1-2-3 Come Make A Chinese Lantern With Me

I had an absolute blast visiting China from the comfort of my own home these  past few days.  Mother Nature is hurling winter at my window, while I, snug in warm PJ's, flit around the world in my desk chair.  Today I'm experiencing China's spectacular Lantern Festival. 

Because of my voracious appetite to learn new things, I LOVE doing research, and am extremely grateful to people who make the time to share their knowledge, creative gifts and photographs to help others.

Whenever I'm designing a new packet, I like to find out the "how" and "why" of what I'm doing.  As teachers, it's extremely important to have a wealth of trivia floating around in one's head that you can share with your students, making things more interesting and factual.

 Inevitably some child will ask: "Why are lanterns so popular in China?"  "Why is red one of their favorite colors?"  "How did the Lantern Festival start?" I wanted to know too, so I spent several hours Online going on an Asian Internet adventure to find out. 

After searching, reading, and carefully cross-checking where possible, I came up with all sorts of information about China's lanterns, as well as their Lantern Festival.  I found it all very fascinating and especially enjoyed the various folktales behind their traditions, which date back 1,000's of years!

I made a list of my favorite Chinese New Year YouTube videos, so your kiddos can experience a Lion Dance, a Dragon Dance, stilt walkers, zillions of floating lanterns drifting up into the sky, and other aspects of this fabulous celebration, that will make things real and exciting for them.  Click on the link for the 29-page  Chinese Paper Lantern Packet.

One of China's most popular lanterns is the riddle lantern; it's an integral part of their pageantry.  If you have the time, making this Chinese paper lantern is a quick, easy and fun craftivity that helps students practice their cutting skills.

Solving riddles is another simple way to add a bit of Chinese New Year flavor to your day. Here's how:

Paper lanterns are relatively inexpensive at party stores.  Purchase 2 or 3 and hang them from the ceiling.  Write the riddles on strips of yellow paper. 

Dangle some lengths of string or curling ribbon from the base of the lanterns and attach enough riddles for each student to have one.  As they walk through the door and see these swirling and twirling globes decorated with yellow strips of paper they will be all a-buzz.

 Wish them a "Gong Hey Fat Choy!"  (pronounced gung-she-fah-tie) Happy Chinese New Year, then give them time to exercise their brains via riddles. 

To make this easy for you, I made a list of over 90 riddles that I thought your students would enjoy.  Some are simple, some a bit more difficult; all are thought-provoking.   Read through the list and decide what is age-appropriate for your kiddos then use those on your riddle lantern(s).  Click on the link for the Chinese Paper Lantern Craftivity.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  Even though February is not quite over, it's time to start planning for March is Reading Month. I hope the work that I do, helps save you time, and alleviates a bit of stress from your life. 

I truly enjoy reading any comments about the materials I provide and how you've used them. Wishing you a wonderful day.

"A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials." - Chinese proverb

4 pages.

Print some off on white construction paper; trim, make 2 slits and insert a pencil.  Use for Chinese New Year incentives, prizes, or a special surprise that's tucked in your students' desks or backpacks.

6 pages.

Attach a lollipop to one of these notes, as a sweet surprise for your Chinese New Year celebration.

6 pages.

Five special treat bag headers to help you celebrate Chinese New Year.

15 pages.

These 9 Chinese-themed puzzles will help your students practice counting forwards, backwards and by 10's.  Includes 3 blank templates for your kiddos to place pieces on, or to make a flip booklet.  They make a nice independent center for your Chinese New Year celebration, or challenge students to pick a partner to play against, and see who can complete their puzzle first.

8 pages.

If you're studying money right now, why not have students learn a bit about Chinese currency, so they can compare and contrast it with ours.  Packet includes 2 Venn diagrams, plus a link to a site where students can type in US dollars and have it converted to Chinese yuan. 

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Chinese New Year Activities With Me

Chinese New Year starts the 31st, but you have plenty of time to plug in some cultural social studies, as the festivities run for 15 days, ending on Valentines Day this year. 

Why not teach your kiddos how to count to 10 in Chinese? To help you, I designed some Chinese and English number cards, so children can play Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" games. 

The packet also includes an anchor chart that shows the order of "brush" strokes, as well as helpful links so students can see and hear the numbers. 

One of the sites tells you how to ask a person their phone number in Chinese. 

I thought that would be a really fun activity for students, so I made a recording sheet.  There's also one for students to write their age on. 

Introduce these lessons by reading a Chinese counting book.  I've included 3 suggestions. 

Click on the link to view/download the Let's Count In Chinese,Number Card Packet. 

If you're studying money right now, it would be interesting for your students to compare US currency with China's.  The renminbi (RMB)  (pronounced like the letters) is their official currency.

You may also have heard of the yuan, (pronounced you-en) which is the basic unit of the renminbi, but is also used as a synonym for China's currency, especially in international contexts, sort of like England's Brittish Sterling and the pound.

Since currency rates change daily, click on the link to visit the China Tour site; here students can type in a US dollar amount and have it converted to Chinese yuan. 

Currently, the Chinese yuan is worth .15 cents in US money, and 100 US dollars is 664.0 yuan.  I've made up a Chinese Currency packet that you'll find helpful.  

It includes 2 Venn diagrams, so students can compare and contrast Chinese currency with ours.

I've also included some templates for their paper money.  It's a Chinese tradition to give money to children during Chinese New Year. 

They place it in red envelopes for good luck.   You could print some of this money off and include it inside a red envelope for your students.

Most office supply stores sell red envelopes, and after Christmas they go on sale 50% off.  As with the 100 dollar bill for 100-Day, you could substitute your students' photo on the money. 

Use them as "behavior bucks" where students earn them throughout the day, as they accomplish various tasks, and then "convert" them for a priviledge or trip to your treasure box.  Click on the link to view/download the Chinese Currency Packet.

Also math related, are these 9 Chinese puzzles that will help your students practice counting forwards, backwards and by 10's.

I'm thrilled to add another graphics artist to our activities.  Along with Laura Strickland and DJ Inkers, you'll be seeing the adorable work from Scrappin Doodles.  Click on the link to view/download the Chinese New Year puzzle packet.

Finally, I designed some incentives or prizes that you can make and give to your students, to add to the excitement of your Chinese New Year celebration.  

Purchase a pack of sparkly pencils at The Dollar store, print off these toppers, trim, cut slits and insert the pencil. 

Challenge students to collect all three designs as they accomplish tasks, or play games. The Chinese symbols on the 1st one say "Happy New Year."  The teapot says: U R T rific! and the dragon says Happy Chinese New Year.

Click on the link to view/download the Chinese New Year Pencil Topper Packet.

Another inexpensive treat that you can give your kiddos, is a lollipop note.  There are 5 designs to choose from.  Print them off, cut slits and insert a lollipop. My personal favorite is the fan, which says, "I hope your New Year is fantastic."

Because of Valentines Day, The Dollar Store is carrying red heart lollipops, perfect for Chinese New Year too, because red is such an important color in China.   Click on the link to view/download the Chinese New Year Lollipop Notes. 

Last, but not least, I always enjoyed making treat bags for my Y5's.  This can be your snack, an incentive, or prize.  There are 5 headers to choose from.

I've photographed the treats that I put in mine.  Click on the link to view/download the Chinese New Year Treat Bag Headers.

Thanks for visiting today.  I have lots more to share, so I hope you can pop by tomorrow.  I'll be finishing up with some adorable crafty Chinese New Year FREEBIES.  Feel free to PIN away.

"One joy scatters a hundred griefs." -Chinese Proverb

10 pages.

As part of your Chinese New Year Activities, why not teach your students how to count to 10 in Chinese! The packet includes both number cards in English and Chinese, so children can play games like Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" as well as an anchor chart that shows the "brush" strokes, helpful links to sites where you can hear the numbers + several number activities.

22 pages.

A comprehensive annotated bibliography of 53 of my all-time favorite Chinese books, perfect for your Chinese New Year studies and celebrations.

5 pages.

Bookmarks are a sweet incentive to motivate your students, or simply tuck one in their desk or backpack as a little surprise.  Includes a page of ways to say "Happy New Year" in Chinese, with links to helpful pronunciation sites.