In alliance with Families with Children from China
(FCC), the first Children’s Culture Enrichment Day was held
on May 14, 2005 at Creekside Middle School. This is a welcoming
event for local communities, especially with the growing trend
of Chinese studying abroad. Over 60 kids and their parents (~40)
participated in this activity and all enjoyed the programs immensely.
The day started at 9 am with story-telling by Agnes Wolverton,
our IACA president. Kids were then divided into age groups to
begin playing the long-waited cultural games. The youngest ones
played a ring game, fishing game, target toss and showcased their
own chopstick tricks, while older ones tried their hand at paper
cutting and origami. All kids had fun with Chinese Characters
writing.
At 10:45 am, Agnes led an interesting program “My family
and my heritage”. After the program started, many little
hands were raised as children were given a chance to let others
know a little about their own personal heritage. “My name
is Emily Spina. I was born in Xian, China in 1995. I’m a
fourth-grader. My mom is Lynne
Spina and she is from New Jersey.” “I am Julia Klinesstiver,
born in Indianapolis in 1997. I am in 2nd grade. My parents are
both from Indianapolis.” “My name is May Lin. I was
born in Indianapolis in 1996. I’m also in 2nd grade. My
mom was born in Beijing, China, and my dad is from Michigan.”
“My name is Billy Chien and I’m 10 years old. I was
born in the United States. Both of my parents are from China.”
Camera flashes were a non-stop reminder of how proud parents
were that their children cared enough to tell complete strangers
about their cultural heritage. No matter where the children were
born, no matter where their parents were from, they were proud
Americans with a rich cultural heritage.
At lunch, everyone enjoyed the delicious Dim Sum dishes and pan-fried
noodles from Golden Crown restaurant, while listening to IACA
Councilor Lillian Ho telling fun stories about Asian Food.
The dance class from the Chinese School at IUPUI performed two
lively dances, which won loud applause from the audience.
Afterwards, activities started with new themes for older kids,
including Chinese Yo-Yoing, rubber band skipping, foot work, and
top spinning. As the kids got into these challenging games, parents
were also encouraged to join in. After all, these were their childhood
games they grew up with. Finally, they had the chance to re-live
their youth through their kids, if only for a few hours.
We would like to say a special thanks to Mr. Wang Daguang, he
and his wife handmade most of the games that were played on this
day. We also deeply appreciate the help from 20 volunteers who
donated their time to this memorable event.
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