Draw or write what you hear

During the third project students were asked to listen to audio recordings from their friends in China. They were instructed to draw or write anything they heard that sounded like a word that was familiar to them. They could use Swedish, Finnish, and English words for the listening exercise. As we listened students, wrote words that they heard or that came to mind and drew pictures to accompany the words. When the listening exercises was over the students used mixed methods of collage and coloring to complete their images. Using bits cut from maps they created lines connecting their images to one another.  They really enjoyed listening to what their friends had to say. Thanks so much to our friends in China! We really enjoyed collaborating with you on this project!

Sincerely,
Rachel Kangas

The artists in Grade 2 (8-9 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists at Linguajoy (7-10 years old) in Helsinki, Finland.

The artists from Linguajoy translate their environment and Easter!

Our third Dear You project took place during the week leading up to Easter vacation. The students were asked to create a Easter eggs and while working they discussed their activities and what their environment looked like.

Linguajoy #DearYou #Helsinki #Finland #Environment #SoundArt

DearYou #Linguajoy #Helsinki #Finland #Environment #Sound #Art

Linguajoy #DearYou #Sound #Art #Environment #Helsinki #Finland

Linguajoy #DearYou #Environment #Translating

The first group was a bit shy but we discussed what we were going to say and even rehearsed saying it a few times before we created our recordings. The second group of students were very excited to describe their environment and discuss their families Easter traditions.  

Sincerely,
Rachel Kangas

The artists in Grade 2 (8-9 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists at Linguajoy (7-10 years old) in Helsinki, Finland.

The artists in China challenge realism!

The creation has sought the views of the children. They thought that their own photos can be printed out and then they were able to discuss their appearance characteristics. They also could talk about their good characters, talented things even favourite clothes, habitual actions, preferred colors and so on.

There are two kinds of creation, one is to draw themselves, the other is to draw among each other.

Some children believed it can be realistic. They stuck photos on the window and keep papers above them to describe in detail. Some children could also exaggerate some features of their own such as a round face more round, big eyes bigger, even can express themselves with decorative techniques besides expressing some features they don’t have but want to own. For example, short hair girl painted her wanted long hair, lively become calm. In the process of painting, they devoted themselves to draw a variety of styles of themselves.

King regards,
Teacher Lisa and Miss Wu Juehua

The artists in Grade 3 (9-10 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists at Linguajoy (7-9 years old) in Helsinki, Finland.

I think we will make good friends!

申钰萌：我是一个性格内向的小女孩，我有一双大大的眼睛，一头乌黑的长发和一张能说会道的嘴巴。音乐、画画、跳舞都是我平时的爱好，跳绳、跑步是我喜爱的体育项目。这就是我，一个快乐的小女孩。

申钰茜：我是一个性格内向的女生。我有一双炯炯有神的大眼睛，一头乌黑的头发，和一张能说会道的嘴。我喜欢画画、跳舞、唱歌。跑步、跳绳都是我喜爱的体育项目。这就是我，一个幸福、快乐的女孩。

Shen Yu Meng: I am an introverted little girl, I have big eyes, long black hair and I like to talk. My hobbies are music, drawing and dancing. Skipping and running are my favorite sport. This is me, a happy little girl.

Shen Yu Qian: I am an introverted girl. I have big and bright eyes, a black hair, and a can of mouth. I like drawing, dancing, singing. Running, jumping rope are my favorite sports. I am a happy, lucky girl.

沈力萌：我是一个爱笑的女孩。闲时，我喜欢吟诗诵读。画画，唱歌是我的最爱。每天我都在不断努力，不断进步，因为我相信：顽强的意志可以征服世界上任何一座高山。

Shen Meng: I am a girl who likes to laugh a lot. For fun, I like to recite poems. Painting and singing are my favorite. Every day I am constantly working hard and making progress, because I believe: if we work hard we can conquer any mountain in the world.

陈仁杰，今年9岁了。我是个阳光活泼的大胖子，跑步、跳绳、打篮球、画画等等都是我的兴趣爱好，但没有一个是我擅长的，我特别爱交朋友，希望我们能成为好朋友。

Chen Renjie, I turn 9 years old this year. I am a lively little pudgy boy. Running, skipping, playing basketball, painting and so on are all my hobbies, but I am not especially good at any of them. I especially love to make friends and hope we can be good friends.

陈楚楚：我是一个安静内敛的女生。我喜欢折纸，画画，跳绳……其中旅游，交友是我的最爱，好期待认识远方的您们！

Chen Chu Chu: I am a quiet introverted girl. I like origami, drawing, skipping ... travel, making friends is my favorite, so looking forward to meeting you from a distance!

程志奥:大家好，我叫程志奥，今年十岁，我是一个活泼开朗的小孩。喜欢打羽毛球、骑自行车还喜欢踢足球。我相信在这个大家庭里没个人都有不可代替的作用。

Cheng Zhi-o: Hello everyone, my name is 程志奥, I turn ten years old this year, I am a lively and cheerful kid. I like playing badminton, cycling and also I like to play football. I believe that everybody in the family has an important place and role.

石杰文：我是一个快乐的男孩，我喜欢阅读和唱歌，爱看一些关于恐龙的书籍和影片，我的理想是长大后成为一名考古学家！你们喜欢我吗？喜欢就和我交朋友吧！

Shi Jiewen: I am a happy boy. I like to read and sing. I love to read books and watch videos about dinosaurs. My dream is to grow up to become an archeologist! Do you like me?  If you do, we can be friends!

徐志东：大家好，我叫徐志东，今年十岁。我是一个活泼可爱的小男孩，我善常跑步、骑自行车、画画……我的梦想是成为一名聪明的冒险家，因为我想看看世界！有好奇心的小朋友就跟我交朋友吧!

Xu Zhidong: Hello everyone, my name is Xu Zhidong, I turn ten years old this year. I am a lovely lively cute little boy. I am good at running, riding a bike, painting and drawing ... My dream is to become a wise adventurer because I want to see the world! Curious children, come make friends with me!

徐梓惠 : 大家好，我叫徐梓惠，我是一个活波可爱的女孩。跳舞、画画、主持人，这都是我的兴趣爱好。我长大想当一名护士，因为可以帮助生病的人减轻痛苦。

Xu Zihui: Hello everyone, my name is Xu Zihui, I am a lively cute little girl. Dancing, drawing, being a talk show host are my hobbies. I want to grow up to be a nurse because then I could help the sick to make them feel better.

徐俪宁，我是一个活泼开朗好运动的女孩。平时休息的时候我会去做一些体育运动，例如：游泳、轮滑、攀岩。我的特长是舞蹈和绘画，但我更喜欢表演，我希望我长大后能当一名演员，像我的偶像杨幂那样优秀。

Xu Li Ning, I am a lively, cheerful, and sporty girl. Usually to relax, I will do some sports, such as swimming, roller skating and rock climbing. My specialty is dance and painting, but I prefer acting, and I hope I grew up to be an actress, as good as my idol Yang Mi.

When I explained to the kids what the event meant and what to do, they were very positive and found out how many great pictures they had and asked friends to pick out the ones they like. 

Next, the kids told stories about the photos. Then, the kids talked about their photos one after one. They made self-introductions and wrote them down, they expect to be new friends with the kids in Finland.

King regards,
Teacher Lisa and Miss Wu Juehua

The artists in Grade 3 (9-10 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists at Linguajoy (7-9 years old) in Helsinki, Finland.

杨俊涛：我是一个爱笑的男孩。我的眼睛小小的，笑起来眯成一条缝。我喜欢踢毽子、唱歌，魔方是我的最爱。

Yang Juntao: I am a kind of boy who likes to laugh a lot. My eyes are small, and when they are smiling that are like tiny slits. I like to play badminton, sing, and the Rubik's Cube is my favorite.

大家好！我叫刘晶瑶，今年10岁了。我内心阳光，性格开朗，是同学们的好朋友，老师的小助手。我热爱画画，钢琴、体育等…，希望大家喜欢我！

Hello everyone! My name is Liu Jingyao and I turn 10 years old this year. My heart is full of sunshine, I have a cheerful personality, I am good friends with my classmates, and I am teacher's assistant. I love painting, piano, sports, etc ..., I hope everyone likes me!

李一轩：我是个活泼且调皮的男孩，个子高高的，皮肤白白的，爸爸说他最喜欢我水灵灵的大眼睛，因为觉得我的眼睛会说话。别看我瘦得跟豆芽菜似的，我的饭量可大了，妈妈特羡慕我这种吃得多还不胖的体质。我的爱好是国际象棋和运动，来和我做朋友，让我给你们带去欢乐吧！

Li Yixuan: I am a lively and naughty boy, I am quite tall, my complexion is light, and my father says he likes my big watery eyes the most, because he thinks that my eyes can talk. I may look thin, but I have a big appetite. My hobbies are chess and sports, come and be my friend so that I can make you happy!

任建业：大家好，我叫任建业。我今年十岁了。我是一个活泼、爱笑的男生，一笑眼睛就眯成一条线。我有很多的兴趣爱好：看书、跳绳、踢毽子、画画……我的梦想是成为一位有名的画家，所以现在就要好好学习，天天向上，这样才有可能性。你们愿意和我做朋友吗？

Ren Jianye: Hello everyone, my name is Ren Jianye. I am ten years old. I am a lively and loving boy. I have a lot of hobbies: reading books, skipping, playing badminton, painting ... My dream is to become a famous painter, so I will study hard now and work everyday so that it can be possible. Will you be friends with me?

大家好，我叫吕明轩，今年10岁，我活泼好动，非常喜欢体育，尤其喜欢踢足球，跑步和打篮球这三项体育运动。如果来到我们学校的操场，那个跑步第一名的可能就是我哦！

Hello everybody, my name is Lu Mingxuan, I am 10 years old. I am active and very much like sports. I especially like playing football, running and palying basketball. If you come to our school playground, and we have a race, I could maybe be the fastest!

马嘉鸿：很高兴见到你们，我是一个好学、端行、尚美的学生，我的兴趣爱好很广泛，比如说：画画、跳舞等。

Ma Jiahong: I am very happy to meet you. I am a studious and pretty student. I have many different hobbies such as: painting, dancing and so on.

唐雨亭，我是个活泼开朗的女孩，今年9岁，我喜欢听音乐，每次爸爸妈妈接送我上学放学的路上都会拿着手机哼唱几首自己喜欢的音乐。你们喜欢跟我交朋友吗

Tang Yuting, I am a lively and happy girl. I turn 9 years old this year. I like to listen to music

When Mom and Dad pick me up from school I listen to and hum along to my favorite song on my phone. Would you like to be friends with me?

孙诗涵：我是个活泼开朗、乐于助人的女孩，也是个粗心大意的人。我的爱好广泛，最喜欢弹钢琴，因为88个琴键弹出来的声音是五彩缤纷的。我相信：天才出于勤奋，只有不断努力，才能让自己更优秀！

Sun Shih Han: I am a lively and helpful and thoughtful girl. My hobbies range, but my favorite is the piano, because the sound of the 88 keys are so colorful. I believe: genius comes out of diligence, only through continuous efforts we can make them better!

吴奕昊：大家好，我叫吴奕昊，我今年十岁了。我是一个活泼开朗的小男孩，我爱跑步、踢足球、扔垒球，我喜欢交朋友，我的梦想是当一个出色的运动员！为祖国争光！

Wu Yi Hao: Hello everyone, my name is Wu Yi Hao, I am ten years old. I am a cheerful little boy, I love running, playing football, throwing softball, I like to make friends, my dream is to be a good athlete! Wishing everything good to the motherland (China)!

顾一川:大家好，我叫顾一川，今年九岁。我是一个活泼开朗的女孩，一眼望去最小巧可爱的那个就是我。我喜欢看书、画画、做手工……，其中做科学小实验是我的最爱，我希望长大后做个科学家，揭开世界未解之谜。小朋友们，快来跟我做朋友吧！

Gu Yichuan: Hello everyone, my name is Gu Yichuan and I am nine years old. I am a lively little cute girl. I like to read books, draw pictures and do things with my hands. Amongst them, doing scientific experiments is my favorite. I hope to grow up to be a scientist and discover the mysteries of the world. Kids, come and be friends with me!

This is our story!

We had the most fun doing this project! The class really enjoyed looking at all of the images sent by the children in Jiangsu, China. They all chose different images as inspiration for their stories, working in pairs they told their stories to Heather, even making their own sound effects. Heather then chopped up their stories and put them together to make ‘their story’ and played it to them after they had just performed their Christmas play. They laughed a lot and enjoyed hearing their own voices!

Nottingham #HeatherConnelly #UK #InspiringStories #DearYou #AliceWilby

I noticed that many of the stories encompassed the ideas embedded within the project…asking questions, making friends and reaching out to others. I would like to get the children to draw this story now and create a montage with the original images. 

It was a perfect end to a fantastic project and I am sure that it is an experience that they will always remember. I have really enjoyed getting to know the children and going on this journey with them and you all! See you in 2018!

Thanks Dear You!

Heather Connelly

The artists in Class 4 (8-9 year olds) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England are making and sharing art with Grade 3 (9-10 year olds) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China.

The friends in China and the UK are "Hand in Hand"

In this activity, the teacher first talked about the form of weaving. Then the teacher presented some pictures of weaving artworks, which made children understand it well. Next, teachers and children had a discussion on how to do weaving artworks. Children said there were two pieces of paper that were horizontal and vertical. They could be weaved with one press and one pick. The art teacher Miss Liu Chunjuan and her students demonstrated at the front of the classroom, and students worked in groups to make it out. Finally, the teacher encouraged the children to give a name of the book. Some students said, we want to express our friendship between the two schools, so he took the name of ‘ Hand in Hand’.

Best wishes,
Lisa

The artists in Grade 3 (9-10 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists in Class 4 (8-9 years old) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England Both groups are aged 8-9 years old.

"This is us"

Year 4 have had another fantastic art project with Heather on Friday. The children started off by discussing the artistic journey they have been on so far and the relationship they are creating with the children in China. Lots of pupils suggested titles for their work which revolved around the idea of a team identity, and the title we have decided upon is 'This is us'. As a class, we felt this showed how all of our art work is a representation of our characteristics, personalities, likes, dislikes and artistic talent. 

After having chosen the project's title, we then had a fantastic session with Heather where the children created a book cover using weaving. We used all recycled material, and some children even used practice pages from previous Dear You art projects to incorporate within their weaving. I hope you will agree that the woven book covers they have produced are excellent! They have all used lots of different colours and types of papers. 

We are all looking forward to creating the next piece of artwork! 

Many thanks, 
Alice Wilby

What I noticed about this session was that the pupils really started to think for themselves and to make connections with the other projects they had done, they had really enjoyed receiving and looking at the work that their partner class had sent and integrated some of their ideas into their weaving, introducing hidden flaps for their title – so the dialogue becomes evident in the art works they are producing. The children said that they used the visual clues in the work that they received to imagine the questions they had asked when they couldn’t read the Chinese text, I wonder whether they would have done this had they not answered the same brief. I am also impressed with  how thoughtful the children are and concerned with how they can communicate their ideas to those in China.

Best wishes,
Heather Connelly
Dear You Workshop Leader

The artists in Class 4 (8-9 year olds) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England are making and sharing art with Grade 3 (9-10 year olds) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China.

Exploring and making with the artists in China!

Hey! Dear You!

In order to understand the foreign pen pals well, the headteacher Miss Diao Yangyang led the students to visit the website of Sneinton C of E Primary School before doing the second project. They also visited the website of Dear You for the first time art works and creative process of the British children.

The children are very excited when they read the news. They had a lot of questions to ask their foreign friends, such as: What do they learn at school? How to have classes? Do they have homework? What do they usually eat for lunch? What animals are in their city?

After that, the children began to discuss in groups, thinking how to express their questions in art form. Some children thought to make greeting cards, hiding the question paper in them; some wanted to write down the questions with brush pens;  some wanted to use the form of the combination of paper-cut and painting ; some chose to write the questions on the origami etc.

After discussing and defining their own artistic expression, the children came home and turned their problems into a piece of art with appropriate materials.

Best wishes,
Lisa

The artists in Grade 3 (9-10 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists in Class 4 (8-9 years old) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England Both groups are aged 8-9 years old.

Our first mail art exchange!

Hey! Dear You!

We are from Taizhou Phoenix Primary School of Jiangsu, China. We are the children of Class 3 Grade 3 who are aged from 9 to 10. We just start to learn English recently, so we can not write well in English. But we can express ourselves by drawing or doing art works. You can guess how I look like and how I feel by our pictures.

On Sept. 26, the art teacher Miss Liu Chunjuan took us to the art room. Firstly, She drew a big body on the blackboard and let us discuss what makes humans unique to each other. For example, the DNA, the fingerprints, personalities etc. The children shared ideas and wrote many key words on it. Secondly, she asked us to draw a self-portrait . We took many pictures about them. Thirdly, Miss Liu showed us how to cover the parer with graphite, and we tried. Wow! The paper turned dark soon and so did our hands. Everybody was happy! Then, we took another different colour of paper to make a transfer drawing. Some of the kids used fingers , some used feet, some used hands, some used arms. All of us laughed happily. At last, we wrote ours name on them to let foreign friends know who I am.

Children’s comments :
1. I won’t forget this drawing lesson one hundred years later.
2. It is the first time for me to make pictures with fingers. That looks great!
3. I want to try again to make it more clearly.
4. I know that everybody is unique .

Teachers reflection:
1. The children enjoyed the process of doing the art work. They are eager to be my little teacher to help classmates to finish. They become more helpful.
2. The open question ‘what is unique?’ expand the children’s thinking . Everybody learns to share.
3. We are eager to see the art works from the UK. Exchanging ideas makes human get close.

Thank Dear You for linking us together!

Sincerely,
Miss Liu Chunjuan

The artists in Grade 3 (9-10 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists in Class 4 (8-9 years old) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England Both groups are aged 8-9 years old.

I am unique!

Heather Connelly, local artist to Nottingham and Dear You workshop leader, introduces to Class 4 where there new friends abroad live. In China!

Class 4 had a fantastic art workshop thinking all about the topic of what makes them unique and how we are all different. After having completed some homework beforehand about their families, appearance, DNA, likes and dislikes, travel and heritage, the children were ready to explore their ideas in art. Heather showed us some fantastic images of how celebrated artists have created pieces focused on the differences in the human body and the idea of a map to represent uniqueness. The children then discussed how they were all different and how this diversity can be represented in artwork. The children loved comparing their fingerprints, as well as talking about their different heritages and how this influences their daily lives. 

After discussing the ways in which uniqueness and the idea of 'self' could be represented in art, the children then started practising their own ideas. Many children created a pencil drawing of the lines of their hands and their fingerprint. The patterns created on paper were brilliant! One of the children commented, "My fingerprint is completely different from my friend's. That means I'm unique. That's pretty amazing!" I hope it is clear that this uniqueness is expressed in the children's fantastic artwork. 

During this practice stage, many children were fascinated with how lines and simple patterns could be so effective in artwork. They soon realised that art is not a perfect picture with recognisable objects; it could instead be a representation of themselves through basic lines, swirls and strokes of their pencils. The children then used carbon paper to transfer their drawings, which created an interesting texture on the paper. Some pupils loved using the carbon ink to create more texture, which represented their own characteristics! 

Having looked at all of the pieces of artwork, I think it is apparent that Class 4 are a very talented and unique group of children! No piece of artwork is the same, and the little slips of paper tell the story of the artistic process for each child. 

We are all very excited to receive the artwork from our partner school and to complete our next piece of art! 

Many thanks, 
Alice Wilby

The artists in Class 4 (8-9 year olds) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England are making and sharing art with Grade 3 (9-10 year olds) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China.