Harrington Chinese New Year Story Time

Chinese New Year Story Time

for Elementary School Children

Ages 5 to 9By Kaylee Harrington

Texas Woman’s University

Introduction Song: Celebrate the New

Year(to the tune of: Row, Row, Row your boat)Cheer, cheer, cheer the year,

A new one's just begun!Celebrate with all your friends,

Let's go have some fun!Clap, clap, clap your hands,A brand new year is here.

Learning, laughing, singing, clapping,Through another year.

Why Rat Comes First: A Story of the Chinese Zodiac

Retold by Clara Yen, Illustrated by Hideo C. Yoshida

The Jade King sat in the clouds watching over China and hearing about all the wondrous animals there. He decided he wanted to meet the animals, so he sent out invitations to the animals to come to a great feast. On the day of the feast, only 12 animals showed up. The Jade King was disappointed but then decided the 12 animals would be the representatives of the 12 years of the lunar cycle. But who would come first? Clever Rat and Strong Ox each put forth their arguments. The Jade King then put the decision to the children of China. Rat, being clever, figured out how to win the children’s admiration and thus became the animal of the first year.

Concluding Activity: Coloring and Lantern

CraftTo end this story time, we will be doing a coloring and lantern craft. I’ve printed out several coloring sheets with not only the new year animal but also the animals of the birth years of attending kids. Children will be able to color the sheets and take them home along with a cute bookmark about their “traits” based on their zodiac animal.

Lantern CraftThe lantern craft is a simple one. Children decorate a piece of construction paper (likely red or yellow since those are traditional New Year colors) with stickers, designs, and free hand drawings. Then they fold the paper in half, cut strips into it (not going all the way through), and tape or glue it into a circle. Add a handle and the lantern is done!

References "Chinese New Year Colouring Pages." Activity Village.

ActivityVillage.co.uk, 15 Jan. 2015. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese-new-year-colouring-pages “How To Make A Chinese Paper Lantern - Kids Crafts & Activities." Kids

Crafts Activities RSS. Crafts Ideas: Crafts for Kids, 05 June 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/kidscraftsactivitiesblog/2012/01/how-to-make-a-chinese-paper-lantern/ "Lunar New Year Storytime." Lunar New Year Storytime. Talk Story, 06

May 2010. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. http://talkstorytogether.org/storytime/lunar-new-year-storytime