The Lunar New Year is almost upon us and this year, people around the world will be celebrating the year of the Tiger.
According to tradition, those who are born in the Year of the Tiger have the following positive characteristics; they are born leaders, who walk and talk assertively and inspire respect.
‘Tigers’ are courageous and energetic, love a challenge or competition and are prepared to take risks. ‘Tigers’ can be a little dramatic as they are hungry for excitement and crave attention at all times.
On the flip side, some negative traits can see ‘Tigers’ being quite rebellious, short-tempered and outspoken, preferring to give orders rather than take them, which often leads to conflict in both work and in their personal lives.
Tiger people may appear calm but there is often a hidden aggressiveness, but they can also be sensitive, humorous and capable of great generosity and love. There is never a dull moment with a Tiger, as they cover a range of emotions, at all times.
To mark Chinese New Year, here are some simple yet interactive and fun art and craft ideas that children can complete with their parents and guardians.
Idea 1 - Chinese New Year Rice Bin
Rice signifies wealth and luck in Chinese tradition. This is a fun, open-ended sensory activity that requires minimal setup for all ages of children.
What you will need is a bag of rice to fill up a tray or bin. Then, add some CNY trinkets such as red pockets, spoons, containers, gold coins or any CNY related items.
For older children, you can also put tongs or chopsticks so giving them an opportunity to practise their fine motor skills.
Plus, children can help to make coloured rice. Put rice, a few drops of food colouring and vinegar in a zip lock bag. Then, let the children squeeze and squish the bag until it’s all coloured. Coloured rice is ready once it dries.
Let's have some fun! You will see how amazing children engage and explore in creative ways.
Idea 2 - Tiger Painting with a Fork
Let's use a fork as our ‘Brush’ to create the stripy pattern on the paper to make a tiger paper craft with your child. Provide orange and black paint for them to paint the stripes on a sheet of white paper. Cut out an oval nose and mouth from black construction paper and ears from orange paper. Monitor children carefully while they are using scissors or parents can help to do so.
Idea 3 - Family Dance Off
Dancing is always a good way to burn off energy and have some fun together as a family. To celebrate the Year of the Tiger, try dancing to Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’ and see if you’re ready to perform at a family reunion this Chinese New Year!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1P4WPGQwYk
For those of you who don’t like too much movement, get involved and have a lip sync or karaoke battle. Let the games begin!
This game tests children’s and parents' abilities with a chopstick. It involves racing against other participants to transfer the maximum number of sweets from one bowl to another. However, the catch is that you can only use chopsticks to do this.
Each player requires:
A pair of chopsticks
A couple of plastic bowls
Some sweets or small marshmallows
First, fill one of each player’s bowls with a few sweets. However, make sure each player has the same number of sweets in their bowl. Next, start the timer and give the participants a minute to transfer sweets from one bowl to another. In the end, reward the player with the most transfers with a prize.
Idea 7: Cherry Blossom Craft
What you need: Tissue paper, pink and brown paint, paper, paintbrush, glue
How to make: Draw some branches on the piece of paper. Tear the tissue paper and crunch them into small paper balls, these will be the cherry blossoms. Glue the “Cherry blossom” onto the branches. Once it is dried, paint them with pink paint.
Idea 8: Firecracker
What you need: 6 Toilet roll, felt tips, stickers, string/ ribbon
How to make: Decorate each of the toilet rolls with your design. Staple each of the toilet rolls onto the string/ ribbon to make it into a firecracker.
Idea 9: Chinese Lantern
What you need: Paper, Felt tips, Paint, String, Scissors
How to make: Decorate the paper with your design. Fold the paper in half and cut slits 1” thick. Open up the paper and connect both ends to form the lantern - overlapping a little. Staple at top and bottom. Push down lightly to create a culler lantern. Staple a piece of string at the top of the pattern to create a hanging string.
By Catherine Ho, Ivy Wong, Queenie Wu and Christopher Lau
