Joey Scout Program
Date:
Theme: Chinese New Year
Leader:
Meeting Type:
Time
Leader
Activity Description
CIA: Colouring in sheet
Equipment
Required:
0.00
Opening Ceremony
Colouring in sheets,
pencils
Flag
0.05
Game: Scare the dragon
Drum
0.15
Game: Chopstick Relay
0.20
Craft: Lucky Red Envelopes
0.35
Story: Story of Chinese New Year
Chopsticks,
marshmallows, bowls
Red envelope shapes, paint
or stickers to decorate,
scissors, glue. Chocolate
coins to put inside the
envelopes.
Story sheet
0.40
0.50
0.55
Game: Chinese Zodiac Signs
Game: Zodiac Signs Matching Game
Closing Ceremony
Hand out lucky envelopes.
BACK UP ACTIVITIES
Game: Dragon Tag
Activity: Act the Zodiac signs
Activity: Chinese lantern
LEADERS AVAILABLE:
PARENT HELPERS:
BIRTHDAYS:
ATTENDANCE:
No in Attendance:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
About Next Meeting:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
COMMENTS:
About Activities:
Nil
2 x zodiac pictures
Flag
Nil
Zodiac signs
Paper, scissors, glue or
stapler
No Total Membership:
Coming In Activity:
Colouring In Sheet
Game: Scare the Dragon
At one end of the hall is a drum. The Joeys are at the opposite end of the hall – they are the villagers. Choose
a Joey to be the dragon. The dragon stands in the middle of the hall. Choose one Joey to scare the dragon. To
do this they must come and beat the drum. Once they make a noise on the drum they try and tag the dragon,
which is running towards the villagers. Change over the roles so that all the Joeys get a turn of either beating
the drum, or being the dragon.
Game: Chopstick Relay
Divide the Joeys into two teams and get them to line up at one end of the hall. At the other end place some
marshmallows in a bowl. Give the first Joey Scout in each team some chopsticks. They must run to collect a
marshmallow using the chopsticks and walk back to their team without dropping the marshmallow, and place
it in the team bowl. If they drop the marshmallow they run back to their team and hand chopsticks to the next
Joey. The team that collects the most marshmallows wins. Don’t forget to eat the marshmallows at the end of
the game (the un-dropped ones of course).
Game: Chinese Zodiac Signs
Before playing the game read out the story of the Legend of the Chinese Zodiac Signs.
According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals quarrelled one day as to who was to head the cycle of
years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the
river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish.
All the twelve animals gathered at the riverbank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon
his back. As the ox was about to jump ashore, the rat jumped off the ox's back, and won the race. The pig,
which was very lazy, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second,
and the pig last.
The Chinese Zodiac is ordered as follows:












Rat
Ox (Cow)
Tiger
Rabbit (Cat)
Dragon
Snake
Horse
Ram (Goat, Sheep)
Monkey
Rooster (Chicken)
Dog
Pig (Boar)
All the Joey Scouts sit in a circle and are given the name of a Chinese Zodiac Sign. (Make sure there are
more than two of each). One Joey Scout is put in the middle of the circle. When a sign is called, all with that
name run and change places with another of the same. The middle Joey Scout tries to gain his/her place.
Game: Zodiac Signs Matching Game
Print out 2 each of the following images to make a zodiac signs matching game.
Back Up Activities
Game: Dragon Tag
Game played as per couple tag. Two Joey Scouts hold hands (the dragon) and chase after the others. Once
tagged you join the dragon. Game continues until all are caught.
Activity: Act the Zodiac Signs
Place the Zodiac signs in a shoe box. Select a Joey to pick out a Zodiac sign (being careful not to show the
other Joeys). They then act out their sign and the other Joeys need to guess which sign they are.
Activity: Make a Chinese lantern
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/chinesenewyear/lantern/
Fold a rectangle of paper in half, making a long, thin rectangle.
Make a series of cuts (about a dozen or more) along the fold line. Don’t
cut all the way to the edge of the paper.
Unfold the paper. Glue or staple the short edges of the paper together.
Cut a short strip of paper 15 x 1.5cm wide. Glue or staple this strip of
paper across one end of the lantern – this will be the handle.
NAME:
Craft: Lucky Red Envelope
http://www.chinatown-online.co.uk/pages/new_year/class_packet.html
Cut out the envelope from red paper.
Now fold over flap A and apply a little glue along its right edge. Fold over flap B and press it firmly onto the
glued edge of flap A. Apply a little glue to flap C and press it firmly onto flap B.
Decorate the front of the envelope.
You now have your Chinese gift packet! Flap D is the flap of the envelope.
Place some chocolate coins in the decorated envelopes and hand out at closing parade.
Story of Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year does not fall on the same date each year, although it is always in January or
February. Chinese New Year starts on the first day of the first month of the Lunar Year.
The Chinese New Year is an important celebration all over the world. There are similar celebrations in
Japan, Korea and Vietnam known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival. During the New Year
celebrations people do not fight or be mean to each other, as this would bring a bad, unlucky year.
The legend tells of a monster called Nian that lived in China thousands of years ago. It was born to be very
ugly and ferocious. It looked like either dragons or unicorns. On the first and the 15th of each lunar month,
the monster would come down from the mountains to hunt people. The people were very much afraid of the
monster and they locked their doors early before sunset on the days of its coming.
There lived an old wise man in a village. He thought it was the panic in people that made the monster so bold
and furious. The old man thought that the best way to threaten the monster would be to organise the people
to beat drums and gongs, burn bamboo, and light fireworks, so as to make a lot of noise that would scare the
monster off. The villagers also hung up red banners everywhere. The colour red has long been believed to
protect against evil.
When it was time for the monster to return, the villagers organised themselves as the old man had suggested.
As soon as the monster opened its mouth, the villagers made so much noise with drums, gongs and
firecrackers. This scared the monster, which kept running away. The villagers chased after the monster, and
when the monster collapsed with exhaustion they were able to kill it.
Since that day, people continue the tradition of beating drums and gongs, and lighting fireworks on the
coldest day in winter to drive the imagined monsters away and to celebrate victory over it.