Chinese New Year 2022: Year of the Water Tiger

Painted by Gai Qipie
1660-1734

2022 is the Year of the Water Tiger in the Chinese New Year. “The Tiger is the third sign of the Chinese Zodiac and is thought of as Ruler of the beasts on Earth. It is believed that a person born in the year of the Tiger is courageous, optimistic, tolerant, and generous. They can expect a long life, and were born to command, not to obey.”
https://www.tigerstealive.com/tiger-who-came-to-tea-blog/tigers-what-they-mean-in-chinese-culture/

- The tiger is one of the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals.
- Tigers represent royalty in eastern Asia. In fact, the marking on the tiger’s forehead looks very similar to the Chinese character that is
translates to the English word 'King.' Therefore, the tiger has been dubbed the King of the Animals.
- The White Tiger represents the west of China as well as the season  of autumn. It is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese Constellation.
- They are the national animals of Malaysia, South Korea, Bangladesh, and India.
- Because of its stalking and hunting abilities, the tiger was used to
   represent the highest army general in the armies of Imperial China.
   https://www.tigers.org.za/tigers-in-culture-and-folklore.html

STORIES

Anansi Claims His Fame – West Africa
https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/2000/06-25/0087_tell_me_a_story__anansi_claims_hi.html

Anansi, Firefly, and Tiger - India
https://mocomi.com/indian-folk-tales-anansi-firefly-and-tiger/

The Fox and the Tiger - China
https://www.worldoftales.com/Asian_folktales/Chinese_Folktale_26.html#gsc.tab=0

The Goat that Ate Tigers – West Bengal
https://booksameya.in/the-goat-that-ate-tigers/

How the Tiger Got Its Strength - Khasi
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/07/khasi-how-tiger-got-his-strength.html

How the Tiger Got Its Stripes – South America
https://www.scribd.com/document/152782463/HOW-THE-TIGER-GOT-ITS-STRIPS-South-American-Folktale

The Legend of How Tiger Became a Chinese Zodiac
http://en.chinaculture.org/focus/focus/2010spring/2010-01/26/content_367588.htm

The Nodding Tiger - China
https://www.worldoftales.com/Asian_folktales/Chinese_Folktale_8.html#gsc.tab=0

The Tiger and the Monkeys - Khasi
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/07/khasi-tiger-and-monkeys.html

Tiger Aunt: Beware of Strangers – Taiwan
https://islandfolklore.com/tiger-aunt/

The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal – Eastern India
https://www.worldoftales.com/Asian_folktales/Indian_folktale_9.html#gsc.tab=0

The Tiger’s Mistake – Malaysia
https://elfinspell.com/FolkloreCollections/Skeat-FablesAndFolk-Tales/Fable-9.html

Tiger Returns the Favor
https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/6017

The Tiger’s Whisker – Korea
https://www.eagle.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/The%20tiger's%20whisker%20korean%20folktale.p

The White Tiger - Korea
https://storiestogrowby.org/story/white-tiger/

Why the Tiger and Stag Fear Each Other - Brazil
https://fairytalez.com/tiger-stag-fear/

2010 Year of the Tiger – My previous blog post when 2010 was the Year of the Tiger.
https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2009/12/2010-year-of-tiger.html

BOOKS

24 Wonderful Chinese Folk Tales for Kids
https://www.pragmaticmom.com/2017/12/chinese-folk-tales-kids/

CRAFTS

Activity Village
https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese-new-year-crafts

Family Fun Crafts – Chinese New Year
https://funfamilycrafts.com/category/seasonal-holiday/holidays/chinese-new-year/

Red Ted Art – 11 Must Make Easy Tiger Crafts for Kids
https://www.redtedart.com/tiger-crafts-kids/

Red Ted Art – The Tiger Who Came to Tea (Complements the books of the same name.)
https://www.redtedart.com/tiger-craft-tiger-came-tea/

CURRICULUM

Tigers! A Look a Korea’s Folk Stories – Lesson plan for grades 4 – 8 offering additional stories.
https://www.koreasociety.org/images/pdf/KoreanStudies/Monographs_LessonPlans/Elementary/12%20Tigers%20A%20Look%20At%20Korea.pdf

FINGERPLAYS, SONGS, AND RYHMES

Perry Public Library – Year of the Tiger
Songs, rhymes and more for the preschool set.
file:///C:/Users/Story/Documents/MicrosoftWord-Karen/LAPSIT%20PROGRAM%20RESOURCES%20AND%20ARTICLES/Year%20of%20the%20Tiger.pdf

RECIPES

20 Chinese New Year Foods That Will Bring You Good Fortune
https://www.delish.com/entertaining/g438/chinese-new-year-food/

SOMETHING EXTRA

Tigers are revered in many diverse cultures. The sites below offer information from several locations.

Chinese Zodiac  Tiger Symbolism
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/tiger-chinese-zodiac-sign-symbolism.htm

The Siberian Tiger and the Country of Tiger Tales – Interesting background information, including two stories, The Tiger and Dried Persimmons and The Matching Mountain Spirit. https://www.asianstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/the-siberian-tiger-and-the-country-of-tiger-tales.pdf

Taming the Year of the Tiger
https://studycli.org/chinese-zodiac/year-of-the-tiger/

Tigers Place in Korean Folklore
https://gogohanguk.com/en/blog/the-tigers-in-korean-folktales/

 

 

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links. At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2021 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I appreciate your support and personal integrity.

March Comes in Like a Lion: Folktales That Roar!

The Lion and the Lamb
by
William Strutt Peace, 1896

There is an old saying, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” so I thought would share some stories about lions.

We are a bit weary of the snow here in Massachusetts, as are many others around the United States, so here’s hoping the lamb (pleasant weather) is just around the corner!

STORIES

Androcles and the Lion – Greece 
https://storiestogrowby.org/story/androcles-the-lion/

The Ape, the Snake, and the Lion – Tanzania
https://www.wattpad.com/609806226-the-african-folktale-collection-of-tales-completed

The Flying Lion – South Africa 
https://www.worldoftales.com/African_folktales/African_Folktale_22.html#gsc.tab=0

Dinner of the Lion – Africa  
https://www.english-for-students.com/Dinner-of-The-Lion.html

The Hare and the Lion – Africa

http://www.worldoftales.com/African_folktales/African_Folktale_40.html

The Hunter and the Lion – Aesop
http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/perry/326.htm

The Immoderate Lion – Yoruba
https://adebayoadegbite.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/folktales-wednesday-the-immoderate-lion/

The Lily and the Lion – Grimm

http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/175/grimms-fairy-tales/3137/the-lily-and-the-lion/

The Lion and the Crane - India

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ift/ift02.htm

Lion and Jackal – Africa  
https://www.worldoftales.com/African_folktales/African_Folktale_4.html#gsc.tab=0

The Lion and the Mouse - Greece

http://www.aesopfables.com/cgi/aesop1.cgi?3&TheLionandtheMouse

The Lion and the Wolf – South Africa  
https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=barker&book=folktales&story=lion

The Lion in the Water – Twelve cultural variants from D.L. Ashliman  
https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0092.html

The Lion Who Was Made Tsar – Ukraine   

https://en.derevo-kazok.org/folk-tales/ukrainian-folk-tales/the-lion-who-was-made-tsar-ukrainian-folk-tale.html

The Lion’s Enchantment – Spain

https://www.storiestogrowby.org/story/lions-enchantment/ 

The Lion’s Share – India
http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/saft/sft22.htm 

Lion and Jackal- South Africa
http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/saft/sft14.htm

Lion’s Share – South Africa  
https://sacred-texts.com/afr/saft/sft22.htm

The Lion’s Whisker – Africa  
https://africa.mrdonn.org/lion.html

Sister Fox – Ukraine
https://russian-crafts.com/russian-folk-tales/sister-fox-brother-wolf.html

Story of Lion and Little Jackal – South Africa  
https://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/saft/sft16.htm

Why Does Lion Roar? – Angola

http://angolarising.blogspot.com/2010/03/african-folklore-why-does-lion-roar.html

ACTIVITIES

From Candlewick Books Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen: A Story Hour Guide and Event Kit - Perfect for teachers and librarians offering a lapsit program for the younger children. Fingerplays, crafts and book suggestions, post reading activities and more. http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763622621.kit.1.pdf

First School – Lion Theme Preschool Activities and Crafts
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/animals/wild/lion.htm

BOOKS

20 Best Lion Books of All Time
https://bookauthority.org/books/best-lion-books

All About Lions – Books for parents and children to read online. Created by a teacher.
https://www.getepic.com/collection/953655/all-about-lions

CRAFTS

Children Care Lounge – There is so much more here than crafts. Songs, movement activities, and snacks are offered as well.

https://childcarelounge.com/pages/jungle-and-rainforest-theme-and-activities?srsltid=AfmBOoowQ2AJNFQejAJtbegS0Kp-Pz9KQEQ_Yn58X4JSSsKi3Ki8amLe

DLTK – Lots of lion crafts for the young ones, including masks, paper bag puppets and more.

http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/jungle-lions.html 

Emma Owl – 30+ Lion Crafts for Kids
https://emmaowl.com/30-lion-art-crafts-for-kids/

CURRICULUM

Bright Hub Education – 32 Rip-Roaring Animal Lesson Plans to Make Your Students Go Wild!
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/preschool-lesson-plans/125540-jungle-animal-lesson/

The Lion and the Mouse – Lesson plan to complement the Aesop fable of the same name.
http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit63/lesson2.html

SONGS

123 Curriculum – Jungle Fun: Songs, Rhymes and Fingerplays – Lots of fun for the wee ones here, including Going On a Lion Hunt.

https://123learncurriculum.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Jungle-Fun-Songs-Poems-and-Fingerplays.pdf

SOMETHING EXTRA

Catch the Storybug: The Wayward Wind - Stories about the wind, curriculum, crafts and more.
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2011/03/the-wayward-wind-folktales-for-march.html

 

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links. At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2011 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper, is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com or karenchace.stories@gmail.com.  Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page, or Twitter please feel free to do so; I appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Celebrate the New Year in Style with the Small Ones

Father Time
by
Edmund Dulac, 1906

Last year I offered a lapsit program to celebrate the New Year. Listed below are the fingerplays, songs and story stretchers I used in the program. These are found all over the Internet without attribution so please to feel free to use them in your work.

I hope you will find something to use with your little ones.  If you do, please let me know how much fun you had!



FINGERPLAYS/ACTION RHYMES

January

January's a very cold month,
Shiver, shiver, shiver, (Hug yourself and pretend to shiver.)
Button up and cover your ears, (Pretend to button coat: cover ears with your hands.)
Or quiver, quiver, quiver. (Shake all over)

Five Little Snowmen (Tune: Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed)

Five little snowmen riding on a sled,
One fell off and bumped his head,
Frosty called the doctor and the doctor said,
No more snowmen riding on that sled!

Count down from four to one…

No more snowmen riding on the sled

Mother but them all to bed!

SONG

Cheer the Year (Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Cheer, cheer, cheer the year,
A new one's just begun.
Celebrate with all your friends,
Let's go have some fun!
Clap, clap, clap your hands,
A brand-new year is here.
Learning, laughing, singing, clapping,
Through another year.

STORY STRETCHERS

The People on the Bus (Tune: The Wheels on the Bus)

Oh, the people on the bus wear party hats,
Party hats, party hats. (Children place hands together in a point over their heads)
Oh, the people on the bus wear party hats,
All through the town.

Oh, the people on the bus are blowing horns,
Blowing horns, blowing horns. (Children place fist over their mouth)
Oh the people on the bus are blowing horns,

All through the town.

Oh, the people on the bus say, “Happy New Year”,
“Happy New Year”, “Happy New Year”.
Oh, the people on the bus say, “Happy New Year”,
All through the town.

A New Year Has Begun (Tune: If You're Happy and You Know It)

A new year has begun -- clap your hands! {clap} {clap}
A new year has begun -- clap your hands! {clap} {clap}
A new year has begun; a new year has begun.
A new year has begun -- clap your hands! {clap} {clap}

A new year has begun -- stomp your feet! {stomp} {stomp}
A new year has begun -- stomp your feet! {stomp} {stomp}

A new year has begun; a new year has begun.
A new year has begun -- stomp your feet! {stomp} {stomp}

A new year has begun -- give a shout! HURRAH!
A new year has begun -- give a shout! HURRAH!
A new year has begun; a new year has begun.
A new year has begun -- give a shout! HURRAH!
A new year has begun -- give a shout!

  
For additional New Year’s Day resources visit Preschool Express. http://www.preschoolexpress.com/music_station05/music_station_jan05.shtml 

SONGS

New Year’s Day (To the tune of Jingle Bells)

New Year’s Day, New Year’s Day,
Comes but once a year.

On New Year’s Eve we celebrate,
And ring it in with cheer!

New Year’s Day, New Year’s Day
Comes but once a year.

On New Year’s Eve we celebrate
And ring it in with cheer!

Ring the Bells (Give each child a bell.)

Ring ring ring the bells,
Ring them loud and clear.
Let’s tell everyone around
That the New Year is here!

BOOKS

We Are Teachers - A lovely list of children’s books to celebrate the New Year.
https://www.weareteachers.com/new-years-eve-books/

CRAFTS

Care.com - 16 New Year’s crafts for kids to help get the party started
https://www.care.com/c/new-years-crafts-for-kids/

Redtedart.com - Several cute, easy and inexpensive crafts for the small ones.

https://www.redtedart.com/new-years-eve-crafts/

SOMETHING EXTRA

Enchanted Learning – Say Happy New Year in many languages.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/calendar/newyear.shtml

Fun Family Time for New Year’s Eve
https://moremomma.com/kids-new-years-eve-party/

Karen Chace 2013 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Gentle Giants Among Us - Elephants in Legend and Lore




The Pearl of the Elephant
by Edmund Dulac c. 1920

While researching upcoming holidays I found out that September 22 is Elephant Appreciation Day. The Ashanti of Ghana relate that an elephant is a human chief from the past. When they find a dead elephant in the forest, they give him a proper chief's burial.

The founder of this celebration is Wayne Hepburn, of Mission Media. It began when he received a paperweight of elephants on parade from his daughter as a gift. To learn more about his mission visit his website . You will find information, crafts, lesson plans and more!

My friend's son Jadiel adores elephants and is a frequent visitor at the Buttonwood Park Zoo to visit Emily the Elephant. Recently, I bought him a pink elephant watering can for his small raised garden at my sister's house. When I gave it to him he hugged it close and said, "I love elephants!"

So here is my new blog post for the week, in honor of  sweet, kind and caring Jadiel, and his love for these magnificent creatures. 

  

• The elephant is the largest land mammal in the world.
• Both males and females have tusks, but the males tend to be larger.
• The gestation period for a female elephant is 22 months!
• Other females in the herd are protective toward all newborn elephants.
• Baby elephants are always in the middle of the herd for protection.
• The cool themselves down elephants will pump more blood to its ears and flap them around.
• They have children up to fifty years old.
• The elephant's trunk has over 100,000 muscles units.
• They can live up to 70 years old or more.
 

The above information was found at the following website:

http://elephant.elehost.com/About_Elephants/about_elephants.htm http://www.travelbutlers.com/safari/wildlife-guide/elephant.asp

STORIES

And Elephants Did Fly - Southern Orissa, India

http://www.pitara.com/talespin/folktales/online.asp?story=28

The Blind Man and the Elephant - India

http://www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/blind_men_elephant.html

The Elephant and the Dog – Bhutan

http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-folktales/jataka-tales/elephant-and-dog.html

The Elephant and the Mahout – Magadha/Ancient India

http://www.4to40.com/folktales/index.asp?p=The_Elephant_and_the_Mahout

Elephant and Tortoise – South Africa

http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/saft/sft31.htm

Fearing the Wind - Indiahttp://spiritoftrees.org/fearing-the-wind
How the Elephant Got His Tusks - Africa

http://www.travelbutlers.com/safari/wildlife-guide/folklore-tusks.asp

The Tortoise and the Elephant - Nigeria

http://allfolktales.com/wafrica/tortoise_and_elephant.php

The Tortoise Captures the Elephant - Africa

http://allfolktales.com/wafrica/tortoise_captures_eleph.php

The Elephants Nose – India

http://www.pitara.com/talespin/folktales/online.asp?story=68

Story-lovers.com – More elephant information than you can shake your trunk at!

http://www.story-lovers.com/listselephantstories.html

BOOKS

The Best Kid’s Booksite – A list of books suitable for children, all featuring elephants.

http://www.thebestkidsbooksite.com/storydetails.cfm?TopicID=67

CURRICULUM

 

The Blind Man and the Elephant
(story above)
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/lesson-plans/blind-men-and-elephant/

The Elephant Sanctuary – Two units focusing on the study of elephants offering teaching and learning activities for children grades K-8 consisting of  72 pages of instruction, background information, charts and graphs, activities, etc. http://www.elephants.com/curriculum.php

KidsParkZ – Story starters, elephant shapes and more for young children. http://www.kidsparkz.com/elephants.html

Shape Book from ABC Can Teach

http://www.abcteach.com/free/members/15411.pdf

CRAFTS

Danielle’s Place of Crafts and Activities – Lots of fun, easy to make elephant crafts.

http://daniellesplace.com/html/ElephantCrafts.html

Elephant Puppet – For ages 3 and up. Easy craft.
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/zoowildanimals/a/blelecraft2.htm

READER’S THEATER 

The White Elephant – A play for acting out the Indian folktale along with curriculum information.

http://www.teachingsolutions.com.au/samplepages/1sp_White_El.pdf.pdf

 

RHYMES, SONGS AND FINGERPLAYS

Animal Rhymes

http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/animal-rhymes.htm

Perpetual Preschool – Elephant Songs

http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/preschool_themes/elephants/elephant_songs.htm

Animal Hokey Pokey – Featuring the elephant and animals galore!

http://www.songsforteaching.com/jackhartmann/animalhokeypokey.htm

POEM

Storyteller Susi Wolf generously shared this poem with me; I share it here with her permission.

THE BLIND ELEPHANT
by Susi Wolf 

There once was a female elephant 
Who was strong and clever. 
But one day 
She became quite ill and even though 
She recovered she was now blind. 
Being a survivor, 
She learned to walk slowly 
Using her trunk as a guide for every step. 
She taught herself how to eat, 
How to cross rivers 
How to be independent 
Within her own world of darkness. 
The other elephants noticed that 
All the young elephants stopped following 
Their own mothers and were now following 
The blind female. 
The herd grumbled among itself 
About why the foolish youngsters would 
Follow a blind creature 
Until an old male spoke, 
“Have you not noticed 
How she moves 
Through the forest with 
Confidence and strength? 
She walks with dignity and determination. 
Who would not follow such a leader?” 
And the other elephants were silent, 
Letting their youngsters go. 

Copyright, © February 2007, Susi Wolf 

Karen Chace 2011 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.