Let's Celebrate Chinese New Year

The Year of the Rabbit begins today, February 3, 2011. To celebrate Chinese New Year, I think we should go fly a kite!

If kite-flying doesn't appeal:

• check out the list of resources I wrote about for Chinese New Year last year. 
• There are many more ideas on Cybraryman's site, and at Larry Ferlazzo's blog.  
• I found some lovely ideas to do with preschoolers for Chinese New Year on Fairy Dust Teaching. 
• Tech Savvy Mama has excellent ideas too.
• Stay and Play has resources in a lovely pdf.

I love what kite flying has to offer kids. Kite-making can be a great opportunity for dads and kids to get together for some special time. Kite-flying is a sport in its own right and may well be something your teens, tweens and adult children will all find an interest in. Just creating a kite of one's own, decorating it and experimenting with ways to make it fly can be an absorbing project. And examining different kites from around the world can be an excellent way to gain an inkling of other cultures.

Crayola have some instructions for kite making and safety tips for kite flying. They suggest decorating the kite with one of the 12 animal zodiac signs. This first Crayola kite seems purely ornamental. The second one is simple but should fly. Here's a third Crayola kite, the air-flow, and they also have a more difficult Maori kite.

Gomberg Kites has a gallery of kites from around the world. The same website has instructions for kite-making under Artistry and Craftsmanship.

Song suggestions for your kite-flying:

• Let's Go Fly a Kite from Mary Poppins with separate music and lyrics or as a sung animation on Youtube. 
• Rosie Thomas Kite Song 

Decorate a kite cupcake at Family Fun. http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/kite-cupcake-685437/

Book suggestion:

• Kite Flying by Grace Lin 
• Not specifically about kites, but Riley and the Dancing Lion by Tania McCartney would also be a lovely picture book to share for Chinese New Year. 

I am fascinated by mini-kites. Admittedly, it doesn't take much to fascinate the Chook, but I love the way these things fly! I think your primary and junior high school kids might enjoy experimenting with these incredibly light and manoeuvrable kites. You can see one in action in this video. Don't be put off by the beginning, the guy soon cuts to the chase and shows you mini kites flying and how to make them.

Kiting USA has some mini kite plans,  plus galleries and more information. Here's another mini kite, made of straws and tissue paper,  and a similar kite from eHow. There's also a miniature kite guild, with templates, but you need to register to download.

If your kids enjoy making things fly, you might like to check out my articles Let's Celebrate Australia Day (mini boomerangs)  and Follow and Fly (paper aeroplanes.)

What will you do to celebrate Chinese New Year? Xin nian yu kuai!