Magic Chinese Writing

We learnt about Chinese writing today, as we continue on our quest to discover and learn about Chinese culture. A great way to introduce this was to read The Pet Dragon by Christoph Niemann. It has some great examples of Chinese symbols and has a lovely story line. It was a big hit with Bee (and me)
Instead of just experimenting writing Chinese symbols with felt tip pens, we decided to make it fun by using a 'magic' crayon and paint.

Who can play?
Children 3 years and above, depending on their age and stage of development.

What do you need?

• Example of Chinese writing. We chose to look at the writing in the book, The Pet Dragon by Christoph Niemann, however you can download images of Chinese writing from online.
• Paper
• Red Paint
• Paintbrush
• Candle
• Newspaper to protect table surface
• Apron to protect clothes

What did we do?

1. We snuggled up on the sofa and read My Pet Dragon and discussed how Chinese words look different than English. We talked about how they looked like drawings rather than a group of letters, that make a word. The book was a great example as it actually placed the Chinese symbols into the pictures.
   
2. Whilst looking at the Chinese symbols we tried to replicate them on a piece of paper with a candle. We talked about the shapes of the symbols and tried to read the English word underneath. At first Bee did not think that this would work as she said "I can't really see my writing"
   
3. Once we had finished making our marks on the paper, it was time to unleash the magic. Taking the paint brush, that she had dipped in the red paint, Bee made horizontal sweeps over the marks she had made with the candle. She looked so surprised with the results. The paint did not adhere to the wax that the candle had left behind on the paper...revealing her magic writing!!! 
   
4. Bee continued to cover the paper with the red paint, until all her symbols were revealed.
   

Possible Learning Outcomes:

Literacy- Writing for a reason. Mark making. Learning about the different forms of writing in other countries.

Communication and Language- Reading stories together and recognizing familiar words. Talking about what they are writing. Answering questions about the book.

Physical- Fine manipulative skills when writing and painting. Hand eye coordination. 

Mathematical- Looking at the different shapes of the Chinese symbols. Spacial awareness.

Personal, Social and Emotional- Fun and enjoyment. Pride from finished product. Enjoying being with someone special and having quality time when reading the book together.

Knowledge and Understanding- Learning about the Chinese culture and how they use a different form of writing for communication.

Art and Design- Creating their own masterpiece. Using tools for a purpose and experimenting with different media, such as paints and wax.

Possible next steps;

• Depending on your child's age and stage of development you could try to write a sentence using the Chinese symbols
• Practice writing skills and write a letter for a friend with the candle. Add a note asking the friend to paint the paper (using watery paint) to reveal the message.
• Look at other written languages such as Arabic and Egyptian hieroglyphics and compare the differences. 

Chinese Dancing Dragons

When I think of Chinese New Year, it always conjurers up thoughts of Dragons dancing to a beating drum. To promote diversity and cultural awareness we thought we would make some dancing dragons of our own. They were so simple to make and we had lots of fun making them dance to Chinese music.

Who can play?
Children 2 years and above. All activities depend on your child's age and stage of development.

Safety:
Supervision is needed at all times when children are using scissors. For younger children I would recommend that you cut out the head and tail of the dragon and they can color them in.

What do you need?

• Card (we chose to use yellow and red card)
• Scissors
• Felt tip pens
• Tape
• Lollipop sticks (I used wooden drink stirrers from our local coffee shop)
• Gift ribbon 
• Sweet wrappers/colored cellophane paper

What did we do?

1. The first thing we did was look at Chinese New Year celebrations online. We watched how the people who were dressed up as a dragon moved, danced and discussed what the Dragon looked like.
2. We then went on to draw the dragons head and tail on a piece of yellow card.
3. Using the scissors we cut out the head, tail and a forked tongue.
   
4. Taking a piece of red paper, we cut it length ways in half and then made folds one way and then the other, making a concertina effect.
   
5. We then attached the Dragons head on one end of the strip of red card and the tail to the other.
6. Taking the forked tongue, we taped it to the Dragons mouth and placed a piece of orange colored cellophane paper behind it (to represent fire)
7. To help the Dragon dance, we placed a lollipop stick at the bottom of the head and the tail. We were able to hold the lollipop sticks to make him move.
8. For extra decoration we placed gift ribbon on the body of the Dragon.
   
9. All that was left to do was make our Dragons dance. We chose to play some Chinese music from YouTube and made our dragons dance high and low whilst moving around the house. Bee thought this was great fun and great exercise.

Possible learning outcomes:

Art and Design- Designing your own Dragon. Making up dance moves to the Chinese music.
Mathematical- Using mathematical terms such as high, low, forwards and backwards when dancing with the Dragons.
Personal, Social and Emotional- Fun and enjoyment. Pride from finished product.
Knowledge of the World- Learning about different festivals, cultures and countries in the world.
Physical- Fine manipulative skills when folding the card to make the Dragons body. Developing scissor skills. Large manipulative skills when dancing with the dragons (upper body and leg muscles) Hand eye coordination.
Communication and Language- Listening to and following instructions. This activity will also promote an awareness of different languages that are used around the world.

Follow up activities:

• Visit the library and check out some Dragon themed fact and fiction books. My daughter Bee loves 'My Pet Dragon' by ?????? 
• Go to a local pet shop to look at the lizards... you may get lucky and see a bearded or kimono dragon.

Chinese Lanterns

There are so many ways to celebrate Chinese New Year. One of our favourite ways is to make Chinese Lanterns.
This is a great creative activity that also promotes important physical skills. Your child will develop their fine manipulative skills when folding the paper and promoting scissor skills too. 

Who can play?
Children aged 3 and above. With all activities it depends on their age and stage of development.

Safety:
Supervision is needed at all times, when children are using scissors. Ensure that battery operated lights are used instead of real tea-lights. This will prevent fires and the burning of little fingers.

What do you need?

• Paper (preferably red)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Gold glitter (or any other glitter you have available)
• Battery operated tea-light
• Tape

What do you need to do?

1. Cut a 1 inch strip from the top of a piece of A4 card/paper. We will use this later for the handle on the lantern.
   
2. Fold the paper/card vertically in half and make cuts going from the fold to around one inch from the top of the paper. I made my cuts around one inch apart.
   
3. Unfold the paper and decorate with markers, glue and gold glitter.
4. Once the glue has dried and you are happy with your final product, bring both side together and attach with tape or as mentioned before staple together and place a piece of tape over the staple, so as not to cut little fingers. 
5. Tape the 1 inch strip you cut out earlier in the activity and attach both sides to the lantern.
6. All that is left now is to turn on your battery operated candle, place inside and enjoy how the light shines through it. Happy Chinese New Year!

Possible Learning Outcomes:

Art and Design- Creating your own design on the lanterns, using mixed media and tools for a purpose. Color recognition.
Physical- Fine manipulative skills whilst developing scissor skills, hand eye coordination.

Mathematical- Measuring out the 1 inch distances. counting how many cuts you make in the lantern.
Personal, Social and Emotional-  Fun and enjoyment. Pride from finished product. Working on a project as a team. Contributing to the family.
Communication and Language- Following and listening to instructions. Discussing what they are doing.

Knowledge and Understanding- Learning about different countries and their cultures
Literacy- Developing their tripod grip (that is needed for writing) when drawing and attaching tape to their lantern.

Possible next steps:

• Use the Lanterns as a center piece for your Chinese New Year themed meal/party
• Hang the Lanterns on a string to decorate your room or garden.
• Experiment with different ways of making and decorating lanterns.  
• Try painting your lantern instead of glue and glitter

Happy Chinese New Year!!!!

Kunghei Fatchoy!"  Happy New Year.

Today is Chinese New Year. The celebrations last until the 5th March (15 days), so there is plenty of time to join in with the festivities.

Chinese New Year is always on the first day of a full moon. There are 12 signs of the zodiac and this year is the year of the Goat. 

When celebrating different festivals, you promote knowledge and understanding of the world, compassion and equality. 

Over the next 15 days Bee and I will share our fun Chinese New Year themed activities.

To get you started here are a few ideas;

1. Visit your local library and check out some Chinese New Year Fact books. This will introduce the festival and explain what it involves. 

2. Attend a Chinese New Year Festival. Most local districts organise one. They are a great insight into the Chinese culture and fun for all the family. Take a look at your local newspaper or online for your closest one. 

3. Show your child Chinese New Year Celebrations and Dragon dancing on Youtube (obviously vet the clip before showing it to your child) 

Here's to a good New Year! 

Online Chinese New Year Resources

I try to incorporate Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) into Bee's day and today it came in the form of a sequence game on the website, www.topmarks.co.uk

Firstly, we watched the dancing dragon video, which can be found on: http://www.topmarks.co.uk/chinesenewyear/dragondance.aspx 

We made our own dragon dance to the Chinese New Year music (by putting a blanket over our head whilst walking and dancing underneath it) Bee found this hilarious and after dancing for around 10 minutes, I decided it was time to play a maths game, before I passed out.

We then played The Dragon maths game that can be found on:

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/chinese-dragon-ordering

The object of the game was to order the dragons body parts according to the numerical order. I chose the numbers 1-10 for Bee, but this all depends on the age and stage of your child's development. It was easy to follow and encouraged her to recognise, organise numbers and count.

The website says that the game can also be played on the whiteboard (great for pre-schools/schools)

We really enjoyed exploring this site and would definitely use it again.

Celebrating Chinese New Year within the local community

Celebrating Chinese New Year over the past two weeks has been a lot of fun. We learnt so much about the Chinese culture and enjoyed making crafts to share with family and friends.

To mark the end of this festival, we went to an organised Chinese New Year celebration within the local community.

Lucky Parcels

In the Chinese culture, it is considered lucky to give and receive envelopes that contain a coin. Everyone can do with a bit of luck from time to time, so we decided to make some lucky parcels and place a chocolate coin inside them for our family.

Peach blossom trees

What is Chinese New Year without a bit of peach blossom?!
Bee loved making this 'plant' and was so proud of it that she gave it to a sick friend. Needless to say, her friend was most happy and thought it was such a special gift.

                                                   

The week of Chinese New Year

In the run up to Chinese New Year (Friday 31st January) I thought Bee should have the opportunity to learn all about this special occasion in the Chinese Calender. This year is the year of the horse.

Last week we paid a visit to the local library and looked at lots of Chinese New Year books. Isabella chose a book titled, Happy New Year! (Kung-hasi Fa-ts'ai!) by Demi. It gives an overview of the animals in the Chinese zodiac, traditions and activity ideas for parents/caregivers.