Day 58

February 28, 2010

11:30 a.m.

A girl with curls.

A Fish Tale

The girls' school had a Fun Fair last Saturday. There were carnival games with prizes, a moon jump, a cake walk, a magician and a balloon artist. There was a guess-the-number-of-candies-in-this-jar game and a pick-the-lollipop-with-a dot-on-the-end game. There was also the dreaded win-a-goldfish game where you throw ping pong balls at bowls of water hoping to win goldfish. Thankfully, this game wasn't in the gym, where most of the other games were, but was instead in a classroom. Kenna and Michal didn't even know this game existed.

Then the power went out . . .

Eventually it came back on but only in part of the school. It was decided that it wasn't safe to have a school full of families milling about eating pizza and winning plastic toys in the dark so the Fun Fair was closed down 45 minutes early.

We got our coats from their Kindergarten room hooks and were leaving the building when we came upon the Goldfish Game room. They were no longer playing the game but a line had formed and they were giving away the goldfish.

Before I could stop the words from coming out of my mouth, I told the girls to, "Hurry up and get in line."

Moments later they were each holding a plastic bag with a goldfish in it. Michal named her fish "Michal" and "Kenna" named her fish "Kenna." Later they changed their names to Millie and Super Greta.



We brought them home, filled up a glass jar with water and put their plastic bags in so they could adjust to the water temperature.



The next day Eric decided that the fish needed a proper aquarium. So, he and the girls headed to WalMart with their birthday gift cards from Uncle Paul. They returned with a 10-gallon aquarium, blue rocks, a plastic treasure chest, a plastic rock with plastic fish and a couple plastic plants. They then added an Animal Fairy and a Light Fairy from their plastic fairy collection and drew a picture and taped it to the back of the aquarium. They waited 24 hours and then put Millie and Super Greta in their new home. Sadly, the Fun Fair goldfish didn't make it 24 hours.

So Eric bought three new goldfish and we tried again. And 24 hours later those three goldfish were gone too.

At that point I declared, "No more fish." and Kenna and Michal reminded me to not be sad because the fish were in heaven.

And then today, when Eric came home from work, he told the girls to grab their coats and get in the car. I yelled, "no more fish" as they left.

I guess no one heard me.

Thirty minutes later they returned home with three neon fish, a miniature catfish and a Chinese algae-eating fish.

Millie, Bot, Geo, Got to Go and Kai-Lan all seem very happy in their new aquarium.

Day 57

February 27, 2010

7:15 p.m.

Michal and Kenna waiting to feed the lion hung bao at the Chinese New Year Celebration in Chinatown.

Celebrating the Year of the Tiger

Tonight we joined 300 other people to celebrate Chinese New Year at a restaurant in Chinatown. The event was our annual FCC Chinese New Year Celebration and this year I chaired the event. There were crafts for the kids, a raffle with 25 amazing prizes, a Chinese marketplace, Chinese dance performances, professional lion dancers, a chance for kids to do the lion dance with real costumes and a children's lantern parade led by Ms. Chinatown. There was also lots and lots of great Chinese food.

Kenna and Michal had an absolute blast and were so excited to wear their new Chinese New Year dresses and jackets and have fancy "Chinese New Year hair."

Day 55

February 24, 2010

11:52 a.m.

Michal all ready for school and looking uncharacteristically serious.

Day 54

February 23, 2010

12:50 p.m.

Chinatown

When I told the girls that I'd been to Chinatown while they were at school, Michal responded, "But I wanted to go too." So I asked, "Why?" And she said, "They have all those great restaurants and all those great stores and all those great Chinese characters."

Don't miss the giveaway below!

There is a great giveaway from Daisy Chains below. You have until Wednesday at 12:00 midnight to enter.

Day 53

February 22, 2010

12:45 p.m.

Walking through the snow.

Ice Dancing Commentary

This was Kenna and Michal's conversation as the French ice dancing pair skated tonight.

Michal: "That's fantastic. Even royal music."

Michal: "Is that ballet ice dancing?"

Kenna: "Wow, that's so royal.

Michal: "That sounds like Chinese music."

Kenna: "Mom, would you please let her listen to Chinese music so she knows what Chinese music sounds like?"

Michal: "I know what Chinese music sounds like."

Look out Dick Button and Scotty Hamilton. Sounds like you've got some competition.

Day 52

February 21, 2010

11:10 a.m.

Kenna, still in her pajamas, watching Super Greta and Millie. Just moments later Eric declared that the fish really need a proper aquarium.

Day 51

February 20, 2010

1:15 p.m.

"Mommy, Mommy, I have exciting news! I'm a fish mother."

Day 50

February 19, 2010

3:30 p.m.

Playing outside after school.

Friday Finds {Daisy Chains}

Hairdos are a big deal around here.

I try to do the girls hair differently so that the kids at school have another way to tell them apart. Invariably whatever hairdo the first asks for, the other wants too. There are many days we resort to rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets the french braid over the top or the braid from the front to a low "Mommy ponytail" in back.

Most hairdos are judged on the "fancy scale" with braids, buns and accessories -- oh how they love accessories! -- getting high marks.

Some of our very favorite hair accessories are made by Daisy Chains.

We have clips with these great vinyl flowers in turquoise and red.



And these bobby pins are perfect for holding back all those stray baby hairs around the girls' faces.



Daisy Chains has been featured in: Parents Magazine and Babble Magazine. Go take a peek and you'll understand why. And after you do, come back here, tell me what caught your eye, and one lucky reader will receive a $15 gift certificate to pick out anything they'd like in the Daisy Chains store!

You may enter this giveaway until Wednesday, February 24 at 12:00 midnight. The winner will be posted on Thursday morning.

Day 49

February 18, 2010

4:50 p.m.

Outside making a snow queen.

Olympic Commentary for Tonight

Tonight, while watching Shaun White snowboarding, Kenna remarked, with awe in her voice, "He's flying."

To which Michal replied, "He must have pixie dust."

Day 48

February 17, 2010

11:20 a.m.

Michal

Olympic Dreams

The girls and I are watching the Olympics Men's Figure Skating on TV right now and Michal and Kenna are just as excited about it as I am. It's woefully past their bedtime and I've told them "you can stay up for a few more minutes" more times than I count.

In 1998 Eric and I were sitting in the fifth row of an ice arena in Nagano Japan watching the exact same event. Seeing the Olympics on TV is wonderful. Experiencing them in person is nothing short of intoxicating.

Stephane Lambiel from Switzerland is skating right now and Michal just commented, "Mom, he looks like Snow White's prince. Don't you think so?"

You know what? He really does look like Snow White's prince.

Now I really need to go get those girls in bed.

Day 47

February 16, 2010

3:32 p.m.

Kenna playing Mary Poppins in the snow.

Day 46

February 15, 2010

11:41 a.m.

Michal: "What does the Tooth Fairy do with all the teeth? I know she puts them in her house but where?"

Kenna: "She put them in her tooth basket."

Happy Valentine's Day. Happy Chinese New Year.

Day 45

February 14, 2010

3:10 p.m.

Michal waiting to go to the Chinese New Year celebration at Fran and Bob's house.

Day 43

February 12, 2010

12:45 p.m.

Conversation Hearts

Day 42

February 11, 2010

11:45 a.m.

Kenna jumping on the bed . . . with permission.

Day 41

February 10, 2010

4:40 p.m.

Kenna on her way to dance class.

Celebrating Chinese New Year

I think one of the really special and unique privileges we have as parents of children who were born in China is to expose them to Chinese customs and traditions.

Since Chinese New Year begins this Sunday, I thought I'd share a few ideas for celebrating Chinese New Year with your child, or with your child's class at school. I know that I've included more things than you will reasonably have time for at home, or during a class presentation, but I hope you find something here that inspires you in some way.

I've broken my suggestions into categories so you can skip right to a section that interests you instead of wading through all the information.



These are eight children's books about Chinese New Year that I like. I'm sure there are many more great Chinese New Year books out there but I've actually read each of these and know that they're readily available on Amazon and many are available in local bookstores.



"Lucky New Year!," by Mary Man-Kong

This is a lift-the-flap book that has great interactive elements like oranges to smell and a wheel to turn to figure out which animal year you were born in but, because this book is interactive, it might be difficult to let a classroom of children try all of the things for themselves. This book is most-appropriate for younger children.

"Hiss! Pop! Boom! Celebrating Chinese New Year," by Tricia Morrissey

This is a much more detailed book that's appropriate for older children. The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the Chinese brush painting and beautiful calligraphy that illustrates the book.

"Dragon Dance: A Chinese New Year Lift-the-Flap Book," by Joan Holub

This is another fun lift-the-flap book that's probably most-appropriate for younger children.

"Bringing in the New Year,", by Grace Lin

If I was going to pick one book to read in a classroom for Chinese New Year, this would be it. I particularly like that this story is about a Chinese-American family and the Grace Lin illustrations are bright and engaging. Also, the text is very lyrical and perfect for reading aloud.



"Red is a Dragon," by Grace Thong and illustrated by Grace Lin

This is another Grace Lin book and it's really a color book that uses Chinese items as examples. It begins, "Red is a dragon Red is a drum Red are the firecrackers here they come!..." and would be perfect for a preschool class.

"The Dancing Dragon," by Marcia Vaughan

This is a rhyming book that is also beautifully illustrated. It's an accordion-style book that tells the story of the festivities of the Chinese New Year, culminating in a parade that includes a magnificent dragon carried on stick.

"Happy, Happy Chinese New Year!," by Demi

In this book Demi explains the rituals and ideas behind the Chinese New Year festival. The book is nicely illustrated and well-written.

"The Empty Pot," by Demi

This is one of my favorite children's books period. It's not specifically about Chinese New Year but it is about a little boy named Ping and a Chinese emperor looking for his successor. The story is straightforward and has such a lovely message about honesty and integrity. I also think the illustrations are truly beautiful.


(The girls and I are in the process of making these crafts and I'll add pictures as we do.)

Paper Lanterns



Supplies You'll Need:

• One sheet plus one strip of construction paper or other colored paper per student
• A stapler or glue stick
• Crayons, markers or stickers for decoration
• Crepe paper

Instructions

1. Fold a rectangular piece of paper in half lengthwise, making a long, thin rectagle.
2. Make a series of cuts along the fold line. When cutting the paper, leave about an inch of space from the edge. Make sure you don't make cuts too close to the edge of the paper.
3. Unfold the paper.
4. Using a stapler, connect the short edges of the paper together.
5. Cut a strip of paper about six inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Glue or staple this strip of paper across one end of the lantern. This will be the handle of the lantern. You could also punch holes and use yarn or ribbon to create a handle.
6. You can add strips of crepe paper to the inside bottom of the lantern so they hang below the bottom edge.
7. If the students want to decorate their lanterns, they should color on the paper or add stickers before step 1.

Paper Bag Dragon Puppet

Supplies

• One sheet of white cardstock printed with dragon head (below) per student
• One paper lunch bag per student
• Three strips of crepe paper per student
• Glue stick
• Markers or crayons

Instructions

1. Use the dragon image below (if you click on the image it will take you to Flickr and you can download the image) and print it on white cardstock. You'll want to do a test print and adjust the size if necessary so it is the same width as a lunch bag. This image should print correctly.
2. Give each child one dragon head, a paper lunch bag and three strips of crepe paper.
3. Each child should color the dragon and then cut it out. (For smaller children you may want to pre-cut the dragons.)
   
   
   
   
4. After the head is colored and cut out, glue it to the top flap of a paper bag so when a hand is inside the puppet the head will lift up and it will look like the mouth is opening and closing.
5. Children can decorate the bag with markers or crayons and then glue the crepe paper streamers inside the bottom front of the bag so they hang down and make a tail.
   
   
   
   (And in case you're wondering why the dragon has crowns on it, it's because "it's Mulan's Chinese Dragon, because Mulan is Chinese, and of course her dragon would need crowns on it.")
   
   

Dragon Stick Puppets -- two variations

Supplies

• One sheet of white cardstock printed with dragon head per student
• Three long strips of crepe paper per student or six strips of construction paper (2 inche wide by 6 inches long)
• One popsicle stick or one unsharpened pencil per child
• Glue stick
• Tape
• Stapler
• Markers or crayons

Instructions

1. Use the dragon image below (if you click on the image it will take you to Flickr and you can download the image or you can print directly from Flickr but you'll get the text on the page as well) and print it on white cardstock. You'll want to do a test print and adjust the size as needed.
2. Give each child one dragon head and three strips of crepe paper.
3. Each child should color the dragon and then cut it out. (For smaller children you may want to pre-cut the dragons.)
4. Glue or tape the crepe paper to the back of the dragon head.
5. Tape the popsicle stick or unsharpened pencil to the back of the dragon head.

Another option is to have the children decorate six paper strips and then make a chain out of those strips. In step 4 the children would attach the paper links, instead of the crepe paper, to the back of the head. With this option the pencil has to go beside instead of on top of the paper links.



If you're looking for a craft project that you can simply order, I think these Color-Your-Own Chinese calendars from Oriental Trading Company are great.

And I think these Magic Color Scratch Dragons are so fun too. I've actually ordered the dragons before and the kids loved them. One thing to know is that the dragons come with pointed sticks to scratch the designs on the dragons so if you're going to use them for preschoolers you'll probably want to substitute popsicle sticks.

I also really like these Accordion Dragons.




Try Your Hand at Chinese Calligraphy

Invite children to try writing in Chinese calligraphy and create their own chun lian, special New Year's decorations.

Begin by passing out the worksheet below (click on it and it will take you to Flickr where you can download the full size) so the students can learn how to draw two Chinese characters that together mean Good Wishes for the New Year. Then give each child a square of red paper. Have them use a black crayon to copy the characters on their chun lian. (The squares of paper should be turned to be diamond-shaped.) You can punch a hole in one of the points of the diamond and add a ribbon so the chun lian can be hung.



Coloring Pages

Here are two coloring pages you can download and print out. (Just click through to Flickr and download the full-sized file.) I especially like these because they include both English and Chinese titles.





Lantern Parade

It's always fun to have a Lantern Parade in the classroom, or even in your house. You can have the kids make lanterns (see above) or provide them with lanterns that you've purchased. I've purchased lanterns very inexpensively in Chinatown, like the ones pictured below, but you can also order them online. If the students made dragon puppets they could also carry those in a parade.



You can find all kinds of great Chinese New Year music on iTunes. I downloaded "Splendid Jubilant New Year -- The Collection of Festival Music," by Xiao-Peng Jiang and The Chinese Orchestra of Shanghai Conservatory. It's a collection of songs, most of which are loud and festive and very parade-like, to celebrate the new year.



At the end of whatever you do, I'd give each child a hung bao (red envelope). You can put stickers in the envelope instead of money. I have always purchased the red envelopes in our Chinatown here but I know they are also sold in Asian grocery stores and at Hallmark! You can also order them here. It would be fun to have the students line up in order of oldest to youngest, just like is done in a Chinese family, to receive their hung bao.



You might want to include a little card in the envelope, or on a sticker on the outside of the envelope, very briefly explaining what Chinese New Year is so the children's parents will know something about the holiday when their child brings the hung bao home.



Here is some possible text:
Chinese New Year is the most important of the Chinese holidays and is a time of feasting, parades, fireworks and gift-giving. The holiday lasts for 15-days and because the Chinese calendar is based on the lunar year, the date of Chinese New Year changes every year. The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year pattern with each year named after an animal. This new year is the Year of the Tiger.

To celebrate Chinese New Year, children are given hung bao, or red envelopes, like this one with money in them by their relatives.

And finally, Oriental Trading Company is offering these classroom kits that include hung bao, lanterns, a coloring card and chocolate coins.



I know that there is a group of parents who also sell similar kits to raise money for their childrens' orphanage. I have ordered from them in the past and would be happy to include the information here if any one has it. I looked but couldn't find it.

The Jie Jie Foundation sells this kit for just $1.75 or 12 for $20. (Thanks Julie for this information!)



If you have other ideas, I'd love to hear them. Gung Hay Fat Choy!