Hampshire House
Hampshire House celebrates Lunar New Year and The Year of the Fire Horse
The vibrant energies of the Lunar New Year swept through Hampshire House this week as our youngest explorers dove headfirst into a world of cultural discovery, creativity, and joyful learning. Guided by our Reggio Emilia principles, which honour children as capable, curious protagonists in their own learning journey, we witnessed these mirrored in our celebrations of the Fire Horse’s spirited attributes of independence, quick thinking and desire for adventure.
Our festivities kicked off with hands-on provocations that invited our children to engage deeply with Lunar New Year traditions. One highlight was our dumpling-making station, where little hands eagerly mixed dough, stuffed fillings of vegetables and symbolic ingredients like mushrooms for good fortune as the children carefully folded each parcel. Just as the Fire Horse embodies dynamic energy, our preschooler’s channelled their enthusiasm into this tactile experience, problem-solving when the dough stuck or shapes wobbled, turning potential frustrations into triumphant giggles.
Our preschoolers were fascinated to discover that the Year of the Fire Horse occurs only once every 60 years. To celebrate, they created their own Fire Horse collages, using bold reds, oranges, and golds alongside textured papers, flowing ribbons, and shimmering materials to capture the energy, bravery, and independence of this dynamic zodiac symbol. With the children proclaiming that their joint creation “ran fast as fire and is not afraid of anything”, attributes that certainly reflect the Reggio-inspired freedom to express big ideas through open-ended materials and personal interpretation.
Our youngest children also delighted in shadow and puppet play, based on the book “Red is a Dragon” by Roseanne Thong, which explored the kaleidoscope of colours that are woven into the everyday world and Lunar New Year traditions, such as the red dancing dragon, crackling firecrackers or lucky envelopes filled with wishes. The children enjoyed learning about the symbol of colours, the red symbolising good fortune and energy, to white noodles representing long life and simple chopsticks that bring families together.
In our light-filled provocations, the littlest learners used flashlights, translucent papers, and handmade puppets to recreate these colourful scenes on the shadow wall. They experimented with silhouettes of dragons twisting and leaping, firecrackers "popping" in bursts of light, and envelopes floating like magic. Some children added their own twists, crafting puppets with flowing red ribbons for manes or white noodle strands from yarn, while others narrated stories about the colours bringing luck and happiness.
As we gallop into this auspicious year, we are grateful for the ways these celebrations strengthen our community bonds and ignite our imaginations!
Simone Cooke
Director Hampshire House
