Enchanted Brush is a calligratherapy programme for Children and Young People. It offers a unique and captivating learning experience.–it weaves an inspirational story of an enchanted brush throughout the whole course, engaging students in novel ways! It is a story about love, family, ink art and Chinese characters.
A snapshot of what a typical lesson looks like
A typical lesson in the Enchanted Brush callligratherapy programme for Children and young people follows an adventure story of Lyla as its lead-in.
In each lesson, Lyla embarks on a magical journey that is represented by Chinese characters and/or ink art. For instance, in the Moon and Stars lesson, Lyla’s grandfather Ayeh tells her a story of flying as high as the moon and travelling as far as the stars.
He then explains to her that the Chinese character 月 means Moon, and its composition is especially meaningful because it reminds us of how our ever-changing sky looks like and keeps track of time. The second character 曐, on the other hand, means Star and is composed of three suns representing how bright a star shines compared to the Sun.
He then shows Lyla how to write the characters via video demonstration. After each lesson, children and young people are encouraged to try it out and submit their work for feedback.
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Our lesson plan outlines the detailed steps we’ll betaking to ensure an engaging course. Learn more about what you can expect as our programme unfolds!
In Lesson 1, we explore the wonders of flight as we soar to new heights – journey towards a beautiful starlit night sky and uncover all that lies beyond. Discover what is possible with this exciting lesson plan!
1. Lead in – Lyla’s adventure story
The next day, Lyla waited until Shun-Shun took his afternoon nap and rushed to her grandfather’s room, asking him to show her more magic. Grandfather Ayeh smiled his twinkly smile and patted the chair, “Come and sit next to me. In today’s story, you are the heroine. Close your eyes and soon we will fly, you and me, as high as the moon and as far as the stars.”
“We will fly to the start of the Great Race at the top of the tallest mountain where you will cross a mighty river before going deep inside a gloomy forest.” Lyla shuddered at the thought of the gloomy forest. It made her slightly nervous but, she was a big girl now so…
2. An in-depth explanation of the composition and meaning/story behind the Chinese character introduced in this lessonMoon
月 -Explore the Magic of the Moon: Find Out What the Chinese Character 月 Really Means!
The Moon is constantly changing, just like us! Every month we may look a little different or act differently and the same happens with the moon too. Because of this special change in appearance every month, ancient people came up with an idea to help keep track of time: they used symbols that represented the shape of a crescent Moon – two lines across its centtaking to ensure an engaging course. Learn more about what you can expect as our programme unfolds!
In Lesson 1, we explore the wonders of flight as we soar to new heights – journey towards a beautiful starlit night sky and uncover all that lies beyond. Discover what is possible with this exciting lesson plan!
1. Lead in – Lyla’s adventure story
The next day, Lyla waited until Shun-Shun took his afternoon nap and rushed to her grandfather’s room, asking him to show her more magic. Grandfather Ayeh smiled his twinkly smile and patted the chair, “Come and sit next to me. In today’s story, you are the heroine. Close your eyes and soon we will fly, you and me, as high as the moon and as far as the stars.”
“We will fly to the start of the Great Race at the top of the tallest mountain where you will cross a mighty river before going deep inside a gloomy forest.” Lyla shuddered at the thought of the gloomy forest. It made her slightly nervous but, she was a big girl now so…
2. An in-depth explanation of the composition and meaning/story behind the Chinese character introduced in this lessonMoon
月 -Explore the Magic of the Moon: Find Out What the Chinese Character 月 Really Means!
The Moon is constantly changing, just like us! Every month we may look a little different or act differently and the same happens with the moon too. Because of this special change in appearance every month, ancient people came up with an idea to help keep track of time: they used symbols that represented the shape of a crescent Moon – two lines across its centStar 曐-Look Up to the Stars: Finding Strength and Hope in 曐
Chinese character 曐 means star. The composition of this character is special because it reminds us of an amazing idea — that even when times are tough and things feel dark, we can still find hope in the stars.
The top part of this character is three suns representing how bright a star shines compared to even the brightest thing in our sky: the Sun!
The bottom part ‘生’ means life; this tells us that at night, we rely on those little twinkling specks up above to make sure everything down here is just right.
And so every time you see a shooting star or look out into space, remember they’re looking after your safety and sending you wishes for all good things!
3. Video demonstration of how to write the character
Watch the video demonstration to learn how to write Star 曐.
Watch the video demonstration to learn how to write Moon 月
4. Assignment for more practice
Moon 月 and Stars 曐 in the Seal script is like drawing a picture. The challenge is to keep it balanced. It takes a lot of practice to get to that stage. So let’s do some practice.
You task is to:
1. Take a piece of paper and divided it into two columns
- do three Moons with different length and thickness in one of the columns.
- do three Stars mirroring the size of your Moons in the next column.
2. date the pages of this exercise, and of all the following ones, and set aside to keep
3. Repeat eh exerices regularly
4. Choose a page of your exercise that you are most happy with, submit for this assignment.
5. Reflection questions for learners:
– How did you feel when your grandfather Ayeh told you the story of travelling as high as the moon and far out to the stars?
– What meaning can you derive from the Chinese character 月?
– How is the composition of the Chinese character 曐 special to you?
– What did you learn from your callligratherapy lesson today?
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Overall, the Enchanted Brush callligratherapy programme seeks to bring magic and fun into the mindfulness practice of practising Chinese calligraphy and ink art, with the hope that children and young people can appreciate the culture and find strength and hope in it.
Contact us today to get registered for the introduction workshop of Enchanted Brush callligratherapy programme.
