Happy Chinese New Year from Reception. The children were told the story of the Chinese Zodiac, and we looked at how Chinese New Year is celebrated. We explored the celebration throughout our provision areas. We decorated lanterns, created dragon masks, retold the story of 'The Great Race' and more. The children even used their increasing phonological awareness to independently write the names of each of the animals included in the story.

In our class, including myself, we are either born in the year of the rat or the year of the ox, and it is believed that those born in the year of the rat are clever and those born in the year of the ox are patient. The children enjoyed learning all about their year/animal and were fantastic at remembering the order that the animals finished in the race, including the poor cat who didn't get a year. To especially celebrate the Year of the Horse, the children coloured in and designed posters and created tangram horses.