Happy 2007

Many around the world celebrated the coming of 2007 with fire works and loud noises. I wonder how much of this was influence of Chinese New Year's traditions of using loud noises and bright lights to drive away evil and misfortune? I know we heard loud bangs just after midnight where we were. I hope that everyone celebrated safely.

Happy New Year.

Chinese Yoyo

The Chinese yoyo is also called a diablo or pull-bell. The diablo is a "cousin" or Western variation of the Chinese yoyo, of much more recent origin but the same tricks can be done with both. Although there are a number of differences between the two yoyo types, virtually all of the same tricks can be done on either. It seems that Chinese yoyo users usually speed up the yoyo by moving their arms up and down with the strings wrapped around the axle of the yoyo, where diablo users seem to cross the strings and move them from side-to-side.

For an idea of what can be done, watch this Chinese Yoyo video from the CCTV 2007 Chinese New Year Celebration. I liked watching them juggle Chinese Yoyos starting at 4:38. If you watch the whole clip you will also see them jumping robe and building pyramids.

There are more video clips on the web of folks working with Chinese yoyo, some to show off particular tricks and others for instructional purposes. I like the Harvard Chinese Yoyo Club's Tricks and Videos.html.

The Gibee club has almost all diabolo videos, for more watch at the English version of Diarhythm, a Japanese diabolo movie site. Dave Barnes Videos: with two diabolos and with three!

For Beginning Instructions:
Chinese Yoyo.org You may also want to look under “Mini-workshop” at their Dual yoyos page.

Harvard Yoyo Club's Beginner’s Guide to Chinese Yoyo.

This one is probably only of interest if you actually have one: How to get the string on the Chinese Yoyo. An important part of "how to start".

About.com has some nice pictures but the links were not working for me.

Paper "Chinese Yoyo":
I have never been able to track down the origins of this name and will not vouch for the "authenticity", but here are directions if that is what you want.

Updated: March 2007

Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

Special note for Girl Scouts: If you are working on “countries around the world”, I am glad to see China included. If, however, you are preparing for World Thinking Day (WTD, February 22^nd) chose Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) which has Girl Scouts or Hong Kong which has Girl Guides. Mainland China (People's Republic of China, PRC) is not in WAGGGS and would not be a candidate country for WTD. (Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the PRC.)

World Thinking Day is a chance for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to think about their peers in other parts of the world – and what the girls do, more than a chance to learn about a specific country. Perhaps this bit on Chinese Games might help.

More information on Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in China:

The Hong Kong Girl Guides Association
Website: http://www.hkgga.org.hk/eng_index.php (Although there is an ENG button on the top of the page to get English, much of the site is in Chinese.) Use the English side bars on the side to get more information on Guides in Hong Kong including the uniform, Promise and Law that different levels use. (Or see their Promise and Law, in Wikipedia's Hong Kong Girl Guides Association article.)

The Hong Kong Girl Guides Association is a full member of WAGGGS. Guiding was introduced there in 1916. They do not admit boys(*). In 2003 there were over 44,000 Girl Guides in Hong Kong. There are 6 levels in the Guiding programme.

• Happy Bee (小蜜蜂) is a Parent-Child Programme for both boys(*) & girls ages 4 to 6 years old;
• Brownie (小女童軍), from 6 to 12 years old;
• Guide (女童軍), from 10 to 18 years;
• Ranger (深資女童軍), from 15 to 21 years old (including Sea Rangers (15 to 21) and Air Rangers (17-21);
• Golden Guide (樂齡女童軍), over 60 years old; and
  
• Guider (女童軍領袖), volunteer leader, over 21 years old.

Girl Scouts of Taiwan
Website: www.girlscout.org.tw
Girl Scouts of Taiwan is a full member of WAGGGS. Guiding was introduced there in 1919. They do not admit boys. In 2003 there were over 28,000 Girl Guides in Taiwan. (There is an "English" button on the top but it does not seem to make much different on the front page of the site.)

Wikipedia's article has the Promise and Law with English translations, or read more at this personal site, or view descriptions of their uniforms.

Macau
Macau and Hong Kong are special administrative regions of the PRC. Macau seems to have (Boy) Scouts but no Girl Scouts or Girl Guides. The Scout Association of Macau is not a member of WAGGGS.

Overseas Scouts in Taiwan & Hong Kong
At least as of February 2007, there were USA Girl Scouts Overseas (USAGSO) in the PRC and there are also British Guides in Foreign Countries (BGIFC) there. (sources: posting by international WAGGS trainer and Wikipedia.)

last updated: 2/2008

See "today's moon phase"

I just added a "Current Moon" picture with basic information on the current moon phase to my Chinese New Year blog. The pictures are much more detailed than the black and white ones on the (free) calendar I supply. The phase of the moon is correct for each day but the actual pictures are not updated daily!

More on Winter Solstice

I just found out that Giddy Gabby mentioned the Winter Solstice entry on her Its Christmas if you're Christian entry, but you may want to look there to learn more about other December Solstice celebrations around the world.

2007 Lunar calendar available

The 2007 lunar calendar one page pdf file showing the phases of the moon is now available. The graphic image here is its negative, what I call "white on black".

I really like the way these calendars look, but they are a useful tool for explaining the Chinese calendar. It is easy to see where new moons, marking the start of the lunar month, fall throughout the year. I always carry more than one if I am going to show it in a classroom, as there are always a couple of people who really want a copy of their own.

I have a black on white copy in a pdf file that you can print using far less ink, for a copy of either, email me at mus-mandarin@wubison.com. If you don't say which copy you want, it will be the "black on white" pdf version, the opposite of what is displayed here. If you want a gif of this, just let me know in your mail. To make your own as we did or use any of the other display options, use Andrew W. Roberts' lcal program, now available at this postscript calendar site. You would need your own C compiler.

My favorite online dictionary in BETA

Corgi Labs has added a new version of my favorite Chinese language "dictionary tool". It is still in beta which means that it is not perfect, but if you are studying Chinese, it is certainly worth a look.

The older dictionary version has a few more words last I checked and may suit your needs better - until the new one is in production.

Zhima Jie

I still want to see copies of the 130 episodes of Zhima Jie (Sesame Street in China) sold anywhere that I can buy them! It was designed for 3 - 6 year olds in China and aired from 1998 - 2001. There was an unseccessful attempt to have it resume in 2004, but I am not sure if the 130 includes any episodes from then. I expect that someday China Sprout or someone will have the episodes available, but as far as I know it has not happened yet. We were never able to find any one who had taped it in Shanghai.

When I was in China in 1999, one could buy Sesame Street branded things in major department stores. We came back with a sweater bearing Little Plum's face.

I found myself watching the episodes on TV in the evening - usually just after my daughter fell asleep for a quick nap for dinner!

Just missed a Chinese Blogger Conference

The 2nd annual Chinese Blogger Conference 2006 was in Hangzhou this weekend. Who knew? For more information, see T-Salon's October 27th blog entry.

URL: http://www.t-salon.net/2006/10/tuning-into-chinese-blogger-conference.html

Thanks to Corgi Labs for passing this one on!

World Press Freedom Day

Reporters Without Borders have released their fifth annual worldwide index of press freedom. Four years ago, on the first list, the United States of America has was in 17^th place. Now, in 2006, they are tied for 53^rd place. China remains in the bottom few, and is now listed as 163^rd out of 168 countries. (In 2002, on Reporters Without Borders first list, USA was 17^th and China was 138^th, followed only by 139^th North Korea.)

You can download the 153 page 2006 report from their survey overview page.

I know I am wrestling more and more with the question of how much my children should know about what is happening in the world. When will I be ready for them to see the newspaper daily?

The World According to Sesame Street

Tomorrow, October 24, 1996, PBS will broadcast The World According to Sesame Street as the premiere of the Fall 2006 Independent Lens series. It premiered in the documentary competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. We are watching - and taping this one - even though it has nothing to do with Chinese version, Zhima Jie.

Our local PBS station listed it this way:

Tuesday, October 24 at 9pm
Independent Lens: "The World According to Sesame Street"
Follows three producers from Sesame Workshop to Bangladesh, Kosovo, and South Africa, where they localize the popular children's television program with indigenous songs, puppets, and curricula.

For more on Sisimpur (the Bangladeshi version) or Takalani (The South African version) see Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. I did not relaize that Takalani Sesame was the first to have an HIV character - in 2002, but Time magazine in Europe wrote about it in "Meet Kami, the world's first HIV-positive Muppet and the latest recruit in South Africa's AIDS war".

Particpant Productions on their website, starts, "The World According to Sesame Street is a feature-length documentary, in cooperation with "Sesame Street," that explores the drama and complexities behind producing international versions of the world’s most-watched children’s television program. The documentary shows that social impact and change can come from the most unlikely sources, including a team of Muppets.

The Rotten Tomatoes review starts:
"The World According to Sesame Street runs counter to the usual critiques of the malevolent effects of the export of American culture. Contrary to films whose examination of artistic production and/or the process of media creation is, frankly, often quite indulgent and boring, this documentary by Linda Goldstein Knowlton and Linda Hawkins Costigan is both insightful and uncommonly revealing. more »

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes

Do the Dig!

For a very hands-on way to learn about Ancient China -- consider archaeology! My children attended a dig on The Middle Kingdom and we all loved it. They learned a lot and "did adult things in a kid way".

Professional archaeologist turned educator Geoff "Bog Dog" Purcell runs a great week-long program - a half-day camp for 5-7 year olds, and full day camps (for 7/8 year olds and up). You can check out his website (dothedig.net) to read more about Camp Activities. In the morning, the children talk about how to think like an archaeologist, dig and dig in squares marked off with string. In the afternoon, full-day campers see slides and hear stories and play games to reinforce the concepts they have learned. Every day there are new questions to think about as the children work to figure out the story of their site. The week ends with a potluck luncheon and a "museum" the children put together. You may be very surprised at how much they have learned!

If you live within driving distance, and know 24 children interested, he can come to you in the spring or fall. If you are lucky enough to live near Albany, NY (or maybe have family you can camp with near there), perhaps you can try one of his summer day camps.

Although Musical Mandarin readers may be most interested in China, he does Viking, Mezo-American, and other themed digs too. For one camper's view of "Big Dog's Egypt: The Middle Kingdom" dig, read his letter to DIG magazine in Readers' Submissions.

For more information, or to set up your own dig, email geofferypurcell@webtv.net (You can certainly tell him that he will be seeing us again!)

(Maybe you won't want to mention to your children that besides learning about China and archaeology, they will practice thinking skills, following directions and working together.)

Head & Shoulders

"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" is one of the few songs that is a great teaching song just as it is, but what next? Maybe a few counting songs. Then things get difficult, unless you are willing to write your own, and few of us as as creative as Richard, the author of Genki English. (He teaches English to Japanese but I love the energy in his work!)

Still it is nice to see that I am not the only one thinking about music & children & language learning.

Here is what an English speaking, director of an English school in Japan is thinking at simple songs on kids music + early childhood education. His October 6th entry may be interesting to many of us. Listen to "The Great Well" in English &/or Chinese and learn about the Google Literacy Project. Or you may want to look at his "Head, shoulders, knees, ...and peanut butter?" which seems really about what children find funny. "Wheels on the Bus" gets a high approval rating from his kids which is great. I think that in addition to what he says about why songs work, many songs do work best in the original language. I think in my class, "Wheels on the Bus" gets about a 50% rating - although I want to see if that goes up if I do fewer verses, at least the first few times we do it.

His reference for children's music from around the world was for a site I already know. Mama Lisa has lots to offer, including lots of children's songs and nursery rhymes from around the world, most of them with audio samples. Sadly there is not much from China there - yet?

A cautionary tale: using Chinese characters

The menu was hard to read, but not the sweater
Humor: In Calcutta, they couldn't read the Chinese menu. So they decided to wear it. By G.K. Gupta
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1011/p18s02-hfes.html?s=hns

I am reminded of an old quote that it is an elevated level of understanding to realize what we do not know.

As I want this to stay a "family accessible site", I have never posted the sites that detail tattos people have gotten - thinking they were Chinese characters, or actual Chinese character tatoo that perhaps don't mean what the wearer thinks they do. I have not also never posted any links to interesting translations of Chinese menus but this tale I had to share.

Found: Cassettes on sale!

I was just visiting the clearance section at Ray's childbook.com and discovered that both "Teach Me . . . Chinese!" and "Teach Me More . . . Chinese!" are on sale there ! It is the cassette versions, but at $7.50 each I would grab one for the car if I did not have it yet. (The price is before shipping of course). I have done business with Childbook a number of times and never had a problem. The regular price for the cassette/book set is $13.95.

Teach Me . . . Chinese and Teach Me More . . . Chinese by Judy Mahoney are both over 45 minutes of bilingual (Mandarin and English) songs. A booklet with the lyrics (in English, pinyin and simplified characters) is included. Some songs are traditional Chinese, some are tunes you know that are also used in China, and some are English songs translated in to Mandarin. Both albums are are recommended for ages 2 - 12. There are CD versions too - but they are not on sale ($12.44 to $18.95 depending on where you shop).

My other favorite is still Sing 'n Learn Chinese (book and CD) by Trio Jan Jeng and Selina Yoon. All in Mandarin, but I don't know of it being on sale anywhere right now. For more information, read Ear Training: Suggested CDs.

Autumn Moon Festival!

Tonight's the night. It is supposed to be cloudy here. I hope you are with loved ones and can see the moon better where you are. The moon was already gorgeous last night. If you want to see all I have to say on this holiday visit my Mid-Autumn Festival site.

"Sisters In Shanghai" arrived here!

We must be one of the first to receive our copy of volume 4 of the Autumn Jade series - it was just back from the printers days ago.

We've enjoyed Steve Whan's Autumn Jade mysteries and I expect that someone will disappear for a few hours to start reading. The heroine is a girl adopted from China living in North America, and the reading level is probably "8 - 12 years old". I am not sure if he rated it.

If you want to learn more, or order copies -- for you or perhaps a library near you, go to the Autumn Jade Publishing website http://www.autumnjade.com/ There is a price break if you buy all 4 at once. My relationship to them is as a satisfied customer of the books -- and someone happy to receive the weekly Focus on Culture that Steve also does. (I was surprised to realize that I've been receiving that since before October 2004!)

Book 4: "Sisters of Shanghai", the story...

"Autumn Jade returns to Shanghai with her parents to complete the adoption of her little sister, Lucie. During a site-seeing trip to Old Shanghai, her parents are kidnapped. It's up to Autumn and Lucie to find their parents, uncover the treasure hidden in the Shanghai Museum and for Autumn to confront her nemesis." (Autumn Moon Publishing)

A fine source for books - Shen's Books

Shen's Books is a publisher and resource for children’s books that promote cultural understanding. Their specialties include Cinderella tales from around the world, Asian and Latin American cultures, and immigrant lives in America. (and they have their own blog too now.)

Their latest catalog is being delivered now.

I think highlights include:
The Day the Dragon Danced by Kay Haugaard and Carolyn Reed Barritt (A truly muti-ethnic story about an African American girl who goes to the Chinese New Year parade to see her father dance in the dragon. Ages 4-8) You know how I love to see more Chinese New Year books so I am looking forward to that.


American Born Chinese by Gene Yang (Highly publicized graphic novel about the trials of growing up different. For ages 10 & up)

One Year in Beijing by Grace Lin (8-year-old Ling Ling shows us around her city, one month at a time. Ages 6 - 10)

I have bought books from them but have no relationship besdis satisfied customer.

Mid-Autumn Festival on October 6th

I am having a hard time believing that it is suddenly just a over a week away. We are not ready yet here. (Just a couple of days ago, my son asked "is it still summer?" and I realized that it was the Autumnal Equinox!)

I would love to hear any stories about going into the schools and sharing information on the festival. There are enough resources for at least preschool and lower elementary on my Mid-Autumn Festival site. If you are doing Chinese crafts, there are also ideas on my Chinese New Year site, but do save some for the new year too. Upper elementary students can do (harder) Chinese knots, more complex paper cuts and origami, and more cooking. I have some "research ideas" for them too.

I am especially wondering what the parents of "older children" are doing. Some of us have been going into the schools once or twice a year to do "Chinese festivals and culture" for a few years now -- and if you have not moved, you may be presenting to many of the same children too!

China's Linese site grows

The Linese site that China launched this summer has grown.

There are cultural bits, personal photos and blogs (some in Chinese, some in English), in addition to characters and language learning helps. A new link is to "Chengo" Chinese learning.

I love this Linese blogger's Great Wall picture.

Autumn Jade Book 4 is at the printers!

Steve Whan has announced that "Sisters of Shanghai" the fourth Autumn Jade Mystery is now at the printers. They expect to have the latest novel back by September 24th, 2006 (and are presently taking advance orders through their web site: http://www.autumnjade.com/ ).

The story...

Autumn Jade returns to Shanghai with her parents to complete the adoption of her little sister, Lucie. During a site-seeing trip to Old Shanghai, her parents are kidnapped. It's up to Autumn and Lucie to find their parents, uncover the treasure hidden in the Shanghai Museum and for Autumn to confront her nemesis.

We like this series. The main character is a girl adopted from China who solves a mystery a book. The reading level is probably "ages 8 - 12". Since the book is coming from Canada, the postage is a bit higher than you might expect but we think it is worthwhile.

Steve Whan creates the (weekly?) collection of China news that is appropriate for children - Focus On China - that I have mentioned before.

Dumpling Photo Recipe

Someone just told me about a fun site that has "photo recipes". Their favorite was for dumplings and dipping sauce. The site has the recipe - and step-by-step photos of Jen, a self-described "foodie" making her grandmother's recipe.

Luckily for us, she also has five other Chinese recipes - although you will have to go most of the way down her page (and pass some beautiful desserts) to get there.

Ready for the school year?

I have found myself sorting papers and marking up my calendar, and I assume I am not the only one doing this right now!

Mid-Autumn Festival is October 6, 2006 this year. While you do want to tell your child's teacher if you are interested in going into class, this year you can let class get organized a bit before you have to say that. For a basic description, see my Mid-Autumn Festival blog. Resources can be found there too.

Chinese New Year is February 18, 2007. If you plan to do something with this, you may want to also discuss Valentine's Day plans with your child's teacher. While it is nice that the room will already be red, it could be alot of celebrating in one week. For a basic description, see my Chinese New Year blog. There are lots of classroom ideas and resources listed on the site. As soem of our chlidren are getting older, more information can be provided. There are things for the upper elementary crowd there too.

Local Chinese schools should have their schedules available soon - although they probably start classes a couple of weeks after public school does in your area.

Learning A Foreign Language

The most recent entry at the Eides' neurolearning blog is on "The Different Ways We're Wired...to Learn a Foreign Language". Researchers at the University College in London have found something that many of us have known for a while -- it is harder for some people to learn foreign languages than others.

I have not seen anything new on better ways to help people learn foreign languages in particular -- using immersion and music are still top on my list. There is a lot of research on learning styles, and certainly the "best" or easiest way for one person to learn is not the same for everyone.

I also read an older entry of the Eides "Brain of the Blogger" and it might be the motivation that I need to make more frequent entries here.

China launches Web site to teach Chinese

There is a new website to help people learn Chinese. For more detail, you can visit the site at linese.com or read the Reuters new story. It looks nice. There are alot of audiovisual links so it may be a little slow for some - especially if you are still on dialup. I think it is worth checking out.

If youa re not studying Mandarin, you may still be interest in the News page on the site. It looks like news that would be reasonable to share with children. You can reach it from the menu/list on the sidebar - or using their pull-down channel selection menu and specifiying the "news channel".

One of my favorite places for "China news for Children" is still Steve Whan's weekly Focus on China. You can see them in his archives.

Sweetest Mommy

I think this would be a lovely song to play at a naming ceremony - even if you don't know the words as it is a sweet tune. It is a common tune which can be found on a few albums available in the US and can also be heard on the internet. Sometimes it is called "Good mama" or "Mama is the best in the world". China sprout has two albums that contain this song (Chinese Children Songs (MCS034) and Popular Children Songs (MCS033)) I have it on an unlabled cassette that I got in China and on a 2 CD set with a gold cover called "Greatest Hits" where it is on CD 2 track 4

You can hear it from the following blog - under September 14, 2005. Sorry I don't have a direct link.Waiting for lauren elizabeth

The Chinese, pinyin for Mandarin, and an English translation at the end of the post. (I much prefer the first verse to the second.)

Sweetest Mommy / Good mama

世上只有媽媽好,

有媽的孩子像個寶,
tóu jìn 媽媽的懷抱
幸福享不了

世上只有媽媽好
沒媽的孩子像 gēn 草
離開 媽媽的懷抱
幸福哪裡找

Shì shàng zhǐ yǒu māma hǎo,
Yǒu mā de háizi xiàng ge bǎo,
Tóu jìn māma de huaíbào
Xìngfú xiǎng bù liǎo.

Shì shàng zhǐ yǒu māma hǎo,
Méi mā de háizi xiàng gēn cǎo,
Lí kāi māma de huáibào
Xìngfú nǎ lǐ zhǎo.

[Having a] mother is the best thing in the word
Children with a mother are like precious treasures,
Being held in Mom’s arms is to enjoy endless happiness.

Mom is the best thing in the world.
Children without a mother are helpless as a blade of grass.
[without a mother]
There is no happiness to be found.

I do not usually give out untested sites, but here are some possibilities:
You may be able to hear it here & download it from:
http://www.tussah.com/lara/mamasong/index.html
http://www.egeli.se/mama_hao.htm

Source for "Chinese" fabrics

eQuilter.com has had nice fabrics for years, mostly 100% cotton for quilters and a selection of Chinese themed fabrics.  I have done business with this company but have no other ties. You will find Chinese (and Japanese) themed fabrics in her Asian collections.

When I have used "calligraphy" from the eQilter.com search page on her site, over 95% has been Chinese or Kanji (which is based on Chinese characters). Here's one example of a Chinese character fabric or search on Chinese New Year and you may see a Chinese New Year fabric. She does have other Chinese-themed fabrics too and usually quite a selection featuring dragons!  The koi fabric is one of my favorites.

Asian gifts - you do not have to sew at all to enjoy & use these:
http://equilter.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html?catid=289

Their adoption story of traveling to China in April 2003 to adopt their daughter can be found on the Luana Travelogue at equilter.com

Her "Memoirs of China" collection for Robert Kaufman Fabrics was inspired by that same trip to China, especially the design of the little Chinese girls!
http://equilter.com/cgi-bin/s.pl?k=kamch

... and 10% of the design royalties go to charities that help these kids, such as
www.smiletrain.org
www.halfthesky.org

Last updated: April 2007

Muzzy in Mandarin!

I have wished for this for many years and wrote to BBC at least once about this - but now it is here. The Muzzy Langauge Learning program from BBC is now available in Mandarin! They have translated their award winning program into Mandarin. It is not cheap and I have not seen the written materials that go with it - but I can not think of any better program. For more information see the Early Advantage website.

It is also available through ChinaSprout.

I have done business with Early Advanatge and ChinaSprout and been satisfied with both companies. I have not other tie to either company.

Dragon (Boat) Festival

I read of one school in the USA that is going to celebrate Chinese New Year, the Dragon Festival and the Moon Festival (a.k.a Mid-Autumn Festival) all on the same day instead of concentrating on Chinese New Year this year. I have no idea why. Sounds confusing to me!

The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on 5/5 lunar and is the 3rd most important Chinese holiday of the year. In 2006, it was May 31st and it will be Tuesday, June 19th in 2007 but in America, many communities hold their dragon boat races later in the year.

My theory is that it can still be pretty cool in May and a delay gives the teams more time to practice. (The 2007 races in New Jersey, USA are June 2nd and October 7th so perhaps my theory needs some work.)

St. Paul is already getting ready for this year's Dragon Boat races in July 2007.

Dragon Boat Coloring Page

MTV Chinese!

You can now get MTV Chinese through Direct TV.
For more information, see http://www.mtvchi.com/contact/

You will have to decide whether this is appropriate for your family at this time, but listening to more Chinese certainly fits in with the ear training and exposure theory. And I believe that if subtitles are available, that would be a wonderful addition.

For samples of what might be available - and at least today - to vote on what you want to see on MTV Chi, go to:
http://www.mtvchi.com/

Spring Equinox 2006

For the Northern Hermisphere this year, spring will be here on March 20th! That is this year's spring or vernal equinox for the Northern Hemisphere this year. That will also start the half-month called Chunfen(春分, Spring Equinox) and the following solar term is Qingming(清明, Pure Brightness).

Students - Did anyone recognize the "chun" (spring) character? and "ming" or bright? Can you see the sun and moon characters that combine to make the character "ming"?

Would you have guessed we are in the third solar term now, "The Waking of Insects"? You may want to read more about Solar Terms.

Chinese New Year Songs

I (teach and) sing two different Chinese New Year songs with groups. One is:
Xin nian kuai le, Gong xi fa cai,
Xin nian kuai le, Gong xi fa cai,
Xin nian dao.

For the other, I teach the chorus and sing the verse myself. The chorus is just:

Gong xi, Gong xi, Gong xi ni,
A, Gong xi, Gong xi, Gong xi ni,

Chinese for Families has a pdf for a Chinese New Year song posted on their website but I can't find the tune.

To hear a lovely (although nontraditional) Chinese New Year song, visit.
http://www.nancymusic.com/Gunghayplay.htm

I am looking for the tune to this Happy New Year song - anyone?

Mandarin

Zhengyue chu-yi guo xin nian
Dajia tonglai guo xin nian
Huan huan xixi guo xin ninan
Da jia qu bai nian
Qi ba long dong qiang dong qiang
Da jia qu bai nian.

English Translation

The first of January is New Year
All of us enjoy the New Year
Everyone is happy when New Year comes
Visiting friends, wishing everyone the best,
Lighting firecrackers everywhere,
We are enjoying the New Year.

Child-friendly Celebration - Feb. 2006

The Morris County library and Chinese Community invites you to a (drop-in)

Chinese New Year Celebration
Saturday, February 11, 2006, 1 – 4 p.m.

• Music- Instrumental music (Chinese instruments)
• Games- chess, go, mahjong
• Chinese lantern riddle
• Crafts- paper cutting, origami
• Art- Chinese painting demonstration by Wei-Cheng Sheu & Yi-Hsun Yu
• Calligraphy (will be done on dog-shaped bookmarks)
• Face painting -- Peking opera face coloring
• Potpourri ornaments (Chinese style)

This is at least the third year for this event at this location, and every year they add new things. Drop by!

Morris County Library, 30 East Hanover Ave, Whippany, NJ 07981

If you want to see it on their calendar, see: http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/spring.html

For directions, see: http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/compass.html

Finger Counting

At least once a year, some class of Musical Mandarin does finger counting. Now I have found someone who has photos online.
http://www.laputanlogic.com/articles/2004/05/11-0001.html
We use the same hand gestures for 1 - 8. The '9' that I have seen is very different and I know at least two ways to show ten with one hand.

You may also want to check out this reference. To me it looks very much like what some of my Indian friends' mothers used to do when counting.
http://www.andysav.free-online.co.uk/multicultural%20China.htm

Chinese New Year Party

Come and see what Musical Mandarin can be like:
Friday, February 10th 2006, 1 - 2 p.m.
celebrate the Year of the Dog with us in Morris Plains, NJ.

For more information, just email mus-mandarin@wubison.com

4704 is Coming

Chinese New Year is January 29th, 2006.
The Kitchen God reports to heaven on the past year on January 23rd.
I hope this finds you & yours all well.

It's that time of year: Your child's teacher may ask you at any moment to come in and "do something" for Chinese New Year. Your children may start asking questions about the holiday - or you may wonder if it is time (again) to really start cleaning. I updated my Chinese New Year site with a bit about dragons, and most recently with a list of CNY activities for children which you can find at:
http://cny.blogspot.com/2006/01/childrens-cny-crafts-and-activities.html

I also posted some project-type questions for older children. If they just got the "write about some holiday" topic, this might come in handy:
http://cny.blogspot.com/2006/01/research-for-older-children.html

I have a pdf file of a lunar calendar for 2006 showing the phase of the moon for each day of the year. If you want one, just email me. It fits on one page and is always a big hit when I show it to children. (I just like the way it looks.)

Information on ideas for "doing" Chinese New Year at school remains at:
http://cny.blogspot.com/2005/01/chinese-new-year-ideas-for-school.html

As ever, if you have any questions on Chinese New Year, I will try to find an answer for them.

Solstice Picture

This Astronomy Picture of the Day for 21 December 2005 might be helpful in explaining how the daylight is longer and shorter. "Sunrise by Season" shows the sun rising in a Greece today at Summer Solstice, Equinox, and Winter Solstice.