Monday (30/01/2012)
a) Vocabulary Recap.
l Recapping words learnt throughout this theme. Then, we linked the words to make into a Chinese New Year story.
b) Sharing
l The kids shared about their favourite moment of Chinese New Year.
Kai Song: I love cookies.
Ying Qiao: Me too. I dreamt that I ate pineapple tarts and love However, I can only eat some types of cookies as I just recovered from chicken pox.
Rei: I like playing fire crackers.
Xiang Wei, Shawn: We like praying as we get to play fire crackers.
Wei Lok: I can go holidays.
Alisa: I love visiting friends
Jia Jia: I saw Lion dance.
c) Picture Recording.
l As the kids shared their moments, I sketched pictures on the whiteboard. Now the kids would have to draw about their favourite moments. Most kids were independent and I encouraged them to colour the border of their pictures so that it looked like a frame.
l Yi Han, Jia Jia needed little guidance but then they are able to tell the story after drawing.
d) Question.
l Tomorrow is the 9th. day of Chinese New Year. Chinese Hokkiens will be praying tonight to celebrate the birthday of Jade Emperor. Xiang Wei was very excited as he gets to play with fireworks tonight. I brought in a short sugar cane. This was the green one while the school’s purple; different type of cane. Question: Ask your family why we need to offer sugarcane to Jade Emperor?
Our Pomegranate friends！
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Chinese New Year Beliefs
Friday (20/01/2012)
a) Reunion Meal.
* All Chinese will have this meal on Chinese New year eve and also on the first day of CNY. Thus, in school; the kids had earlier have thier very own calss party. They brought teir own food. For ,lunch, our school cook; Aunt Jess cooked fries, nuggets and also corns for us. Pomegranate class made a big circle together with 6-year-old kids at our classroom and had their Reunion Lunch together. it was indeed a day full of food and the kids were so tired but excited about CNY. The best part was receiving red Ang Pow from our Principal; Mr. Hoo. The kids thanked him and wished him good wishes.
b) Craft continuation.
* The kids continued with their cutting of the character "spring". As now they have 3 pieces, they would paste them into a 3-D pattern. Next, they took their paper lantern and 3D-charcter for me to punched holes at the top and below. They inseted yarn through the hole to tie into a knot. Only a few could tie a knot. The rest neede my guidance.
* The final step was to create the wishing label given to each of them. "Wishing you a happy, healthy and wealthy Chinese New Year". Then, they pasted onto a hard cardboard to attach to theit carft lantern. It looked simple and nice.
c) Chinese New Year Customs.
Teacher: Can you share with the class things that we do and don't at CNY?
Yee Xuan: We can play fire crackers.
Shawn: WEe have to becareful not to burn ourselves.
Xiang Wei: We can see many lanterns.
Yu Xi: There are Lion Dance.
* We learnt about activities Chinese people do from the eve to the 15th. day of CNY.
* Before CNy, we do spring cleaning. Then, we decorate our homes.
* On the first day, we don't sweep the floor, we wear new clothes. Most Chinese are vegetarians on the first day. We go to temples and visit relatives.
* On second day; we vist relatives of mother's family such as grandparents.
* On the third day; some popel avoid visiting homes as they believe will cause misunderstandings. Most people don't practise this anymore.
* Some shops will resume business on fourth or sixth day.
* On the eightth day night; the Chinese Hokkien pray Jade Emperor.
* On the fifteenth day or "Chap Goh Mei", some Chinese play lanterns while Malaysian Chinese who wish to seek for partners; may write their contact number on the oranges before throwing into the river. they believe that people who pick up thier oranges will be their future spouse.
* Different countries have differ cultures. Yet, CNY is an important celebration for Chinese around the world.
a) Reunion Meal.
* All Chinese will have this meal on Chinese New year eve and also on the first day of CNY. Thus, in school; the kids had earlier have thier very own calss party. They brought teir own food. For ,lunch, our school cook; Aunt Jess cooked fries, nuggets and also corns for us. Pomegranate class made a big circle together with 6-year-old kids at our classroom and had their Reunion Lunch together. it was indeed a day full of food and the kids were so tired but excited about CNY. The best part was receiving red Ang Pow from our Principal; Mr. Hoo. The kids thanked him and wished him good wishes.
b) Craft continuation.
* The kids continued with their cutting of the character "spring". As now they have 3 pieces, they would paste them into a 3-D pattern. Next, they took their paper lantern and 3D-charcter for me to punched holes at the top and below. They inseted yarn through the hole to tie into a knot. Only a few could tie a knot. The rest neede my guidance.
* The final step was to create the wishing label given to each of them. "Wishing you a happy, healthy and wealthy Chinese New Year". Then, they pasted onto a hard cardboard to attach to theit carft lantern. It looked simple and nice.
c) Chinese New Year Customs.
Teacher: Can you share with the class things that we do and don't at CNY?
Yee Xuan: We can play fire crackers.
Shawn: WEe have to becareful not to burn ourselves.
Xiang Wei: We can see many lanterns.
Yu Xi: There are Lion Dance.
* We learnt about activities Chinese people do from the eve to the 15th. day of CNY.
* Before CNy, we do spring cleaning. Then, we decorate our homes.
* On the first day, we don't sweep the floor, we wear new clothes. Most Chinese are vegetarians on the first day. We go to temples and visit relatives.
* On second day; we vist relatives of mother's family such as grandparents.
* On the third day; some popel avoid visiting homes as they believe will cause misunderstandings. Most people don't practise this anymore.
* Some shops will resume business on fourth or sixth day.
* On the eightth day night; the Chinese Hokkien pray Jade Emperor.
* On the fifteenth day or "Chap Goh Mei", some Chinese play lanterns while Malaysian Chinese who wish to seek for partners; may write their contact number on the oranges before throwing into the river. they believe that people who pick up thier oranges will be their future spouse.
* Different countries have differ cultures. Yet, CNY is an important celebration for Chinese around the world.
Our Dragon Dance
Thursday (19/01/2012)
a) Visiting Culture.
* During Chinese New Year, we visit friends and relatives. Thus, we this morning; we visited all the classes of 4, 5 and 6-year old friends. The kids made a big CNY card for each class under Teacher Re Hong's guidance. We alos visited by carrying our huge model of dragon. The kids chose their parts to play; some carrying the dragon, while some carrying the big CNY card. At each class, we wished them good wishes followed by our English version of "Happy Happy Dragon" song. Next, we ate some food of each class as they offered us. The 6-year-old kids performed their Lion Dance to welcome us to their class. In return, we performed Dragon Dance and sang songs. It was fun!
b) School Performance.
* This was the merriest moment when every class representatives performed their Lion and Dragon Dance models at the school's living room. The others happily played their percussions of drums, bells and even pots and pans.
* Then, the teacher borrowed our Pomegranate Dragon model to perform. Finally, we carried the school Dragon Model (which was used for concert last year) and performed at the playground. Woohhh! We really scared away the "Nian" monster....haaaaa!
c) The Lantern Craft.
* We can see beautiful lanterns everywhere during CNY. To make this craft; each kid took 6 Ang Pow packets with them. They folded each angle into small triangles. Then, they assembled them into a paper lantern of hexagon pattern while I stapled for them. It was easy at folding but needed guidance at assembling.
d) Craft: 3D-Spring "chun"
* We talked about the meaning of "Spring". Then, I showed the kids how to cut the character which I have traced onto colour paper and red Ang Pow for them to cut. Every kid needs to have 3 pieces. The 6 year -old kids were more independent but some 5 year-old kids really needed 1 to 1 guidance. As long as they dare to try, they can improve further on their motor skill. The kids only managed to cut a piece. Tomorrow they shall continue.
a) Visiting Culture.
* During Chinese New Year, we visit friends and relatives. Thus, we this morning; we visited all the classes of 4, 5 and 6-year old friends. The kids made a big CNY card for each class under Teacher Re Hong's guidance. We alos visited by carrying our huge model of dragon. The kids chose their parts to play; some carrying the dragon, while some carrying the big CNY card. At each class, we wished them good wishes followed by our English version of "Happy Happy Dragon" song. Next, we ate some food of each class as they offered us. The 6-year-old kids performed their Lion Dance to welcome us to their class. In return, we performed Dragon Dance and sang songs. It was fun!
b) School Performance.
* This was the merriest moment when every class representatives performed their Lion and Dragon Dance models at the school's living room. The others happily played their percussions of drums, bells and even pots and pans.
* Then, the teacher borrowed our Pomegranate Dragon model to perform. Finally, we carried the school Dragon Model (which was used for concert last year) and performed at the playground. Woohhh! We really scared away the "Nian" monster....haaaaa!
c) The Lantern Craft.
* We can see beautiful lanterns everywhere during CNY. To make this craft; each kid took 6 Ang Pow packets with them. They folded each angle into small triangles. Then, they assembled them into a paper lantern of hexagon pattern while I stapled for them. It was easy at folding but needed guidance at assembling.
d) Craft: 3D-Spring "chun"
* We talked about the meaning of "Spring". Then, I showed the kids how to cut the character which I have traced onto colour paper and red Ang Pow for them to cut. Every kid needs to have 3 pieces. The 6 year -old kids were more independent but some 5 year-old kids really needed 1 to 1 guidance. As long as they dare to try, they can improve further on their motor skill. The kids only managed to cut a piece. Tomorrow they shall continue.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Cornflake Cookies
Wednesday (18/01/2012)
a) The Ingredients.
l First, we learnt about the recipe.
l Ingredients: 280gm wheat flour, 2 tablespoons corn flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 0.25 teaspoon soda bicarbonate, 160gm cornflakes, nuts, 250gm butter, 170gm of sugar, 1 egg.
l We went to the kitchen and used weighing scale to weigh each ingredient.
b) The Process
* First, we mixed the flour, baking powder, soda, cornflakes and nuts. Beforehand, kids took turn to crush the cornflakes and nuts into smaller pieces.
* Then, we mixed the butter together with sugar and egg. We used the electrical mixer to stir the mixture.
c) Decorations.
l Finally, the kids molded the mixture into a ball. Then, they decorated with chocolate rice and some colourful chips. The dough was placed onto cookie paper cups.
l Next, we add on some egg solution onto the dough mixture before placing them ionto the microwave. The heat was 180 degree Celsius for about 20 minutes. Overall, the baking was smooth and fun. The kids would bring home tomorrow as they were still hot to be packed in plastic bags.
d) Our Guest.
l Mr. Hoo shared with us about his experience on Dragon Dance. We also invited 6 year-old class to join our session. First, 6 kids performed the dragon. The others chose their percussions. Mr. Hoo introduced “the bow” at the beginning and ending of the practice. He said we could perform in circles and also in the form of number 8. Sometimes, slow; sometimes faster. The kids then shared their dragon model with the 6 year-old kids. Everyone was excited. We thanked Mr. Hoo. Our class kids’ brainstormed on Thank you gift for Mr. Hoo. Majority won and decided to present him some of our cookies.
a) The Ingredients.
l First, we learnt about the recipe.
l Ingredients: 280gm wheat flour, 2 tablespoons corn flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 0.25 teaspoon soda bicarbonate, 160gm cornflakes, nuts, 250gm butter, 170gm of sugar, 1 egg.
l We went to the kitchen and used weighing scale to weigh each ingredient.
b) The Process
* First, we mixed the flour, baking powder, soda, cornflakes and nuts. Beforehand, kids took turn to crush the cornflakes and nuts into smaller pieces.
* Then, we mixed the butter together with sugar and egg. We used the electrical mixer to stir the mixture.
c) Decorations.
l Finally, the kids molded the mixture into a ball. Then, they decorated with chocolate rice and some colourful chips. The dough was placed onto cookie paper cups.
l Next, we add on some egg solution onto the dough mixture before placing them ionto the microwave. The heat was 180 degree Celsius for about 20 minutes. Overall, the baking was smooth and fun. The kids would bring home tomorrow as they were still hot to be packed in plastic bags.
d) Our Guest.
l Mr. Hoo shared with us about his experience on Dragon Dance. We also invited 6 year-old class to join our session. First, 6 kids performed the dragon. The others chose their percussions. Mr. Hoo introduced “the bow” at the beginning and ending of the practice. He said we could perform in circles and also in the form of number 8. Sometimes, slow; sometimes faster. The kids then shared their dragon model with the 6 year-old kids. Everyone was excited. We thanked Mr. Hoo. Our class kids’ brainstormed on Thank you gift for Mr. Hoo. Majority won and decided to present him some of our cookies.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Let’s Dance!
Tuesday (17/01/2012)
a) Percussions
l Kids learnt different names of percussions. Example: tambourine, drums, bells, cymbals, gong, maracas and etc.
l We hear the different sounds.
b) Video Clips: Dragon and Lion Dance.
l Last year, we learnt about Lion Dance. Thus, we briefly glanced through Lion Dance video clips. Then we also watched some dragon dances and their percussions. We compared. Lion Dance needs 2 performers but a Dragon Dance needs about 6 until 50 people depending on how long their dragon is. The dance was beautiful and required unity for a beautiful show.
l We listened to the percussions music. Fast music encourages fast dragon dance while slow music portrays slower moves.
c) Let’s dance!
l Today, we used our own dragon model to dance. The kids took turns. 6 kids volunteered for the Dragon while the others chose their percussions. Then, they exchanged their roles.
l Initially, it was difficult because the body cloth kept covering the kids’ faces. Then, they adjusted their standing positions so that they can see the audience. The head carrier has to be very strong because it is the heaviest. The tail carrier has to be able to follow the dragon well. The pearl ball carrier has to be fast and smart. The kids had lots of fun! Tomorrow will be the performance day after class party.
d) Dragon Craft.
l We touched up on the dragon’s features such as beard, eyebrows, horns and also nose.
e) Worksheet Maze.
* It is a maze to help the hungry dragon search for its food; the mandarin oranges. At first, everyone used their fingers to move from dragon to the oranges. It was tough. Then, Xiang Wei suggested that we start from oranges to the dragon. Well, he was right! It was much easier. Then, the kids used a pencil to draw the lines in the maze.
a) Percussions
l Kids learnt different names of percussions. Example: tambourine, drums, bells, cymbals, gong, maracas and etc.
l We hear the different sounds.
b) Video Clips: Dragon and Lion Dance.
l Last year, we learnt about Lion Dance. Thus, we briefly glanced through Lion Dance video clips. Then we also watched some dragon dances and their percussions. We compared. Lion Dance needs 2 performers but a Dragon Dance needs about 6 until 50 people depending on how long their dragon is. The dance was beautiful and required unity for a beautiful show.
l We listened to the percussions music. Fast music encourages fast dragon dance while slow music portrays slower moves.
c) Let’s dance!
l Today, we used our own dragon model to dance. The kids took turns. 6 kids volunteered for the Dragon while the others chose their percussions. Then, they exchanged their roles.
l Initially, it was difficult because the body cloth kept covering the kids’ faces. Then, they adjusted their standing positions so that they can see the audience. The head carrier has to be very strong because it is the heaviest. The tail carrier has to be able to follow the dragon well. The pearl ball carrier has to be fast and smart. The kids had lots of fun! Tomorrow will be the performance day after class party.
d) Dragon Craft.
l We touched up on the dragon’s features such as beard, eyebrows, horns and also nose.
e) Worksheet Maze.
* It is a maze to help the hungry dragon search for its food; the mandarin oranges. At first, everyone used their fingers to move from dragon to the oranges. It was tough. Then, Xiang Wei suggested that we start from oranges to the dragon. Well, he was right! It was much easier. Then, the kids used a pencil to draw the lines in the maze.
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Invitation Letter
Monday (16/01/2012)
a) An Invitation Letter.
· We are inviting Mr. Hoo our principal to share with us information on Dragon Dance. Thus, we discussed on the contents of the letter which sounded,
“ Dear Mr. Hoo,
We know that you can perform Dragon Dance. We would like to invite you to teach us. We would be happy if you come. Thank you.”
· The kids volunteered to write the different lines. Some kids drew pictures to decorate the letter as well as the envelope. Later, we sent the letter together to him.
b) Worksheet: Numbers and Lanterns.
· I wrote numbers 1 until 20 and got the kids to read. A few numbers such as 18 and 15 was wrongly read. We learnt the numbers again. At the same time we calculated the “countdown” days for CNY. The kids were smiling when they realized that “7 days more to go!”
· I gave each kid a dot-to-dot lantern worksheet. The linked the numbers accordingly and then coloured it.
c) Continuation: Big Dragon Craft.
· I showed the kids how I linked the boxes using ribbons to allow space for the dragon to move lively. I called the kids in groups at different interval so that they can be more focused at the craft. While some helped at the craft, the others did the lantern worksheet.
· Craft: Tzen Yu helped to insert ribbons through boxes. Xiang Wei decorated the dragon tail. Jia Jia, Yu Xi, Si Suen and Shang Hong assisted at covering the boxes as a dragon body. The others decorated the dragon scales. They pasted pieces of cut colour paper onto the cloth. We would finish up with the head tomorrow and hopefully, we can dance with it tomorrow.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Big Dragon Model
Friday (13/01/2012)
a) Brainstorm.
· The kids wanted to learn about Dragon Dance. We decided to invite Mr. Hoo as he was a Dragon Dance performer in his school. After learning, we would be able to perform the dance for the other kids during CNY visiting on 19/01/2012. As we had made the little dragon puppets, it’s time to make a bigger one. The actual Dragon model is in the office and would be inappropriate for kids to practise with it.
Teacher: how shall we make the big dragon model?
Yee Xuan: We can use boxes.
Tzen Yu: If the boxes are heavy, we can use colour paper.
Rei: It’s better to use recycled paper.
Ying Qiao: How about newspaper?
b) Group Task.
· The project required 3 groups. Group 1 for making the head, group 2 for making the body while group 3 for making the tail.
· BODY: We brought in newspapers and crumpled them into big balls. Then, kids stuffed them in plastic bags. These will be the body and there shouldn’t be too much newspaper as we wanted it to be light for kids.
· Alisa was the leader for the body part. Her group arranged the plastic bags in a straight queue like a snake. Then, they figured the way to combine the bags together. Eventually, they taped them with cellophane tape. Finally, the wrapped the bags with recycled cloth.
· Meanwhile, some kids drew dragon scales on colour paper and cut them. These are to be pasted on the dragon body.
· HEAD: Wei Lok brought a box and the kids requested it to be painted bright pink. Some kids did the painting while some painted the lion’s horns, whiskers and beard. As the paint was still wet, we shall decorate dragon’s face the following lesson.
· TAIL: Xiang Wei, Shang Hong and Tzen Yu drew and painted the dragon tail. They chose their favourite colour.
a) Brainstorm.
· The kids wanted to learn about Dragon Dance. We decided to invite Mr. Hoo as he was a Dragon Dance performer in his school. After learning, we would be able to perform the dance for the other kids during CNY visiting on 19/01/2012. As we had made the little dragon puppets, it’s time to make a bigger one. The actual Dragon model is in the office and would be inappropriate for kids to practise with it.
Teacher: how shall we make the big dragon model?
Yee Xuan: We can use boxes.
Tzen Yu: If the boxes are heavy, we can use colour paper.
Rei: It’s better to use recycled paper.
Ying Qiao: How about newspaper?
b) Group Task.
· The project required 3 groups. Group 1 for making the head, group 2 for making the body while group 3 for making the tail.
· BODY: We brought in newspapers and crumpled them into big balls. Then, kids stuffed them in plastic bags. These will be the body and there shouldn’t be too much newspaper as we wanted it to be light for kids.
· Alisa was the leader for the body part. Her group arranged the plastic bags in a straight queue like a snake. Then, they figured the way to combine the bags together. Eventually, they taped them with cellophane tape. Finally, the wrapped the bags with recycled cloth.
· Meanwhile, some kids drew dragon scales on colour paper and cut them. These are to be pasted on the dragon body.
· HEAD: Wei Lok brought a box and the kids requested it to be painted bright pink. Some kids did the painting while some painted the lion’s horns, whiskers and beard. As the paint was still wet, we shall decorate dragon’s face the following lesson.
· TAIL: Xiang Wei, Shang Hong and Tzen Yu drew and painted the dragon tail. They chose their favourite colour.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Dragon Puppet “Make-up”
Thursday (12/01/2012)
a) The Dragon Puppet Dance.
l Using my dragon puppet, we sang the happy Dragon Song as I moved my puppet around to play with the kids. However, the kids’ dragons were still incomplete. Thus, our mission is to finish them today.
b) Recap: A dragon’s features.
l To recall the vocabulary as well as to assist kids who were absent a few days ago.
l I drew the dragon and we labeled the body parts. Among: horns, scales, tail, claws, whiskers, beard, eyes, ears, mouth and teeth.
c) Step by step instructions.
l To make the tail, kids can sketch on a cardboard. Then, either colour or decorate them with colour paper or glittering thread.
l The head should be decorated with colour paper or glittering thread. They were the horns, beard and whiskers. I gave the kids’ the toy eyes which are movable. They were to paste with double sided tape.
l The body needed to have the scales features. Thus, I punched the body to make a few holes while the kids inserted the glittering threads through.
l Each kid was given 2 straws to paste them on the dragon body. The straws will enable the kids to play with their puppet.
d) The Process.
l The activity trained the kids’ creativeness. A few required guidance at cutting the dragon tail. Most kids needed assistance at peeling the double sided tape. Thus, I peeled a corner of it to encourage them. Glue is not strong enough to paste the glittering threads. Rei said cellophane tape would make our dragons ugly. It’s true.
l Wei Lok did not want horns for his dragon as he said it’s scary. Jia Xun didn’t wasn’t scales for her dragon. Tzen Yu didn’t want a cardboard tail for his dragon. Kai Song needed encouragement to work faster and efficient.
a) The Dragon Puppet Dance.
l Using my dragon puppet, we sang the happy Dragon Song as I moved my puppet around to play with the kids. However, the kids’ dragons were still incomplete. Thus, our mission is to finish them today.
b) Recap: A dragon’s features.
l To recall the vocabulary as well as to assist kids who were absent a few days ago.
l I drew the dragon and we labeled the body parts. Among: horns, scales, tail, claws, whiskers, beard, eyes, ears, mouth and teeth.
c) Step by step instructions.
l To make the tail, kids can sketch on a cardboard. Then, either colour or decorate them with colour paper or glittering thread.
l The head should be decorated with colour paper or glittering thread. They were the horns, beard and whiskers. I gave the kids’ the toy eyes which are movable. They were to paste with double sided tape.
l The body needed to have the scales features. Thus, I punched the body to make a few holes while the kids inserted the glittering threads through.
l Each kid was given 2 straws to paste them on the dragon body. The straws will enable the kids to play with their puppet.
d) The Process.
l The activity trained the kids’ creativeness. A few required guidance at cutting the dragon tail. Most kids needed assistance at peeling the double sided tape. Thus, I peeled a corner of it to encourage them. Glue is not strong enough to paste the glittering threads. Rei said cellophane tape would make our dragons ugly. It’s true.
l Wei Lok did not want horns for his dragon as he said it’s scary. Jia Xun didn’t wasn’t scales for her dragon. Tzen Yu didn’t want a cardboard tail for his dragon. Kai Song needed encouragement to work faster and efficient.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Our Little Dragon Puppet.
Our Little Dragon Puppet.
Wednesday (11/01/2012)
a) Votes and Guidance
· I made 2 types of dragon puppet. One with cloth body while the other with colourful paper body. Majority chose the colourful paper which I agreed because it would be more encouraging within their capability. Activities conducted have to be a stepping stone for their confidence. J
· I explained the steps. Kids were to choose 2 colours of paper. Then, paste them to get 2 long straps. Next, fold and press them in zig zag method. Each end would have to be pasted to avoid the paper being loose.
· Then, the kids were to take a cardboard and draw a dragon face. It could either be the picture of a real dragon or the cartoon version of Astro Happy Dragon. I sketched the faces on the board for them to choose.
· Next, they have to draw the dragon tail on the colour paper before pasting to a cardboard to strengthen the craft.
b) The Process.
· The kids required guidance for the first few folding but got better from there. Most of them were able to do it independently. They also labeled the craft with their names. Drawing a dragon’s face was independent. However, more guidance was needed for the tail. Overall, the kids were focused at their craft. Some were creative to add on different colours for their horns. Xiang Wei asked if they could add wings to their dragons. Well…why not?
c) Further decorations.
· The craft was incomplete. Tomorrow, the kids were to decorate the model with glittering, straws, colour paper, stickers and etc.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
We can draw!
Tuesday (10/01/2012)
a) Video Clip: The four dragons.
*Finally, I managed to find a video clip of this Chinese tale. So, the kids were very happy. After watching, the kids discussed over their favourite dragons. J
b) Happy Happy Dragon Song.
* We listened to the Chinese version. Then, I introduced the English version of the song. We sang it together joyously!
Happy Chinese New Year……la la la la
Come celebrate together,
Dragon dance is dancing,
Nian Monster is crying!
Fire crackers…..pom pom pom pom,
Mandarin oranges, chocolate cookies,
Red Ang Pows and lanterns,
Wishing you, “Gong Xi….Gong Xi Fa Cai”!
c) Picture Drawing.
- As there are a few new kids in our class, I need to assess their skills. So, I started with picture drawing which requires courage and imagination. I drew 2 pictures. A real dragon and also the Astro Happy Dragon since the kids had different choices. They were to choose one and draw them independently. I was really proud of them because they were really focusing in class and at their work. In fact some added their own details for storylines. Example: Jun Qian has got shark in the sea. Hiro added monsters, Jia Xun added homes, Yu Xi added pictures of people’s homes while Xiang Wei drew the dragons in the Chinese tale of Four Dragons. Only a few needed guidance at drawing. The kids were encouraged to colour their pictures and labeling them. I just felt like being in Picasso’s world. J
Monday, January 9, 2012
A Chinese Tale: “The Four Dragons”
Monday (09/01/2012)
a) Vocabulary Recap.
· We recapped on the names of 12 chinese Zodiac Animals. They were rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
b) What’s a dragon?
· The kids shared about their knowledge.
Xiang Wei: I’ve got a lantern with dragon pictures.
Shawn: They can fly very high.
Rei: Some live in the water.
Jia Xun: They puff fire.
· Generally, there are 2 types of dragons. The Oriental or Chinese dragon and the Western or English Dragon. The Western Dragons had got wings and they are mostly viewed as dangerous to people. However, as for the Chinese Dragons; they are viewed as the Earth saver which made rain for us or even rescued us from dangers. I defined the meaning of “legend” as nobody has actually seen any dragons…..but probably our ancestors actually did. Dragons symbolized “brave, kind, intelligent, strong and powerful”.
c) The Legend of Dragons.
· Once there lived 4 brothers of dragons in the sea of China. They were always happy and playing together. Drought had occurred in a village and many people were dying due to no food or drinks. Thus, the dragons went seeking for Jade Emperor’s help. The storybook said that he promised to give rain the next day. However, he was busy with some tasks and forgot about it. After a few days; seeing no rain yet; the dragons decided to scoop water from the sea and puff it down as if rain from the sky. The villagers rejoiced and thanked the dragons. However, Jade Emperor’s soldiers captured dragon saying that they acted beyond their power. They were punished and turned into 4 long rivers in China. One of them is the Yellow River of Hwang Ho. Some folks mentioned that sometimes, dragons appeared from the river to play together. Wow….they must be the 4 brother dragons.
d) I can dance like a dragon!
· We carried the dragon model from the office. After watching a few video clips on dragon dance, the kids got the idea about the dance. The head will always chase for the colourful ball and the body parts must always co-ordinate.
Xiang Wei: Which is heavier? Head or tail?
· After carrying, it was the head. For dragon dance, unty is important. A longer dragon requires more participants up to 50 people. Our school requires around 6 people. It was awesomely fun! The kids requested to learn more of the dance steps.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The “Nian Monster” Legend
Thursday (05/01/2012)
a) Reason of Chinese New Year?
l The kids shared their reasons of Chinese new Year.
Jun Qian: My father loves yam.
Xiang Wei: I like Reunion Dinner.
Ying Qiao: I like going shopping.
l I repeated the question as the kids misinterpreted the question.
Shawn: They wanted to scare the “Nian”.
Yee Xuan: People wear red colour.
Tzen Yu: People play fire crackers.
Xing En: There’s Lion Dance.
b) Storytelling: Nian Monster.
l The Nian lived in a cave of a mountain. It came out once a year at Chinese New Year to eat people. People were so worried and many died. The Nian enjoyed himself for the 15 days of Chinese New Year. “Ti Huang To Ti”, The Emperor of Heaven sent an old man to Earth to tell people ways of protection. People started painting their homes red, made fire crackers, made drums, made Lions and Dragons to perform dances. The Nian Monster was afraid of red colour and loud noises. The next night, the monster was defeated.
Kids: Is there still any monster?
Jia Xun: Monsters have all died!
Alisa: Why then do we need to wear red or play fire crackers?
Teacher: It is our Chinese culture to remember how our great ancestors won over the Nian. We wanted to appreciate their courage as well as God’s help. After all, Chinese New Year is much fun when everyone is merry!
c) Video Clip: The Nian Monster.
l There are a few versions of this legend. The kids watched one of it. They were very excited and felt happy that people defeated the Nian Monster.
d) Mind Mapping.
* The kids voted subtopics that they want to learn. The highest votes go to Dragon dance followed by baking cookies, decoration items, visiting friends and finally CNY shopping. Since we only have 2 weeks before Chinese New Year, we should be able to do only a few; still it’s going to be very fun!
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