Washington University in St. Louis China Care

OUR WHY: Here is a little more information on OneSky and why we do what we do! ... China Care Club is partnered up with OneSky, an organization that is dedicated to helping out the lives of vulnerable children. We have the Dumplings program to work with children of young age, our Chopstix program to watch these children grow and join them in their journey, the Advocacy program to bring awareness to these situations and Chinese identity in general, and the Fundraising program to raise money to help out these children under OneSky in any way we can. * (All of the money we raise from our Fundraising events go back directly to OneSky to help these children in need!) *

For our final playgroup this semester, Dumplings learned about winter festivals and customs in China! First, we learned about how people stayed warm in ancient China , from warm clothes, to clever home innovation. From there, we created puppet sticks of how we keep ourselves warm in the winter. We then explored the Laba Festival, known for its Laba porridge , and learned about 3 legends said to be the origin of the festival. To continue the spirit of storytelling, ...we created storyboards that showcase our favorite stories! . Lastly, we learned about the Dongzhi/Winter Solstice Festival, including its traditions in different parts of China. Since one of the foods eaten during the festival are dumplings, we wrapped up the playgroup by making origami dumplings and a bowl! We had a fun-filled semester thanks to the amazing kids and our Dumplings committee; stay tuned for more playgroups in the fall!

For the second playgroup of the semester, Dumplings celebrated fall festivals in China! First, we learned about the legend of Chang’E and celebrated the Moon Festival by folding origami rabbits and drawing their home with a starry sky . Then, we explored the Double Ninth Festival and made chrysanthemum cakes out of clay . Lastly, we learned the lore of the Hungry Ghost Festival and made lanterns! ... We have now experienced the heat of summer and the cool breeze of autumn ! Stay warm and get ready for winter coming up

For the first playgroup of the semester, Dumplings learned about summer in China! We explored the Dragon Boat Festival and discussed the story of Qu Yuan. From there, we made our very own dragon boats , then learned about the traditional Chinese food Zongzi . Later, we made our own fragrant sachets and finished off talking about the Summer Solstice’s importance in Chinese culture!... Stay tuned for our next playgroup coming up!

Happy holidays from China Care Thank you to all of our members and anyone else who has supported us this year. 2020 took a turn with the onset of the Covid pandemic, affecting lives across the world, but our Dumplings, Chopstix, Fundraising and Advocacy members remained resilient in committing to our mission of supporting Chinese adoptees in the local St. Louis region and in China. ... We wish everyone the best for the new year and looking forward to what’s to come

For the final playgroup of the semester, Dumplings learned about the 4 great classic novels of China! We explored through the stories of the 3 Kingdoms and first discovered ZhuGe Liang. We created his signature accessory the crane feather fan , then learned about the Battle of Red Cliff and made paper boats with scarecrows . Next, we decorated our very own monkey king headband from the novel Journey to the West and finished our playgroup with the last 2 novels,... Water Margin and Dream of Red Chamber . For our final craft, we made puppets and a stage box for the puppets to perform on! We had an amazing first semester thanks to the amazing kids and our Dumplings committee; stay tuned for more playgroups in 2021!

Our Chopstix mentors and their mentees had a blast bonding at their last playgroup! They shared stories and interviews/ videos about Asian adoptee role models, like Lana Condor (Vietnamese adoptee) and Leah Lewis (Chinese adoptee) and followed with a discussion . To top off the fun, they played a few rounds Drawphone & Among Us