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Showing posts with label lunar calendar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lunar calendar. Show all posts

Free printable Chinese New Year lesson plans for wood dragons and the rest of the zodiac


Hello my friends of this blog on free printable lesson plans (and other goodies!) Teacher Omi from the Omschool here with free Chinese New Year activities. CNY 2024 celebrates the wood dragons of which I am one! Learn all about Chinese or Lunar New Year and Chinese Zodiac with these fun lesson plans! 

We start all units in the Omschool with books! I ground lesson plans in children's literature because kids books are THE root of a good education. Here are books that, while not exactly about Chinese New Year, do explore culture and traditions of China. Some are based in Japan but still deserve a mention because they deal with animals, especially of the zodiac. 

The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac Children will laugh at the ambitions, follies and foibles of 12 animals who enter a swimming contest, and which became the basis for the Lunar Calendar. 

Buddha Stories (Demi): Buddhist and oriental fables are generally allegorical. Demi's stories are translations of Buddhist wisdom. Children can learn important truths from the antics of the animals in these stories.

Zen Shorts and Zen Ties (Jon Muth): Gentleness is the key construct in Buddhism. Stillwater the Panda and his Haiku speaking nephew Koo, teach three children of the wisdom of the orient is these endearing tales.

Three Samurai Cats (Eric A. Kimmel and Mordicai Gerstein) Three brave warrior cats learn the art of humility and patience from an aged Samurai cat.

The Story about Ping (Margorie Flack, Kurt Weise, 1933) Ping is an adorable, nosy little yellow duck who lives with his family of ducks and people aboard a Chinese junque on the Yangtze River. Children will delight in Ping's mischief and subsequent close call with the soup pot. Kurt Weise's delicate pictures evoke the fishing life on the Yellow River.

Tikki Tikki Tembo (Arlene Mosel, Blair Lent) The curious naming of children in Chinese culture almost causes grief in the village when little Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo falls into the well. Almost as much fun to read as it is to hear, this is a must read for young children.

Pearl S. Buck stories. Buck was a missionary to China and early winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Ms. Buck writes with compassion and verve about her beloved China. Best selections include: The House of Earth, The Mother, The Big Wave and Other Gods

Red Dragonfly On My Shoulder (translated by Sylvia Cassedy and Kunihiro Suetake; illustrations by Molly Bang) This whimsical collection of oriental Haiku, published in 1992, is perfect for introducing children to the joy of poetry and Haiku.

The Cat Who Went to Heaven (Elizabeth Coatsworth) At age 8, I stayed up reading this book till the late hour of 10pm, under the covers with a flashlight. I cried my eyes out at the tender story of a little cat named Good Fortune and the gentle painter who loves her.  This 1931 Newbery Medal winner tells of a poor painter who adopts a white cat whom he names Good Fortune. Fortune smiles on him when temple priests consign him to paint Lord Buddha and with animal friends. One problem, though: Cats mustn't be included because they once scorned the Buddha. Little Good Fortune loves Buddha and grieves to be denied worship of him. This tale is appropriate for Chinese New Year theme of good fortune.

The Chinese Cinderella Adeline Yen Mah, the ill-fated fifth younger sister, retells her story of abuse and neglect by a wicked stepmother and cruel father. Mah finds solace in Shakespeare and later becomes a physician and author.

The Five Chinese Brothers (Claire Huchet Bishop, Kurt Wiese) There is a famous legend retold in many cultures about five brothers who all look alike, but each have a unique power. The fidelity of the brothers is called upon to rescue one brother from death by the combined efforts of their special talents. This is the Chinese version of the tale.

The Funny Little Woman (Arlene Mosel, Blair Lent) This is a kind of Chinese Little Gingerbread Man story with much silliness, chasing and three wicked Oni to outwit. It won the Caldecott Medal for children's literature illustrations. This story will enchant young children.

Free printable Chinese New Year crafts from Activity Village will help extend lesson plans based on kids books about the Chinese Zodiac and Lunar calendar. 

Free printable Lunar New Year coloring pages Crayola offers some really attractive coloring pages for children and adults to enjoy. Each animal and  mythical beast (dragons!) of the Chinese New Year is represented. Coloring.ws has free printable dragon coloring pages with printables ranging from primary to challenging coloring pages. 

I had written parts of these blog post years ago and rereading, I see some problems with terminology and ethnocentrism. I grew up in a time where terms like "ethnic", "foreign" and "oriental" (meaning eastern, contrasted with occidental or western) were used. I thought then that I was writing primarily to westerners particularly in the US. I'm realizing now how big the internet is and how readers visit from all over the world. 

Also, I loved books like Childcraft Children of Many Lands which explored cultures and  traditions around the world. I never thought of them as being racist or profiling. Now I see how the original title "Our Own Country and Foreign Lands" might seem that way. But reading the stories you'll feel the deep respect and appreciation for the many wonderful people in our big multicultural world. 

For myself, I respected, admired and longed to be part of these world cultures more than my own. I still do. Probably because my country of the United States is just a big conglomeration of cultures across the globe. I don't pretend to know or understand it all. So I approach like a child, eager to learn and explore! A few years ago, watching a travel vlog about Tashkent and Sammerkand, I gasped with joy remembering reading of these "exotic" places in Childcraft when I was around 5! I hadn't thought of these cities in 50 years! All the fascination and longing to visit came flooding back and now Uzbekistan is top of my to-see list. 


Free printable Year of the Rabbit CNY activities with a Chinese New Year kids book list

 


Chinese New Year begins January 22, 2023 and this year,  it's the Year of the Rabbit. Here are Chinese New Year books for kids about China, Chinese culture and bunnies! Included are free printable bunny crafts for Year of the Rabbit.

The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac (Ling and Eric Lee)

Buddha Stories (Demi): Buddhist and oriental fables are generally allegorical. Demi's stories are translations of Buddhist wisdom. Children can learn important truths from the follies of the animals in these stories. Buddhism is the largest religion in China. 

Zen Shorts and Zen Ties (Jon Muth): Gentleness is the key construct in Buddhism. Stillwater the Panda and his Haiku speaking nephew Koo, teach three children of the wisdom of the orient is these endearing tales.

Three Samurai Cats (Eric A. Kimmel and Mordicai Gerstein) Three brave warrior cats learn the art of humility and patience from an aged Samurai cat.

The Story about Ping (Margorie Flack, Kurt Weise, 1933) Ping is an adorable, nosy little yellow duck who lives with his family of ducks and people aboard a Chinese junque on the Yangtze River. Children will delight in Ping's mischief and subsequent close call with the soup pot. Kurt Weise's delicate pictures evoke the exotic and the quaint in life on the Yellow River.

Tikki Tikki Tembo (Arlene Mosel, Blair Lent) The curious naming of children in Chinese culture almost causes grief in the village when little Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo falls into the well. Almost as much fun to read as it is to hear, this is a must read for young children.

The Five Chinese Brothers (Claire Huchet Bishop, Kurt Wiese) There is a famous legend retold in many cultures about five brothers who all look alike, but each have a unique power. The fidelity of the brothers is called upon to rescue one brother from death by the combined efforts of their special talents. This is the Chinese version of the tale.

The Funny Little Woman (Arlene Mosel, Blair Lent) This is a kind of Chinese Little Gingerbread Man story with much silliness, chasing and three wicked Oni to outwit. It won the Caldecott Medal for children's literature illustrations. This story will enchant young children.

Here are free printable activities from kids books about rabbits and bunnies featuring favorites like the Easter bunny, Disney's HOP, Peter Rabbit, the Velveteen Rabbit and Peter Cottontail. There are lots of free printable vintage rabbits images too. 

Easter is probably the most quintessentially preschool holiday of all. Baskets, candy, egg decorating, bunnies, baby animals, spring--for young and young at heart, here are free printable Easter bunny crafts. I've included printable activities based on my two favorite bunnies Peter Rabbit and the Velveteen Rabbit, too. Parents and teachers, you'll want these for preschool classroom fun. 

Printable animal masks from Classroom Jr. Everything is more fun when you're in costume. So let's start by making a printable Easter bunny mask. Here are more animal printables from First Palette. Print on plain paper and transfer to recycled cereal box cardboard to make mask more durable. 

Vintage Easter Bunny crafts Now that you are properly attired, let's make some Easter baskets and greeting cards. The Toymaker has free printable egg baskets, bunny cards and an egg roll game (like they play on the White House). Why not make cards and baskets and fill with Easter eggs or candy and deliver to a lonely senior neighbor (wearing your mask, of course). The Easter bunny loves his older friends, too! 

3D Paper Bunny Crafts The calendar may say spring, but Easter is often cold and damp. Settle down to an afternoon of serious rainy day crafting with free printable 3D bunny-themed paper toys from Craft Jr. I'm partial to the old-fashioned diorama. 

Paper Bunny Toy Mania DL-TK, those wonderfully crafty folk, have an Easter blowout of bunny coloring pages, masks, paper ears, stand-up toys, pop up crafts and much more. I love how easy these are to make. Perfect for young and special needs children who need no-fail activities. 

Peter Rabbit fun Peter Rabbit has his own page, along with other Beatrix Potter friends. The Velveteen Rabbit (Margery Williams) has a page on Making Friends. It's part of a complete page of free printable bunny-based coloring pages, games, puzzles, dot-to-dot, count by number and other activities. I like the felt board games and printable felt board patterns. First School has an educational Peter Rabbit unit with learning games, literature activities, writing prompts and stories. 

Happity, Hippity, Hoppity Easter!