The first Chinese symbol for home 家 was a pictogram of a pig inside a house — a visual representation of a hog 豕 living underneath a roof 宀.

While the concept of home maybe abstract, children at a young age could already understand that home is more than just a building, a physical space or location. It’s a place that provides some of our most basic needs of safety, comfort and above all else, a sense of belonging.

Chinese characters are picture based ideograms; often they are even picture within a picture, along with a story that connect them to convey a single concept. Taking a visual and storytelling approach, and understanding the individual parts that make up the character can help make the learning experience much more engaging and memorable.