What you need:
- Large foam ball (available at craft stores)
- Light silver paint
- Dark silver paint
- Paintbrush
- Yarn
- Tacky glue
What to do:
- The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, is a Chinese holiday similar to Thanksgiving. On this night, when the moon is the roundest and brightest, families reunite, feast, and gaze into the sky. Research the origins and celebrations of the festival together, paying special attention to the moon's symbolic meanings of family, food, and unity.
- Start the project by protecting your craft area with newspaper.
- Using your fingers, press gently into the foam to make small, medium, and large craters.
- Paint the insides of the craters with dark silver paint. Paint the rest of the moon in light silver.
- Leave the foam ball on the newspaper to dry. Rest it on a crater so that it doesn't roll away or lose too much paint.
- Tie the yarn into a loop. Glue the loop on top of the moon.
- Hang the moon in your dining room or anywhere there is family or food. Celebrate the festival with a Chinese meal (homemade or takeout!).
Learning benefits:
- Celebrates Chinese culture
- Encourages family togetherness
- Reinforces the concept of symbols
