I’m going to be upfront with you.
I’m not Chinese but my husband and his side of the family are Chinese. My sons are also half Chinese so we celebrate it on a yearly basis.
This year, the Lunar New Year is on February 10th.
Even though I only started celebrating it when I met my husband, I’ve been teaching about the Lunar New Year since well before I officially became a teacher- when I was used to volunteer.
I want to make one point clear though. The Lunar New Year is not just believed in by the Chinese but by many other cultures around the world, such as those who live in South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, and so forth. This celebration is important to so many people, so it’s important to educate our children about it. It raises awareness about diversity and acceptance.
Actionable Steps:
#1. Educate Children
Teach children about the significance of the Lunar New Year and the symbolism used in it so that students have an understanding of it. Keep this part brief and then invite someone from the community to share their knowledge about the Lunar New Year if this isn’t your cultural holiday or you don’t celebrate it.
#2. Get Ready
Focus on cleaning. For example, clean your classroom with your students. This may not be exciting but the end result will be beautiful for all of you. Explain to your students that leading up to the Lunar New Year, families clean their home to sweep away all of the bad luck from the past to start fresh. Cleaning should be done ahead of time because doing so on the day of the Lunar New Year is frowned upon as it can sweep away your good luck.
Make Chinese Lanterns or decorate your class with the animal for this current year, which is a dragon. To be precise, it’s the year of the Wood Dragon.
#3. Engage in Celebration
On the day of the Lunar New Year, have your children bring in oranges, and assorted Asian foods and sweets. The color of the oranges represents wealth. Dumplings are eaten to bring in the New Year and long noodles symbolize good fortune and long life.
Recap:
Let’s recap really quickly. Today, we looked at the following:
- The importance of teaching students about the Lunar New Year.
- How do you teach about the Lunar New Year: educate children, get ready, and engage in celebration.
Free Resources:
If your children are struggling to hand in assignments on time, check out the following video training: 3 Steps to Teach Children How to Overcome Procrastination to Increase Productivity.
In the mean time, if you’re feeling stressed out, overwhelmed and burnout, then I encourage you to check out the following: FREE MASTERCLASS: Systematic Plan to Super Passionate.
Next Steps:
For calm down areas on a budget, for your students who have autism, CLICK HERE.
If you found this video beneficial, would you do me a favor? Share this with your family, your friends, your loved ones, your co-workers or someone who you think could benefit from this. Thank you!
I’ll see you next Friday at 5:30pm PST.
Until I see you next time, remember to create, experience & teach from the heart.
Take care,
Charlotte
