Chinese new year writing prompts

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. 

chinese number cards, chinese new year activities, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesWhy 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. 

chinese number cards, chinese new year activities, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesThe 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. 

chinese number cards, chinese new year activities, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesOne 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. 

chinese number cards, chinese new year activities, chinese snack ideas, chinese treat bags, chinese new year treats, chinese new year games, chinese new year centers, chinese new year snacks, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year treats, treat bags for chinese new year, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gameschinese number cards, chinese currency, comparing chinese coins with US coins, venn diagram activities, chinese new year activities, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesIntroduce 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.

chinese number cards, chinese new year activities, chinese snack ideas, chinese treat bags, chinese new year treats, chinese new year games, chinese new year centers, chinese new year snacks, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year treats, treat bags for chinese new year, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesYou 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.  

chinese number cards, chinese currency, comparing chinese coins with US coins, venn diagram activities, chinese new year activities, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesIt includes 2 Venn diagrams, so students can compare and contrast Chinese currency with ours.

chinese number cards, chinese currency, comparing chinese coins with US coins, venn diagram activities, chinese new year activities, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesI'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.

chinese number cards, chinese new year activities, chinese snack ideas, chinese treat bags, chinese new year treats, chinese new year games, chinese new year centers, chinese new year snacks, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year treats, treat bags for chinese new year, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesAlso math related, are these 9 Chinese puzzles that will help your students practice counting forwards, backwards and by 10's.

aI'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.  

chinese number cards, chinese new year activities, chinese snack ideas, chinese treat bags, chinese new year treats, chinese new year games, chinese new year centers, chinese new year snacks, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year treats, treat bags for chinese new year, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesPurchase 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.

chinese number cards, chinese new year activities, chinese snack ideas, chinese treat bags, chinese new year treats, chinese new year games, chinese new year centers, chinese new year snacks, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year treats, treat bags for chinese new year, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesAnother 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.

chinese number cards, chinese new year activities, chinese snack ideas, chinese treat bags, chinese new year treats, chinese new year games, chinese new year centers, chinese new year snacks, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year treats, treat bags for chinese new year, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesI've photographed the treats that I put in mine.  Click on the link to view/download the Chinese New Year Treat Bag Headers.

chinese number cards, chinese new year activities, counting to 10 in chinese, lessons on china, chinese new year crafts, writing prompts for chinese new year, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year gamesThanks 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

1-2-3 Come Do Some Chinese New Year Activities and Crafts With Me.

There never seems to be enough time in the teaching day, so things like social studies and science don't get covered all that much anymore, if at all.  This is truly a sad state of affairs, because our children are not as well-rounded as they used to be, when life was simpler and no one ever heard of CCSS or standardized testing.

chinese new year activities, a list of 53 favorite Chinese books, annotated bibliography of 50 Chinese New Year Books, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, lantern pattern, For this reason, I really try hard to design things that cover the standards, while at the same time plugging in a few of the more fun extras.  One of my Y5's favorite theme days was our Chinese New Year celebration.  It was a great way to have my students learn about, compare and contrast another country.  They were fascinated. 

Even if you don't have time for an entire unit, many of the following activities can quickly and easily be added to your day.   If nothing else, simply read several books about Chinese New Year during your story time, and have children locate Asia and China on a map.  

If you need some help finding a story, click on the link for a list of 53 of my all-time favorite Chinese books.  

I think you'll find it quite helpful, as it's a comprehensive annotated bibliography, where I explain and comment on each book. 

It took me zillions of hours to put it together, and that was after I spent some time sorting through my huge collection, but I thought it was time well-spent, as most people are not that familiar with multi-cultural books.    

chinese new year activities, a list of 53 favorite Chinese books, annotated bibliography of 50 Chinese New Year Books, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, lantern pattern, I've also designed 4 Chinese bookmarks to pass out to your kiddos.  Click on the link to check them out.  

chinese new year activities, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, Tikki tikki tembo, the story of Nian,lantern pattern, You can find a few of these stories being read on YouTube as well. A personal favorite, is Tikki Tikki Tembo.  

My Y5’s were delighted when I repeated  Tikki’s very long full name, and wanted to learn it themselves.  Click on the link for an excellent animated version of this popular folktale.

chinese new year activities, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, Tikki tikki tembo, the story of Nian,lantern pattern, Another wonderful YouTube fairytale video is The Story of Nian. It’s just 3 minutes and explains the meaning behind many of the Chinese New Year beliefs, because of this mythological half lion-half dragon.

This year, Chinese New Year is being celebrated on Friday, January 31st and runs for 15 days, which ends on our Valentine's Day, so there's plenty of time to try and fit something cultural into your lessons.  

year of the horse poster, chinese new year activities, tikki tikki tembo, the story of Nian, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, lantern pattern, It's the year of the horse, so if you do an animal unit, your students will enjoy learning about the Chinese zodiac creatures.

The Chinese typically don't refer to this celebration as Chinese New Year; instead, the festivities are known as Spring Festival 春節 or Lunar New Year 農曆新年 because their year is determined by the Lunar Calendar. 

The Chinese aren't the only ones who observe it either. From late January to mid-February, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and other countries celebrate Lunar New Year too.

chinese new year activities, tikki tikki tembo, the story of Nian, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, lantern pattern, A fun way to add a bit of Asian flavor to your day, is with these Chinese dragon alphabet cards.  Use them as flashcards, a bulletin board boarder, independent center or for group games. 

I've included a 3-page tip list of things you can do with the cards.  After laminating, cut up an extra set and make puzzles. Click on the link to view/download the Chinese dragon alphabet cards.

chinese new year activities, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, lantern pattern, Although China does not have a set of alphabetical letters like we do, it is possible to write your students' names in Chinese

I found an awesome site "Free Chinese Name Translations" where you simply type in your kiddos names and they appear in lovely Chinese characters!  The photo shows what my name looks like. 

I copy and pasted my family's names in a document, so that I could shrink or enlarge them.  I had such a great time diddling around here; my brain was going 90-miles an hour, thinking of fun things I could do with these.

A few names "could not be found" (my sister Kathie, for example) but you could adjust the spelling and see if that helps. Kathy did work.  I simply corrected the spelling on my copy.  If that doesn't work, you could also try a child's middle name.

These can be made into bookmarks, a certificate of praise, nametag, flag, greeting card, lantern, fan, or shrunk to make the center tag for a necklace, button, or magnet.  The photo shows the fan I made. 

chinese new year activities, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, lantern pattern, To make one, enlarge the name card that you made, by cutting and pasting it into a Word or Pages document.  I dragged the image to the full size of the length of the paper.  Leave at least 2-3 inches of white border on the bottom when you cut it out, or your name won't show up.

When students are done, staple the bottom and gently pull apart.  "Fan-folding" is an excellent fine motor skill that my Y5's really enjoyed doing.

chinese new year activities, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, chinese kids coloring pages, pictures of chinese children to color, lantern pattern, Another quick activity your kiddo's could do when they were done with lessons, is to color a Chinese picture.  Click on the link for the Chinese ChildBook site. 

It has a large variety of Chinese New Year prints including these cute little Chinese children.  Any of them could also be folded to make a prety fan.

chinese new year activities, chinese music, chinese coloring pages, chinese links, how do you say happy new year in chinese, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, lantern pattern, Another simple way to add a splash of China to your day, is by playing some of their soothing music while your students work.  There's something very calming in the melodic music that chinese instruments create. 

I'm listening to "Music From The Tea Lands" as I blog.  It's especially meaningful because 2 of our sons were born in Korea.  If you don't have a CD, click on the link to hear 25 minutes of tranquil sounds from China.

As your students come through the door, wish them a Happy New Year in Chinese, and then teach them how to say: " Gong Hey Fat Choy." (gung-she-fah-tie) 

chinese new year activities, ideas for chinese new year, chinese new year crafts, spring festival activities, lunar new year activities, china activies, chinese new year alphabet cards, chinese new year bookmarks, chinese new year puzzles, chinese new year writing prompts, chinese new year crafts, year of the horse activities, dragon activites, snake activities, chinese new year crafts, chinese new year bibliography, chinese new year books, fan crafts, lantern crafts, lantern pattern, After several hours of research, I made up a page of information that includes several ways to say Happy New Year in Chinese, as well as links for you to hear how it should sound, plus the Chinese characters that make up these greetings. 

There are also some great links of Chinese children singing Happy New Year.  This informational sheet is in the Chinese Bookmark packet. Click on the link to grab this FREEBIE. Choose which ever bookmark you like the best and tuck one in your students' desks or backpacks. 

http://www.teachwithme.com/downloads/item/4180-chinese-new-year-activities-and-craftsThat’s it for today.   I have so much more to share, but I don’t want these blog articles to get too long. Be sure and pop by tomorrow for some more great Chinese New Year Activities.  Feel free to PIN away.

“A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.” –Chinese Proverb