Chinese Year of the Green Horse 2014

Chinese New Year 2014

It starts on January,31 and is celebrated for 2 weeks. This year it is a green horse which favors finances.

Happy New Year, my dear readers!

May you get rich and famous in 2014! 

 

 

Out of twelve animals (Rat, Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog, and Pig), our family's birth years are Sheep, Dog, Rat, and Rabbit. Yay, some of us are friends with a horse and will have a lucky year!

Green Horse Craft - easy and fun for my 2 year old to assemble.

1. The activity is designed for fine motor skills.
The body is a 3-inch piece of a left over tube from wrapping paper. It's thick, but I cut it easily with the knife. The 4 wholes for legs have the diameter of a drinking straw.

2. I drew the head free hand on a thick box-like cardstock, used the markers for the face, and goggle eyes. It has a slot to attach the head to the body. The legs are 4 pieces of straw to insert into the wholes without any glue.

3. The parts that make a horse a horse: a mane and a tail. I cut pieces of green wool and tied them in the middle with a piece of chenille stem. They are to insert into the premade wholes above eyes, along the neck, and at the end of the tube.

Invitation to play

First, we looked at our toy horse and discussed the horse's body parts.
Then we looked over the content of the tray and made our first horse together. Camilla is into beading now. So she loved the activity and made all the horses with no problem. Sorry, no pictures because I was finishing the manes while she worked.

Pretend Play: Horses in a stable

We used our stable from the Nativity scene. The horses went to the stable, slept, woke up, and ate some grass and hay. Then they got real happy and started galloping to the song.
The little horse's galloping, galloping
Down the country lane.
The little horse's galloping, galloping
Down the country lane.
The little horse is coming home
All tired out. (Down to sleep)
Wake up!