多年来，福州西湖国际学校（FLIS）深信应赋予每个孩子表达自我、发挥想象力的机会，通过"YES! I'm the Author" 原创作者征集活动、幼儿园迷你绘本展等活动，一批又一批小作者的原创作品进入了大家的视野，在校园图书馆里受到读者们的热烈欢迎。五月中旬，一则喜讯传来：幼儿园中A班小朋友共同创作的绘本"A Story of A Boy Who Got Sick"入围了第十二届iSTART儿童艺术节，将与全国各地小朋友创作的优秀绘本一起，在今年iSTART儿童艺术节的“阅读岛”上展出，被来自全国的观众阅读。

For many years, Fuzhou Lakeside International School (FLIS) has firmly believed in giving every child the opportunity to express themselves and unleash their imagination. Through initiatives such as the “YES! I'm the Author” activity and the ECE mini picture books project, the original works of many young authors have come to our attention and been warmly welcomed by readers in the school library. In mid-May, exciting news arrived: the picture book “A Story of A Boy Who Got Sick,” co-created by the children of Preschool A (PA), was shortlisted for the 12th iSTART Children’s Arts Festival. It will be displayed alongside outstanding picture books created by children from across the country at this year’s iSTART Children’s Arts Festival “Reading Island,” where it will be read by audiences from all over the nation.

iSTART儿童艺术节

iSTART儿童艺术节是国内具有开创性的以儿童参与为使命的儿童创造与社会美育项目，于2014年起至今已成功举办11届。其核心理念是：从儿童视角出发，与儿童共创共建一个富有创造力的多元美好世界。

The iSTART Children's Arts Festival is a pioneering initiative in China dedicated to children's participation, fostering creativity and social aesthetic education. Since its inception in 2014, it has successfully held 11 editions. Its core philosophy is to view the world through children's eyes and work together with them to build a creative, diverse, and beautiful world.

中A班小朋友的入围绘本诞生于主题"Safety & Hygiene"（安全&卫生）学习过程中。「安全」「健康」「卫生」与日常息息相关，对成人而言再寻常不过，但该如何让幼儿理解这类抽象概念？前段时间，幼儿园小朋友就迎来了这一单元。从小班到大班，FLIS学子的探究是一个层层深入的过程：先让小班孩子初步建立「健康」与「安全」两个核心词的概念关联，理解了这一点后，中班学子侧重探索「安全行为」（什么是安全的游戏方式？）与「卫生习惯」（饭前洗手、打喷嚏捂口鼻……）这类他们能做到的行为规范，再由个人行为拓展到集体环境：比如，从「如何整理自己的物品」到「如何保持环境整洁」？大班学子则在以上两级学习后，将所有外部行为落脚到「我自己」身上——理解「我的身体」需要被保护（关键词：「安全」）、被清洁（「卫生」），而这些行为又会直接影响我的「健康」，从而建立行为与身体、健康之间的因果关联，形成完整主题探究闭环。

The picture book created by PA students was made during the “Safety & Hygiene” theme-learning unit. “Safety,” “Health,” and “Hygiene” are closely tied to daily life and seem perfectly ordinary to adults, but how can kids grasp such abstract concepts? Recently, the ECE students began the unit learning. From Nursery to Kindergarten, the FLIS students’ exploration is a process of deepening understanding: First, the Nursery students are introduced to the connection between the two core concepts of “Health” and “Safety.” Once they grasp this, the Preschool students focus on exploring “safe behaviors” and “hygiene habits” (washing hands before meals, covering their mouths and noses when sneezing, etc.)—behavioral norms they can actually practice. They then expand from individual actions to the group environment: for example, from “how to organize one’s own belongings” to “how to keep the environment tidy.” After completing these two stages, Kindergarten students anchor all external behaviors back to “myself”—understanding that “my body” needs to be protected (“Safety”) and kept clean (‘Hygiene’), and that these behaviors directly impact “my Health.” This establishes a causal relationship between behavior, the body, and health, thereby forming a complete cycle of thematic inquiry.

"A Story of A Boy Who Got Sick"讲述了这样一个故事：从前，有个叫Stonky的小男孩吃了不干净的水果、生了病，为了赶跑细菌，他可费了一番功夫，也得到不少教训。中A班的Maria老师与Una老师表示，这个绘本源自孩子们的通力合作，老师只运用了提问的方式，引导孩子进行创造。小朋友们一听可以自己创作故事，便迫不及待分享、讨论了种种想法：关于主角、关于故事发展、关于如何把大家想要加入的剧情有逻辑地串联在一起……进入创作阶段，每个孩子都挑选了他们想要画的内容，这也是真正得以展现个性、与每个人对主题理解的环节。

"A Story of a Boy Who Got Sick" tells the following tale: one day, a little boy named Stonky who ate some fruit without washing and fell ill. He went to great lengths to get rid of the germs and learned a valuable lesson in the process. PA Teachers Maria and Una said that this picture book was the result of the children’s collaborative efforts; the teachers simply used questions to guide their creation. As soon as the children heard they had an opportunity to make up their own story, they couldn’t wait to share and discuss their ideas: about the main character, the plot development, and how to build logical connections between each other’s ideas… Once the illustration phase began, each child chose a part they wanted to illustrate, which was when they really got to show their personalities and understanding of the topic through their pictures.

“最大的挑战在于把控故事篇幅，同时筛选出最合适的创意，避免把这本童书变成‘长篇小说’。”老师们表示。如今，这个由孩子们互相倾听、互相补充并共同搭建的故事，已深受大家喜爱。

"The biggest challenge was keeping the story short enough and deciding whose idea fit best, so as not to turn a children’s book into a 'novel'," the teachers said. This story—which the children created together by listening to one another, building on each other’s ideas, and working as a team—has become a beloved favorite.

"A Story of A Boy Who Got Sick"是「通过创作来学习」的绝佳例证，Maria老师表示，有时孩子很难理解「讲卫生」「照顾自己」之类话题的重要性。对他们而言，这更像是别人告诉他们必须要做的事，但他们不明白这一切为何如此重要。不同于单纯的知识讲解，动手实验、创作故事给孩子们带来很大启发、改变了他们对日常卫生习惯的看法，尤其是勤洗手、饮食卫生这一方面。

"A Story of a Boy Who Got Sick” is a perfect example of “learning through creation.” Teacher Maria notes that children sometimes to understand the importance of topics like hygiene and self-care. For them, it always sounds like something they have to do, not why it’s so important. "Hands-on learning through experiments and making a story, rather than simply providing information, made a big impact on our students and changed their perspective on this big part of their lives and daily routines, especially when it comes to hand washing and making sure they eat clean foods."

恭喜中A班的孩子们！这个夏天，欢迎大家前往中A班图书角、或登陆iSTART阅读岛欣赏学子们的创作。据悉，入围参展的部分作品还有机会进入正式出版流程。这部小绘本已经走出了校园、走向更大的舞台，它还能走多远？让我们拭目以待吧！

Congratulations to the PA students! This summer, welcome to visit the PA reading corner or go to iSTART Reading Island to enjoy the students’ creative work. We’ve heard that some of the shortlisted entries may even be selected for formal publication. This little picture book has already stepped beyond the school grounds onto a bigger stage—just how far will it go? Let’s wait and see!