LOTE (Mandarin)
Ms Wenxi Jiang
Karoo Primary School
Dear Families,
Over the past two weeks in Mandarin, students have been busy exploring both Chinese culture and language!
We celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) by learning about its customs and traditions. Students explored the story behind the festival, learned about dragon boat racing, and discovered what zongzi (粽子) is—a sticky rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves. While we didn’t eat zongzi, we had fun discussing its ingredients and significance.
We also dove into the world of Chinese dragons, discovering how they are seen as wise, powerful, and lucky creatures—quite different from the fire-breathing dragons of Western stories!
This week, we shifted focus to learning different body parts in Mandarin, using songs, games, and actions to help remember key vocabulary like 头 (tóu – head), 眼睛 (yǎn jing – eyes), 鼻子 (bí zi – nose), and more. The students have really enjoyed learning through movement and repetition, and they are already beginning to use their new words in sentences.
We're looking forward to more interactive learning ahead!
Take-home Tips to support Mandarin learning:
Review Together
Ask your child to teach you a few Mandarin words they’ve learned—like body parts or dragon-related vocabulary. Teaching someone else helps reinforce memory!
Sing Along
Look up simple Mandarin songs on YouTube (like “头肩膀膝脚” – Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Chinese) and sing together. It’s a fun and easy way to remember words.
Warm regards,
Ms Jiang
