Chinese New Year 2020 The Year of the Rat

Kung Hei Fat Choy - wishing you great happiness and prosperity!

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Do you know the story of the Great Race, and how the animals competed to have the 12 years of the Chinese Zodiac named after them?  I made a video about it, which you can see on YouTube by clicking here.   In the story, the animals find different ways to cross the river to finish the race.  Some animals are strong, and make it across on their own, some are clever and hitch rides on other animals, some cooperate to make it together... and then there's pig, who stops to eat and nap before barely finishing the race in 12th place.  

Previously I've shared some books and ideas for celebrating Chinese New Year, see here and here, and I discovered some new (or new to me) this year that I'd love to share with you.

All Are Welcome
I can't say enough wonderful things about this book!  The message is simple yet profound: all are welcome.   The school shown in this book includes a beautifully diverse community of people - different races, religions, body types, ages, abilities, languages, ethnicities, and they are all welcomed and embraced.  They come together at the end to celebrate the new year, so I'm including it here, but this book can and should be used for many many themes. 

Red is a Dragon
This beautiful book has been around for a while, but it was new to me this year, and I love it!  While it's not technically about Chinese New Year, the first page is, and many of the other color words describe things with an Asian origin.  I've used this in a story time about colors, as well as for Chinese New Year, and it's always a hit with the preschool crowd.

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas
This fractured fairy tale tells a Chinese New Year version of Goldilocks, and it's adorable!  From congee porridge to a bed that "felt as hard as a week-old almond cookie" all the familiar parts of the story are in place, with an Asian twist.  Fortunately Goldy Luck makes better choices than Goldilocks did, and helps to fix all the messes she made, resulting in a happy ending.  

This year I've also created Chinese New Year 100 Charts.  This huge set includes puzzles for all 12 of the animals of the Zodiac, and each of them is differentiated for 2 - 3 levels, for a total of 34 pages of no prep math work!  They've been added to my Chinese New Year Bundle - so if you've bought that previously, you can re-download to get it free!

I also put together this free (for now!) game board.  Simply click here to head to my TeachersPayTeachers store and download it!  If you like it, please leave feedback and follow my store!

Wishing you a very happy new year, and many red envelopes!

                                                                                                                           Paula