Lesson 5.2 花 树 山 水: Flowers, Trees, Mountains and Water

Steps

1. Warm-up

   Do this together: Go on a nature walk or look out the window. Find a flower, a tree, some grass, and water. Is there a hill or mountain you can see?

2. Teach the new idea

   Read aloud: The story. “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all.” Every flower, tree and mountain shows how wise and creative God is.

   Read aloud: How Chinese works. Some characters began as pictures: 山 looks like three mountain peaks, 木 looks like a tree with branches and roots, and 水 looks like flowing water with splashes. Chinese landscape paintings are called 山水, “mountain-water.”

   Read aloud: Say it out loud. huā (hwah), shù (shoo), shān (shahn), shuǐ (shway), cǎo (tsao).

3. New words

   Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.

   • 花 (huā) [hwah (high)]: flower
   • 树 (shù) [shoo (falling)]: tree
   • 山 (shān) [shahn (high)]: mountain; hill
   • 水 (shuǐ) [shway (dipping)]: water
   • 草 (cǎo) [tsao (dipping)]: grass
   • 木 (mù) [moo (falling)]: wood; tree
4. Show how

   Show: Which character looks like three mountain peaks?

   Say this: “Three peaks.”

   Answer: 山 (shān).

   Show: What are Chinese landscape paintings called?

   Say this: “Mountain + water.”

   Answer: 山水 (shānshuǐ).

5. Practice together

   Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.

   Ask: Say flower in Chinese.

   Listen for: 花 (huā).

   Ask: Say tree in Chinese.

   Listen for: 树 (shù).

   Ask: What does 木 look like?

   Listen for: A tree with branches and roots.

   1 more on the lesson page.

6. Project: Nature collage

   Read aloud: Collect leaves, grass and flowers and make a collage.

   Steps:

   1. Go on a nature walk and collect things (ask before picking).
   2. Glue them on paper.
   3. Label 花, 树 (a leaf), 草.
   4. Draw a mountain (山) and water (水) behind them.

   Tips for you:

   • Say each word as you glue.

   Done when your child can say:

   • My collage has five nature words.
   • I can read 山 and 木.
7. Sketchbook

   Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.

   1. Copy 山, 水 and 木 and draw the picture each came from beside it.
8. From history

   Read aloud: The Li River near Guilin in southern China is famous for its strange, steep green hills. Painters and poets have praised it for over a thousand years.

9. Watch for
   • Mixing 树 (tree, the spoken word) and 木 (wood, often in writing). Say 树 for a tree.
   • Saying 草 cǎo like “cow.” It starts with ts: tsao.
10. Game: Character picture match

    Draw a mountain, water, a tree and a person on cards. Match each picture to its character: 山, 水, 木, 人.

11. Narration

    Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”

    Listen for: Say 花, 树, 山, 水 and 草.; Recognize the picture-characters 山 (mountain), 水 (water) and 木 (tree, wood).; Praise God for His works in nature.

12. Scripture

    O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

    In the Chinese Bible (Chinese Union Version), this verse reads: <span class="zh-block" lang="zh-Hans">耶和华啊，你所造的何其多！都是你用智慧造成的；遍地满了你的丰富。</span><span class="py-line">Yēhéhuá a, nǐ suǒ zào de hé qí duō! Dōu shì nǐ yòng zhì huì zào chéng de; biàn dì mǎn le nǐ de fēng fù.</span> God made so many wonderful things, and made them all with wisdom. The earth is full of His riches.

Spread over the week

3 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.

1. Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Show how.
2. Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
3. Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.