A Day in the Life

A Hip Wah day is a day packed with fun activities.

Children in grades 1-6 have classes in Chinese culture and tradition, including Chinese brush painting, Mandarin language, and Chinese music, both choral and Chinese instruments. Hip Wah 2 and Hip Wah 3 (7th graders) explore the Chinese American influnce U.S. society.

Children attend culture and tradition classes in the mornings and their elective classes in the afternoons. Hip Wah classes emphasize hands-on activities.

The children enjoy outdoor cultural exercises, which takes places on an expansive lawn area at the center of campus.

The children also create wonderful arts and crafts projects. Have you ever seen a dragon boat made with 40 lai-see envelopes? A wedding palanquin made with orange juice cartons? The twelve animals made with paper plates? Or a lion’s head made with paper mache?

Want to brush paint the Chinese way? Children learn the proper method of holding the brushes to draw or paint Chinese pictures. The younger children do a lot painting and the older classes learn to draw.

Music is a big deal at Hip Wah. The young children learn Chinese songs and also sing “American” songs. The older kids, except Hip Wah 3, play the Chinese instruments such as the erhu, moon guitar or dulcimer. In just 19 days, the music teachers prepare the children for a wonderful music performance for parents, friends and family.

And what would a Chinese American program be without an emphasis on FOOD. Busy hands go along with busy mouths – used for eating, that is. So all our classes do a fair amount of cooking.

Hip Wah 2 cooks at least 2-3 times a week. You should have been here to try their Pagoda Fruit Crisps, Mandarin Orange Salad, Designer teem gok (with chocolate sauce) and so much more.

Let’s not forget that little kids can cook too. Our Rabbits are so cute dicing and cutting lop cheung, mushrooms, and green onions for their sweet rice dish. The Rats make a killer vegetarian and meat-filled potstickers – yummy! It’s all about eating – so Chinese!

In between all the action on campus, classes manage to go on cultural field trips, including visiting the Asian Art Museum, ginger hunting in Oakland Chinatown, and even sampling the best dim sum delis in San Francisco Chinatown.

Hip Wah 3 – where the main focus is an appreciation of Chinese American influence in modern day American society – visits with Chinese American doctors, musicians, politicians and judges.

Hip Wah has been happening for the past 25 Julys. It’s the best month of the year for many of us.