I am so excited to celebrate Chinese New Year in our classroom this year.  It's been a while.  But with the new Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Printable Pack I have all I need to create the most amazing unit ever!

This resource is 92 pages of incredible printables for Montessori preschool and elementary classrooms.

Today, I want to give you a preview of the math printables included and how we are using them.  Be sure to also check out all of the other Chinese New Year activities and printables we have available.

I hope you enjoy our Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Math Activities!

Before moving forward with our activities I wanted to mention that we have chosen to use the term Chinese New Year because these activities specifically focus on how the holiday is celebrated in Chinese culture.

The activities do not include a focus on other Lunar New Year celebrations around the world, especially those that do not take place on the same day.

Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Math Activities

Odd and Even Numbers

A couple of our younger students don't know the difference between odd and even numbers yet.  What fun it will be to teach them using Chinese Ingots.

Source:  This printable is part of the Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Printable Pack.

Addition with Chinese New Year Lanterns

The kiddos are huge fans of clip cards and are super eager to practice math skills right now.  These addition clip cards are perfect.  The glass beads are used as markers and Chinese lanterns used as counters.

Source: This printable is part of the Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Printable Pack.

Subtraction with Pistachios

Pistachios are often part of the Chinese New Year cuisine and given in candy boxes.  In our classroom we'll be using them to practice subtraction.  

Source: This printable is part of the Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Printable Pack.

Multiplication with Good Luck Coins

Good luck coins are often a part of Chinese New Year celebrations.  In our classroom they're going to be used to teach multiplication with these beautiful clip cards.  We're multiplying by eight, as eight is a lucky number associated with Chinese New Year.

Source: This printable is part of the Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Printable Pack.

Division with Red Envelopes

Red envelopes are given to children, relatives and friends during Chinese New Year. They contain gifts of money.  For this activity, the kiddos will divide money between the eight envelopes.

Source: This printable is part of the Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Printable Pack.

Sequencing the Days of Chinese New Year

Are you familiar with the events prior to and during Chinese New Year?  This activity is the perfect introduction.  Kiddos will match up pictures with descriptions and sequence the days of the holiday.

Source: This printable is part of the Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Printable Pack.

The math printables in the Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Printable Pack are absolutely beautiful.  They are culturally sensitive and researched.  When combined with hands on manipulatives they are unbelievable.

Get your own copy of the Montessori-inspired Chinese New Year Printable Pack today!

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Children's Books About Antarctica

 As we prepare our Antarctica activities for the classroom each winter, we continue to notice that there is no list of recommended children's books about the continent. 

(This is not to be confused with books about penguins, which are plentiful in libraries and on the Internet.) 

We'd like to remedy that problem today and introduce our favorite Children's Books about Antarctica! 

Check out the list of ten fabulous books below!

10 Children's Books About Antarctica

A Trip to the Bottom of the World is a good introduction for beginning readers to the continent of Antarctica. The artwork is done in a comic-book style by Frank Viva. 

The story follows Mouse and his human companion on a cruise to Antarctica. Mouse complains for almost the whole trip, but the reader gets to enjoy the beautiful scenery while giggling at the characters' dialogue.  

Antarctic Journal by Meredith Hooper and Lucas deLeiris is a great example of detailed, in-depth nonfiction writing combined with lifelike artwork that sets the scene perfectly.

Hooper is on assignment for National Geographic.  This book is a child-friendly account of her experiences in Antarctica.

The author brings a scientists' eye for detail and an animal lover's heart to the text. This is the best kind of nonfiction writing.

Antarctica by Helen Cowcher is another good title for beginning readers who love wildlife. The text is simple, but the focus is on the beautiful artwork. Antarctica looks alive with color and energy on every page of the book.

Antarctica by Mel Friedman provides a brief overview of all aspects of the continent for more capable readers.  Scholastic produces the True Book series, so the emphasis is on vocabulary building and covering several subject areas, including history, geography and biology.

Antarctica by Wendy Vierow is another good book for more confident readers, but this one is aimed at the student who enjoys geography. Detailed maps and charts are the main focus. The author provides simple explanations for how to read maps.

The photographs inside are also very helpful, and fit this book better than paintings would. This book is part of a seven book series on the continents.

Here is Antarctica By Madeleine Dunphy with art by Tom Leonard is more poetic than any of the previous books we have reviewed so far.

The text is in the style of the song about the old woman who swallowed a fly. It builds one line per page, accompanied by the beautiful artwork of animal life and majestic scenery.

This book is fun to read aloud with a young child.

Introducing Antarctica by Anita Ganeri does exactly what the title suggests: provides young readers with a brief overview of the icy continent.

Another unique feature here is the focus on the scientists and the research that takes place on the continent. This is a good choice for any aspiring young explorers out there.

One Day On Our Blue Planet in Antarctica by Ella Bailey wins the prize for cutest book about Antarctica. Readers join a young Adelie penguin as she journeys from the nest to the open ocean, and back home again, exploring the terrain and wildlife as she goes.

The illustrations are less life-like than most of the books we've seen, but more animals are named and represented here, too. Great choice for young readers who love animals.

Sophie Scott Goes South is a favorite among the kiddos this week.  This book is unique because it is a first-person account of a voyage to Antarctica on an Icebreaker ship, written by a nine-year old girl.

She joins her ship captain father and his crew on a 30 day round trip voyage, filling readers in on every detail of the trip.

 Another great feature is the artwork, all of which was created by Sophie's classmates, who were asked to create art inspired by this adventurous young lady's experience.

When the Sun Shines on Antarctica by Irene Latham is a great addition to our list because it is the only poetry book about Antarctica that I am aware of. Even if there were others, it would be hard to top this one.  The simple, fun-spirited poems are matched perfectly with illustrations by Anna Wadham.

It's nice to break up all the hard science reading sometimes with some poetry. This book would be a great addition to your bookshelf for any study of the amazing, inspiring continent of Antarctica.

Whether you're borrowing books from your local library system or purchasing these books for enjoyment for years to come, we hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

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