Our Chinese New Year Celebration

Our class was fortunate enough to be treated to some tasty traditional Chinese candy first thing in the morning on Monday. Savannahri brought us our sweet treats and Cory explained the significance of eating something sweet first thing in the morning for Chinese New Year. Savannahri also brought a small lion dancing puppet to share with us as well. The following day, on Tuesday, Cory brought a larger version of a lion. Some of us had fun trying it on and we were treated to a short lion dance around the class. We learned a lot about the Chinese culture and enjoyed celebrating together.

Chinese New Year by Cory

"Gong Xi Fa Cai, Xin Nian Kuai Le!" It means "Best wishes for great wealth and prosperity for the New Year!" Chinese New Year is also known as the Lunar New Year.  It usually falls between the 20th of January and the 20th of February.  This year's Chines New Year falls on the 23rd of January.  It is the year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac sign.  The Chinese Zodiac is based on a 12-year cycle with each year represented by an animal sign.  It starts with Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. I am a horse.

My family and I celebrate Chinese New Year because of my heritage.  I am half Chinese and half Caucasian.  Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days.  Friends and family visit each other during this time.

Things we do to get ready for Chinese New Year are clean the whole house to sweep out the old and bring in the New Year.  Buy new clothes, decorations, calligraphy, candles, tangerines, red envelopes, and plants. Get a new haircut and finish homework.

We usually take a trip to Chinatown to see the calligrapher to write special wishes for us to usher in the New Year.  In Chinatown, we watch the Dragon and Lion dances.  There were firecrackers going off at night at many stores.  they are clearing the way for good like to come pouring in their store.  There are many stalls set up along the streets where Gau (sticky cake), and freshly made candied fruits.  My favorite is the dried strawberry, pineapple, and mango...yum!

Reunion dinner is a very big part of celebrating Chinese New Year. It is celebrated on the eve of the New Year, and many family members will try to fly back from wherever they may be to eat dinner together.  My family and I go out to a Chinese restaurant to have dinner.  We had noodles for longevity, fish for abundance, and a sizzling platter.  To wrap up, we had fortune cookies.

On the first day of Chinese New Year, the first thing we did was eat something sweet to insure we have a whole year of sweet life.  In many parts of Asia, during the first and second day of Chinese New Year, people don't have to go to work because it is a public holiday for them, but here it is not a holiday. We still have to go to work or school.

Bike Ed Fun

Today we had our Bike Ed adventure. On our adventure we went around the entire neighborhood and up and down our Running Club track. We only had a few minor accidents, but we were fine.  We started Bike Ed on Monday. We had Bike Ed so that we could learn about bike safety, especially for when we're riding around our neighborhood.

All of the bikes we rode this week were called diamondbacks. They were silver and black.  We were wearing helmets and vests so that drivers could see us more easily.  We also wore shoes to protect our feet.  We had so much fun this week during Bike Ed, we wish we could do this everyday!

Written by: Cory, Kailee, Keoki, Jaden, and Joseph

Worm Progress

Today was such a fun day with the worms.  They have been growing over time.  The worms do not like the light so they hide under newspaper.  During Winter Break, the custodians helped us by watering the worms.  The worms have also been making babies. We take turns to take care of them as our responsibilities.  We tried putting in a whole orange to see how long it would take the worms to eat it. We also noticed that plants have started growing in our vermicast. That's really exciting! Overall the worms have been doing good and growing well.  We are so proud.

Written by: Adaora, Marcell, Savannahri, Vaepo, and Alize

 Baby Worms!

 Feeding the worms some old fruits and vegetables. 

The plants are growing!