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!

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.

The Chinese New Year, also referred to as the Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday celebration that stretches for 15 days and more.   It’s more than just celebrating a new beginning, it’s a celebration of hope, renewal, and gratitude.  When you teach your child about the Chinese New Year, you broaden their perspective about the world and acceptance of different cultures. You can celebrate the Chinese New Year with your children with many fun hands-on activities. 

Chinese audiobooks are one of the best ways to immerse your child in a Chinese-rich learning environment.  Like storybooks, audiobooks take your child on a journey of explorations with animated voices and sounds.  Not only that, they help your child get better at reading Chinese and you can access these audiobooks instantly from websites and apps.  Exposure to different narrators also gives your child an opportunity to see how a storyteller can bring a story to life with tones, articulations, pacing, and cadence.

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.