D is for dēng 灯

We learned D is for Deng (lantern) today. Lantern is actually Deng Long in Chinese. Deng means light. I just put Deng to make it easier for kids to remember.

We take a look at different lanterns and guess some riddles (Chinese put riddles on lanterns on Lantern's Festival). They love Chinese sky lanterns. I played this video for them. It's lantern festvial in Taiwan, which attract tourists from all over the world.
Sky lantern is also called good wish lantern. So I asked them what they can put on their good wish lantern and let it fly. These are their answers:

 "God bless you".
"I wish there will be more pandas in the world and one of them will visit me and eat some bamboo in my house."
"I loves my parents. When I let the lantern fly, they will know I love them so much."
"I want a brother."
"I want the strict teacher nicer."
My kids are sweet! 

We used paint to make a Chinese new year skyline. I got the idea from here. They cut out Chinese newspaper and glue them as buildings. Then they used sponges, corks or thumb to print out red and yellow lanterns.  

C is for cháng jiāng 长江

We learned about Yangtze River this week, which plays an important role in China's history, economy and culture. Yangtze River feeds 1/3 of China's population.
I played part of the video from this documentary, (Rediscovering Yangtze) which is very popular in China.

The official website of World Wildlife Fund has interesting information about Yangtze. Each class drew Yangtze on a long paper. They put so much information there. They drew the endangered animals living by Yangtze: Chinese alligator, river dolphin, panda, etc. Allie cut out fish by felt, foil paper and glued them. Abby drew the river blue under the smiling sun. Boys drew cruise, alien visiting Yangtze, sharks, etc.

a blue Yangtze River under the sun with a boat floating on the water

 Books you can read with your child:

The story about Ping  It's a story of a duck living by Yangtze River. 

The Noble Yangtze       

 

My classroom setting

These are some of my classroom setting. I try not to use anything commercial, but their own works.

These are my lovely Children of the Dragon! They put their legs, arms, dress, etc. and run or walk on the Great Wall of China! They colored the dragon.

 
I just put up the bulletin board. Everyone's Chinese name is on the bamboo leaves. I want them to see their names all the time when they are here. Two kids painted their Chinese names. Joey drew a picture of hands of different colors, which means children from around the world get toghether. Judy puts her Chinese handwriting there.

Our classroom mascot is panda. We put up this giant panda and leave the tummy to put sticky notes. They will write Chinese characters on sticky notes. If everyone can put at least 5 characters there, we will have a party. 

B is for biān pào 鞭炮

Chinese invented gunpowder in the 9th century and used it for firecrackers and fireworks. Chinese light firecrackers during Chinese New Year. People believe that fire and noise will scare away evil spirits and bad luck. Celebrating new year with firecrackdrs if fun! But be safe. Do not hold firecrackdrs in hand after lighting. 

They want to know how to set off firecrackers.
We made paper firecrackers. We put them into string and used a chopstick to hang them.
I find some interesting vintage firecracker labels. Each has a story to tell.

A is for ài 愛

We started my alphabet book of Chinese culture this week!
A is for ai (love).

 愛

In the center is the heart. Above is breath and below is graceful movement. Love breathes life into the heart and brings grace to the body. Chinese believe that human mind is in the center of the heart and that love comes from the heart. Love is a form of giving which should be extended motion only to those closest to you but to more distant members of society as well. While it was once considered a highly spiritual emotion, today is used more freely to express affection.

We made a woven heart basket. They are quite creative. Besides drawing and writing on the outside of the heart, they wrote love notes, cut out some flowers, buterrflies, trees, etc. and put them in the basket.
 

A is for ai and I love my kids and parents! You are the best!

Week 2: Beauty of my birthplace - Taiwan 台湾

We started to introduce birthplaces! Two girls were born in Taiwan and one of them just visited Taiwan this summer. So we started from Taiwan. They did the page of Taiwan for their book of Where is my friend from. Google earth is my favorite when I teach geography. Kids love it. Jackson and Jenna kept asking me to focus Taiwan's airport and places they visited. They see right away that Taiwan is an island and most of its land is covered by forest. 

Two girls born in Taiwan did their own memory book of "I love Taiwan". They used felt to decorate Taiwan's flag and green tissue paper as trees on the island .

3 kids who visited Taiwan before did a great job talking about their trip. They brought family album, souvenirs, jade (they went jade hunt in a river!), seal chops, etc. We learned a lot from their trip!

China on the news: We watched a news from Taiwan in Chinese. It's about two pandas in Taipei Zoo celebrating their 8th birthday.

We learned how to draw panda and practiced on the sheet of China on the news. They drew adorable pandas!

Week 1: Knowing each other and our Chinese names

We each made a bookmark. I want them to get a feel of how to write the strokes in their name. They drew pictures on the back.