The Chinese New Year is almost here, get ready to explore with these adorable Chinese New Year Activities for Preschool.
Set up these creative learning activities as you explore the Lunar New Year with your preschooler.
Plus many ideas were created to use as extensions to these Chinese New Year books!
Disclosure: We’ve included Amazon affiliate links in this post.
Chinese New Year Activities for Preschool
We’ve put together a collection of activities to do with your child or class for the Chinese New Year. Many of the activities reflect the traditions of the festival through books, math activities, sensory play and more.
Let’s start with explaining a little about the Chinese New Year with your child.
What is the Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year is the Chinese festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar. The festival has a history of over 3,000 years.
The festival is usually referred to as the Spring Festival in mainland China, and is one of several Lunar New Years in Asia. This festival marks a new year on the lunar calendar and represents the desire for a new life.
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The date of the Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar calendar: the holiday falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice on December 21. Thus, each time the New Year in China falls on different dates of the usual Gregorian calendar, between January 21 and February 20.
The festival lasts for about 23 days, ending on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the following year in the Chinese calendar.
Click here to see when it will be celebrated this year.
The main Chinese New Year activities include
- putting up decorations
- eating reunion dinner with family on New Year’s Eve
- firecrackers and fireworks
- giving red envelopes and other gifts
Many of these traditions are featured in our collection of Chinese New Year Activities for Preschoolers.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE CHINESE NEW YEAR ACTIVITIES & CRAFTS
Chinese New Year Theme Table
To start, set up a Chinese New Year-themed display table to invite your child to explore items commonly seen during the Chinese New Year. You can label the items with these {free} vocabulary cards from Fortune Cookie Mom.
Print out two sets of vocabulary cards to match the items to those on the picture cards for a memory game for the Chinese New Year.
Chinese Paper Cutting Activity
The Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival. The Chinese character for spring (春) is widely seen during this period as a festive decoration. When placed upside down, it means “spring has arrived”.
Happy Chinese New Year, Elena! by Dingli Stevens
You can follow the instructions found in this book Happy Chinese New Year, Elena! to make our spring character paper cut-outs.
A great introduction to symmetry!
Chinese Zodiac Activity
Read The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac to discover how the twelve animals earned its place in the Chinese Zodiac.
The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Christopher Corr
Learn about the zodiac wheel, and the names of the animals in Chinese using calligraphy three-part cards.
The next thing you can do is match these Safari Toob Chinese Zodiac Animal figurines (available here) to the three-part cards.
The Legend of Nian Activity
Read The Nian Monster to learn how Chinese New Year came about and why we celebrate with loud noises (banging drums and gongs), firecrackers and wearing red.
The Nian Monster by Andrea Wang
As a follow-up activity, you can cook the dishes represented in the book – lion’s head meatballs, noodles and fish – and tried some sticky rice cake.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Chinese New Year Math Activities
- Putting the correct number of ancient gold coins inside numbered red envelopes
- Sequencing numbers through puzzles ( free download )
- Grid game and graphing activity (available here)
You can even make your own red envelopes. Here’s a tutorial.
Chinese New Year Sensory Bins
- Red and Gold Sensory Bin
- Montessori-inspired Sweeping Activity
- Chinse New Year Fine Motor Activity
You can see how to set these up here Chinese New Year Sensory Bin Ideas
Maggie’s Chopsticks by Alan Woo
Chinese New Year Books for Preschool
We put together a large collection of Chinese New Year books that are ideal for reading with your preschooler. Take a look at this book list.
There are so many fun ways to explore the Chinese New Year with your child. Be sure to check out your local area to see what events are happening to be able to observe and learn about this special festival.
Here are a few decoration items you may want to add if you’re planning to host a playdate with friends for the Chinese New year or set up a fun Chinese New Year Themed learning station at home or school.
Many thanks to our Virtual Book Club for Kids facebook group member Little Miss Kaye for sharing her photos of their Chinese New Year Activities that she did with her preschooler.
Take a moment to get even more ideas on Little Miss Kaye on Instagram
What activities are you planning for the Chinese New Year with your child?
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