Turn your home into a street in Chinatown. A local Chinese restaurant may be willing to donate pairs of wooden chopsticks for your Chinatown restaurant. Try to cook an authentic Chinese meal and use the chopsticks to eat it. Give your child play money as Lucky Money to redeem for paper fans or fortune cookies in one of the pretend shops. With a mask and a sheet, you and your child can become the festival lion, weaving through Chinatown.
Many families experience hard times.
Reading and talking about picture books like Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, The Lady in the Box by Ann McGovern, and Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen by Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan lets parents and children empathize with other families in difficult circumstances. A community calendar can alert you to ethnic festivals and events in your area. Families who live in or near cities can visit the local Chinatown during Chinese New Year and enjoy the street festivities. But even small communities may have a local Chinese restaurant that serves up a special menu for the New Year. Your kids may express concern for the old man in the story and others like him.