HS A New Year

Interest Area Changes to Environment

New Years Party Hats Calendar Paper Streamer Confetti Bells Pictures of Chinese Dragons (not scary) Chinese Lanterns Homemade Noise Makers Current Year Sunglasses Clock Timer Disco Ball (Represent Times Square) Glitter Red Paint Red Ribbon (12 inches or smaller) Red Banner Red Paper Homemade count down ball Wishing Wand Homemade shaker with current year on it

Teaching Concepts for Large Group

1. What is "Happy New Year"? 2.  What did you do to "ring" in the New Year? 3.  What is a New Years Resolution? Come up with a Classroom Resolution Chart.  4.  Where is Times Square? Show it on the globe, and then do a reenactment of New Years Eve.  Use the changes to environments for this activity. 5.  What is a Year? Discuss with the children what a year is. Have one child stand in one place. They will be the sun. You can even give them a yellow plate with the word sun on it. Ask another child to be the earth. They can have a blue or green plate. Mark the floor with masking tape where the child will start and stop. Have the earth child walk around the sun while spinning. Have them stop on the masking tape. Tell the children it takes 365 days for the earth to go all the way around the sun. Let other children have a chance to be the sun and earth. You can explain a day by having the sun child hold a flashlight. Turn out the lights, and have the earth child turn around in the same spot. 6.  How do other countries celebrate New Years Day?  For information to reference use link here:  http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/newyears.asp 7.  Read this story-  Chinese Nian Fun: Long ago, in Han times, there was a monster whose name was "Nian". This monster came once each year to a little village and scared everyone! One day, just by luck, the villagers discovered that "Nian" had a couple fears of his own. He was afraid of the color red and even more afraid of scary loud noises! The villagers prepared. When "Nian" appeared, everyone in the village ran for the red banners and noise makers they had made. They waved their banners and rattled their noise makers, which scared "Nian" so much that "Nian" ran away and was never heard from again! Which explains why people in China believe the color red signifies joy and luck, and why noise makers are rattled on Chinese New Year. At midnight, firecrackers, paper dragons, noise makers, the waving of red ribbons and banners all help to drive away any lingering evil spirits from the old year. (In case "Nian" is still lurking about somewhere!) Let one child be Nian, and the others be the villagers. Ask the children to find something red to scare Nian. Read the story again and let the children act it out. 8.  How do you say Happy News Years in other languages? Danish - Godt Nytår French - Bonne année German - Gutes Neues Jahr Hebrew - Shanah tovah Russian - S Novym Godom Spanish - Feliz Año Nuevo

Teaching Concepts for Small Group

1.  Make New Years Party Hats -  using paper plates, collage materials, string, and glue. 2.  New Year Art - Write the number of the new year on a piece of paper and have the children decorate it with paint, markers, crayons, string, lace, glitter, etc.. 3.  Chinese New Year dragons - Have the children make dragons out of lunch size paper bags and decorations like googly eyes, and paper scraps. 4.  Red Ribbons to scare Nian - Supply each child with red ribbon and a dowel or un-sharpened pencil. Have the children tape the ribbon to the dowel. This is used to scare Nian. 5.  Chinese Lanterns - Have each child fold a piece of paper (red is best) in half so that the two longest sides are together. Then have the children cut one strip of paper off. Then have the children cut slits in the paper starting at the fold and going almost to the edges. Have the children make four or five slits. Then roll up the paper connecting the two shorter sides with tape or glue. Then the children may glue the first piece they cut off to the top of the lantern for the handle. 6.  Using bells - Bell balancing: Supply the children with bells and a balance. Show the children how to make the balance even. Count the bells on each side. Bell ringing: Supply the children with many different bells. What different sounds do they make. How are the sounds different. Bell ringing: Supply the children with pairs of bells. Mix them up. See if they can find their matches by the sound. Bell Sort: Provide the children with many different kinds of bells to sort by size or color. 7. Use the homemade count down ball to work on the following activities: Basic Countdown: Slide the number strip down one number at a time to countdown by twelve. Counting Up: Children can slide the strip up and count up to twelve one number at a time. Adding Up Children place a number in the slide window.  Then they can call out a number or roll a die to get a number. They will then move the slide up that number of times  to find the sum of the two numbers. 8.  Use the homemade clock and discuss time and numbers on the clock.

Teaching Concepts for Music Movement Wellness IMIL

1. Macarena Months 2. Bell Ring Song - Supply each child with a bell ring. (Instructions on how to make bell rings in art section.) Sing this song and follow the directions: Sung to Frere Jacques Ring your bells, Ring your bells, Shake them left and right, Shake them hard and light, Ring them loud, Ring them soft. Ring your bells, Ring your bells, Shake them up and down, Shake them all around, Ring them loud, Ring them soft.

Teaching Concepts for Finger-plays

1.  A New Year Calendar Song Tune: "She'll be coming round the mountain" There's a new year on our calendar today There's a new years on our calendar today. There's a new year on our calendar, A year to grow and learn much more. There's a new year on our calendar today. 2.  Happy New Year Tune: "Are You Sleeping?" Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Good-bye to the old year! Hello to the new year! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! 3.  Cheer the New Year Tune:"Row, row, row your boat" Cheer, cheer, cheer the year, A new one's just begun. Celebrate with all your friends, Let's go have some fun! Clap, clap, clap your hands, A brand new year is here. Learning, laughing, singing, clapping, Through another year. 4.  5 Green Dragons Five green dragons Making such a roar One danced away And then there were four Four green dragons Dancing 'round a tree One danced away And then there were three Three green dragons Dancing 'round you One danced away And then there were two Two green dragons Dancing in the sun One danced away And then there was one One green dragon Having lots of fun. She danced away And then there were none. 5. Dragon, Dragon (Tune: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) Dragon, dragon, dance around. Dragon, dragon, touch the ground. Dragon, dragon, shake your head. Dragon, dragon, point to red. Dragon, dragon, stamp your feet. Dragon, dragon, run down the street. 6.  Lion Dance (Tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb) See the lion dance and prance, Dance and prance, dance and prance. See the lion dance and prance, On Chinese New Year's Day. Hear the firecrackers pop, Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. Hear the firecrackers pop, On Chinese New Year's Day. Hear the drums go boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, On Chinese New Year Day. See the children laugh and clap, Laugh and clap, laugh and clap. See the children laugh and clap, On Chinese New Year's Day.

Teaching Concepts for Outdoor Experiences

1. New Years Day Parade / Or Chinese Dragon Parade 2.  Bell relay race. Have a relay race where the first player had a bell ring on each wrist and ankle (four total). They run to the next person, and they have to take off all the bells and put them on the next person. (variation: only one person of the two may touch the bells).

CLASS Concepts

Do a continuation in Small Groups with the above activity - What is a year?