Little Dragon Summer Camp ‍Newsletter (7/20-24）

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In the blink of an eye, the fifth week of our "Little Dragon" summer camp—this time focused on the rich culture and history of Hangzhou—has come to a joyful end. Our children immersed themselves in the city's timeless traditions, from exploring West Lake's legends to trying their hands at ink painting in the fans. They also continuie to sharpen their English skills in the EnglishLA class everyday. On the court, they kept building on their basketball fundamentals—dribbling, passing, and shooting—with growing confidence and teamwork. Whether tasting fragrant Longjing tea or practicing layups with new friends, every moment was a chance to learn, grow, and connect. We're so proud of how far they've come, and we can't wait to see what next week brings!

Basketball

Our morning basketball course is designed to give your player a strong foundation in the game through high-energy, skill-focused training in a safe and supportive environment. Each day, campers rotate through stations covering shooting, ball-handling, passing, and defense, then apply those skills in competitive drills and scrimmages. Beyond basketball, we emphasize teamwork, sportsmanship, and effort—values that serve kids both on and off the court.

Chinese Language Arts

This week, our campers "traveled" to Hangzhou, one of China's most beautiful and historic cities, through poetry, stories, informational reading, music, crafts, and hands-on cultural activities. On Monday, students learned about Hangzhou's location, famous landmarks, traditions, and daily life through the book Hi, Hangzhou. We also explored the famous poem "A moment from shine to rain on West Lake" (饮湖上初晴后雨) by Su Shi (苏轼), which beautifully describes the scenery of West Lake. On Tuesday, students read a short prose piece about West Lake and learned about the famous attraction Three Pools Mirroring the Moon (三潭印月). They also created their own origami umbrellas inspired by the tradition of the area.

On Wednesday, students learned about Longjing tea and sweet osmanthus, two special symbols of Hangzhou. They read a story about the origin of Longjing tea and learned the Chinese idiom "蟾宫折桂" (to pluck the laurel branch), which means to achieve great success. Every one also got the experience to touch, smell and drink the Longjing and sweet osmanthus tea. On Thursday, students learned about and retold the famous Chinese folktale "The Legend of the White Snake" (白蛇传), which is closely connected to West Lake and Hangzhou. We wrapped up the week on Friday with a travel poster exhibition and student presentations, giving every camper the opportunity to proudly share what they learned about Hangzhou's culture, beautiful scenery, and traditions.

Enjoying Longjing Tea and Taking in the Scent of Osmanthus Flowers

Make Paper Umbrella

Retell Story

Finished Poster

Presentation

English Language Arts

Every week, we explore the COMPONENTS OF LITERATURE through all our activities:

· Setting

· Characters

· Point of view (who's telling the story)

· Plot (sequence of events)

· Conflict and resolution

All students spend considerable time writing—with a focus on vocabulary development, creative writing, comprehension, and responding to books and reading passages.

Older students tackle more advanced writing, including opinion pieces and letter writing. They dive deeper into writing conventions and mechanics, and practice editing and revision skills.

Younger students continue to build confidence in their writing. They're moving away from asking, "How do you spell this?" and instead learning spelling strategies they can use independently. This helps them avoid the common habit of sticking to simpler words just because they're easier to spell—and it leads to more confident readers, too. They also share their writing aloud; some are shy at first, but they soon grow comfortable speaking in front of others.

This week, we took advantage of the good weather and went outside so the children could observe and draw scenes from nature, then write words or sentences about what they saw.

We do a great deal of reading and always discuss what we've read. We make sure every child is heard and understood, because we want them to know that their voice matters.

Through reading, writing, and discussion, students sharpen their critical thinking skills, strengthen their English-speaking abilities, and practice new vocabulary in meaningful contexts.

I am deeply grateful for our student helpers. Their support allows us to better address each student's needs and interests, and to differentiate instruction more effectively. The students adore them—and they do outstanding work!

Older Group

Young Group

Activity Center

Children can explore, create, and grow through different fun learning!

Chess

Lego

Craft

Homework Suppport

Soccer

Special Events

Using the traditional Chinese splash-ink painting technique（泼墨画）, students created their own lotus compositions and wrote a lotus-inspired blessing or well-wishing message on the back of their artwork.

Break Time Volunteers