February 9, 2005
Students celebrate Chinese New Year
Oak Park second graders learn about the Year of the Rooster, Chinese history and traditions
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Every three months in Ann Gerhardt's second-grade classroom, she and her students get a 'Tina Fix.'
The Oak Park Elementary School teacher has been welcoming volunteer Tina Tank a few times a year for the past 15 years. Tank was on hand again Thursday morning to teach 20 students about the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Rooster.
"She's just a novelty and she just enriches what I do and enriches the curriculum," said Gerhardt, a veteran teacher on her 33rd year. "They adore her, they truly do, and she gets so much out of the children. She turns my room upside down and I love it."
Tank gave a lively and engaging presentation that featured puppets, books, pictures and drawings and sculptures. She discussed the origins of the New Year's celebration, Chinese history, immigration to the United States, money and traditions of the Chinese New Year.
"The Chinese New Year is a celebration of spring time, a new beginning," Tank told the children.
Some of these traditions include eating special food, such as noodles and cakes shaped like gold coins. Chinese cooks prepare all the food ahead of time and don't cut anything during the celebration because it cuts their luck. Other preparations included buying new clothes, getting a hair cut and paying all the bills.
On the New Year, Chinese people traditionally go to the temple and pray for their ancestors. They also make sure to speak only kind words to avoid bad luck. Children are given small red envelopes with good luck calligraphy in black on the outside and money on the inside.
The dragons and loud noises in public parades on Chinese New Year, which this year begins on February 9, are an important part of the celebration.
"The louder the sound, the more you chase away the evil spirits, so that's why they have drums and horns and shouting," said Tank, who lives in the Oak Park neighborhood. "The dragon's red tongue is to chase away all the evil spirits."
Tank also read a legend telling how the 12 animals that represent Chinese astrology were chosen. Then each student made their own 'chop,' or symbol combining the initials of their names.
"Chinese people sign their artwork with a chop," she said.
The students also crafted their own drawings of the rooster, inspired in part by statues and drawings of different styles that Tank brought. She prompted them to focus on each aspect of the rooster: the face, tail, comb, beak, wing, legs and tail feathers. They used pastel crayons on black paper, winding up after 30 minutes with a gallery full of vibrant and differing interpretations.
"I liked making the rooster tail," said O.B. Fearnow, a student in the class. "I learned how to make my name [the chop.]"