Chinese New Year

Despite calling several weeks ago, I waited too long to make a reservation to celebrate Chinese New Year at my favorite Chinese restaurant (Yantze).

But Ms. Price and her kindergartners came through for me!  Last Thursday, they enjoyed the day in a really big way and were kind enough to invite me to the party.  

The room was bedecked in authentic Chinese décor where tall people (obviously not me…but several administrative team members) were at risk of clocking themselves in the head with several fabulous ornaments hanging from the ceiling.

The nature of my job made me late for the festivities but I was in time to see one of our resident experts (kindergartner Caleb) and his mother Jennifer passing around Chinese items for the kindergartners to handle and admire.  

Jennifer LeSuer and Makenna Benner show the students a beautiful headdress. 

There was oohing and aahing over the Chinese money.  












There were marvelous percussive sounds emanating from the passing of the bolang gu hand drum. 





Mrs. LeSuer courageously passed a fragile terracotta warrior, its slight frame a replica of the famous statues depicting the armies of the first Emperor of China.  Ms. Price wisely required her students to sit on their bottoms with "pretzel legs" for the small warrior’s perilous adventure of being delivered from one set of eager hands to the next.

The much anticipated golden dragon parade included hand decorated masks. Firecracker sounds were snapping as jubilant kindergarten feet stomped enthusiastically on the bubble wrap creatively lining the beginning of the parade route. 

Two of Ms. Price’s kindergartners have come to their forever families (and because we’re truly blessed…to us too) from the country of China.  









Caleb and Makenna were smiling broadly as they shared the land of their birth with their classmates and the visiting adults.  






Makenna’s mother Jessica read the class a story and shared a movie about the life of a child in China.  

Caleb’s mother, resplendent in her authentic Chinese garb, prepared rice and shared stories and interesting items with the class.

 Jasmine rice and mandarin oranges were being dispensed when I was unfortunately called away.  I was so sorry to miss observing the children as they attempted to eat their sticky rice with the beautiful chopsticks. 













Caleb’s mother reported that his sister Hayley (also from China) was able to eat effectively with only ONE chopstick when she joined their family a year earlier. 

Clearly the Chinese are a nimble-fingered people!  I’m told our kindergartners showed some impressive effort in their attempts to get the rice from the paper dish to their waiting mouths using only those smooth skinny sticks.  Pretty plucky for a bunch of kids raised on forks and spoons. 

It was a Penn View family affair.  Some 8^th grade friends stopped by and used their math skills to help the kindergartners create a Chinese calendar.  

Later in the day, some of the 3 year old children from the Early Childhood wing stopped by to share a story. 

Attendees received parting gifts!









So it turns out I didn’t need Paul and Ruby Chen’s wonderful vegetable lo mein to make my Chinese New Year memorable.  All I needed was a short visit to a delightful kindergarten classroom for a dose of culture, fun, and celebration.