春节庆祝

23rd Jan, 2009 : Chinese New Year Celebration

It was a perfect day for our outdoor Chinese New Year celebration – sunny yet breezy. Most children came to school all decked out in their beautiful traditional Chinese costume.

During the week, the children learned about Chinese New Year and some of the traditions and customs associated with the festival. After breakfast on 23rd Feb, the children received mandarin oranges, which symbolise good fortune and prosperity. They gave their teachers and friends well wishes but could not wait to get outdoors as they knew interesting activities await them.

The Kindergarten children kicked off the celebration with a performance of The Lion Dance & The Dragon Dance, accompanied by their own throbbing drum and clanging symbols! A few girls took turns to hoist the lion head and synchronise the tail-end of the “lion”. The “lion” hopped, skipped, jumped, rotated its head and even bowed to the audience. The Dragon Dance was mainly the boy‛s forte. Two of them raised the “mini-dragon” with sticks at the dragon‛s head and tail and manoeuvred it around, chasing the “fire ball” which was manipulated by a third boy. The “dragon” twirled, swirled and swivelled behind the “fire ball” as it bobbed up and down and wound through the school‛s courtyard. The mini-drums and pint-size symbols provided the tempo at an acceptable noise level. The children had great fun watching as well as performing the item. The school decided to let the children perform these traditional dance instead of inviting the professional troops because the loud sounds they produced will probably deafen and scare the children. When the children performe, it became interactive instead of passively watching. It also gives them opportunity to work on their gross motor skills and gets a good work out. We have uploaded a few video clips of their performances on our Facebook page, have a look.

Next, the Nursery children performed a Red Sash Dance. They waved and whirled their long red sashes in the breeze to an upbeat Chinese song. It was a beautiful sight seeing the children enjoy themselves performing and the red sashes dancing in the air. The children then proceeded to some art & craft activities - making the new year plant “pussy willow” out of cotton wool and Chinese lanterns out of “Ang Pow” wrappers. After a morning of hard work, the children sat down to enjoy the delicious dumplings and other food dished out to them at lunch before heading home.

more pictures 1 & 2 and videos 1, 2 & 3