Chinese Calligraphy

With Chinese New Year just around the corner I wanted to have an activity suitable for both my toddler and older child to enjoy at home. This activity required minimal set up, very little tidying and was lots of fun for my two kids and helped work on the motor skills. Also looking at the Chinese symbols gave us an opportunity to think about different cultures and the meaning behind different words.

Set Up

So for this I used my reusable Chinese water cloth which I highly recommend! With this you just need a clean paintbrush and a very small amount of water. And that’s it. I also printed off some easier to try Chinese symbols. I taped our paper to a large window using masking tape but you can also lay it flat or take it outside too.

M had been very excited about this activity when I had told her beforehand what it was. We talked about how some of these symbols represented entire words as opposed to just a simple sound. She started off by choosing the easier ones first of all. It was great watching her think out loud as to the direction of the lines and shapes that made up each symbol. After trying this Chinese New Year themed activity for a little while she suddenly became very confident and was choosing the most complicated symbols.

Then F got stuck in too! This is one of F’s favourite activities and it is always a massive hit whenever we get it out. They both happily “painted” until there was barely any space left. F the instructed me to remove it from the window, lay it in front of the fire to dry. And she promptly started again! I love these Chinese themed activity for toddlers, preschoolers and older kids as it supports their development no matter what age. It is not only enjoyable for them to do but somehow relaxing and soothing too.