Celebrating Chinese New Year Across Our Early Learning Centres
At Barnardos Early Learning, we love celebrating the rich mix of cultures in our hapori (community). Chinese New Year is one of the most important traditional celebrations in Chinese culture, symbolising family, joy, and new beginnings. It’s a time to honour traditions, welcome luck and prosperity, and connect with loved ones. Our centres marked the occasion with fun, creativity, and plenty of learning for tamariki.
Pakuranga tamariki were mesmerised by a special performance from the local Chinese Association. They clapped along and joined in the excitement, soaking up the music, movement, and vibrant colours. Dressed in their own Chinese outfits, tamariki explored red paintings and made fans alongside their kaiako. These experiences helped them understand the cultural significance of the celebration while having lots of creative fun.
Porirua tamariki enjoyed learning about the colours and patterns of Chinese flags, the meanings behind them, and making their own creations. They dressed in festive red and gold, practised eating dumplings and fried rice with chopsticks, and crafted Chinese hats and fans. They were also gifted red envelopes which symbolise good luck, prosperity, and happiness (kaiako put a gold chocolate coin inside each envelope).
At Turua, our little chefs got hands-on experience making dumplings to celebrate. Tamariki helped shape the dumplings, then carefully boiled and fried them, enjoying the delicious smells of the kitchen. With guidance from kaiako to stay safe around the hot oil, the dumplings were ready just in time for afternoon kai. Everyone got to taste their creations, and some tamariki were eager for seconds! It was a tasty, fun, and hands-on way to learn about tradition and teamwork.
Māngere tamariki fully embraced the spirit of Chinese New Year with creativity, movement, and music. They worked together to paint and create a vibrant lion face before performing their own lion dance, with some tamariki taking on the important role of drummers to bring the performance to life. The energy, teamwork was contagious!
The celebrations also included enjoying dumplings and other festive kai together, giving tamariki the chance to experience new flavours and share in the joy of eating together. Some tamariki visited the local library to take part in community celebrations, making it a full week of stories, art, performance, and cultural learning for both tamariki and kaiako.
Across our centres, Chinese New Year was a chance for tamariki to explore new traditions, try new foods, express their creativity, and celebrate with friends and kaiako. These experiences encourage curiosity, cultural awareness, and a sense of belonging, all at the heart of learning through play at Barnardos Early Learning.
