This week we have been learning about Lunar New Year. We started by looking at the places in the world where many people celebrate Lunar New Year. We discovered that Lunar New Year is a celebration of a new moon every Spring. Families prepare by cleaning the house before putting up decorations: lots of red for luck and flowers as a reminder of Spring. On the morning of Lunar New Year, new clothes are worn to recognise the fresh start and children are given red envelopes containing money. Lanterns are made to symbolise the brightness of Spring and people offer good luck messages. Feasts with eight or nine (lucky numbers!) dishes are eaten. Families then go outside to watch the dragon parade and dancing. After the parade, there are firecrackers to deter bad spirits. Each year is named after an animal. I wonder if the children can recall why this is?

2025 is year of the snake so we have been learning lots of interesting facts about snakes.
Our beautiful lanterns required lots of precise cutting and stapler-support from Amy. Some children decided to make a snake too: joining the parts with treasury tags was challenging but great for developing our fine motor skills.







We enjoyed our own animal races in the outdoor area.


Thank you to Mr Chan for coming in to tell us how he has celebrated Lunar New Year with Ian and his family in Hong Kong.
