Guess Who Made the Local News?

The whole school has been doing a PBL project about China.  The activities lead up to the Chinese New Year.  We will actually end the project on Friday with a slideshow and presentations.  First grade is creating a travel brochure.

Chinese Display

Last Thursday, we had parent volunteers help lead Chinese Stations. To introduce the festivities, I had my "twin sister from China" bring each student an orange and greet each student in Chinese (Thank you Kai-Lan).  I made a costume for the occasion, and wore my wig.  Some students really believed I was my sister.  It is interesting to know what my students think of me.  I was also impressed with how much the students were able to tell my sister about what they have been learning.

One station had students using the characters to write Chinese greetings.  In another station, the students made noise makers with tag board.  Thank goodness the noise makers didn't make noises, but the students had fun with them.  Thanks to Karen at kbkonnected, for the Fortune Cookie Creation Station, one parent was able to help students make fortune cookies with math facts. We will play a game with these tomorrow.  I helped students make fans.  The fans didn't turn out like I planned, but the students were still able to work on their fine motor skills.

Greetings on a Bamboo Matchstick Shade

Noiseless Noise Maker

Math Fact Fortune Cookie

The media coordinator worked with an international student life coordinator from a nearby private school, and students from China to set up more stations.  One student read traditional Chinese fairy tales.  Two students helped our students make Lucky Money envelopes.  Two more students wrote our names in Chinese.  Some of the characters in my name mean beauty.  They also showed a video about how Chinese families make dumplings.  They are nothing like our "southern dumplings".  :)

Directions and Characters for Lucky Money Envelopes

The newspaper reporter was tipped off by the principal that I made my costume, so she interviewed me, and took a picture.  It was also our 100th Day of School.  The other first grade class made a Dragon by using 100 paper plates for the scales.  They paraded down the hall making noises to scare away last year's bad luck.  I wish the newspaper reporter had been able to get that picture too. 

I'm sorry the newspaper picture is fuzzy.