Is anyone doing any activities to mark the Chinese New Year with their mindees?
Printable View
Is anyone doing any activities to mark the Chinese New Year with their mindees?
I had planned to , but my mindees are so involved in bearhunt activities and play that we are extending it to half term. It has really captured their imagination and Im not going to change themes just for the sake of it.
We always have fun eating Chinese food with chopsticks. The children love it and so do I. Not sure yet what Monkey related things we will do though. The older ones have already had fun last week making fortune cookies, a bit early I know but they wanted to do it.
xx
How did you make your fortune cookies AliceK? :-) xQuote:
Originally Posted by AliceK
Aw what bear hunt stuff have you been doing? XQuote:
Originally Posted by mama2three
I'm planning to, not sure exactly what yet but I'll definitely do themed food.
Mine are little, 16 &13 months, a 3 & 2 year old. We are going to be playing with noodles as they a bit too young to really appreciate anything to much. In the past i have found each child's Chinese animal and printed a picture along with their characteristics. And last year I got some Chinese newspaper for the children to look at and we cut out their initials from the paper.
I have got some chopsticks but we'll probably use giant tweezers. X
Absolutely, definitely, positively not.Quote:
Originally Posted by mumofone
Do I have to launch into my annual rant? :p
Lol yes please because I've not heard it before! ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by bunyip
OK, don't say I didn't warn you.................. (I'll try to do the cut-down rant. ;) )Quote:
Originally Posted by mumofone
I hate Chinese New Year for the Early Years with a passion. It is a sanitised piece of anti-historic pseudo-social tosh that has cluck-all to do with Chinese culture and achievements and brings out the lazy in everyone without ever mentioning the revolution once.
I've asked a whole heap of CMs, nursery/preschool people...................WHY are you doing it?
The answers are all too often bad ones:
- we're expected to.
- it ticks a box with Ofsted.
- it's a sort of vague diversity thing (even if it's entirely inaccurate, counter-productive, and not the least bit relevant to any child at the setting.)
- saw loads of cheap tat in the Bakermooncrocs catalogue
- everyone else is doing it, etc.......
:angry: Drives me nuts. :angry:
Takes me back to the ancient Confucian wisdom of "if every other bu88er jumped off a cliff, would you be doing it too?"
Worst of all, I think it is patronising and potentially insulting to the population of China - though I do draw the line at committing the ultimate popular pc act of insult: I refuse to be offended on another individual's behalf.
I think my whole opinion of it is summed up by the conversation I had with a child (my granddaughter IIRC, though it might have been a mindee) coming out of preschool with yet another poxy dangley lantern. We chatted about what she'd learnt and it became clear that her perception of China and its extraordinarily diverse peoples amounted to 3000+ years of high culture and scientific progress being distilled into the firm belief that they all lived in houses with funny roofs, spent their entire lives making crappy tat out of red paper and subsisted entirely on fried food.
But if it "ticks a box" and the craft sh1t is easy to obtain, h3ll.......go for it. :p
(Here endeth the rant. :ohdear: )
I do think the moderators should've got in first and warned you.................that is never a good reason to get an old bunyip started. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by mumofone
Oh I don't knowQuote:
Originally Posted by bunyip
I actually look forward to seeing a Bunyip rant lol
We should start a new thread, make it a weekly feature...
***###@@@ Bunyips Rant Of The Week @@@###***
:laughing
You missed Citizen from the title😂😂😂Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiddleywinks
Ha! Love this!Quote:
Originally Posted by bunyip
Oh bunyip do.. We would love it!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiddleywinks
I actually do enjoy to read a well researched rant. :D Gave me some good things to mull over.
I have just had confirmation that a family link will be able to Skype from Bejing during the festival - they are 8 hours ahead and we are hoping to do a red envelope family giving time with an evening meal - live.
Then we are having a similar lunch.
I understand the 'vague links ' and why we look at different celebrations around the world not being high priority for under 5's if their is no relevance , but I think it's important to grow up knowing about life elsewhere so dipping in and reading a book, looking at photos is a good way - drip feeding that people celebrate different things - not actually celebrating.
So I am looking forward to our skyping experience, the children in Bejing will be excited and that will make us feel happy. I am toying with putting some chocolate coins in my red envelopes ( purchased at a Chinese supermarket ) and we are going to make some decorations like we have seen in their home for our den for the day, not celebrating but just a pretend play situation of what we have just seen to stimulate conversation.
I think though as it is a live unknown situation I will have to be alert to thinking on my feet to the follow up!
My best friend throughout school (and beyond) is Chinese and never once did any of our teachers mention Chinese New Year. The only other child from an ethnic minority in our class was a Muslim boy and not once did we ever learn about Eid, or any aspect of Islam or Chinese culture. What a shame! That's the 70s and 80s for you. I would be interested to know if any of you guys learnt about other cultures at primary school back in the day.
No we didn't , only child in our whole school who wasn't white was Pakistani and exotic but the opportunity was wasted ! Here in Ireland there is a move away from catholic lead schools which was all there was to what we call 'educate together ' where no religion is taught but all cultures are learned about and celebrated, so they celebrate Christmas but also eid, Chinese New Year etc .. Marvellous idea! Ireland is so multi cultural now and I think it truly is breaking down walls , and making the kids more open to other cultures and traditions. It has caught on so well that they are now starting to build secondary schoolsQuote:
Originally Posted by Maza
I do agree with bunyip though, depending on mindees ages it's not something that really should be done unless you want to , mine are all under two and a half and I suspect wouldn't understand ., anyway luckily here we don't have to tick the boxes like you guys , thank goodness . I do think a lot of what you do is good and has given me great ideas to use here even though I don't have to but some of it just seems like jumping through the hoops and it frustrates me on your behalf ! Hope that makes sense
So Im sat here wondering what i can do for chinese new year with my (too young for it anyway!) mindees when i recalled talking about this with you lovely people before. I remember this thread like it was yesterday though! frightening, where did the year go?!!!