Is 2015 The Chinese Year Of The Sheep Or Goat? Here's The Scoop!

As many of us prepare to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year on February 19^th, the festival begins with a little confusion:

Should we be welcoming the Year Of The Sheep, as some believe, or The Year Of The Goat/Ram, as others are touting?

The answer?  It really depends on how the Chinese character, yang, is translated. 

The Chinese zodiac was invented by the Han people who raised goats (not sheep), so the image is more likely to refer to a goat. Also, the goat appears on many Chinese zodiac stamps and the goat was one of the 12 bronze statues on the zodiac at the Old Summer Palace where emperors of the Qing Dynasty handled government affairs. Publicly, however, storefronts throughout Asia are showing a mixture of cute sheep, cheeky goats, and majestic curly-horned rams. Many schools are primarily showing images of sheep because they're fluffy and more appealing to little kids. 

So what are the characteristics of those born in the Year Of The Sheep/Goat?

People born in this year are thought to be gentle, stable, and kind. They have strong creativity, are persistent, with strong inner resilience. These are folks who like to be in groups and are thought to come by professional skills easily. Because people born in this year are calm, they're thought to be healthier, with fewer health-related problems. 

Here are three of my favorite websites for kids that will teach them all about this holiday:

1.  ChinaFamilyAdventure

This site explains how to prepare for the New Year and shows celebrations around the world. It gives a great global perspective on the holiday (after all, it's celebrated by millions of people not only in China, but Japan, Singapore, North Korea, South Korea, the United States, and Great Britain to name a few). 

2.  ActivityVillage.Co.UK

Got a preschooler?  Then this is the place for you where you'll find lots of goat printables, including mazes, worksheets, and coloring pages.  

3.  EnchantedLearning.Com

In addition to having some wonderful crafts, you can find printable books here for kids!  There's so much and it's FREE! 

As the mother of a child who was adopted from China, I embrace her culture. I'm so happy that she is proud to be Chinese-American and feels a connection to her country of birth!  I've learned so much about resilience, beauty, and creativity by looking at different aspects of China and what it means, to her, to be Chinese.

 Xin [sing] Nian [nee-an] Kuai [kwai] Le [ler] 新年快乐!

4 Of The Best Rosh Hashanah Websites For Kids

With my clan having basically no extended family, holidays can be a challenge. Sure, we go over the religious aspecst of whatever we're celebrating (we're interfaith), but finding activities for the children can be difficult. With Rosh Hashanah starting tomorrow at sunset, I thought I'd share my four favorite websites chock-a-block full of fun stuff to help your kids and mine celebrate the Jewish New Year:

• Chabad.org – Here you'll find free printables, crafts, stories, and my daughter's favorite, multi-media games for kids.
  
  
• Torahtots.com  – You can tell by the name that it's a site for littler kids, but  for for even more printables plus some unique games.
  
  
• Aish.com – One dilemma I face is how to get the teen engaged with the holiday. This website has some great stories you can discuss and practical activities you can do as a family. I especially like the High Holidays Quiz For Kids. We'll see how Mr. “I'm a teen so I know everything” does with that!
  
  
• Artistshelpingchildren.org – Tired of the same old crafts? Here's you'll find some truly unique ones you can spend the day making with your child. I especially love the Circle Of Kindness!

Shanah Tovah!

5 Chinese New Year Crafts With Links To Even MORE

I am thrilled that my darling daughter is proud that she was born in China. She knows quite a bit about the culture and one of the holidays she loves the most is the Chinese New Year. On January 31^st, people from all over the world will be ushering in the Year Of The Horse; this starts a 15-day holiday which ends with Lantern Festival.  Diva and I always do a lot of crafting, preferring to make our own decorations rather than buying them. Here are a few of our favorite crafts:

1.  Red Paper Tube Firecrackers – Throwing firecrackers is supposed to ward off evil spirits during the holiday and strings of firecrackers are a common decoration. For this craft, you'll need some red construction paper, white yarn, scissors, tape and gold glitter glue or gold glitter and glue. 

• Cut the paper into small cylinders about the size of a toilet paper tube. I got 4 tubes out of one sheet of construction paper. Tape the end so it stays.

Firecracker decorations - no gunpowder and they're silent!

• Decorate the outside of the tube. In the photo above, I used glitter and glue because it's what I had in the house. Glitter glue would have been much easier.
• Tape yarn inside each tube and then string together. The more, the better.
   

2.  Red Paper Chains - Those simple paper chains you made in kindergarten are great, frugal decorations! Cut some strips of red paper, tape or use glue sticks to secure the ends, and put them together. By making them in red, you're covering not only the Chinese New Year but Valentine's Day as well. This is a great craft for even the littlest kids. 

Not the most intelligent-looking beast.

3.  Shoe Print Horse - Here's a great way to recycle at least one brown paper shopping bag. You'll need a shoe (the bigger, the better), a bag, tape, a sheet of black construction paper, a black marker, and scissors. If you want to make it a little fancier, you could use yarn for the mane instead of black paper.

• Trace a shoe on the blank side of the paper bag; cut it out. The heel or narrower part of the shape will be the top of the horse's head. Also cut out a long triangle for the neck and small triangles for ears.
• Tape the long triangle onto the head and the two ears to the top of the head.
• Cut off a strip of black paper for the mane; it should be a bit longer than the triangle for the neck.  Fringe the strip of black and tape it onto the neck. I played with mine a bit so it looked a little "wild."
• Draw eyes and nose with the marker.

Fringing the lantern.

The finished lantern.

4.  Paper Lantern - This is the classic that many kids learn in preschool or kindergarten. You'll need colored paper, scissors, and glue, tape or a stapler.

• Fold the paper in half, making a long, thin rectangle.
• Snip a bunch of cuts long the fold line (kind of like long fringes), but don't cut all the way to the edge of the paper.
• Unfold the paper and glue, tape, or staple the short edges together.
• Cut another piece of paper and attach as the handle. 

5.  Chinese Fan - Sure, it looks like an ordinary fan, but add some glitter (which I did not do), use red paper (which I ran out of), and it comes in mighty handy to hide behind when Mom asks you to put away your arts and crafts supplies. You'll need paper, crayons, and tape.

• Decorate the paper.
• Start folding, alternating the direction of the fold. 
• Bring the bottom together and tape so you can hold 
• Find the nearest menopausal woman having a hot flash and start fanning.

Want to learn about the Chinese New Year and make even more stuff? Here are some additional resources you might like:

• A bunch of info about the year of the horse along with additional craft ideas can be found at http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/year-of-the-horse.
  
• For free horse coloring pages, visit http://horseracing.about.com/od/humorandjokes/l/blcolor.htm
  
• This site (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/chinesenewyear) lists some more Chinese New Year crafts, but what I really like are the printable books it contains which include Chinese animals, the giant panda, a tiny picture dictionary, a cut-and-paste picture dictionary, a Chinese counting book, and more.
  
• Here's a wonderful link to a horse paper cutting (http://www.craftiments.com/2014/01/chinese-new-year-paper-cutting-for-kids.html), but it looks a bit too complicated for small kids, although you may want to try it.
  
• This site lists crafts, games, and some fantastic recipes: www.dltk-holidays.com/china.
  

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Thanks for reading!

Hmmm...Diva recently joined our local gymnastics team and I've been researching sites for gymnastics-related merchandise as well as ways to help a child cope with competing. It's not just about the scores. Anyway, please come back and I'll share what I've found.

10 Indoor Activities To Do With Kids - Redux

Note:  In my last post, I promised Chinese New Year Crafts.  I'm going to print those TOMORROW because, as I type, the Northeast is being hit by yet ANOTHER snowstorm which has, thus far, dumped 4" of snow in my drive way.  For that reason, I thought some of you might like to see, once again, this post which was published a few weeks ago .  These activities are saving my sanity this Winter and I hope they can save yours, too. 

This is proving to be a snowy Winter, therefore, I have been incarcerated, errr in, with the kids quite a bit. Prying their eyes from video is always an Olympic challenge so I've been reaching into my Mom's Bag Of Tricks to find indoor activities that will keep them busy. The Teen is usually happy playing his clarinet or reading a book, but keeping the very active Diva (8 years old) has been difficult. Here are some activities that have worked for me and will, hopefully, work for you:

1. Bring the snowy fun inside. Just because it's cold outside, doesn't mean the snow has to stay there! I grab a big ol' lasagna dish and fill it with snow. The fun begins with building snowy creatures, then we move into painting the snow using food coloring and watercolors. After that, we use the snow to build “snow castles” and finish by pouring the melted snow into the plants. This kept Diva busy for about 2 hours yesterday!
    
   

   Fill a pan.

   Diva's snowpuppies & snowlady.

   Diluted food coloring and even watercolors work well for paints.

   She achieved a pseudo Monet technique.

2. Marshmallow Toss and Marshmallow Building. Note: the Toss is better in a room with washable floors or put a plastic coating, like an old shower curtain, down on the floor because this can get a bit sticky. Throw marshmallows to see who can get them the furthest. For Marshmallow Building, use them to build towers. You can use spaghetti, skewers, or toothpicks to help connect them. Who can build the tallest before it falls down?
   
   
3. Have a scavenger hunt (here's the link to a previous post I wrote in which I outlined how: http://isithotinheremmm.blogspot.com/2013/12/10-activity-ideas-for-xmas-eve-or.html ).
   
   
4. Discover what's magnetic.  Give your kid a magnet and let him/her discover what in the house is magnetic. Furniture handles, doorknobs, hooks, some jewelry are all candidates. If you're really ambitious, you can then discuss the principles of magnets, etc.
   
   
5. Reinvent their bedrooms. Who doesn't like to re-do their rooms?  This project is all about making them happier, plus, it might get them to clean their room. Invite your kids to think outside the box and help them redecorate their rooms using objects in the house. How can they gain more storage? Can they section their room into a “reading nook” or “fashion table”? What can they do to make their room better fit their needs?
   
   
6. Build a tent. My daughter LOVES to do this! Grab some old blankets and sheets and let the kids build a “Kids Only” zone. With any luck, they'll stay in it for a bit.
   
   
7. Pay the older kids to babysit the younger ones. It'll give you an hour or two of peace and keep everyone occupied.
   
   
8. String popcorn. Let the kids string some popcorn for the outdoor critters and hang the “garland” over a bush or in a tree.
   
   
9. Play I Spy. Someone picks a color, shape, or item and then says "I spy something..." The other players have to guess what the lead player spies in the room.
   
   
10. Have a Crazy Outfit Fashion Show. Grab a box of winter garb and other pieces of clothing. See who can come up with the craziest outfit.

Got any more suggestion? Add them in the Comments section!

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Again, Chinese New Year crafts are coming tomorrow - I promise!