Happy Chinese New Years! (Horse)

This Friday the Year of the Water Snake gives way to the Year of the Wooden Horse.(January 31-February 14)

This unit teaches children about Cultural Diversity 

as we study Chinese Americans and the Lunar New Year Celebration.

2015 is the Year of the Goat
(according to the Chinese Zodiak Calendar).
Depending on what year you were born, in China, you are assigned an animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Cock, Dog, or Boar. It is felt growing up that you will have characteristics and personality similar to your birth year animal.

 
It was fun to meet all the animals: Dragon (), Rats (), Oxes ( , and Miss Julie), and Tigers (Eva and ).
 
Daily Question: Do you know a Chinese Happy New Years Greeting?  "Gung Hei Fat Choi!" (Kantonese)

Which means in English "Wishing You Prosperity and Wealth."

 We learned a few Chinese words, including:  hello--Nǐ hǎo (Nee how) and Thank you--Xièxiè (Shey Shey).  

Toys:  FP Village and Lite Brites

Snack:  Orange slices, graham crackers, and homemade chocolate chip cookies, White Rabbit Candy, Panda Cookies, and Fortune Cookies.

We practiced using our chop sticks! 

(The elastic and rolled up paper make learning chopsticks easier.  Ask your students to show you his/her skills! ) 


We enjoyed White Rabbit (creamy, milk) candies wrapped in rice paper--that we could eat!  We also tried Panda cookies (creme filled), and talked about noodles, sea food, sea vegetables and sea weed, dumplings, rice cakes, fruit, and other feast favorites.

Tangerines are considered lucky at the New Year. They leave the stem and leaves on for a sign of "connectedness."

Wooden Horse Coloring Page: Before finding our fortune, we went in to color a lucky Chinese Horse to take home and welcome in the Chinese New Year! 

Fortune Hunting: As part of Chinese New Year, friends and family exchange lucky red envelopes.  Inside is usually money.  Today, we sent home a lucky envelope with your student.  * Parents, please review what a penny, nickle, dime, and quarter are worth.

As part of the celebration, we each got a pair of child friendly chopsticks (the paper and elastic makes them spring back--easier to use), a red envelope with a Fortune Cookie (invented by a Chinese American), a Zodiak Placemat, and a lucky red envelop with cash inside.*

Contributions from China: Did you know the Chinese invented paper, silk, kites, noodles, and fireworks? Fortune cookies were invented by Asian Americans and are not found in China.

Chinese Language:
We learned a little Chinese in class today, with help from a library DVD.
ni how (knee how) means "hello!"
zai jian (Zaie zhen) means "goodbye."
xie xie (zhey zhey)means "thank you."
peng you (pong yow) means "friend."

Counting:
1. Yi (yee)
2. Er (er)
3. San (san)
4. Si (s'uh)
5. Wu (w'uh)
6. Liu (li-ah)
7. Qi (chee)
8. Ba (bah)
9. Jui (je-oh)
10. Shi (sh'uh)

Chinese New Year Books:
A New Year's Reunion by YU Li-Qiong and Zhu Cheng-Liang (2012-Year of the Dragon)
The New Year Dragon Dilemma by Ron Roy, Ill. by John Steven Gurney. PCL
Light the Candle! Bang the Drum! A book of Holidays Around the World by Ann Morris and Peter Linenthal
The New Year Dragon Dilemma by Ron Roy; Ill. by John Steven Gurney PCL
Happy New Year, Julie (1974) American Girl. (This is for more advanced reading and pictures about the Chinese New Year. Julie celebrates with her Chinese American friend, Ivy). PCL

DVD:
American Cultures For Children: Chinese-American Heritage (Schlessinger Media) PCL

Some Other Fun Tidbits:

WHEN IS CHINESE NEW YEAR?
In 2014, Chinese New Year falls on January 31st. It ends on February 14 which is also Valentine's Day.. Chinese New Year lasts for 15 days.
However, do take note that Chinese New Year has no fixed date. It is celebrated following the lunar calendar. The lunar calendar is calculated on the time the moon takes to go around the Earth. Emperor Shih Huang Ti introduced the animal zodiac cycle. There are a total of 12 animals in the zodiac cycle. According to the Chinese calendar, it takes sixty years and five cycles of twelve years each for a complete cycle. Chinese New Year usually falls in either January or February. 

Chinese New Year Dates and the related animal zodiac

2009 Jan 26 - Ox 2010 Feb 14 - Tiger 2011 Feb 3 - Rabbit 2012 Jan 23 - Dragon 2013 Feb 10 - Snake 2014 Jan 31 - Horse 2015 Feb 19 - Goat 2016 Feb 8 - Monkey 2017 Jan 28 - Rooster 2018 Feb 16 - Dog 2019 Feb 5 - Pig

HOW DO THE CHINESE CELEBRATE CHINESE NEW YEAR?

SPRING CLEANING

Spring cleaning is a must before Chinese New Year's Day. No sweeping is allowed on the first day of Chinese New Year as it is believed that you will be sweeping out all your goodluck or family fortune. 

REUNION DINNER

Family members will get together on the eve of Chinese New Year for is called the reunion dinner. This is the most important day of all. Some families prepare elaborate dinners while some will choose to have a steamboat dinner.
The steamboat dinner is a big pot of soup placed in the middle of the dinner table and lots of different kinds of foods like shrimps, fish, crabs, meatballs, fishballs, chicken meat, pork and vegetables are put into the pot of soup to cook. 

FIRST DAY OF CHINESE NEW YEAR

All debts have to be repaid by this time. There should also be no lending on this day as it is believed that it will put you in debt for the whole year.
Everyone is encouraged to speak only good and nice things on this day. Using inappropriate language is considered bad luck.
Children also get away with their misbehaviour on this day. Parents do not want to upset their children or make them cry as crying on New Year's Day is considered unlucky.
It is advisable to start the day off by consuming a bowl of sweet dessert called "tong sui" (syrupy sweet drink) in Cantonese. It symbolises starting the year off sweet and pleasant. 

The children will greet their parents and adults :

·  Gong Hei Fatt Choy (in Cantonese)

·  Gong Xi Fa Cai (in Mandarin)

·  Keong Hee Huat Chai (in Hokkien) 

The meaning of "Gong Xi" is congratulations while "Fa Cai" means be rich or prosperous. All the above have the same meaning. They only sound different.
New clothes and shoes are a must for Chinese New Year.
The younger generation will go visit their elder relatives and friends too. Married couples, will have to give a red packet called "Hong Pow" containing money inside to those who are not married and also to their parents.
The hosts will serve their guests all kinds of cookies and the Mandarin Orange. The Mandarin Orange is a symbol of prosperity.
 

SECOND DAY OF CHINESE NEW YEAR

The elder generation who stayed at home to welcome visiting relatives on the first day, will now visit their friends and relatives.

One of the things that most Chinese do during Chinese New Year is to play some card games. It is a favorite past time during this festive season of 15 days. The Chinese also like to set off lots of fireworks and firecrackers during this time. To find out the reasons for all the firecrackers and fireworks, go to our story section and watch the video of "Nian".

Groundhog Day (Seasons/Shadows)

Daily Question: Have you ever seen a groundhog?

Toys: Dress Ups, Buckaroo, Puzzles, Puppet Theater, Magnets...

Here is the Ice Princess (Lambie), 

her friend Fairy Princess, and her Knight Protector!

Snack: Cheddar twists cheese sticks and pretzels.

Show N' Teach:  Our Silly Class! 

Circle Time: We had a fun discussion on the Four Seasons.
 

We read and talked about a story called Winter's Song. What does Winter sound like? (Soft, quiet snow, snowplows, sledding, snow plows, snow ball fights, dripping melted snow, etc.).  

What would Spring, Summer, or Fall sound like?

We talked about where do (and which) animals go in the Winter? 

We liked listening to Hibernation Station again during snack time and talking about the many different types of animals that hibernate in the Winter.

We talked about habitat (animals home environment), hibernation (animals sleeping in dens through the Winter) and migration--when birds an butterflies go south for the winter.

Science:  What makes a shadow?

A shadow is a dark area or shape made by an object something in between light and a surface (like a body in between the sunlight and sidewalk).  We stuck objects in front of a flashlight and watched the different shadows made and talked about the earth (sun and moon).   

On Groundhog Day (February 2), Phil the Groundhog comes out of his hole after a long winter's hibernation. If he sees his shadow, he is thought to return to his hole (some people think this is an omen of six more weeks of bad winter weather). If he doesn't see his shadow (i.e., if it is cloudy), he is thought to stay above ground (some people think of this as a sign of mild weather to come).

What do you think, can a groundhog predict the weather?
*Update*  On Sunday, Phil saw his shadow and predicts six more weeks of Winter!

I See a Little Goundhog (Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)

I see a little groundhog, furry and brown,
He's popping up to look around.
If he sees his shadow, down he'll go.
Six more weeks of winter--oh, no!

Recess Time: Shadow Hunting outside. We had bright sunshine until it was time to play Shadow Tag and then it was more difficult to find our shadows!
 

Shadow Tag
If it's sunny outside and body casts a shadow, play shadow tag. Instead of touching a person, whoever is It must step on someone's shadow.

Activities: We had fun making a groundhog picture (out of shapes--rectangle and heart) and drawing Spring or snow outside.

 Kayson was excited for me to take his picture with his groundhog/shadow drawing.






He is apprehensive when his twin brother, Ethan, jumps in the picture!

 Ethan yells, "Groundhog!" (Photobomb!)
 --Fun to see these two and their very different personalities.






Definitions of today's vocabulary words: Habitat: The natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. Hibernation: The resting (sleeping) state of some animals in Winter. Den: A wild animals lair or habitation (home). Migration: To change location periodically, especially by moving seasonally from one region to another. Season:One of four divisions of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) demonstrated by particular weather patterns and daylight hours.

Books Read and Discussed Today:  
Winter's Song by Claire Daniel, ill. by Leslie Bowman  
Round and Round the Season's Go by Rozanne Lanczak Williams, Ill. by Roseanne Litzinger  
Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows and Kurt Cyrus (audio)
Silly Lilly and the Four Seasons by Agnes Rosenstiehhl
Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft & Richard G. Van Gelder, Ill, by Helen K. Davie
Footprints in the Snow by Cynthia Benjamin, Ill. by Jacqueline Rogers (HR, 1)

GorgeousWake Me in the Spring by James Preller, Ill. by Jeffrey Scherer (HR, 2) cartoon hibernation  The Magic School Bus Sleeps for the Winter (Scholastic Reader, 2) 

Letter P and Numbers (0-10)

Daily Question:  Can you count from 0-12?

Parents, you can see how we are coming along with our name practice.  Please work at home on this!

Toys: (So many begin with the letter P) Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shops, Pirates, Puppets/Puppet Theater, Puzzles, Play Doh, Play House, etc.

 


Letter P Activity: We talked about P the Pelican who popped popcorn "p-p-p" and picked up pop for his pals. We listened to  popcorn popping and repeated "p-p-p." Then we enjoyed eating copious amounts of the fluffy stuff while trying to glue it to an uppercase and lowercase P.

We had fun watching our popcorn popping and saying, "pah, pah" for letter P.

  

 Our Counting Jars:  We have begun a new activity involving exploring numbers and our "Counting Jars."  We will be exploring numbers 0-12 and today we began with "zero--our hero."  This also helps us practice our name and also early writing skills here at school

Counting Books We Read Today:

Number Farm

Ten Outof Bed by Penny Dale

Do You Have A Hat by Eileen Spinelli

One Baby Boy: A Counting Book.

Piggie Under the Blanket Game: 

One student waits while another student hides under the blanket--"Piggie under the blanket, tell us your name?" "Oink, Oink!"

!

Modern Day Heroes

Modern Day Heroes

Daily Question: Do you know a Modern Hero?  We got lots of fun answers to this question: Batman, Wonderwomen, Spiderman, etc.  The best answer was little Brody who said, "ME!"  We are talking about being brave, men and women who changed our world for the better, and what we can do about it today.

Toys: (New) Trains, City Blocks and Town Rug, and Dress Ups.

Eleanor, the Ice Queen, praised Ethan--"That's my fearless knight!  He's protecting me!" (...from his twin brother, Kayson?)

Snack: Banana wheels, Animal crackers, and mini carrots.

In Circle Time, we saw and talked about many books of Modern Day Heroes/Heroines. We learned that after the start of America, people in Africa were kidnapped and taken by boat to America to work as slaves on plantations that grew tobacco and cotton. We talked about how the slaves (People from Africa who became African Americans or were sometimes called Blacks or Coloreds) were treated poorly--not allowed to vote, hold a paying job, use the same water fountain, or marry. We talked briefly about the US Constitution, the Civil War and President Lincoln (whose birthday is celebrated in Feb.), Segregation, Civil Rights, "Separate but Equal," Martin Luther, Coretta Scott, and Rosa Parks, and Montgomery Bus Boycott. We also talked a little about Helen Keller, one of my personal Heroines.

Share & Teach:

Brody: Transformer to "play with."

Dade: Stuffed ghost and Yak.

Eleanor: Thundercats Sword

Ethan: Lego Fireman (Modern Day Hero)

Eva: Toy to "p

Kayson: Lego Police Officer (Modern Day Hero)

Seth: Glowpet

William: Spiderman (Hero)

Heroes/Heroines Book:
Martin Luther King, Jr. A Dream of Hope by Alice Fleming (Sterling Biographies)--PCL copy, use for pictures--too advanced for preschoolers.
What's So Great About...? Rosa Parks by Jim Whiting (A Robbie Reader) PCL
Helen Keller by Sean Dolan (Rookie Biographies) PCL
Bio-Graphics Abraham Lincoln (Graphic Planet, Red Wagon) written by Joe Dunn, ill. by Rod Espinosa
The Bus Ride That Changed History; The Story of Rosa Parks by Pamela Duncan Edwards, Ill. by Danny Shanahan
Coretta Scott Poetry by Ntozake Shange, Paintings by Kadir Nelson

Opera and Talents

 Opera and Talents

Daily Question: Oo Ostrich sings opera.  Do you like to sing?

It tickles me to see the children sign in now. They are no longer self conscious or worried they "can't" write their name. I remind them that we are learning how and doing it by practicing. Writing his/her own name is a Kindergarten prerequisite. Our class is really learning!

*Karina, William's mother, mentioned that his Grandparents ARE Opera singers!

Toys: (New) Fisher Price Construction set, Airport and Airplane, and FP Village, puppet theater, and hand puppets.

Students enjoyed listening about O the Ostrich whose occupation was singing opera in front of other ostriches, "O-o-o" (students put hands together in front of them and sing oah, oah, oah).

We "painted" O the Ostrich feathers with food dye and corn syrup. This was a lot of sticky fun and left a somewhat tacky but neat looking letter. 

 





This painting fascinates me--the textures as the children pull the blue dye into the corn syrup really do give a "feather like" appearance to the paintings.








 

Talents: We enjoyed reading Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman and talking about the little black girl who loved to listen to and re-enact stories. She believed she could be (or portray) anyone and so she won the part of Peter Pan in a play. Children named talents: soccer, ballet, singing, drawing, painting, or serving others. Some of these come more easily to us and some talents require us to take classes, learn the rules, and work hard at it/them.

Circle Time Discussion:  Ostrich likes to sing.  What do you like to do?  What would you like to learn?  What do you think you will do when you grow up...?
Ethan:  A fireman (or a Knight).
Seth:  Spiderman!
Kayson:  A doctor.
William: A good pirate! 
Dade: A bad guy!  
Brody: Iron Man and a bad guy!  
Eva: A Princess!  
Miss Nikki:A Teacher (and a Mother!) 
Miss Julie:  A Mother (and a Teacher !)

Reading When I'm Big in Circle Time.

 "O" Spotting--We went outside to search for the letter Oo and also to spot any zeros/circles we could find.

Books on Talents:
*Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Something Special
You Are Special!
You are Special by Max Lucado
When I'm Big by Nila Aye and Tim Drury