Chinese New Year is the biggest annual celebration in China. So what better time to teach about Chinese culture?
This holiday is all about family, luck and prosperity, and it’s full of interesting traditions that make for fun classroom activities for preschoolers.
Here are 8 Chinese New Year activities that are perfect for preschoolers.
1. Teach the Chinese New Year story
Legend has it that long ago, the Jade Emperor wanted to create a system for measuring time. He organized a race between all the animals and said that the first 12 to cross the line would get a position in the Chinese zodiac calendar.
We won’t spoil the ending, but we will say that the story is the perfect way to introduce the topic of Chinese New Year to kids.
2. Get them to put the animals in order
Once you’ve shared the story, why not get the class to put the zodiac animals in the correct order using printable materials? This is a fun way to bring the story to life and maybe even introduce some characters. Even better, you could make it a team race!
3. Introduce a few Chinese characters
There’s no better time to introduce some Chinese characters than Chinese New Year. Not only have you got 12 different animals to choose from, there are also several simple, yet common Chinese characters associated with the holiday.
For example, the Chinese for Chinese New Year is 春节 (chūnjié). This first character, 春 (chūn), meaning Spring, includes two basic components:
日 (rì), which means ‘sun’
草 (cǎo), which means ‘grass’
This is a fun way to introduce the Chinese language and make sure kids walk away from the class having learnt something new.
Use our writing sheets and videos to introduce the characters and teach them about the origins of the word.
4. Match characters and pictures
Once you’ve introduced the characters, try testing the class to see if they can remember which character means what. We created a fun sheet that lets them match these core components with the corresponding image. Download it as part of our CNY resource pack.
5. Color in worksheets
Give your students coloring sheets full of traditional Chinese New Year symbols such as dragons, lanterns, zodiac animals, and auspicious characters.
Looking for some you can use? Download our free Chinese New Year resource pack.(Click Chinese New Year Banner to download automatically).
6. Make Chinese lanterns
Lanterns are displayed during Chinese New Year to illuminate homes, streets, and public spaces and wish for a bright and prosperous year.
Why not teach your class about this tradition by getting them to create and decorate their own lanterns?
7. Make dumplings
Food is an important part of Chinese New Year celebrations. Families prepare certain dishes, which they eat at certain times because of their cultural symbolism.
Dumplings are one of these dishes! Their round shape represents completeness and unity, making them lucky for families to eat together.
If you have a kitchen at your school, making dumplings can be a fun, easy (and maybe slightly messy) Chinese New Year activity for preschoolers to learn about this ancient Chinese tradition.
8. Decorate hongbao
Hongbao are known as red packets in English. They are small red envelopes, which are filled with money and given to relatives as gifts. The color red symbolizes good luck, happiness, and prosperity in Chinese culture, and exchanging hongbao is a way for people to share well-wishes for prosperity and success in the coming year.
Get your preschoolers to craft and decorate their own hongbao and fill them with paper money, sweets or messages for their family members.