It’s a new year in China — the year of the Snake. So, what better way to celebrate the new Chinese year than to learn to speak Chinese?
Let me just start by saying I love how the Chinese bring in the new year. I mean, what brilliant person (i.e., mom) came up with a plan to start a celebration by cleaning out their house? AND, they can convince the kids to participate because there are also food and red envelopes stuffed with money.
Don’t think the Chinese let all their traditions stay in bygone eras. Nope, they even have red envelope apps so that the family can send the kids money electronically. Needless to say, we are psyched about this Chinese tradition.
Celebrate the Chinese New Year
Did you know the Chinese New Year is celebrated for three weeks?
Me, neither (OK, I’m assuming you didn’t know this little fact). So we’re having some fun celebrating the Chinese New Year. Here are some of our planned activities over the next few weeks.
Make dumplings
I’m going to try out this recipe and see if I can make traditional dumplings. And, if it fails, I can always run to China Wok (our local Chinese restaurant of choice) to save me in my dumpling crisis!
Trace and learn the Chinese numerals
There are a TON of Chinese worksheets out there to choose from. We ordered a few books to get us started, but you can also grab a free Chinese number worksheet off the internet.
Make Chinese Lanterns
We got this Chinese lantern craft in our Green Kid Crafts Subscription box. The youngest made several lanterns and then strung them up to make decorations for our Chinese New Year celebration.
Send Red Envelopes
As a twist on the red envelope, we came up with the idea of sending out letters in red envelopes to people we loved and appreciated. It wasn’t monetary, but it was meaningful. And we snuck in a little letter-writing learning!
You can grab your free template below.
Read some books about Chinese Culture and History
- Ms. Frizzle’s Adventures: Imperial China
- Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Chinese New Year
- You Wouldn’t Want to Work on the Great Wall of China!
Learn to Speak Chinese
The youngest has a fascination with the Chinese language. I’m not sure if it’s due to an early immersion of Ni Hao, Kai-Lan, or just a new interest, but she loves it and wants to learn as much as possible. As much as I can, I try to follow the kids on rabbit trails. This rabbit trail seemed like it would fit in nicely and encourage her to pursue different languages.
She has been using Panda Tree and loving it. You can read my whole review HERE. We have only just begun our Chinese studies, but I see this as being a simple way to immerse her in the language so she can learn to speak Chinese conversationally.
Create an Entire Month of Chinese Study with Online Book Clubs
Of course, around here, we’re known for our book clubs. So, we ran down some rabbit trails and created a Chinese book club for each age group. These book clubs are part of our World Literature Series for Elementary, Middle School, and High School.
In each of these book clubs, your students can learn about the Chinese people and their culture. And, while they are having fun learning and doing hands-on projects, they also get a FULL language arts curriculum for the month. Fun, AND it checks off all the boxes. That’s almost as good as fried dumplings!
So, how do you plan to celebrate the Chinese New Year?
Hi, I’m Dachelle. I’m a homeschooling mom of 3 in the South. I love chocolate and have been known to hide it from my children. I can often be found reading a good book (or even sometimes just an okay book) and enjoying a jar of Nutella — don’t judge. I blog, here, at HideTheChocolate.com when I’m not creating book clubs and making lists…lots and lots of lists (it’s an addiction). Learn more…
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