the fifth day of camp, the dragon's clues led us to the park and the final hiding place of the treasure. After a long and difficult search, we found the treasure that the dragon had left for all the campers!

To celebrate our wonderful week looking for the treasure at camp, we had a picnic at the park, performed the dances that we learned this week for our parents, and got all wet with water balloons and squirt guns!

What a great week!

More pictures from our last day of camp can be found here.

I think we found a clue!

We found the dragon!

Hitting the dragon pinata

The little class performs their dance

The big class's final dance pose

We got to meet our little sisters' families

...and we got super wet!

Culture Camp Day 4: Chinese Marketplace

2010-06-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

For our fourth day at camp, we visited the Chinese marketplace and learned about Chinese fashion.

We made Chinese paper dolls with "Qi Pao," traditional Chinese dresses

Throughout the week, the campers earned stamps if they behaved and cleaned up their work stations, and on the last day, they used their stamps to go shopping!

There's so much to buy!

Look at our purchases!

Culture Camp Day 3: Chinese Tea House

2010-06-04T20:42:00.001-07:00

Today, we visited a Chinese Tea House to taste some different kinds of Chinese tea and finished the day with some calligraphy!

We ate Dian Xin, or desserts, with our tea

Everyone loved Bubble Tea or Milk Tea, a popular drink in China made by mixing milk with tea

Practicing Chinese calligraphy

Culture Camp Day 2: Foridden Palace

2010-06-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

Our clue brought us to the Forbidden City today on our quest to find the black dragon's hidden treasure. As we searched for more clues, or detectives learned about the ancient Chinese imperial palace and painted Chinese pagodas. The Forbidden City got its name because commoners were forbidden to enter the palace where the emperor lived. People from all over the world visit it today to see its beautiful architecture.

Margaux's illustration of the Forbidden Palace

There are lots of different pagodas and buildings in the Forbidden City

Painting Chinese pagodas

Culture Camp Day 1: Chinese Opera House

2010-06-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

Oh no! The evil Black Dragon has stolen the treasure of the great Golden Dragon! Luckily, we have our awesome Dragon Detectives to help us solve the mystery and find the Golden Dragon's missing treasure this week.

On the first day, all of our detectives received their detective notebooks and a handy dandy magnifying glass. These will be very helpful throughout the week as we go on our mission.

Our first assignment took us to the Chinese Opera House, where we made Chinese opera masks. We also used Chinese papercuts to decorate our detective tote bags. At the Opera House, we found our first clue, which will lead us to tomorrow's location and bring us closer to finding the missing treasure.

Chinese opera masks

ta da!

decorating tote bags

End Of The Year Party - May 16, 2010

2010-05-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

Hand in Hand's End of the Semester Party was held at the Oriental Pearl restaurant in Chinatown on Sunday, May 16. All the kids and families went on a tour of Atlanta's Chinatown first and got to tour the Chinese supermarket, Dinhao. For many of the adoptive families in the program, this was their first visit to Chinatown.

Mia holding some rice noodles from Jiang Xi, the province where she was born

Looking at some Chinese products in the supermarket

After everyone got to the restaurant, the Hand in Hand language and dance classes put on a performance, showing off what they had learned this year. Afterward, the big sisters performed a few dances, and dinner was served. The delicious meal included lo mein, green beans, fried rice, beef and broccoli and lots more!

The language class performs the Chinese zodiac story

Some of the big sisters perform a fan dance

Yummy food!

We love Chicken Lo Mein!

After dinner, it was bittersweet as we said goodbye to the graduating seniors and wished them luck in college next year. Everyone will miss them so much!

The seniors (from left to right): Lisa X, Alice, Cathy, Michelle, Melody, Jessica, and Karen (not pictured) Fan Fan and Lisa B.

As we were about to wrap up, the kids announced that they had a special surprise performance! Mia and Sarah Anne performed a dance they learned in their dance class and then the language class students performed a dance that they had secretly choreographed and rehearsed to Karen's favorite Hannah Montana song, "One in a Million"! It was such a great surprise!

A surprise dance performance by Mia and Sarah Anne

The kids performed a dance for Karen to her favorite song, "One in a Million"

We finished the day with lots of hugs and tears, but we know that even though we may be farther apart next year, we will have our Hand in Hand family forever!

Big hug!!

The Hand in Hand family

New Videos Uploaded to YouTube!

2010-05-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

Check out these new videos uploaded to our YouTube Channel!
Visit our YouTube Channel

Hand in Hand 2010 Video

Class of 2010 Seniors

Spring Tea Party - April 17, 2010

2010-04-18T09:14:00.001-07:00

Spring is finally here! And what better way to welcome this colorful season than with a tea party? The weather was perfect so everyone got dressed up in their colorful dresses for some girly fun! The big sisters helped style the kids' hair and everyone got their nails done. We baked cookies and cupcakes and had lots of fun outside! What a fun day!

Jennifer curling little sister Charlotte's hair

Jenny painting Kate's nails

Pool fun!

Fashion Show - March 28, 2010

2010-03-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

Today was dress up day for the kids in Hand in Hand's language and dance class! We have been learning about clothing and fashion this month, so everyone came dressed up in their traditional Chinese clothing, and we had a fashion show!

Luckily, we had plenty of paparazzi parents to snap pictures of the girls strutting the runway!

Workin' the runway!

All the wonderful models in their Chinese dresses!

Mulan II Event - March 6, 2010

2010-03-09T17:46:00.001-08:00

Our March Hand in Hand event was lots of fun! For our second Mulan event, we watched Mulan II and learned about family. All the kids and big sisters had a great time watching the movie, doing crafts and munching on snacks!

We learned how to say mom, dad, sister, and brother in Chinese and made these cool family picture frames!

Enjoying the movie and eating lots of snacks!

Happy Chinese New Year! - January 30, 2010

2010-02-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

Gong Xi Fa Cai!! It's the Year of the Tiger!
All of us at Hand in Hand and FCC North Georgia got in the New Year spirit this year at our Chinese New Year event on Saturday! Our program has grown so much since the Chinese New Year event last year that we outgrew our original venue. Luckily, at the last minute, New Life Academy graciously offered to rent us their facilities for the event, and it was wonderful!!

In spite of the warnings about inclement weather, about 150 people showed up on Saturday, more than any of us had expected! We got to see old friends and welcomed lots of new members!

The kids did crafts with their big sisters, and everyone had a very yummy dinner! It was a great evening for all! We can't wait until our next event!

Xin Nian Kuai Le!! Happy New Year!!

Paper folding!

We love crafts!

We love seeing all our friends!

And we love getting dressed up in our Chinese dresses!

People eat oranges for good luck on Chinese New Year

Yummy! Food!

Thank you Atlanta Logo Wear for making these awesome t-shirts and tote bags!

See more pictures in our Photo Gallery!

Chinese New Year T-shirts!

2010-01-11T13:58:00.000-08:00

Check out our new Chinese New Year t-shirts!

To celebrate our 2nd annual Chinese New Year celebration, we will be selling these cool t-shirts at our Chinese New Year event! Designed by one of our big sisters, Alice Young, and made by Atlanta Logo Wear, one of our very generous sponsors!

All proceeds will go towards helping us to continue providing fun (and free!) events for all the kids! The shirts will be available in long sleeves ($15) or short sleeves ($12). We will also be selling canvas tote bags ($8) with our logo on them.

To order, please email Karen (karen@handinhandchinese.org) or indicate that you would like to order a shirt when you RSVP for our Chinese New Year event.

Holiday Party! - December 19, 2009

2009-12-22T09:18:00.000-08:00

Hand in Hand's Big Sisters and Brothers Program held our Holiday Party this Saturday, December 19! The kids made fortune cookie holiday ornaments and pipe cleaner candy canes, decorated holiday cards for children in the hospital, drank hot chocolate, and roasted marshmallows to make s'mores! Yummy!

The holiday season is about being thankful for what we have and giving to others. We're all so fortunate to have warm clothes, yummy food and lots of presents around this time of year, so instead of bringing gifts for each other, we all brought a gift to donate to less fortunate children. This year, we collected over 50 presents for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta!

Here are some pictures from the event:

Roasting marshmallows around the fire!

Decorating holiday cookies! Yum!

We love crafts!!

We're never too old for swings!!

We collected over 50 presents for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta!

Happy Holidays!!

Last Day of Class! - December 13

2009-12-13T19:49:00.000-08:00

The winter holidays are quickly approaching! But before classes ended for the semester, students got a chance to show off everything they've learned this year. Acting out the different animals of the zodiac, the younger class and older class competed against each other today in a harrowing game of charades. Although the game ended in a tie, both classes did a fantastic job of guessing the correct animals in Chinese!

In the second part of our end-of-year performance, each class performed two different dances followed by a combined dance with both classes. The dances were incredibly cute and well-performed!! At the end of the performances, each student received a personal superlative and certificate along with a goody-bag of holiday gifts.

Happy Holidays, and see everyone next year!!

Hand in Hand performs at Sunrise Senior Living - December 6

2009-12-12T20:20:00.001-08:00

The Hand in Hand language and dance students performed Chinese dance for the residents of Sunrise Senior Living on Sunday, December 6. First, Kayla played Gu Zheng, or Zither, a Chinese instrument that is similar to a harp. Then the little class performed two dances, "Yi Xiu" and "Little Frog" and the big class performed two dances, "Ding Dong" and "Playing Games."

The kids then presented the senior residents with Chinese calligraphy decorations that they had made during Chinese class. The decoration had the Chinese characters for "Peace Love and Joy" that the kids wrote using Chinese calligraphy.

The kids with some of the Sunrise residents

Kayla plays the Gu Zheng

Everyone watches attentively

The little kids perform "Little Frog"

Happy Holidays, Everyone!!!

Hand in Hand hosts author Virgina Cornue - November 15

2009-11-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

Hand in Hand hosted a special event inviting author Virginia Cornue to come speak to the parents about adoption and cultural identity. Virginia was invited to Atlanta to make a presentation on stereotypes about China, adoption and girls at the National Council for the Social Studies annual meeting and Hand in Hand was fortunate enough to have her come speak for our parents.

Virginia is author of books The Dragon’s Daughters Return (Thimbleberry Press, 2007) and Draw On Culture: Little Friends Around the World (Thimbleberry Press, 2009)

Visit the Thimbleberry Press website for more information about Virginia Cornue and her work and take a look at The Dragon’s Daughters Return and Draw On Culture: Little Friends Around the World.

Kung Fu Panda Event - November 14, 2009

2009-11-24T18:55:00.000-08:00

The Kung Fu Panda event was so much fun! We started off with a Kung Fu demonstration by Master Yang's Tai Chi Kung Fu Academy. They performed a very cool Kung Fu sword routine. Then Mr. Wang's Kung Fu Academy performed some very cool Kung Fu routines as well. Afterwards, everyone settled in for the movie. There was lots of yummy food and everyone had a great time!

Date: Saturday, November 14, 2009
Time: 2:30-5 pm
Location: Perimeter Church Midtown Auditorium

Learn Chinese!
kung fu - 功夫
martial arts - 武术 (wu shu)
panda - 熊猫 (xiong mao)

Watch a YouTube Video of the Performance!

Autumn Moon Festival - October 17, 2009

2009-11-24T18:37:00.000-08:00

Our Autumn Moon event was a wonderful evening for everyone! We had over 100 people attend! The kids painted lanterns, wrote calligraphy, and did crafts. Dinner was very delicious, and everyone got to taste moon cake, a tradition of the Autumn Moon Festival. After dinner, the Hand in Hand language class students put on a play, acting out the story of Chang'e, the goddess who lives on the moon with her little bunny rabbit. When it got dark, all the kids went outside on a lantern parade, and looking up at the moon, we might've seen Chang'e with her little bunny on the moon!

Date: Saturday, October 17, 2009
Time: 4-8 pm
Location: Glen Abbey Clubhouse

About the Autumn Moon Festival
The 15th day of every 8th lunar month is the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. It is the most important festival after the Chinese Lunar New Year. The moon on the night of the 15th day of lunar August is believed to be fuller and brighter than in other months. A full moon is a symbol of togetherness. As such, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion. Generally speaking, eating moon cakes, enjoying the moon and lighting up lanterns are common traditions on the festival. (from www.cultural-china.com)

Learn Chinese!
Chang E (the moon goddess) - 嫦娥 (chang e)
Autumn Moon Festival - 中秋节 (zhong qiu jie)
Moon Cake - 月饼 (yue bing)

Big Sister Art & Music Day - September 19, 2009

2009-11-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

It was rainy outside, but inside, we were warm and dry, enjoying an afternoon of Chinese music and art. The afternoon consisted of musical and dance performances by Chinese teens who showcased a variety of traditional Chinese instruments such as Erhu, Guzheng, and Dizi, while the talented big sisters performed two Chinese folk dances. The kids then learned about Chinese art, making Chinese paper cuts and kites, a Chinese invention and art form. It was a fun and educational afternoon for all!

Date: Saturday, September 19, 2009
Time: 3-5:30 pm
Location: Haynes Landing Clubhouse

Big Sister Pool Party - August 29, 2009

2009-09-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Our first Big Sister event of the year was a Pool Party at the Medlock Bridge pool and clubhouse. Everyone had lots of fun swimming, playing, hanging out with their Big Sisters, and meeting our new Little Sisters! In addition to splashing about in the pool and cruising down the water slide, everyone loved the face paint and balloon animals! The clubhouse was a perfect place to relax after all the excitment of swimming, and of course, there was tons delicious food to enjoy!

Alice with her little sisters

Lisa and Zoe

Hand in Hand: Beginning Our New Year!

2009-08-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great summer! Hand in Hand language and dance classes have officially begun. Our wonderful language teacher, Ms. Jessie, is teaching again this year, but have a new dance teacher, Ms.Yu Xiaojie. Ms. Yu, a teacher at the Atlanta Professional Dance Academy, was the dance teacher at our summer culture camp. Everyone loved her, so we asked her to stay as our permanent dance teacher!

As our program grows, we have split our language and dance classes into an older class and younger class. These classes alternate times, so the older students have dance class first, followed by language class, while the younger students have language class first, then dance. We have many fun activities and themes planned for this year, so we're looking forward to an exciting and education semester for everyone!

In addition, we are also offering classes for parents! There are now Tai Chi classes and simplified Chinese language classes available for parents who are interested. The language class is taught by Ms. Wang Fan, who happens to be an accomplished Chinese cook, so there might be some Chinese cooking classes throughout the year!

Our Big Sister Program is also starting up again, and we have many new Big Sisters and Little Sisters this year! Our first event is going to be a Pool Party at the Medlock Bridge pool on Saturday, August 29th to celebrate our last few weeks of summer! We're looking forward to seeing all our old members and meeting new ones!!

Summer Culture Camp- June 1-5, 2009

2009-06-02T13:34:00.001-07:00

Summer Camp was so much fun!! Our theme this year was "My Trip to China." Throughout the week we "traveled" to different cities in China and learned about the local cultures. We learned about Chinese music and art, wrote calligraphy, did arts and crafts, and had dance class every day. It was such a great week!!

Dates: June 1-5, 2009 9:30-12:30

Watch our Summer 2009 video on YouTube!!

Visit our Photo Gallery for more pictures!!

Visit our website for more information!!

We love culture camp!!

Our passports! Ready for take-off!!

On the first day, we visited Xi'an and learned about the Terracotta Warriors!

On the second day, we visited Guilin, enjoyed the beautiful scenery, and painted pictures

We also learned how to write calligraphy! Mareah wrote the Chinese saying "Guilin's mountains and waters are the most beautiful under the heavens"

In Guangdong, we ate Dim Sum and the campers learned how to use chopsticks!

On the last day of camp, we used the stickers that we earned throughout the week to go shopping in Shanghai!

What a great week! We can't wait until next year!!

Visit our Photo Gallery for more pictures!!

Watch our Summer 2009 video on YouTube!!

Visit our website for more information!!

Big Sister Picnic - May 16, 2009

2009-06-02T13:31:00.001-07:00

It started raining on Saturday when we were supposed to have our end of the year picnic for the Big Sister Program. We were all a little scared that the rain would prevent us from having fun and keep us under the pavilion the entire afternoon. But somehow mother nature was on our side, and by around 3:30, it had stopped raining and the sun came out! It turned out to be a beautiful day. We played with water balloons, tug of war, and had a three-legged race. Later we went and played by the Chattahoochee River, and some of us got really wet! It was a very fun day and was a great way to end the semester!

more photos from the event

Three-legged race!!

What a fun day!!

Sunrise Senior Living Dance Performance- May 3, 2009

2009-06-02T13:26:00.001-07:00

The kids and big sisters at Hand in Hand put on a Chinese folk dance performance for the residents of Sunrise Senior Living on Sunday, May 3.

The kids performed the Chinese folk dance that they learned in dance class, called "Rattle Drum" and the big sisters, all students of the Atlanta Professional Dance Academy performed a fan dance, "Jasmine."

The audience really enjoyed the show and the kids stayed to have popcorn and snacks with the residents.

Johns Creek Herald - April 15, 2009

2009-06-02T13:25:00.001-07:00

Hand in Hand was featured in the Johns Creek Herald this week! There was also a story about Hand in Hand in the Families with Children from China April Newsletter. To read the JC Herald story click here

Calligraphy & Tea Party - March 28, 2009

2009-06-02T13:19:00.001-07:00

Saturday's event was lots of fun! It was wet and rainy outside, but inside, we drank nice hot tea and had a blast! The girls came in and immediately started looking for their big sisters. We started off with some paper folding and crafts. After everyone arrived, we started the calligraphy. The kids learned how to write "Springtime is Here" and "Flowers are Blooming." With the help of their big sisters, everyone made colorful Chinese couplets to hang around the house. We also learned some Chinese tea customs and sampled different types of tea such as Jasmine, Green, and Chrysanthemum. Luckily, it stopped raining for a little while, so the everyone was able to go outside, take pictures and walk around until it was time to go.

Date: Saturday, March 28, 2009
Time: 3~5:30 pm
Location: Country Club of the South
Recreation Center Clubhouse
4100 Old Alabama Rd
Alpharetta, GA 30022

More photos from the event

Our New Website is Launched! -March 1, 2009

2009-06-02T13:04:00.001-07:00

Our website is new and improved!! We have changed the format A LOT because some people have said that the old website didn't display correctly on their computers.

If you have trouble viewing the current webpage or if any of the links don't work, contact the webmaster. Can't find something? Visit the Sitemap.

View our old website.

Mulan Pajama Party- February 28, 2009

2009-06-02T13:00:00.002-07:00

Saturday's event was lots of fun! Everyone came dressed in their PJs to watch Mulan. With food, blankets and lots of fun, we learned about courage, perseverance and staying true to yourself. The girls even got their hair done by their big sisters!

More photos from the event

Chinese New Year Event - January 30, 2009

2009-06-02T12:54:00.002-07:00

Thanks for coming out to our first Big Sister Event this Saturday! We all had so much fun and we hope the kids did too! The kids met their big sisters and brothers at our first event. Everyone got to learn how to make dumplings, a Chinese New Year tradition. Other fun activities included a scavenger hunt, crafts, and calligraphy. We all had so much fun and we hope the kids did too!

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2009
Time: 4-9 pm
Location: Sugar Mill subdivision Clubhouse
7095 Sweet Creek Rd
Duluth, GA 30097

Some other activities of the evening:
· Have your name written in Chinese calligraphy by Mr. Chen, Karen’s grandpa
· A scavenger hunt for the kids
· Crafts & games
· Family trivia game!
· Lantern lighting

The kids met their big sisters and brothers

The big sisters teach their little sisters how to make dumplings

Classes Start - January 11, 2009

2009-06-02T12:52:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I am so excited about the start of our new program and I hope that you are too.

Just a reminder:
Language & Culture: 2:00 pm
Dance: 3:00 pm

We will distribute textbooks the first class.
Leotard and tights are not required for the dance class. We will be introducing how to use fans and handkerchiefs.
The theme for the month of January will be: Chinese New Year.
I look forward to seeing everyone January 11 for our first class!