Chinese Zodiac Matching Game

Eva loves playing matching games and they are super easy to make.  For this one I used red card stock and some animal stickers.  We only made 8 of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs- tiger, pig, monkey, rat, dog, rabbit, rooster and horse- because I couldn't find stickers for dragon, snake, oxen and ram.  Eight pairs tends to be a good amount to play with at this age so it worked out.

Eva was really interested to find out what year she was born in- the year of the pig and that mommy was born in the year of the tiger and daddy, the year of the rooster.  She found a match of mommy's year!

Dancing Dragon Puppet

This morning we made a dancing dragon puppet.  We began with a big foam heart and several foam heart stickers.  Eva arranged them to make the dragon's face.

We then added a craft stick to the back and some streamers.  (I tried just taping the streamers to the back with packaging tape but it did not stick well to the foam so I ended up hot gluing them on.)

Eva is loving dancing with her special dragon!

We also read a book about Chinese dragons and the Chinese New Year.  This book is perfect for the toddler/preschool crowd- simple explanations and beautiful pictures.

 

(You can always click on any books shown for more info.)

Paper Lanterns

With Chinese New Year just one day away, we got busy making some paper lanterns.  Eva started with sheets of red construction paper and used some Valentine stamps to decorate them.

When they were sufficiently covered, I folded them in half and drew lines every inch from the fold out to two inches from the edge and eva cut along them.

Then we opened the paper back up and Eva added glue all along one of the long edges.

I helped shape it into a lantern and then Eva "poofed" it out.

Now we have a few of these hanging in the dining room for our new year's feast tomorrow.

Welcome to China

Today we traveled to China.  Eva found it on her map and colored it in.  She also got another stamp in her passport.

The sensory tub has been filled with a staple in China- rice.  We colored some red and some pink and I added a set of red heart scoops and a bunch of red pom poms.  The rice is a huge hit.  Eva has always been drawn to rice tables and will spend hours scooping and feeling the rice.

I also made a few felt fortune cookies for Eva to practice transferring between take-out containers with chopsticks.  It is definitely tricky!

The fortune cookies are really easy to make.  Take a felt circle, fold it in half and place a bit of ribbon in the fold but sticking out at one end and then sew it shut.  Using a needle and thread, make a stitch 1/3 of the way in on the fold and another 1/3 from the other end, pull tight and tie off.  It should fold in like a real fortune cookie.

Chinese New Year

This Thursday is the celebration of the Chinese New Year.  We will be welcoming in the Year of the Rabbit all week!

Crafts
Chopstick Picture Frame- we'll use wooden chopsticks to make a special picture frame

Paper Fan-  a cardboard rectangle and a tongue depressor will be transformed into a beautiful fan

Paper Lanterns- similar to the Halloween lanterns we made last year, these lanterns will be used to decorate our dining room for the new year feast

Egg Carton Dragon- no Chinese New Year celebration is complete without a dragon puppet

Red Envelope- we'll make a red paper envelope and maybe Eva will find some lucky money in it on Thursday

Activities
Chinese Yo Yo- using a spool, some string and two popsicle sticks, we'll make this Asian take on the yo yo

Chinese Character Memory Game- Eva's been getting really good at playing Memory so this version will help her look carefully at the details

Chopstick Transferring- we'll use chopsticks to move felt fortune cookies from one bowl to another

Rice Sensory Tub- the snow is emptied out and in it's place is a lot of rice- one of Eva's favorites

Cooking
Lucky Noodles- we'll make a yummy noodle lunch

Chocolate Covered Chinese Noodles- a sweet treat to celebrate the new year with

Books

          

February: Asia-China

We are saying goodbye to the cold and snow of the Arctic and heading over to Asia.  Our first stop in Asia will be the big and beautiful country of China.

Here is how the month will look:

February Theme:  China

Weekly Themes:  
              *  Chinese New Year
              *  Building and Construction
              *  Mountain Life
              *  Valentine's Day (okay this has nothing to do with China but we can't ignore it!)

Science Unit:  Tools

Books