The Chinese New Year celebration kicked off this week at Child’s World with traditional festivities.
The preparation for the New Year started with the customary “house cleaning.” Ms. Otte’s pre-K class worked together to carry out a thorough cleaning of their classroom. The cleaning is called “sweeping the dust” and represents a wish to put away old things, bid farewell to the old year and welcome the New Year.
Classrooms were decorated with handmade red lanterns, and parents of Chinese culture shared their traditions and taught the children to write Chinese characters on New Year couplets, which is thought to keep evil away. The children also enjoyed listening to Chinese folktales; Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel is a favorite for Ms. Miller’s and Ms. Wyszomierski’s class.
The festivities continued with a New Year’s parade, complete with handmade dragons and Bolang Gu drums. The celebration culminated with a New Year’s Feast where children enjoyed eating Chinese noodles with chopsticks and receiving traditional red envelopes with “lucky money,” wishing them health, growth and good studies in the coming year. 
