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crafts, Culture

DIY Chinese Dragon Puppet Tutorial

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With Chinese New Year just around the corner, I wanted to create a craft that could help my kids excited for the upcoming festivities. This DIY Chinese dragon puppet is perfect for grade school kids because it uses simple objects to create a customizable object that they can twirl and dance with afterwards. I was surprised how much fun my kids had with this–even my toddler wanted to constantly wave it around!

Some Cultural Background

Many Chinese New Year traditions can be traced back to the story of the monster, “Nian.” Every year, this monster would emerge from the sea and terrorize villages, eating livestock and even children! While villagers hid and shuttered their doors, one old man had a different plan. He decorated a house with bright red decorations and lanterns and prepared fireworks. When Nian approached the village, he noticed this particular house. As he drew near…pop! Bang! The old man lit the fireworks and banged on pots. The loud noise combined with the bright lights and colors sent Nian squealing into the night. The villagers, from then on, spent the new year with bright decorations and loud celebrations–all to scare away bad luck and any monsters who dared come near.

Today, many celebrate Chinese New Year by participating in a lion dance or a dragon dance. The dragon dance is meant to scare away evil spirits and bring good luck–the longer the dragon, the more the luck! Your kids can make this mini version of a dragon so they can do their own dragon dance and bring their own luck!

Let’s Get Crafting!

To get started, you will need:

  1. a paper cup
  2. a marker/pen
  3. red paint
  4. a paint brush
  5. scissors
  6. glitter
  7. colored paper
  8. streamers/crepe paper
  9. a stick or dowel
  10. tape
  11. googly eyes

Here is a quick tutorial of how to combine all these materials to make your Chinese dragon puppet:

In very simplistic terms, you need to attach long streamers onto a piece on paper, roll up that paper, and insert it into a cup. You must then push a dowel or a stick so it goes through the cup and pieces of paper, pinning everything into place. Decorations are customizable!

My kids made up their own dances and performances and had lots of fun. I hope you get a chance to try it out too!

Happy New Year! 新年快樂！

Products

New Book! Dinosaurs Bam Bam! 恐龍碰碰！

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I love rhyming books, and there aren’t many Chinese books that lean into the great possibilities of Chinese rhyme. So I created this book, and my kids thought it was so fun to read out loud. Here is a short clip showing how much fun they had reading it:

紅紅恐龍 – Red Dinosaur

重重恐龍 – Heavy Dinosaur

嗡嗡嗡嗡 – Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz

恐龍蟲蟲 – Dinosaur Bug

A dinosaur bug causes one dinosaur to fall into another. This little misunderstanding turns into a jurassic mess! How can two very different dinosaurs bridge the gap and feel what the other feels? It’s a simple story with a big message, and your kids will learn to apply empathy in their lives.

Here are some previews of the interior of the book:

The book has simple, colorful illustrations that help explore their dinosaur world. Each page has both Traditional Chinese characters and pinyin romanization–with English translation in the back. After the story, the book includes discussion questions for both old and young to explore how to apply empathy in real life. For those just beginning Chinese, online audio (complete with music and sound effects) are available on this website.

I’m so excited to share this book with you, as part of the book launch, I am giving away 3 free copies! If you would like a free copy, here are the instructions to enter:

  • Check out the book launch post on Tiny Chinese Homeschool’s Facebook page.
  • Like the post and in the comments, write one sentence answering this question: What does empathy look like to you? Insightful/creative definitions are more likely to win!
  • Check back onto Tiny Chinese Homeschool’s Facebook page on Friday, January 15th, at 12:00 p.m. EST for the live video Book Launch.
  • I will announce the winners that will receive a free copy of the book on the live video. (I will private message you after for shipping information).

I hope you are able to enjoy this book. It’s about a subject that is dear to my heart. Dinosaurs? Well, that too. But reaching out to someone who is different than you and trying understand them. That is something that will make the world a better place.

Ready to buy the book? It’s up on Amazon, ready to ship to you! For just a limited amount of time, I am selling the book at 7.99 (20% off). Catch it while it is on sale!

Thank you! I wish you and yours some happy learning.

Update: Thank you for everyone’s participation in our book launch! Here is the live video where we had a book reading and a prize drawing:

Christmas, crafts, Holidays

Chinese Christmas Cards (Free Printable)

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Here is a fun craft you can do with your kids to get them excited about Christmas. Often, when Chinese people wish each other a happy holiday, they insert a wish for that person. For example, “新年快樂，年年有餘 / Happy New Year, may you have abundance year after year!” I made a card that embodies that idea of leaving a wish for someone, because what speaks more to Christmas than looking outside yourself and thinking of others.

Here is the PDF file to the free printable of this pop-up present Chinese Christmas card. Before you print this out, make sure to read the instructions below.

pop-up-present-chinese-christmas-card-tch-1Download

Instructions:

  • First, print out the printable on 2 separate sheets. That is because you will glue them back to back at the very end.
  • Color and customize. I made the Chinese characters faded out so children can trace them.
  • Cut along the heavy dotted lines. You may have to fold the top and bottom of the present box so it can pop out properly.
  • Insert your wish for that person into the present. I left one blank because who knows what creative wish your kid will come up with.
  • Glue the papers back to back.
  • Give to someone you love, or use it as a display.

In all the displacement and adjustment that has gone on this year, I grateful for the simple traditions that come with the holidays that help retain some of the rhythms of life. Wish you and yours a merry Christmas!

crafts, Culture, Holidays

The Story Behind Chinese Valentine’s Day

echenvw

This year, Chinese Valentine’s Day or 七夕/Qīxī falls on August 25th, 2020. This is the one day in the entire year that the two lovers (the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl) are reunited. It is romantic and tragic and a good reminder to cherish those we love. It is also a fun explanation to why the stars Vega and Altair seem to stare at each other from across the Milky Way.

I created a printable you can use at home to share this story with your child. It is not only a coloring page, but a folding page–one that hides and reveals parts of the image to tell the story.

My daughter loved to fold the page over and over to retell the story. She was a little concerned about how sad the story was and felt it was unfair. She tried to think of various hypothetical situations where the two lovers and their children could be together all the time. We had a talk about it, and it was a good way to connect. After you tell the story, consider discussing the following questions with your child:

  • Why do you think the Queen Mother of Heaven disapproved of the marriage?
  • Why did the magpies want to help? What can you do to help someone when they are sad?
  • If you could only visit your family one day in the year, what activities would you choose to do?

You can download the printable below in English, Traditional, or Simplified Chinese.

cowherd-and-weaver-girl-folding-english-tchDownload
cowherd-and-weaver-girl-folding-chinese-traditional-tchDownload
cowherd-and-weaver-girl-folding-chinese-simplified-tchDownload

I hope you have fun exploring the story behind this Chinese holiday!

Products

New Book Release: Turkey Rides a Rocket

echenvw

The inspiration for this book came from one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books, “Hop on Pop.” I loved how he introduced just two words and used these words to create a simple sentence–all while telling a funny story. It is more challenging than it looks. I decided to take this idea–this challenge–to create story that utilized the unique nuances of the Chinese language. I like how Chinese words are made up of components that describe the word quite literally. For example, “balloon” in Chinese is “air-ball.” “Train” in Chinese is “fire-car.” So I made a book centered around the word, “fire” and all the words that stem from it.

Hence, “Turkey Rides a Rocket” was born, and I’m excited to share it with you and your family. It follows a turkey on a dangerous adventure, one that will have you laughing.

Here are previews of some of the inside pages. You can see the book uses a big font and colorful illustrations to engage young readers. Each story also is supplemented with parent tips and a game at the end to encourage further application of the vocabulary you have just learned.

There are two other stories included in this book as well. The second story, “Where is Little Brother?” is a finding or I-spy story, where you can encourage your child to find an item in a detailed 2-spread picture. This has been very effective in teaching my daughter how to say, “Where is_____” in Chinese, even if she does not know how to say the item in Chinese, it has made that phrase useful to her.

The last story is called, “Mama’s Tea.” This one is a rhyming story, and works to reenforce reading and pronunciation. The mom in this story goes crazy after she finds that the dad has been drinking her tea. Perhaps it is how I wish I could act if I could let my emotions fly loose.

All in all, it is 66 pages of easy, useful Chinese. If you are not a Chinese speaker, you can listen to the online audio for this book and never miss a beat. Below is a video where I read the book, cover to cover.

I hope this book gets you excited to use more Chinese in the home! Let me know your thoughts and if you get the chance to review it on Amazon, that would help me to be able to produce more books for you.

Happy Learning!

Available in paperback on Amazon!