November 2024 marked the concluding class of the monthly Parent-Child Bonding Class. (Photo by Bong Kian Hin)
As the monthly Parent-Child Bonding Class reached its final session on 24 November 2024, a total of 58 families, comprising 76 students and 80 parents, gathered at Singapore's Jing Si Hall to witness the children's learning and developmental progress throughout the year, filling the hall with warmth and blessings.
One of Master Cheng Yen's publications, "Sow the Seeds to Manifest a Good Life," served as the curriculum's main focus for this year's Parent-Child Bonding Class. It encourages children to cultivate positive values through themes such as humanistic culture, filial piety, and environmental protection. It also motivates them to actively participate in the lessons through practical exercises and hands-on experiences to apply these concepts and values in their everyday lives.
A total of 58 families gathered on this day to witness their children's learning and development over the past year. (Photo by Bong Kian Hin)
Integration of Environmental Protection Concepts and Creativity
The concluding class was divided into four groups according to the interests of the junior participants: Jing Si junior volunteers, Environmental Protection junior volunteers, Animal Protection junior volunteers and Creative Talent junior volunteers.
Among them, the Animal Protection junior volunteers and the Environmental Protection junior volunteers set up an exhibition showcasing their achievements in the Cultural Hall of Jing Si Hall. Before the event, the Animal Protection junior volunteers used the 3D printer at the National Library to print animal models, such as calves and fish, to vividly convey the concept of caring for life, and designed T-shirts with slogans such as ‘Animals are friends, not food’ to promote a plant-based diet.
Combining environmental protection and creativity, the junior volunteers refurbished and produced about 200 notebooks, which they plan to sell to raise funds at the upcoming Festive Eco Charity Fair. To deepen the awareness of environmental protection, the Parent-Child Bonding Class worked with the Environmental Protection Group for the first time this year, organising visits to eco points across the island for students and their parents to learn sorting and recycling.
Animal Protection junior volunteers design T-shirts with slogans such as ‘Animals are friends, not food’ to promote a plant-based diet. (Photo by Tew Yu Rui)
The Environment Protection junior volunteers combined environmental protection and creativity to produce about two hundred notebooks. (Photo by Bong Kian Hin)
The wisdom of Jing Si Aphorisms brings hope
The class began with a recap of the Jing Si Aphorisms that were taught during the year. Slido, an interactive platform, made the lesson engaging and enjoyable. Following that, the Jing Si junior volunteers and their parents collaborated in two groups: one group produced Jing Si Aphorisms booklets, while the other group made Jing Si Aphorisms bookmarks.
Everyone worked together to cut and bind the printed Jing Si Aphorisms into small booklets, which are compact and convenient to carry around, making it easy to learn wise quotes at any time.
In the classroom where the bookmarks were made, the children expressed their creativity through their drawings on the front of the bookmarks, with Jing Si Aphorisms printed in both English and Nepali on the back. The children's vibrant artwork revealed their individual preferences, sentiments, and introspective thoughts.
Children and their parents work together to cut and bind the printed Jing Si Aphorisms into easy-to-carry booklets. (Photo by Bong Kian Hin)
Wang Jing Si, a mother who accompanied her two children in making the booklet, said that the four years of learning in the Parent-Child Bonding Class had not only helped her children develop good behaviour, but had also helped them grow into good young citizens who know how to contribute to the community meaningfully.
Sometimes, when her kids lose their temper, Wang Jing Si reminds them of the lessons they've learned, and they would calm down and behave better. The Parent-Child Bonding class really helps children learn how to think differently, embrace diverse viewpoints, and overcome obstacles — all of which are critical for a child’s development.
She admits that she has also benefited greatly herself, not only by learning better ways to guide her children but also becoming convinced that these important values cannot be acquired through school education alone.
Wang Jing Si (left) accompanying her two children in making Jing Si Aphorisms booklets on this day. (Photo by Tew Yu Rui)
Spreading love through talent
In the most important part of the programme – the Concluding Class Stage Performance, the talented young volunteers performed the song “Blue Earth” (蓝色地球) on stage, combining singing, instrumental performance, and sign language to convey the concept of caring for the Earth to the audience. The children's clear voices harmoniously sang with the violin accompaniment won cheers and praises from the audience.
The children's sign language performance won a round of applause from the audience. (Photo by Tew Yu Rui)
Qiao Zi Xin, standing on the stage playing the violin, is an enthusiastic and cheerful student in the Parent-Child Bonding Class. With a happy smile on her face, Qiao Zi Xin said with a twinkle in her eyes when asked why she likes the Parent-Child Bonding Class, “Because I can learn so many things! Parent-child Bonding class is like a big family full of love.”
What excites her the most is learning sign language. She said, “Sign language helps people understand the meaning of the songs and makes me feel like I can pass on love.”
Qiao Zi Xin (left), who plays the violin on stage, loves attending the Parent-Child Bonding Class. (Photo by Bong Kian Hin)
Qiao Zi Xin also actively involves her whole family in the activities. Her mum, Wong Ee Wern, said, ‘’The older the child gets, the more he or she has their own thoughts and independence, and the Parent-Child Bonding Class gives us something to discuss about together. In order to create a better environment for Zi Xin to grow up in, our whole family learned together and enriched ourselves.”
Qiao Zi Xin who is currently seven years old, not only learned plenty of knowledge during the Parent-Child Bonding Class, but also developed good morals and habits. She observes the volunteers around her from time to time and takes them as role models of good deeds.
The Jing Si Aphorism booklet is Zi Xin's “portable tutor”, and she takes it out to read during breaks at school. One of the quotes in the book, “Making parents happy and free from worry is the essence of filial piety”, impressed Zi Xin deeply. She obeys her parents, completes her homework diligently, and is grateful to her grandmother for all she has done.
Qiao Zi Xin (second from right) actively led her whole family to participate. Her mother Wong Ee Wern (first from right) is very pleased by her. (Photo by Bong Kian Hin)
Gratitude and love continues
Lin Qian Lin, who graduated from primary school this year, shared Jing Si Aphorisms in fluent Mandarin, “Count me in when doing good deeds. Exclude me when doing bad deeds”. At such a young age, she has already taken up the role of a chief planner for a school charity fair and has excellent presentation skills. She shows a high level of awareness and does not follow the trend when she sees her friends ‘doing bad deeds’.
Through a skit and a rendition of the song “For You” in sign language, the Parent-Child Bonding Class thanked the facilitators for their dedication. Two Tzu-Ching seniors shared their learning experiences and encouraged the junior graduates to join them in future.
Mr Tan Chai Hoon (second from left), Deputy CEO of Tzu-Chi Foundation (Singapore), presenting souvenirs to the graduates. (Photo by Tew Yu Rui)
It was the concluding class for the twelve graduates of the Parent-Child Bonding Class. These graduates served meals to everyone at lunch time. Afterwards, Mr Tan Chai Hoon, Deputy CEO of Tzu-Chi Foundation (Singapore), presented the graduates with Tzu Chi handicrafts and officiated at the lamp-passing ceremony. He exhorted everyone, “Living a life with love and care is the happiest.”
A group photo filled with smiles marked the conclusion of the Parent-Child Bonding Class programme. In addition to acknowledging a year's worth of education, it was also the time to start sowing good seeds of love. These seeds, when harvested, will bring about a desired future.
(Photo by Bong Kian Hin)
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