We have been very busy this month learning all about China and celebrating Chinese New Year. During S.E.S.E., we learned about the country of China, its capital city, the flag, climate, The Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, The Terracotta Army, practised learning to speak some Mandarin and write some Chinese symbols, the process of how rice is made, popular Chinese food, their traditional clothing and how Chinese New Year is celebrated and why it is celebrated. In Literacy we listened to stories including ‘The Great Race – A Story of the Chinese Zodiac’, ‘The Runaway Wok’ and ‘How to Catch a Dragon’. The children learned about some of the traditional musical instruments that are unique to China’s culture and they watched how they are played. They learned about string instruments including the erhu, guzheng and yangqin; percussion instruments including the dagu, bolang gu and gong; as well as the wind instrument – the Hulusi. The Juniors also created some beautiful pieces of artwork throughout the month all inspired by Chinese art. Using papier mâché, the children constructed and designed their own cherry blossom lanterns. The created beautiful cherry blossom wall hangings and created folded Chinese dragons.
We furthered our learning about China through play time. The children used various playdough mats to inspire creations, many of which included making Chinese food and animals from the story of the Chinese zodiac. In Construction, the children used the large wooden blocks and magsnaps to build their very own Great Wall of China, complete with many pathways and watch towers. In Small World, the children marched and danced wooden dolls down the main street of the town in celebration of Chinese New Year, as well as having an animal race across the river to the Jade Emperor at his temple. For Sensory Play, the tray was filled with red rice, numbered Chinese lantern cards, chopsticks, Chinese symbols, animals, cups and gold coins. The children traced Chinese symbols in the rice, dropped coins into cups according to the number cards and enjoyed free play with the resources. The Role Play area was set up like a Chinese Restaurant. There was a kitchen complete with an oven and hob, saucepans, frying pans, cooking utensils, food, take away dishes, plates bowls and cups. The children learned about setting a table for dinner, covering with a table cloth and setting out cutlery for each person to sit at the table. The children took on various roles as customers, chefs, waiters and front of house staff. The children took orders and had experience of writing down orders before bringing them to the chef. They served food and cleared up plates before washing them in the kitchen.
