Oh I love this festival.
I went to Chinatown to get some fortune cookies for my whole Nanny family (and a play date friend)
When I was a teacher, I did a whole class assembly based on the story of how the years got their animals. All my pupils dressed up as the animals and acted out the crossing of the river.
If you don’t already know the story, do check it out with your little ones.
CBeebies have made this sweet video that is only a few minutes long.
Fortune Cookies
Fortune cookies give reading opportunities.
Why not make your own fortunes up with your children and pick them out, leading to writing opportunities too!
Chinese Dragons
I drew this dragon by copying a line drawing on the internet but there are templates you can download and print. I used card for the middle, it’s great for their fine motor skills to try and fold the card like that, and I stuck two straws on so they can dance around with it!
I made the dragon from a dog cutter and got a little creative, using cucumber for the body and tomatoes for the fire.
G13 and I followed an easy recipe for sweet and sour chicken, she chopped garlic, squeezed lemons and cooked up a delicious storm. It was a big hit with MB too who ate our leftovers!
I always find children are more willing try new things on a play date and if they’ve made it themselves they also are more excited. Cooking from scratch makes it healthier, as well as a reading/maths and science activity. Skills for life too, cutting veg and not cutting yourself.
Lanterns
These are super simple to make. There are templates on the internet but once you get the hang of it you don’t need templates anymore. I draw lines for the children to cut, great to hone in on those fine motor cutting skills!
Children can decorate them too!
Why not let them try some yummy desserts?
Twinkl
All though I am essentially against worksheets, Twinkl do these great activities where you can choose the topic, key stage and area of learning. G7 was so proud of her Comprehension she took it to the teacher to show her what she had learnt and the Code Breakers give purpose to the times tables and it helped us learn things about Chinese New Year!
(Photo credit: twinkl.co.uk)
More to books…
Mr Men Chinese New Year by Roger Hargreaves
Who went to celebrate Chinese New Year?
Show us pictures of your fortune cookies or dragons!
Nanny Hellen Prideaux did fine motor skills with chopsticks and coins with Chinese Lanterns too! Thank you for letting me feature your activity on my blog!
Love Kat x
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