We are kicking off October this year with a visit to the local pumpkin patch!  This weekend we went to Clancy’s Pumpkin Patch.  Every year they set up a beautiful pumpkin patch in an empty lot next to a small park.  It’s beautifully decorated with a wide range of pumpkins, scarecrows, witches, families of skeletons (with pets, too), and many more. 

The 4th of July is a monumental date in American history, it’s also one of the most fun holidays to celebrate.  Barbecues, watermelons, and fireworks are all my favorite things!  This year, go all out and celebrate with your family and friends.  And don’t just celebrate on the day of, we have plenty of printable activities that you can do to make it extra special for your kids learning Chinese.

Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day) is a very important holiday in China and Taiwan and Chinese ethnics in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. It’s a holiday that honors the dead relatives and ancestors. In a way it’s similar to Memorial Day in the US, but instead of commemorating those that served in the military, it commemorates those that passed away in your family. On Qingming Festival, families all gather at the graveyard to sweep the tombs of their ancestors and deceased relatives.

This mooncake papercraft is the perfect introduction to the world of origami!  I made this origami with my nephew of 3 and half and it was a piece of cake for him or mooncake I would say.  It’s definitely the easiest mooncake paper craft you can make with preschoolers and kindergarteners.  Not to mention that they get to learn about the Chinese character “month/moon” [月 | yuè] while they are at it!

Mother’s Day activities and crafts can be all kinds of things, from the classic handmade cards to handprinted aprons to origami flower bouquets. The possibilities are endless when it comes to Mother’s Day crafts. We had so many crafting ideas but many of them were too challenging for the kiddos. But armed with years of crafting experience, we came up with simple and open-ended crafts that kids can make to express their love for mom, in Mandarin Chinese of course!