The Lunar New Year is a wonderful celebration that offers so many opportunities for students to connect to culture, tradition, and creativity. This year, I wanted to bring the magic of the celebration into my classroom in a hands-on, engaging, and educational way using my Hands-On Chinese Lunar New Year Activity Centre Bundle!
This bundle was designed to help students learn about the Lunar New Year while supporting fine motor development and creative exploration through playful, hands-on activities. These activities are versatile, engaging, and easy to implement—perfect for bringing the celebration to life in the classroom while making learning fun.
Here’s how we’ve been celebrating the Lunar New Year with these activities:
All of my holiday activity centre bundles include four versatile and fine motor-friendly activities that connect learning to creativity. Here’s how we’re using each one to celebrate the Lunar New Year:
1️⃣ Roll and Build - Get Creative with Loose Parts 🛠️
Students love exploring their creativity by rolling dice and building with loose parts! This activity combines fine motor development and imaginative play as students use building materials to design a variety of structures. For the Lunar New Year, they can build symbolic items like lanterns, dragons or fireworks—there’s so much freedom to get creative here!
Why It Works:
Strengthens fine motor skills through grasping, building, and problem-solving.
Encourages creativity and exploration as students design and construct freely.
2️⃣ Pin Art - A Fun Fine Motor Skill Challenge 🎨
Pin art has been a hit in my classroom! Students use pushpins to create pictures on foam boards (or I use old carpet samples) poking holes to make their own Lunar New Year-themed designs. This activity is not only fun but also supports fine motor strength and hand-eye coordination.
Skills Covered:
Fine motor development (pinching, grasping, pushing).
Focus, patience, and spatial awareness.
3️⃣ Geometry Shape Building - Thematic Shapes & Exploration 📐
This activity allows students to explore shapes in a hands-on way while connecting them to Lunar New Year themes. They create pictures and designs using a variety of geometry shapes, like hexagons, triangles, and squares, to make creative representations like dragons and lanterns! It’s a fantastic way to link math concepts with thematic fun.
Benefits:
Encourages math exploration.
Reinforces geometry knowledge in a creative, hands-on way.
4️⃣ Torn Paper Art - A Hands-On Craft 🎨✂️
Torn paper art is a great way to explore textures, colours, and creativity. Students tear paper into pieces to create traditional art pieces inspired by the Lunar New Year. This activity offers students a sensory art experience and builds fine motor strength as they manipulate and tear paper.
Why I Love This Activity:
It’s simple, engaging, and supports fine motor development.
It taps into creativity while connecting to a culturally significant celebration.
🏮 Why Hands-On Learning Matters for the Lunar New Year
These activities are about more than just fun. They’re designed to:
✅ Foster cultural learning by exploring the symbolism and traditions of the Lunar New Year.
✅ Provide fine motor support through creative, hands-on play and exploration.
✅ Build engagement by making learning active and connected to meaningful celebration themes.
When students can explore and learn through play, they stay curious, focused, and excited about discovering new ideas. These activities make celebrating special traditions in the classroom memorable and impactful.
Want to Try These Activities in Your Own Classroom?
If you’re looking to add these creative, hands-on experiences to your classroom, check out my Hands-On Chinese Lunar New Year Activity Centre Bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers! This bundle is perfect for classroom celebrations, center activities, or even morning routines in the new year.
👉 Grab your bundle here and bring creativity and learning into your Lunar New Year celebrations!
Here’s to engaging, creative, and meaningful celebrations in 2024! 🧧🏮
Pure inspiration!