For Lunar New Year, families joined the children at the Learning Centre for dumpling making and calligraphy. Flour covered the table, children passed rolling pins around, and people stopped to talk as they worked.
AT THE TABLE
Making dumplings around one table.
There were rolling pins, dough and filling spread across the table. Some children began straight away; others watched the adults fold the dumplings before deciding to try it themselves.
As the dumplings took shape, children copied the folds they could see, compared what they had made and asked for another piece of dough.
MAKING MARKS
Brushes, ink and red paper.
Nearby, children tried the brushes and ink on red paper. They watched the marks change as the brush moved, then filled their own pages with lines and shapes.
A SHARED OCCASION
What families shared that afternoon.
The afternoon worked because families brought their own knowledge to the table: how to roll the dough, how to fold a dumpling, what the writing meant and what they remembered from celebrating at home.
Children who had not made dumplings before could watch, ask questions and join in at their own pace.
