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The Chinese New Year is coming! What’s with all the sheep popping up in my Pinterest feed? Well according to the Chinese zodiac calendar, 2015 will be the year of the (Wei) – Goat or the Sheep (or Ram)!

If you know someone who was born in the following years, they belong to the year of the sheep: 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003.

So to celebrate, we decided to make a Year of The Goat Car Hanging Craft that would double up as a Gift for our “Sheep” Chinese Friends.

Chinese New Year 2015 Year of Sheep Craft

A common Chinese New Year’s greeting in Cantonese is “Gung hay fat choy,” which means “May you become prosperous.” On Chinese New Year, the themes of happiness, wealth, and longevity are celebrated. The Color Red is the symbol of prosperity and happiness. Importantly, it’s also the primary color for celebrations, especially the Lunar New Year and wedding ceremonies. You will see a lot of Red, Yellow & gold used in Chinese crafts.

Materials Needed

1. Red Craft Sticks – 3 in number
2. Double sided tape
3. Scissors
4. Yellow ( or you can use gold too) Foam for the Goat Face, Ears & Horns
5. Red Marker pen,
6. String to form a loop to make this into a car hanging
7. Bell for the bottom – You can add more than one.
8. Star stickers in Yellow or Gold.
9. Googly Eyes

To make the Chinese New Year 2015  Year of Sheep Craft – 

1. Cut one Red craft stick in half using a scissor. Adult Supervision is required.
2. On the longer Craft stick place double-sided tape dots as shown in the picture
3. Place the smaller (half-length) sticks on the top & another longer one in the middle.
4. Cut out Horn shapes using a sticky-backed foam sheet.
5. Stick them on the top to form horns. At this point, the sheep symbol is ready.
6. Cut a U-shaped face for the goat using sticky back Yellow foam again.
7. Cut out ears and paste them together
8. Stick the googly Eyes – We used sticky back tape again. But you can use Glue or even a heat glue gun.
9. Using a marker draw designs on the horns and draw the nose
10. Stick a bell to the bottom so that it gingles when its shaken.
11. Embellish with star stickers. We only had Pink ones but the Golden ones will look really nice.
12. Loop a golden string at the top and your Sheep craft is ready. Use it as is, or gift it to someone you care about.

From Tuttle Publishing, All About China: Take the whole family on a whirlwind tour of Chinese history and culture with this delightfully illustrated book that is packed with stories, activities and games. Travel from the stone age through the dynasties to the present day with songs and crafts for kids that will teach them about Chinese language and the Chinese way of life.

Also from Tuttle Publishing, Long-Long’s New Year, a beautifully illustrated picture book about a little Chinese boy named Long-Long, who accompanies his grandfather into the city to sell cabbages in order to buy food and decorations for the New Year. Selling cabbages is harder than Long-Long expects, and he encounters many adventures before he finds a way to help his grandfather, and earn New Year’s treats for his mother and little cousin.

From A Little Mandarin, a CD featuring a collection of Chinese children’s classics – songs loved by families in China for generations – given new life with a contemporary sound and voice. The 15 tracks fuse rock, pop, dance, ska, and hip hop influences with playful lyrics to make it a unique and fun learning companion for all ages. Featured on Putumayo Kids Presents World Sing-Along.

Second Prize Package

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From Tuttle Publishing, Celebrating the Chinese New Year, in which Little Mei’s grandfather tells her the stories of Nian and the monster Xi for Chinese New Year.

Also from Tuttle Publishing, The Sheep Beauty, which brings to life the kindness and generosity of those born under the sign of the sheep in the Chinese zodiac.

Also from Tuttle Publishing, Chinese Zodiac Animals, a fun and informative way to learn about the ancient Chinese Zodiac, explaining the traits of each animal sign and what luck the future might hold for the person born under that sign.

From Tiny Tapping Toes, a monkey drum, plus a free pdf of a craft version. World Music children’s performer DARIA has spent the last two decades performing in the USA and around the world, creating music to inspire all the world’s children and allowing children to become a part of the celebration and the fun of exploring world cultures.

The 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals

Chinese zodiac years begin/end at Chinese New Year (in January/February). The Chinese zodiac, or sheng xiao, refers to the circle of 12 animals that measure the cycles of time. Each year in the repeating zodiac cycle of 12 years.

Legend has it that a god beckoned all animals to bid him farewell before his departure from Earth. Only 12 of them, namely the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig arrived, with each given a place of honor in a year based on the order of arrival.

Your kids will love these fun color, cut & assemble animal headbands for the Chinese New Year; they are a perfect complement to your seasonal activities! Buy it from our shop here – CHINESE ZODIAC ANIMAL HEADBAND SET