Welcome to Stepping Stones Center.
In November 2025, we opened this new space in a residential community in Huacao Town, Minhang District, Shanghai. It is a completely free, safe, and welcoming after-school centre, primarily designed to support nearby migrant children and their families. Through courses such as English, digital literacy, and social-emotional learning – along with consistent companionship – we hope to lay one more brick and shine one more beam of light along the path of children’s growth.
This winter break, the first session of Stepping Stones Center’s holiday program began as planned. Over the past three weeks, our classrooms have been filled with a soft click – not the sound of cameras, but the sound of minds turning and collaboration taking root. We’ve collected moments of warmth along the way. Small as they may be, together they form the truest rhythm of our days here.
Those Little Brave Voices
During a lively language class, the teacher asked, “Does anyone else have an idea?”
The classroom fell quiet for a moment. Then, a small hand rose tentatively from the edge of a desk – so quietly, so hesitantly. The teacher didn’t notice at first, but the girl’s deskmate did.
“Do you have an idea?” the deskmate whispered. After receiving a slight nod, she turned immediately to the teacher and announced, clear and sure, “Teacher, she has an idea!”
What we saw:
Sometimes courage needs a quiet nudge. A raised hand, a voice passed on for a friend – these are the most touching forms of collaboration in our classroom.
Great Insights in Play and Creation
Let me help.
In our class, children no longer face their screens alone. Groups who finish their tasks eagerly invite peers still thinking through the problem, stepping into the role of little teachers. A simple “Let me show you how”, followed by shared laughter as they team up to take down the Nian Beast in the game.
I’d love to have this
The teacher asked, “What would make you happy in the new year?” The answers were transformed into a colourful “New Year Bingo” card. Eating candy, playing with best friends, receiving birthday gifts… It turns out that joy can be so simple, yet so tangible.
I’ve got it! My Turn!
From discussing the ethical implications of AI to collaborating on a role-play skit, from learning programming logic to drawing each component of Pac-Man with their own hands. Eager hands shoot up, and the classroom buzzes with energy. Through discussion and hands-on creation, knowledge turns into something tangible – real work shaped made by their own minds and hands.
Fire Up Your Safety Know-How
In the fire safety class, there was almost no need for a “roll call” to ask questions. Children’s hands shot up like a forest of little saplings – it turns out they know much more about firefighting than we might have imagined. What began as a serious safety lesson, thanks to their enthusiasm, turned into a lively exchange of safety know-how.
A Few Adorable Moments
And then there were those moments that simply made you laugh out loud. Like during the group photo after making party hats – just before the shutter clicked, there was always one little mischief-maker who’d let their hat slip on purpose, flashing a playful grin. That, perhaps, is a kind of humor that only childhood owns.
Final Thoughts
We saw it again and again these past weeks:
Learning matters,but learning joyfully – and learning together – may matter even more.
Those shyly raised hands that were finally heard, those confident figures stepping into the role of little teachers, those bright eyes glowing during play and creation – all tell us the same thing: This is a place where ideas can land safely, and collaboration grows naturally.
Thank you to every teacher who gives children the courage to raise their hands and the freedom to create with joy.
We’ll keep watching, and we’ll keep recording.