Today’s Episode
A Chinese kindergarten went viral for teaching kids to cook, build, and wash clothes. Too intense or a clever idea? Let’s explore why it surprised the world — and what Chinese people think!
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Why do some Chinese parents want their kids to “eat bitterness吃苦”? In next episode of MaoMi Chinese+, we explore a mindset that shapes school, work, and even childhood in China. Let’s dive into the culture behind the challenge!
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大家好，欢迎回来 MaoMi Chinese！
最近，有一个中国幼儿园的视频在国外很火，很多人都在Tiktok上看过。视频里，小朋友在炒菜，做饭，还在用水泥和砖头建房子。有的小朋友还在切菜，种菜，还有洗衣服，看起来像是在参加“生存训练”。生存训练，意思是一些生活能力的训练，比如做饭，种菜，等等。今天是六一儿童节，我们就来聊聊这个幼儿园吧！
很多人看到以后都很吃惊。他们说：“这是真的吗？这些小朋友才五岁，怎么会这些东西？”也有人说：“中国小朋友太累了吧？幼儿园不是应该玩游戏、画画、听故事吗？”
其实，这个视频是中国杭州的一个幼儿园发的。这个幼儿园的校长希望小朋友多学一些“生存技能”，比如做饭、种菜、打扫、建房子等等。他们觉得，这些技能对孩子将来很有用，不只是学习课本上的知识。
这个幼儿园的校长说，他们不是每天都让小朋友做这些事情，不是为了“让孩子吃苦”， “吃苦”，意思是做一些很辛苦，很累的事情。她想让孩子更了解生活，知道每一件事情都是怎么来的。比如，一碗饭是怎么做出来的？一个房子是怎么建起来的？
校长这样说：“我觉得，收获的不仅仅是他们动手的这一块，影响很大。其实，生活当中随处是教育，我们也在跟着孩子们学习。”
这个校长说，孩子们在动手能力有收获，也就是他们学会了做很多东西，自己用手去做。动手能力，就是可以用自己的手去做很多东西。她也说，生活中随处是教育，意思是，教育不但来自书，也来自生活。让孩子读书是教育，教孩子做饭，洗衣服，种菜，这也是教育。
有的家长很支持这种教育。他们说：“我的孩子会自己穿衣服、洗碗，我很开心。”但也有家长不太喜欢，他们觉得：“我不想让孩子太早做这些事，长大后有的是时间去做。”
好啦，我们来复习一下今天说的词语：
生存训练。意思是生活能力的训练，比如做饭，种菜，洗衣服，等等。
吃苦，意思是做一些很辛苦，很累的事情。
动手能力，意思是可以用自己的手去做很多东西，比如自己做饭，自己修理汽车，自己建房子，等等。
你怎么看呢？你小时候的幼儿园教了你什么？你觉得小朋友应该从小学会做饭、洗衣服、建房子吗？欢迎给我们留言，和我们分享！
Hello everyone, and welcome back to MaoMi Chinese!
Recently, a video from a Chinese kindergarten has gone viral abroad — many people have seen it on TikTok. In the video, the children are stir-frying food, cooking meals, and even building houses with cement and bricks. Some children are chopping vegetables, planting crops, and doing the laundry. It almost looks like they’re doing survival training!
Survival training means practising basic life skills — like cooking, gardening, doing the washing, and so on. Since today is Children’s Day in China, let’s take a moment to talk about this kindergarten.
Many people were surprised when they saw the video. They asked, “Is this real? These children are only five — how do they know how to do all that?” Others said, “Aren’t Chinese kids working too hard? Shouldn’t kindergarten be about playing games, drawing pictures, and listening to stories?”
Actually, the video was posted by a kindergarten in Hangzhou, China. The headteacher of the school hopes the children can learn more life skills — things like cooking, gardening, cleaning, even basic building work. They believe these skills are useful for the children’s future, not just learning what’s in textbooks.
The headteacher explained that the children don’t do these things every day, and it’s not about “making children suffer”. In Chinese, “eat bitter things” means doing something that’s very hard or tiring. She wants the children to better understand everyday life — to know how things are made or where they come from. For example, how is a bowl of rice cooked? How is a house built?
She said like this: “I think what they’ve gained is much more than just practical skills. The impact is huge. In fact, there is education everywhere in daily life, and we as teachers are learning alongside the children.”
She means the children have improved their hands-on skills — they’ve learned how to do things by using their own hands. Hands-on ability means being able to do lots of things yourself — like cooking your own meals, fixing things, or even building something. She also said that education is everywhere in life. It doesn’t just come from books — it comes from everyday experience. Teaching children to read is education, but so is teaching them to cook, wash clothes, and grow vegetables.
Some parents really support this kind of education. They’ve said, “My child can dress themselves and wash dishes — I’m really pleased.” But others are less keen. They say, “I don’t want my child to do these things too early — there’s plenty of time for that when they’re older.”
Right then, let’s review the key words from today’s episode:
Survival training — this means training in basic life skills, like cooking, gardening, and washing clothes.
‘Eat bitter things’ — this means doing something very hard and tiring.
Hands-on ability — this means being able to do things using your own hands, like cooking, fixing a car, or building a house.
What do you think? What did your kindergarten teach you when you were little? Do you think children should learn how to cook, do the washing, or even build houses from a young age? Leave us a comment and let us know your thoughts!