Welcome to the Year of the Wood Horse

The year of the snake is quickly becoming a thing of the past. The Chinese New Year begins January 31, 2014 and welcomes in the year of the Wood Horse. The horse ranks seventh in the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac.

Lucky Money Envelopes

Lucky money is placed in special red envelopes and given as gifts for the new year. If you order certain chocolates, you can even receive some special lucky money envelopes for the Year of the Horse with your order. You do have to fill the envelopes yourself.

Some of our friends visited Malaysia earlier in January where the Chinese New Year celebration had already begun. Here's a photo from their visit showing the incredible decor:

Celebrating the Chinese New Year in Malaysia

During the Chinese New Year celebration, parades complete with dancers and dragons are commonplace. So is the color red. Let your students help decorate your classroom with streams of red paper decorations. Hang them from your doorway and from the ceiling.

If you have students who speak languages other than English in your classroom, let them make flashcards for numbers in their own language as well as in English. Post them around your room or hang them mobile-style (one - dos - un - eins - 1) from your windows or ceiling. Here's an example of some Chinese writing.

You may want to bring a sampler of Chinese food or almond cookies for your students to try. (Make sure none of your students have nut allergies.)

Read a few Confucius sayings. Confucius was a Chinese philosopher born in 551 B.C. You can read his 499 sayings in 21 languages including Chinese and English at http://www.confucius.org/main01.htm Here are a few of his wise sayings:
"Do not be concerned about others not appreciating you.
Be concerned about your not appreciating others."

"Exploring the old and deducing the new makes a teacher."

"Action takes precedence over words." (What saying does this sound like? "Actions speak louder than words.")

Then let your students write some of their own sayings, Confucius style.

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Excel Math is fully aligned to the Common Core and to state standards. Download correlations.

Excel Math can help students stay on top of their math skills and get ready for spring testing.

Some parents purchase the Excel Math Intersession Edition (at just $6.95 per student) to give their students extra review and practice in the new year. This six-week product is a great way to help students build confidence and refresh their math skills before assessments.