Chinese New Year 2012 Crafts and Activities
Chinese New Year 2012 is a very important holiday in China. It is celebrated in late January to early February (depending on the year). Chinese New Year starts on a New Moon and ends with the lantern festival on the full moon 15 days later.
In 2012, Chinese New Year is celebrated on January 23. In the Chinese calendar, it is the year 4709, and the Year of the Dragon.
These crafts projects are for preschool, kindergarten and elementary school children. The crafts use materials found around the house, like cardboard, paper, boxes, string, crayons, paint, glue, etc. See a page about color mixing to see how to combine paint to make all the colors of the rainbow.
CHINESE LANTERN A simple lantern to make from paper. |
TANGRAM PUZZLE A traditional Chinese puzzle to make out of paper. |
FIREWORKS CRAFT Create your own fireworks by using dark construction paper, glue and different colors of glitter. Great for Chinese New Year. |
DANCING DRAGON/LION TOY Make a dancing paper lion or dragon toy for Chinese New Year. |
PAPER BAG PUPPETS
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Short Books to Print:
Chinese New Year A Printable Activity Book for Early Readers A short, printable activity book on the Chinese New Year for beginning readers, with pages on Chinese New Year, the Chinese Zodiac, lucky money envelopes, the dragon, and a map of China. |
Chinese New Year Words Mini Book A Printable Writing Book A tiny, printable book about simple words related to Chinese New Year — for early readers and writers. The book has 2 pages to print and makes 8 pages for the student to cut out, color, and write in. The words are: dragon, China, moon, envelope, lantern, fireworks, and “Can you think of another Chinese New Year word?” |
Chinese New Year A Printable Activity Book for Fluent Readers A short, printable activity book on the Chinese New Year for fluent readers, with pages on New Year traditions, the Chinese Zodiac, the phases of the moon, and a map of China. |
Chinese Counting Book A Printable Activity Book for Early Readers A short, printable activity book on the Chinese numbers from 1 to 12. |
Chinese Animals Printable Book for Early Readers A short, printable book about Chinese animal early readers. The book has pages on the Giant panda, red panda, leopard, tiger, yak, stork, sun bear, and golden monkey. |
Panda A short, printable book about the giant panda. The book has pages for the student to cut out, read, and color. The pages are: Intro, Anatomy, Habitat, Diet, Teeth, Fur and Paws, Eyes, Reproduction, and Classification. |
Sheng Chú/Livestock A short, printable book about farm animals in Chinese – for early readers. The book has pages for the student to cut out, read, and color, with animal names to write. The pages are: cow, pig, horse, sheep, chicken, goat, dog, rabbit, and duck. |
Chinese New Year 2012 Activities:
Chinese Zodiac Word Wheel Make a Chinese zodiac word wheel using this 2-page print-out; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac are displayed (the picture, name of the animal, and the years that it represents), one at a time: rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat/ram, monkey, rooster, dog, pig, rat, ox, and tiger. The student then writes down the names of the 12 animals, beginning with the animal that represents the current year. |
The Chinese Zodiac A printout on the 12 animal signs of the Chinese zodiac and what years they represent. The student answers two questions about the Chinese zodiac. |
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Zoom School China Use a pictorial interface to get Information on China, including maps, flags, printouts, and a quiz. |
All About China Information on China, including maps, flags, crafts, printouts, etc. |
Chinese Flag/Printout You can learn about China’s flag, print it out, color it, and take a short quiz. |
China’s Flag Simple Printable A blackline master (printout) of the flag of China. |
China Map/Quiz Printout You can print out a map of China, color it, and take a short quiz. |
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Chinese Map Printout A printable map of China. |
CHINA FIND IT! A quiz on China to use with the Little Explorers Picture Dictionary. To answer the quiz questions, use the online illustrated dictionary. |
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA Read about this incredible structure. |
Chinese Artists Color Chinese paintings online or print copies and then color them. |
Inventors and Inventions from China and Taiwan Learn about some Chinese inventions from the compass to pulp-formed paper. |
PHASES OF THE MOON![]() Learn about the phases of the moon. The Chinese calendar is based in part on these lunar phases. |
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Word Hunt Worksheet
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Chinese Animals:
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Panda Book A short, printable book about the giant panda. The book has pages for the student to cut out, read, and color. The pages are: Intro, Anatomy, Habitat, Diet, Teeth, Fur and Paws, Eyes, Reproduction, and Classification. |
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Chinese Numbers:
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Chinese Counting Book A Printable Activity Book for Early Readers A short, printable activity book on the Chinese numbers from 1 to 12. |