Last week in Reception, we celebrated Chinese New Year. To introduce the topic, we watched some video clips online and found out how children prepare for and celebrate Chinese New Year. We then completed a range of activities to help us consolidate our learning.

We developed our fine-motor physical skills by practising picking things up using chopsticks in one hand –

 

We also used chopsticks and paint to copy some Chinese writing. It is very different to our writing, using characters instead of letters –

The Chinese dragon on the video clip inspired us to use a range of materials to make our own dragon and we danced to Chinese music –

We made Chinese fans, learning how to fold the paper one way then turning it over to create a concertina –

We decorated and wrote in cards to give to our friends and family –

We enjoyed cooking and tasting some Chinese food and even used chopsticks to eat it –

Stir-fry noodles:

Golden syrup dumplings:

Our homework was also linked to Chinese New Year. Lots of us researched the celebration online and some of us were lucky enough to visit Stowell Street and take part in the weekend celebrations in the centre of Newcastle.