Have a prosperous New Year in Chinese, that is! I had the best intentions of posting all of these ideas days ago, but my computer works only when it feels like it! :( It is like trying to figure out a challenging puzzle, just to get it to function these days- it's getting old!! So here goes- our Chinese New Year agenda for today:
Fun Facts
(source: Enchanted Learning)
Chinese New Year starts on a New Moon and ends with the lantern festival on the full moon 15 days later.
Happy New Year in Chinese (Cantonese): Sun nien Fai lok
It is celebrated in late January to early February depending on the year.
This is the year of the ox. (Have your child find the animal of their birth year- my daughters have the horse and the monkey!)
A little bit of fun with Food
Orange slices to symbolize wealth or Tangerines to symbolize Luck.
Rice in chinese boxes: eat with chopsticks!
Fortune cookies
Tray of sweets and dried fruits- known as chuen hop- Tray of togetherness
Craft
Create a colorful paper dragon.
Enchanted Learning: Directions for Dragon
Geography/Culture
Find China on a large map or globe.
Compare cultures.
Share the book Daisy Comes Home by Jan Brett. Discuss the illustrations and the setting on the Li River in China.
Game
Hide red lucky $ envelopes. Fill with coins. Children find. Discuss how children often get these when celebrating the Chinese New Year.
Math
Teach Chinese number. Paint symbols for the numbers on Construction paper.
Extension: Children can create simple math problems with Chinese number for parents to solve! Chinese Numbers and Symbols
Tangram Fun
Art
Share examples of Chinese Art. We will be exploring puppets, paper cutting, Knotting, Paintings, and Sculpture.
Music and Dance
I'm going to try to find some Chinese music, because my six year old says that she wants to teach me a dragon dance that she learned! We will probably do the dance with the paper dragons we will make above.
Lots of fun will be starting here soon!! Enjoy your day and have fun being creative and curious with your kids!Jen
3 comments:
These are great ideas. Chinese New Year is one theme I never seem to have time for, but has so many possibilities. Hope your computer stops acting up--always at the most inopertune(?)times.
Great fun facts about the Chinese New Year. My daughter's class made "dragon" masks to celebrate it...so cute. I love how our kids are learning so much about different cultures :-)
Great ideas! Sounds like you're having a great time as a homeschooling family!
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