A Chinese New Year Experience

Its that time of the year again . The Chinese will be celebrating their new year soon ; on the 7th February to be exact . For us at the kindergarten , it was an opportunity to introduce another culture to the children . A chance to expose the children and let them experience the festival . We told the children how important this festival was to the chinese .

We decorated the class environment with paper lanterns and paper chains.
Red , red , red everywhere . A traditional lucky color for the Chinese .

Chinese New Year was the school's yearly theme . We chose this as this was an excellent way to learn about cultures . We hoped that at the end of the lesson the children will have a better understanding of the cultures and traditions of other people .

A cheery environment .
A chance for the children to compare family customs with those of another culture .

The unit was thoroughly planned . It was designed to be for one month . It must be a simple introduction so that these little children could easily understand when explained . We backed up the unit by showing pictures and slides about how Chinese New Year was celebrated .

The parents were supportive . They bought clothes in red for their children to use during the course of the unit .
We do hoped these children will learn to respect and appreciate other culture .

During the course of the unit , the students will be exposed to other subjects . They will listen to chinese songs ( music ) , color and make decorations ( Art ) and say some chinese words ( language ) such as " Gong Xi Fatt Chai " , " Ang pow " . Other symbols associated with the festival was introduced such as the fire crackers ( pictures only ) and the red packet ( ang pow ) . We bought tangerines or oranges for them to smell and taste . We told the children about the chinese customs as well ...the do's and the don'ts during the new year and to compare these to their customs .

We called the Lion Dance Troupe to perform at the school .

The high light of the unit was the lion dance . I called up the association and made arrangements with them for the performance at the school . I did not pay anything . It was free of charge as the association was just too happy to show their culture to a group of non chinese children .However I provided transportation for the troupe and ensured their food and drinks were taken care of .

A memorable day for everybody .
A first hand experience to witness the lion dance .

Before the show starts ........a warm up session for every child . They were allowed to touch the lions head . Peeked at the large eyes ......

Tried out the lion's costume ....as many as possible ....and how it felt to be in the costume .

Some kids refused to come out of the costume .
Wow !!! What an experience !!!



Other kids were happy to use the cymbals ......

and beat the big drums with their bare hands .
Ohhh...what a riot !!!!



Preparation for show time .
The lion's body .....Its just a costume .....in red color ....




The lion dance needs two people to carry the lion's costume .
During the dance , the performer must hold the lion head above his own . To shift direction , he will lift , sweep , thrust and dip the head . Another performer is under the 3 meters of lion costume .

Peek a boo !!
Obviously , there were people under the costume . We could see their legs and feet .

The Chinese believe that when you do the lion dance , it will drive the evil spirits away .
The dance is accompanied by the beating of gongs , cymbals and drums .




The lion's head is large . Those big eyes can blink . The mouth snaps open and shut . Looks menacing to some children .

Now , where do you think are you going ?

Greeting the children in the class ....to their delight .

There were squeals of delight ...happy faces ...brave children ...amidst loud noises !!!

Indeed it was a day to remember . An excitement to the children , the commotion , the noise .....wow!!!! what a way to remember Chinese New Year !!!!!!

Gong Xi Fatt Chai to everybody !!!! Take care !!!!!