Happy Lunar New Year!
Happy Lunar New Year to our GIANT community! Today, January 29th, marks the first new moon of the lunar calendar.
The dragon is a significant key symbol in Lunar New Year celebrations. Dragons represent good fortune, power, and prosperity and so they are associated with bringing positive blessings for the New Year. From firecrackers to dragon dances, there are many fun dragon related traditions and activities.
So…in true GIANT fashion, here are some of our very favorite dragon related, hands-on activities that you can do with your kids at home or your students at school to kick off the Lunar New Year:
Make Your Own Dancing Dragon
Based on the traditional Chinese dance and performance, make your very own dragon and make it dance with some simple arts and crafts materials.
All you need is:
Two dowel rods, popsicle sticks, or wood sticks
Some colorful paper
Tape
Scissors
Anything else you may want to add and decorate your dragon!
Watch this how-to video to learn how to make the folding portion of the dragon:
Check out these adorable examples GIANT kids have made:
Check Out the Book Me and My Pet Dragon by David Biedrzycki And Build Your Own Pet Dragon
Tap into your imagination and create your very own pet dragon to bring you extra luck in the new year!
Write a Story/Create Your Own Dragon Lore
Feeling inspired? Write a backstory for your dragon! Take it even further and create illustrations.
Check Out the Book Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin And Throw a Taco Party for Your Dragon
Now that you have your pet dragon, throw him a taco party! Tacos are a favorite of dragons, a scientific fact proven by the book Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin.
You can also take it even further by creating a dragon puppet that can actually eat the tacos! Take a look at this example of a mouth puppet:
