4th Semester Final Children Dharma Class – Busy is Nutrition
On 19th of December 2021, students finally returned to the final Children Dharma Class in the temple. At the beginning of the class, total of 12 children participated in the chanting of Ode to Triple Gem 三寶頌 led by Thomas, Jane, and Sin Jun.
Teacher Thomas continued the class by reading a chapter from Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s book, 366 Days with Wisdom, which emphasises on the importance of utilising one’s free time to the optimal. In the discussion, students proactively shared their hobbies and what they like to do to enjoy their free time, such as reading books, playing Legos, or watching TV. Zoey, one of the students learned that, busy life means healthy life.
Teacher Allen continued the class with two team building games which requires high level of coordination and strong teamwork. In the first game, Don’t Wake the Dragon, students played as innocent villagers under the threat of a fire-breathing dragon, played by teacher Sin Jun. Students were required to line up in order of height but without talking to each other. Zoey bravely took the challenge of being the leader in the “village” and quickly guided everyone to their position following the order of height. After lining up, they simultaneously yelled “Boo!” to scare away the dragon and managed to “save their village” successfully.
In the second game, Forehead Dots, students were split into 4 groups with 3 students in each group. Every student had a colour dot lightly taped on their forehead with their eyes closed (randomly selected from red, yellow, blue, and green). Students in each group needed to help each other to figure out what the colour is but without talking. In these two games, students were excited and learned to work together as a team.
After playing the games, students enjoyed a morning tea break that was specially prepared by the Temple to celebrate the end of semester. Hand sanitizer and wet tissues were provided as well as implementing social distancing before serving snacks and refreshments. The students learned to appreciate the food and not waste the food. Besides, they also learned about the table manner such as helping to clean up after finishing their morning tea.
At the final part of this class, Venerable Miaoyu commenced an award ceremony for students that achieved the most points throughout the whole semester being the most proactive and eager to learn. During the speech, Venerable expressed the happiness of seeing the accomplishments of all students had made and encouraged them to carry this spirit of learning forward in future Children Dharma Classes. Two students of the class, Raymond and Zoey also shared their excitement, and what they have learned in Children Dharma Class. Raymond Hu mentioned that he learned about the values of kindness and 3 Goodness and 4 Givings in the class. There were also presents given to all students that attended this class. A group photo was taken, sharing their happy smile at the end of 4th semester final children dharma class.