We’re in the middle of the second week of September and theoretically, the kids are all back in school. Theoretically…

While there are still teachers and students stranded abroad, attending class via Zoom, and some younger students being told that their return is delayed a few more days due to school regulations, the better part of Beijing’s student body is back on campus.

So, it’s time for Beijing’s parents to tell us how you think your child’s school handled the back to school process this year. Scan the QR code below and share your thoughts.

Leave your thoughts on this year’s back to school in the comment section below.

KEEP READING: Back to School: Grid Management and Canteen Regulations

Photos: Pexels

Students and educators have a lot of “new normal” for the 2020-2021 school year, and the one that sounds the toughest to me is schoolyard distancing. Kids can go unmasked in the schoolyard but must play one meter apart from everyone else. If we want to ease the pain of our teachers tasked with enforcing this new rule, parents need to start playing socially distanced games with our kids now.

If you ever took theater classes, these games will sound very familiar. Theatrical training revolves around understanding your spatial relations onstage while maintaining an emotional connection with your partner, so it seems like a great place to find inspiration. Show them how much fun it can be one meter apart and they’ll take the challenge rather than complain.

Zip Zap Zop

This game always makes kids laugh. You clap your hands towards your friend and say “Zip!” The person you pointed to claps their hands towards another friend and says “Zap!” That person chooses someone to clap their hands at and says “Zop!” and you start all over. If you mess up and say the wrong word, you’re out. You can play with any number of people and variations are endless.

Zip zap zop from a distance

Whoosh Ball

You play catch with a friend, except it’s an invisible ball. Change the size of the ball just by the shape of your hands. All of a sudden, the ball is on fire! Or it’s an ice ball and it melts in your hands!

Hopscotch

If you can use chalk in your schoolyard, get one person to create the hopscotch board and another student can make circles where the other players stand one meter apart when not in play. Everyone uses a different landing piece, takes turns throwing it onto the hopscotch grid, and skipping along to pick it up without missing a beat. As one friend finishes, others move to a different circle closer to the start of the game.

I Spy        

We all know this one. “I spy with my little eye something that is… blue!” Then other friends try to guess what you saw. It might get a little hard to find new things after a while, but always a good game to try. It gets our family through a lot of DiDi trips.

“I spy with my little eye…”

Spot the Rainbow

Look around your schoolyard and find the colors of the rainbow, in order. This will require friends to agree on what colors are in a rainbow, but that’s fun too!

One Word Stories

Stand one meter apart and take turns telling a story together. The trick is you only tell it one word at a time. Spice up the game by suggesting a genre of a story to tell, like a fairy tale, comedy, talking animals, Halloween, etc.

Who Am I? And Charades

Classic games that never get old, one friend chooses a kind of person or an object and the other kids ask questions to figure out who they are. If the person who chose only answers yes or no, it can get very tricky.

Does anyone know why it’s called Simon says? Who’s Simon?

Simon Says

Nothing says you can’t play Simon Says at least one meter apart. One child starts as “Simon,” and gives instructions on what the other kids do. If the “Simon” says “Simon Says” before an instruction, the others have to do it. If she doesn’t, and you do it anyway, you’re out.

Freeze Dance

Someone sings while their friends dance. If the singer stops singing, the other players stop dancing and freeze. If you’re so into the dance that you don’t freeze, you’re out! Sense a pattern?

Mirror Exercise

Stand one meter apart from your partner, and slowly one of you starts to move. Stay very still except for one movement at a time, like a mirror image. The trickiest part is there shouldn’t be one leader. Both partners should feel as though they are working together to move. It’s a great game to build concentration.

Rock Paper Scissors

It’s always fun to see how long kids stay entertained by this game. Besides the standard rock, paper and scissors combination, challenge them to create new ones. There’s “Rock, Paper, Dragon,” “Giants, Wizards, Elves,” and “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Magic!” for the Hogwarts crowd.

I tried these with my kids at orientation, when they looked around their schoolyard and asked what they would or wouldn’t be allowed to do. Once we got into the swing of some of these games, it felt just as fun as contact tag! There’s one less thing to stress about this school year.

KEEP READING: Back to School: Grid Management and Canteen Regulations

Photos: Unsplash and Canva

Beijingkids has been an essential family resource for Beijing international families since 2006. And just as kids grow up in the blink of an eye, Beijing has grown and changed almost beyond recognition in that time. In Throwback Thursday we jump in the time machine, traveling through our 14 year-strong blog archives to dig out the most entertaining, fascinating, and thought-provoking stories for your reading pleasure. Ready? Let’s go…

This week students in Beijing are getting ready for the most unusual back to school they’ve ever experienced. With staggered returning, grid management, and even restrictions on food services, this school year is off to a cautious start. But hey, at least it’s starting!

As our summer intern Jack He, a student at Keystone Academy, wrote, “In previous years, my excitement for school came from a mix of wanting to get away from my family and guilt for being irresponsible and unproductive over the summer. (I’ve just described a stereotypical teenager who is rebellious and has no direction in life, I know). However, this year I’m excited for different reasons. First, this year is bound to be different. Our first two weeks of school will be conducted online, again. My personal views on online learning are mixed. COVID-19 has affected education in unexpected ways, some positive and others not.”

But putting aside the excitement of seeing classmates again, the big topic on every parent’s mind is still going to be COVID-19. The Beijing Municipal Education Commission has put into place multiple countermeasures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on campus, but that’s not the only back to school illness lurking around the corner. As our writer Andy Penafuerte III reminded us back in 2018, there are plenty of other illnesses that parents should be on the lookout for and tips on how to prevent them.

Upper respiratory tract infections

Illnesses include common colds and the flu, which are caused by various viruses, including rhinovirus, adenovirus, coronavirus, influenza virus, and the enteroviruses.
Prevention tip: Viruses that cause this kind of illness are usually airborne, therefore they can easily propagate. The most important way of preventing the spread of these viruses is through proper hand hygiene (washing hands thoroughly with soap or using alcohol-based hand sanitizers). To reduce the chances of their getting these diseases, we should help kids maintain a strong immune system by allowing them to get enough sleep and encouraging them to eat nutritious foods.
Managing the sickness: Kids should be properly hydrated and have enough time to rest. Using anti-fever medications will help alleviate fever and body pains.

Pink eye

Conjunctivitis (pink eye) is highly contagious and can be a result of a viral infection (in most cases) or allergy.
Prevention tip: Make sure that kids wash their hands properly and frequently. They shouldn’t touch their eyes, because the microbes that cause conjunctivitis can easily spread.
Managing the sickness: The viral type of conjunctivitis resolves on its own, even without treatment. If there’s a yellow/green discharge in the eye, it is the bacterial type and can be treated with antibiotic eye drops or ointment, prescribed by your family doctor.

Strep throat

Strep throat is a highly contagious bacterial infection that causes severe sore throat, a sudden onset of fever, and body pain like headaches or stomachaches.
How it is spread: Since strep throat is caused by bacteria that can also cause pharyngitis, it can be easily spread through direct contact.
Managing the sickness: Doctors need to test with a swab to know which type of bacteria caused the illness. While strep throat resolves within a few days, taking antibacterial medication is recommended to reduce the risk of other complications such as rheumatic fever. Pain medication like paracetamol can be used to alleviate fever.

Stomach infection

Gastroenteritis or stomach infection is caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites affecting the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. This leads to dehydration, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and sometimes fever.
Prevention tip: Gastroenteritis may be caused by food or water contamination, so proper handling and cooking of food as well as sanitation is very important.
Managing the sickness: Stomach infection usually resolves within a week, but if there is recurring pain, vomiting, or blood in the stool, the child should be seen by a doctor. Give kids sips of clear liquids to help them stay hydrated.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) can affect everyone regardless of their age. Common symptoms include fever, sore throat and mouth ulcers, rashes and small blisters on the palms of hands, soles of feet, and poor appetite.
Prevention tip: HFMD is highly contagious and can spread within the same family. At the moment, there’s no vaccine available so maintaining good hygiene, washing hands frequently and properly, as well as avoiding contact with those infected will reduce the risk of infection.
Managing the sickness: Patients who are recovering require adequate rest and hydration. Since the sickness also causes mouth ulcers, eating popsicles or cold food can help alleviate the pain and keep the patient hydrated as well.

Lice infestation

Lice infestation spreads through direct contact with the hair or head of other infected children. Lice feed on blood but cannot burrow into the skin.
Prevention tip: Do not share combs or hairbrush with infected children.
Managing the infestation: There are over-the-counter treatments like topical lotions and shampoos, as well as natural products, but they are not always 100 percent effective. Pediatricians can give prescription medications if the symptoms like visible lice or itching of the scalp persist.

Allergies

Allergies like allergic rhinitis can appear as an upper respiratory infection, but usually, they don’t involve coughs or nasal stuffiness. Food allergies are also a concern, especially because they can trigger a severe immune response.
Managing allergies: For parents and teachers, check if there are places in the classroom that emit dust or any other allergens. If a child has a food allergy, it’s better to bring a packed lunch or inform school authorities of the condition.

While it’s always distressing to see your child unwell, these illnesses are a common part of childhood, and experiencing them actually strengthens the immune system. As parents, we can keep kids healthy by letting them sleep 8-10 hours a day, as well as giving them nutritious foods and getting them all the recommended immunizations. If your child has fever or colds, or is vomiting or suffering from diarrhea, it’s better to keep them at home to recuperate than to risk infecting others. Don’t wait for these symptoms to worsen before going to a doctor.

KEEP READING: How Kids Can Prevent the Spread of Back to School Illnesses

Photos: Pexels

During the school year, eight-year-old Yohan Geevarghese was assigned the task of creating picture books. What initially appeared to be merely more homework blossomed into a full-on new interest. Over the summer, young Geevarghese was able to create many books out of pencils, paper, and bursting creativity. With a young writer this adorable, we had to find out more!

Can you tell us what your stories are about?

My first book is about a high school boy named Tim and his dog named Nile. They travel around the world, and they always have trouble wherever they travel, and they always have a solution. In one of my books, they went to India, and they tried to go to one of the history museums, but it was closed. So the driver had the idea of going to the Taj Mahal. Now, I’m starting a new book that is called Ben, Ace, and Jen. Ben is a boy who works for the CIA, Jen is a girl who works for the CIA, and Ace is their dog. And they’re called the Silver Three! They work for the CIA as agents.

Where do you get the ideas from?

In my new series, for the Silver Three, I watched a lot of spy movies, probably a million times! So I thought maybe I should draw it, a spy book. For Tim and Nile,  there’s this nice guy that I met, and he came here for a debate competition at Tsinghua International School (THIS) where my mom works. My family went to dinner with him and we had a good time, so I thought maybe I should name the character after Tim!

What do you like about the entire process?

I like mostly the imagination, and also the hard part of it. It’s quite amazing, and it takes very long to write my book. I’m serious-super, very long, maybe a week or two?

What else have you been doing this summer?

I have been awesome! I watch TV of course, I play with my toys, I’m taking ukulele lessons, and I started to learn taekwondo.

Behind every young creative is a supportive parent. We interviewed mom Benita Sumita on her thoughts about her son’s newly discovered hobby.

Do you think these stories benefit your child’s creativity?

Creativity is a natural part of getting your kid to write their own stories. But, this summer project is much more because it gets them to practice and build their language skills, practice spelling, and keep them focused on a single task for increasingly longer stretches of time. I believe it gives kids a unique sense of satisfaction to have completed their own project. The only role we play as parents is to ask questions when Yohan gets stuck, or has writer’s block.

Were you surprised by anything he created? What was your favorite part/story he came up with?

The way he thinks of problems and solutions are quite interesting, especially in his first series – Tim and Nile. The series is realistic fiction, and sometimes the problems are simple and relatable. My favorite is his first book, which he wrote in the second semester of the last school year – A Trip to the Zoo. It was such a simple problem of Tim’s phone running out of battery as he was following directions to the zoo, and finding a solution as easy as rushing to the nearest bus stop to find a map to get to the zoo.

Any words of wisdom for other parents about this activity? Would you recommend it?

Like Yohan mentioned, writing a book takes a while and coming up with the idea, the characters and the plot takes even longer. Be patient. Parents don’t have to watch over the kid’s shoulder but check in on them especially if they are younger kids. There were times when I have checked up on Yohan after 30 minutes and he was just staring out the window. What started off as contemplation, derailed into daydreaming. These things happen, we just need to put them back on track.

What are some activities for kids you recommend when they can’t travel?

I would recommend activities that involve the whole family – at the moment we have started a 2000-piece jigsaw puzzle. We spend an hour on it every day, some days lesser when the pieces start getting blurry and look all the same.

Click here to download Yohan’s book.

KEEP READING: West Meets East: Parents From Different Cultural Backgrounds Share Their Thoughts on Summer Activities

Photos：Courtesy of Benita Sumita, Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash

As students prepare to return to school starting from Sep 1, The Beijing Municipal Education Commission announced the upcoming school year’s holiday calendar via their official WeChat account. According to the newly issued calendar, this year’s winter holidays will start on Jan 30, 2021.

In their post, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission emphasized that the calendar is based on the current status of COVID-19 in Beijing and is subject to change should the circumstances change.

In the event that the Municipal Government Emergency Office issues red warnings for heavy air pollution and other extreme weather warnings, each of Beijing’s district education committees will be required to follow the relevant requirements of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission’s Emergency Plan for Heavy Air Pollution.

KEEP READING: Back to School: Grid Management and Canteen Regulations

Images: beijingkids, Unsplash

As schools all over the city are making final preparations to welcome back their students, saying “this year’s back to school is different from the previous years” is just stating the blatantly obvious. The health and safety of children are being placed at the highest level of priority and until COVID-19 becomes a thing of the past, there will continue to be new regulations on how schools need to operate under these special times.

On Monday the Beijing Municipal Education Commission (BMEC) announced that it’ll be conducting what they call grid management and tracking students’ movements from the start of the new semester. It is not clear exactly what is meant by ‘grid management’ but the Commission states that schools should be prepared to arrange grids on campus in order to avoid any unnecessary group gatherings, which suggests that they would be a system of physical or visual barriers designed to control the flow of students and maintain social distancing.

There have also been changes to how meals are served and consumed at schools. The commission has notified schools and food catering companies that in the upcoming new semester raw food products will not be allowed to be served on campus. According to the Beijing Municipal Education Commission’s Weibo account, uncooked food, pastries containing fresh cream, and kidney beans will not be allowed to be sold on campus. Currently, we have not heard any confirmation whether these new regulations pertaining to on-campus food safety will affect fresh fruits and salads. Beijingkids will continue to follow up on the issue and update you as we hear back from the schools.

School cafeterias and even supermarkets and convenient stores located close to school campuses will be undergoing month-long checks by the municipal market supervision bureau to ensure the food sold are up to safety standard.

A representative of the Beijing Education Commission emphasized that these new actions are not in response to any new outbreaks or emergency in Beijing, but should be considered as “the new normal.”

KEEP READING: Going Back to School From 7,000 Kilometers Away

Photos: Pexels

There’s finally light at the end of the tunnel for Beijing students. Over the weekend the Beijing Municipal Education Commission announced the official starting dates for the 2020-2021 fall semester for schools across the city.

The commission sets official policy for all public schools, though private and international schools are also required to abide by their policies.

The announced dates of course presume there is no major new outbreak of Covid-19. Here they are:

Aug 29: First grade in elementary school, junior high Grades 1 and 3 (7th and 9th grades); and all grades in high school

Sep 1: Elementary school Grades 5 and 6 and junior high Grade 2 (8th grade)

Sep 7: Elementary school Grades 2-4

Sep 8: Upper classes in preschool/kindergarten

Sep 11: First year of preschool/kindergarten

Universities are cleared to reopen gradually after August 15, provided that they get approval from the Beijing Educational System Epidemic Prevention and Control Work Leading Group.

For now, off-campus training centers are subject to evaluation and written approval from the Municipal Education Commission before they can resume their regular classes.

International schools across the city have already issued return to school announcements to their students, and have been reminded to not travel outside of Beijing 14 days prior to their first day of school. Should the student need to leave Beijing during this time, they must show a negative Covid-19 test result before being allowed back on campus.

KEEP READING: Junior Year, 2020: I’ve Never Faced a ‘Back to School’ Like This Before

Photo: Unsplash

I set a few unrealistic goals for myself at the beginning of summer, as so many of us do. I’d heard that the summer following 10th grade is supposed to be meaningful, but don’t “meaningful” and “summer” kind of have opposite meanings? I think my summer was pretty meaningful, but my bar for what is meaningful is probably pretty low because of the wasted summers I’ve enjoyed my entire life.

This year, interning at beijingkids has been fun and educational. Having a platform to learn and write about the city I live in as well as personal stories has been lovely. The work environment was also more casual and inviting than I expected. An added perk is that the beijingkids office is located near some of the biggest shopping areas in Beijing, so I’ve had a blast tasting all of the many restaurants saved in my DianPing. You might have heard of water scarcity, but in Shunyi, where I live, there’s a scarcity of amazing restaurants. As a foodie, that’s a tough place to live in. I’m positive that if one conducts a study of the concentration of foodies in the districts of Beijing, Shunyi’s numbers would be towards the bottom of the list.

I swear time goes faster during summer vacation. 7 weeks, ‘poof’, and it’s gone. Is it just me, or do the first one or two weeks of summer seem meaningful and long, but the rest of the summer just flies by within the blink of an eye? It’s like some type of mind trickery.

Well, now begins the annual countdown until the start of school, which for us Keystone Academy students, is the Aug 17. I’m both dreading but eager to begin school.

In previous years, my excitement for school came from a mix of wanting to get away from my family and guilt for being irresponsible and unproductive over the summer. (I’ve just described a stereotypical teenager who is rebellious and has no direction in life, I know). However, this year I’m excited for different reasons.

First, this year is bound to be different. Our first two weeks of school will be conducted online, again. My personal views on online learning are mixed. COVID-19 has affected education in unexpected ways, some positive and others not. I like being in charge of my own time and staying at home, but face-to-face learning is much more interactive and productive. I’ve also learned about several useful online educational resources like Education Perfect and NoRedInk which make learning fun and interactive despite being on a screen.

On the other hand, disappointing and lower-than-expected 2020 IB results have raised questions about what constitutes “fairness” in testing during a time when different students are affected differently by a global pandemic. Going into 11th grade, college is no more a distant myth, it’s the next major step of my life. Everyone wants to maximize their last two years of high school, and it’s a bit worrying because of this fluctuating and unpredictable pandemic.

Aside from academics, extracurriculars are essential to almost every student’s school experience. If the basketball season gets cancelled, that will not only be a blow for me, but also to every passionate student who is involved in school athletics. Basketball means a lot to me, and many don’t understand why, but I think that basketball can be compared to a good friend. The more you invest in it, the better your relationship with it.

That’s the thing. There’s so much uncertainty in everything we do right now. However, with this uncertainty comes anticipation for adventure. That’s what I’m hoping this school year’s going to be like: adventurous with ups and downs. Nobody wishes to live in a predictable utopia, that’s merely a moral construct. We need adversity, we need challenges, and we need adventure. That’s my mentality towards the upcoming school year. It will be full of challenges and surprises, but what really matters is embracing it by taking risks and coming out as a better and wiser person. Instead of being vulnerable to chaos, find yourself within it. Don’t be yourself, be better than yourself. Well, that’s gonna be my motto for this year. I hope I don’t mess it up…

“Jack, thank you for all of your amazing work during your summer internship. We have loved having you in the office and will miss your unique and thoughtful perspective. We wish you the best of luck for the academic year, we know you’ll thrive” – the beijingkids editorial team

 Click here to read more of Jack’s work (including this moving piece about his grandfather’s Tsampa)

Photo Credit: Unsplash